Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 280AI brass

I'm having a 280AI built . Noticed Nosler 280ai brass and Hornady. I don't anneal so what you think about the Nosler brass? I know it's weight sorted, etc but dang it's high compared to Hornady.

Some very good 280AI brass says Lapua 30-06 on the head.

That's how I'd roll too . . .

Nosler is just the headstamp. It is Norma brass. Very good, and worth it not to fireform. I'd use that any day over Hornady.

If you are going to fireform, then Lapua would be the only reason to fireform brass for it.

Nosler if you value your time. Hornady, sort, and sell the leftovers if you want minimum $.

Not so sure about Norma making the brass these days , i read nosler in house was making their own brass on more and more cartridges .
I find everything nosler over priced but have read that hornady quality is quite low , ? six in hand hand - half dozen in other .

A little off topic, but I have been wondering if .280 AI brass could be used for .280 RCBS by just running it through the forming die? I currently make mine out of .270 brass, and I have not been able to get a piece of .280 AI to measure, or even look at. miles

Without fireforming, Nosler is the way to go. At the present it's all I shoot in my Jarrett. I wouldn't touch Hornady's brass in that caliber....lots of complaints about it if you look around.

^^^^ This.
If fireforming then 30-06 Lapua.

Thought 30-06 lapua brass came up short for the 280AI fire-forming ?

Not enough to matter. Roll with it.

Not enough to matter. Roll with it.[/quot

So I would need to run the 06' brass into a full length 280 sizing die, fireform , then good to go, correct?

I think 280 or 280AI would accomplish what you’d want, then fireform. I fireform (when necessary) with a small amount of Bullseye and a quarter square of toilet paper tamped on top of the powder. Point my rifle up and squeeze the trigger. I just do a few at the time...five or so, then come back after the barrel has cooled. It will heat the barrel up in a jiffy if you don’t watch out.

Does the Lapua brass need neck turned in a custom chamber ?

I ordered some 280AI Nosler brass for now but still curious about using the Lapua 06' brass . Anybody care to detail the process how they use it? Like said above I have read where it would be too short.

Well that would depend on the neck dimension in said custom chamber. In a SAAMI chamber, not required.

Correct. Like .270, the .280 is actually a .30-03 based case and is longer than .30-06. You will come up slightly short. Whether or not that matters depends on what you're doing at the neck.

Neck turning will likely be required regardless.

Just buy the Nosler.

I meant to say neck turning is NOT required or even desirable with Lapua '06 brass, unless maybe you run into a batch with thick necks.

I simply run mine through a Redding bushing die (Type S - Match, .313" bushing) set up to produce a pretty tight fit in my chamber. Loaded ammo is spot on at .315" which is right at SAAMI spec. It's great because the necks get sized a very small amount. My fireform loads are close to full power and accurate so it's all just practice anyway. The Ackley design is easy on brass and Lapua lasts forever - don't let fireforming scare you away. I've tried Hornady and Nosler and they work obviously, but in my book Lapua '06 is the only way to fly.

It's not quite that simple. Sizing down from .308 interior to .284 interior will add about 1.5 thousandths to each neck wall thickness. Max allowable SAAMI neck wall thickness on .30-06 is .01585. With expected growth, that becomes .01735. Max allowed thickness for the .280 Ackley is .0155. So there's the potential for the better part of 2 thousandths of interference on each side in a min-spec SAAMI chamber with resized max-size .30-06 brass. Typically Lapua bras mics out at more like .014 (it's not max-sized), which still puts you RIGHT at the limit.

So yes, neck turning is likely required or at least very desirable for a min spec SAAMI chamber. It may not be required for YOUR chamber. If your chamber is larger, a larger bushing would also be advised to avoid over-working the brass on resizing.

Thanks for the info. !