Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 280Ai help

Good morning.
Looking for some 280Ai guidance.

I picked up a Tikka Preferred Barrels Prefit 24" 1-8twist in 280Ai, it'll be getting installed likely Tuesday of this week.
I've also found 100 Swift Scirroco 150gr bullets & a used set of Hornady 280Ai dies.

What are some good powders I should be looking to purchase for the 280Ai? Any powders to flat out(safe to use but bad) stay away from?
Anything I should be aware of that would cause issues inherent to 280Ai/Ai's in general?

Thank you.

H 4831, RL-22, VV N 560 are 3 that work well, I get good result with RL-22.

Any thing in a similar burn rate to those listed will serve well.

Awesome thank you for those suggestions.

RL17 for 120's.
And above are great for heavies.
I'd love a 280 barrel on my Tikka.

I am running 140's and IMR 7828

Do you currently handhold? If so what powders do have on hand? You may have some already that would work just fine for a particular bullet weight.

H4831 and IMR 7977 are my go to powders for 140-162 grain bullet loads

RL26, RL23, RL22, IMR7828 & H4831 have all worked well for me. RL26 has been the best. An easy 3100 fps with 150’s I’ve tried.

Make sure your brass, dies and chamber are all the same. SAMMI 280 AI is different than the old Ackley 280 Remington AI

I use RL 26 with 160 gr in my 24" LH Forbes 280 AI SAMI Peterson brass

What kk alaska said. I like IMR 7828, R22, and Lately R23. Would like to get some R26. You've gonna like the cartridge.

What’s the difference between a 24” 280AI and a 24” 7mm Rem Mag?

A belt.

Easy to make out of a 7mm-08. Take about $350 to rechamber the factory barrel, get a long action magazine and long action bolt stop. Then you are good to go with either a 280 or 280 ai, if you are happy with the factory twist rate.

Easy to make out of a 7mm-08. Take about $350 to rechamber the factory barrel, get a long action magazine and long action bolt stop. Then you are good to go with either a 280 or 280 ai, if you are happy with the factory twist rate.

HYBRID 100v for 120s, IMR 4350, 4831 for 140gr, H4831sc, or Reloder 19, for 150s, Reloder 23 for 150s or 160s. H1000 or IMR 7977 for 160s. And I've used StaBall6.5 for everything from 120 to 160gr pills.

One thing to watch out for is that in Ackley Improved cartridges sometimes pressure can be masked and often pressure is high when traditional signs show up (sticky bolt, flattened primers, etc)

Expect great brass life, the sharp 40* shoulder helps keep brass from stretching.

Last but not least, the 280AckImp dies from RCBS are a different series and cost more than say a 270win. They cost as much as Redding. If your going to pay that much, buy the Redding die set. If you do, buy the carbide sizer button upgrade kit. You'll thank me later.

2# and about 100 plus FPS

I shot RL22 for years in 280AI untill I tried RL23 never looked back just as accurate little better speed and alot more temp stable. RL26 I could never get rid of a little flier.

I’d figure a 280AI would be better served with a 24” barrel rather than 22.4” of the 7mm-08.

I'm finding RL26 to be my huckleberry in a number of cartridges - 280AI included.