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

Every time someone tells me that they have a 280AI, I find myself wondering why they didn’t just go with the 7mm Rem Mag. What am I missing here? Are there substantial advantages to the 280AI?

7 mag guys don't get to participate in virtue signaling.

The primary advantage is the 280 AI requires at least 3 more beers to explain to your audience.

In some cases you can end up with a lighter rifle ie Kimber Montana 84L vs 8400 and Weatherby 6 lug vs 9 lug actions. Effect on game with the same bullet will be exactly the same.

Burn less powder?

Burn more gas finding 280 cases

Create confusion regarding headspace on the old vs. SAAMI chambering.

Does the 7mm Rem Mag feed better? The 280AI looks like the angle of the neck has more potential to hang.

Magazine capacity. My Model 70 in 7mm mag holds 3 and one in the chamber. The same rifle chambered for 280ai would hold 5+1.

One more in the mag. But regardless of the BS the 280AI cannot touch the 7 when loaded to like pressures.

GreggH

It worked with my pre 64 Model 70 bolt face, the brass lasts a long time and gosh, it's cool.

This should clear it up (from the Nosler Forum).

The 280 Ackley Improved – which version do I have, and is it ok to shoot with factory ammo?

There have been many variations of “improved” cartridges over the years, and even several different flavors within the “Ackley” cartridges. The 280 is certainly no exception. When the 280 Ackley Improved was developed and standardized through the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) by Nosler®, the decision was made to honor Mr. Ackley’s original design intent by headspacing the cartridge such that standard 280 Remington ammunition would chamber with slight (.003”/.004”) crush at the shoulder/neck intersection and fire form into the Ackley chamber without the need to seat the bullet into the rifling. In fact, Mr. Ackley headspaced his “improved” cartridges by simply grinding a standard “go” headspace gage for the parent cartridge back by 0.004” and using it to headspace the new version. This is also the way that many large custom gun shops have chambered the 280 Ackley for almost 40 years. In order to achieve this, any standard 280 Remington firearm being opened up to the Ackley must have the barrel set back one turn prior to reaming the chamber – simply improving the standard chamber without doing so will yield excessive headspace, even though this was common practice for many gun makers over the years as well. Based on this design, the 280 Ackley Improved was accepted by SAAMI in February of 2008 and has enjoyed tremendous success ever since.

Occasionally, a rifle that was “improved” by simply reaming the chamber without first setting the barrel back will turn up and result in questions about its compatibility with factory ammunition. Unbeknownst to their owner, most of these guns have headspace dimensions of between 0.010” and 0.015” greater than the SAAMI version of the 280 Ackley Improved. These rifles are perfectly functional so long as they are used with ammunition that has been properly formed and sized to fit their chambers. If the customer wishes to use their rifle with modern SAAMI-compliant 280 Ackley ammunition, it must be re-headspaced to properly chamber the ammunition.



So, rifles that were PROPERLY chambered with 0.004"crush fit on the parent case can use the SAAMI ammo with no headspace problems.

Mine doesn't complain
110. 3597 fps
139. 3258 fps
145. 3135 fps
No belt or suspenders needed

Try this new thing.........it's called the internet

That's pretty funny!

That's a difference but is it important for a hunting rifle? Ho often have you needed 4 shots for big game, let alone 6?

Next question is this: What will a .280AI do that a .280 Rem won't do as well?

When I purchased my .280 Rem I actually made a conscious decision that it wouldn't be a .280AI. The .280 burns less powder, has a it gentler recoil and still gets the job done at ranges where I've taken shots. Heck, I don't even load it to top .280 velocities.

But if I need more oomph, I do have a 7mm RM.

So we have:

1. Easier to convert to 280AI from a standard bolt face
2. Increased magazine capacity for the 280AI
3. It burns less powder

Very funny, I try to buy locally when I can.

As someone with a standard 280, I'd counter with: what are you hunting with a 7mag that a 280 won't kill just as well?