Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What can a 280AI do that a 7mm Rem Mag cannot?

Thats easy....

....look up what BobinNH has to say about this.

He cleared up and summed up ALL this a LONG TIME AGO.

Best

Heavy

I’m a 7 mag guy, but I bet they both kill animals just fine!

I'm mostly asking the folks who responded here snarkily about the 7 mag vs. 280AI... because you could throw a lot of the same snark at the 7 mag from the standard 280 perspective. It doesn't matter to me what anyone shoots, and the forum is made for debating. But just own it. Virtue signaling by way of calling out others for virtue signaling is just more of the same to me.

I cannot speak for other respondents, but I was genuinely curious about why you would choose a 280AI instead of a 7 Mag. In my mind, the 280AI has a coolness factor over the 7 Mag, but that seems to be about it. I have never shot a 280AI, but I did hunt with a 7 Mag for about six deer seasons. What I determined from those years was that a 7mm-08 would have been a better selection for me. Anyway, thanks for any insights one way or the other regarding benefits of the 280AI.

Mike, I haven't commented because I have NO experience with the 280 AI.

However, Gun Writers with experience with both HAVE said that the
" A Is" achieve their claims with HI pressure.

Me, I'm very SATISFIED with the 7 RM at safe operating pressures SO I don't argue.


Jerry

Damn, that cracked me up and so true as well.

The answer is simple...NOTHING!

LIES!!!!!!!

JS 🤷🏻‍♂️

They simply don't need a 7RM. More powder, more recoil, but not a 'more dead' animal on the ground.


You could play that game with anything. If they got a 7RM, why didn't they just go with the 7RUM?

If they got a 7..., why didn't they just go with the 300WM?

If they got a 300WM, why didn't they just go with the 300RUM?

Exactly!!!

Is the 280AI the equal of the 7RM . . . no, but it's real close.

How about the 280 vs the 280AI . . . same answer.

7x57 vs 280?

7-08 vs 7x57?

But then you can flip the question around and do it all again . . . What can a 7mm Rem Mag do that a 280AI cannot?

This schitt gets boring.

I totally get what the OP is saying. What’s the need for the 280AI when the 7RM and 280 were both already there. Just like what was the need for the 6.5 CM when the 25-06, the 257’s, 260, 270, 7m-08 were all already there. What’s the need for a 300RUM when there was already 300WM and 300 Roy. None of these kill an animal any more dead than the other, just seems like people never stop trying to reinvent the wheel. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Because we are rifle loonies, and variety is the spice of life !
I have all 3 of these spoken in comparison, sorta, and a 7-08.
My standard 280 is a 7x64, so it qualifies.
I had a 280ai built because they look cool. No more, no less.
Could my 7x64 do the same, most likely.
Will the 7-08, kill any less at reasonable distances. Most likely not.
But, will the 7mm Rem Mag out perform the form.
You betcha it will, but at a price of more noise, and more recoil.
Is it significant ?
No. I dont think so, but I like them all.
I am a looney, therefore, I AM.....
Oh, and a fire formed, nickle plated, 280AI..

Best ever use of an '06 case

I graduated college in 1982, and being an anal engineering type spent the entire span of my senior year communicating with the top riflesmiths, gunwriters, ballisticians, bullet makers, powder suppliers of the time. The question was: What chambering should I adopt to hunt the world, based on effectiveness, accuracy, availability, etc...

Funny thing...the 7mm Rem Mag came out on top by a landslide...including recommendations by some gunwriters that would totally surprise a bunch of readers here.

The main recommendation was based on the claim that MANY loads/bullet weights, handloads and factory, shot to the same POI in close,, and I have found that to be true.

The second was that it was an extremely popular round, and ammo could be found pretty much anywhere worldwide. Also true.

I bought a pair of Sako Lightweight A5's and over the next 30 years proceeded to take 47 species with the round in my work travels.

Upon selling my company and retiring I also used a Jarrett .280AI, a John Lewis .280, several 7mm-08's, and was successful with all simply by asking myself "how would this shot compare if I was using my 7 Mag?"

Made it easy.

They all work to the limits of their ability to expand a good bullet.

BUT...if you are traveling, the 7 Rem Mag is available in a wider range of good bullets over the counter, that DO tend to shoot to a common point of impact, and is the logical choice.

The answer IS simple ........

Some guys like to have cooler rifles than the other duds on the interweb. That's why the 30-06, 270 and other very good classic chamberings are out of vogue here.

I like all of them. The 280AI comes really close to the 7RM until you go over about 168 grains in weight, then the 7RM shines. This works well for me as my 280AI has a 1-10 twist and my 7RM has a 1-9 twist which can handle the 180s and some 190s.

They both are similar in chambering a round, a little more noisy than a case like the H&H and some other beltless rounds. One of the main advantages of the 280 AI is very little case trimming is needed, less than the 7RM and 280. The brass seems to last longer too. In a custom the weight can be almost the same and a drop or canoe magazine can give you an extra round in the 7RM not that it is needed. My 280 AI has 2 inches more barrel and a recessed 11 degree crown. This and the lighter charges make the 280AI noticeably quieter than my 7RM. Recoil is noticeably less with the 280's especially if comparing the heavy weights in a 7RM to a lighter bullet in the 280. The 7RM in no way is obsolete.

These two have more in common than differences. Ammo availability is the only item that vastly favors the 7RM.

Hair splitting conversation, both are excellent game cartridges. One requires a bit more fuss to start with and the need to always have ammo close to the pocket when traveling.

The rifle I wanted was not available in 7mm Rem Mag. I get your point, but in a Kimber, to go from .280AI to 7mm Rem Mag means switching from the 84L to the 8400 action which comes with a significant increase in weight and an increase from 24" to 26" of barrel. The Kimber is light enough in .280AI to be borderline abusive to my eyebrow. Adding 10 grains or more powder to achieve less than 50 fps velocity gain makes things even worse.

If I wanted a different rifle .. 700, Win 70, MRC .. I could see the balance going the other way. In fact, all things being equal, I'd have rather had the 7mm mag, but all things were not equal and the .280AI was a better choice .. in a Kimber.

Tom

The 7 RM is superior ballistically if you want to split hairs but in the field performance is practically the same...IMO the 280Ai is mostly for guy's who want the "cool factor" that he is a real rifleman that reloads his own ammo....(yeah i had a 280Ai myself for a short time 😂) .......Hb