Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Load Data 280 Ackley

Gentlemen,
Not sure where I found this combination or who I heard it from but I am shooting 61 grains of H4350 (worked it up) in my 280 Ackley. It has a 24" barrel. I have not checked it with my Oehler and was wondering if anyone has experimented with this particular load and would share their findings.
I am thinking it isn't a load to shoot in temps over 60 degrees. Base of the brass looks clean and the bolt lifts easy and it is real accurate with this combination.
Headed to hunt Muley's next week and am running out of time and weather here in WV to setup and check it with the Oehler.

Thanks,
Dave

That load sound like you will be shooting the 140 grain class of bullets, and seems on the warm side to me. Like you mention, cool weather load!!

QL predicts just over 65K.

A quality rifle in good shape can handle 65K all day long.

Going off of memory, but I think I used to shoot 61.5 with 120's.

Just something to think about if you want to make your .280AI really perk.

MAGPRO!!!

I use RL 22 with both 140 and 160 gr bullets for sub MOA accuracy.

JD338

Second vote for RL22. With 140 TTSX and slight compression of powder, awesome velocity and accuracy

How much RL-22 are you fellas using for 140 grain bullets?

Also, what kind of velocities are you getting?

62 grs of R22 under the 140 TTSX for 3315 out of mine with superb accuracy. Book max so as always work up to it.

quote=j_elky]How much RL-22 are you fellas using for 140 grain bullets?

Also, what kind of velocities are you getting?

[/quote]

140NBT coated with hBN maxed at 65gr RL22 (best precision at 63)
140GMX/hBN maxed at 62.5 (best precision at 62)

Using R22 64 grains and 140 grain BT in Nosler brass and WLR primer at 3390 from 26" tube. Hart Barrel

I run 61.0 grains of H4350 and the 120 Nosler BT out of my .280AI. Its clocking around 3325 out of a 23 inch barrel.

Hillbilly
I checked them before I went out west and they are running 3275 out of my rifle. 24" tube. Did not take it with me but hunted with it here at home. Using the 120 grain TTSX it is way more than it takes to put a whitetail down and accomplished the deed easily.
I clocked it with my Oehler 35. Going to work with it and some 140 Bergers. Gotta seat them .150" back to get full caliber contact in the neck. If RE22 works like it sounds like it does a guy will have to give it a try for sure. Over 3300 as one of the previous posters has experienced with a 140 is awesome. I would be very impressed if my ULA will clock that fast. I cannot wait to run those numbers on my ballistics program!

Dave

Interesting...a 280AI juggernauting 140's at STW and Mashburn velocities;and from the same length barrel that Nosler says gives,at best,100 fps less velocity.

And people wonder why I think 280AI users are the biggest wishful thinkers on the planet,and greatest purveyors of dis-informatiion.

Any fool can keep adding a double based propellant like R22 until the chronograph screams,just to make a cartridge look good.

That's as humerous as quoting Quick Loads as evidence of pressure in your rifle....another joke of the uninitiated.

+1

Yet Bob you continually cite 7RM speeds not reached by any manual other than Nosler 6.

I know what I got with my 280ai by using published and pressure tested loads and they meet or exceed every 160 class load from Hodgdon among others.

As Shod pointed out in another thread some folks claim that loading a 280ai to SAAMI MAP is stomping on it but loading a 7rm past SAAMI MAP is fine.
Pressure matters and the 280ai operates at higher pressure.

My 280 Ack works it best with 160 gr bullets and Hod 4831SC

Do you have a better way than QL to estimate pressure available to you?
Didn't think so.

Do you have Pressure Trace?
Didn't think so, I do.

Have you ever owned and tested BOTH a 7RM AND a .280AI?
Didn't think so, I have.

Seems the real life experience I have with the .280AI gets your dander up as if I were goring your sacred ox.

You told me in another thread to try the 7RM, 7 or 8 of them actually. (I've owned 2 and loaded extensively for another)

I'll turn that around on you. Try the .280AI, 7 or 8 of them actually.

At least I've first hand experience with BOTH of these cartridges.

What was that about baseless conjecture and speculation again?

Unless it's a 7 Remmie.....

I have been using the RL22 loads that JD338 put me on to for several years.Excellent accuracy with both the 140 and 160AB. Monashee

Men,
Certainly did not mean to get you guys into a whizzing contest. Like I said I would be pleasantly surprised if my 280AI would perform with a 140 at those velocities. Bob I have strong doubts and tend to agree that it would be tough to do.
I (in other rifles) learned my lesson a long time ago when it came to burning what turned out to be too much gunpowder to achieve velocities that are more than a guy can find published anywhere or possibly in only one publication.
Case in point 300 Win Mag burning 76g of IMR 4350 and shoving a 150 @ 3375. Mine will do it but the rifle I was abusing went thru 3 barrels before I wised up. (long time ago)The deal as all of us know is to know the ballistics and the necessary elevation compensation adjustment.
A 12" AR500 plate will ding with no audible difference to my ear when hit by a Berger 140 VLD @ 3000, 3100, 3200, or 3300 at any distance the shooter can hit the plate at or at least at any distance I can hit it at and any animal would never be able to tell the difference.
Bottom line do I think my ULA will spit any 140 out at over 3300? Like I said I would be pleasantly surprised but I have no unreasonable expectations and that is a good thing in this case IMHO.

Dave

Sure it can but the question remains, how do you have any idea of the actual pressure once you exceed those published and pressure tested 61K loads printed by the folks who make reloading manuals?

The real real question is: How does ANYBODY have any idea? You and I both know that every rifle barrel is different... they tell you as much in your "reloading manuals". So, how close are they? 2%.... 4%.... 15%? I'll trust my eyes, ears, and the empirical evidence before I trust the data shot in ONE BARREL as gospel. You gotta use your coconut.... even within 'book data', cause you ain't shooting their barrel.

You are, however, correct. Once you leave book data, you're on your own.... so yeah, I don't really KNOW.

I do know:

A. I've actually seen 7 Mag shot in the Nosler Ballistic Lab at 65K PSI out of the same barrel they shot the book data with.... with my own eyes. You can add about 100-150fps across the board... even Steven... in the same lab... with the same f'n barrel.

B. I've actually rolled around a few 7 mags... as have you... and have determined a comfortable operating range for a variety of pills.

Last.... but not least.... I find it a bit interesting that your arguing SAAMI data for a cartridge that is probably the biggest whore in the entire Wildcat Ranch. There have got to be more different .280 AI chambers floating around than all the rest of POs finest combined.

In a pure SAAMI world though... the .280AI can tickle the 7RMs arse....

You have quite a way with words Dog! I like it.

There are a bunch of different .280AI chambers but there is only one which has the SAAMI stamp of approval.

You're right about each barrel being an entity unto itself. Precisely why a guy doesn't just start out with the max book load and run with it.

There are ways to REALLY know what pressures you're running and the price is not crazy high either.
Pressure Trace. I have one but haven't run it through the paces yet. Will be interesting to see what's up.

n,
No way to know unless the correct equipment is employed.Otherwise those of us without the equipment have to rely on the signs all of us rely on to determine when too much is in fact too much. From my experience as I articulated in my previous post I pushed a rifle past what is considered safe and reasonable by every manual except one and did not know I was killing the barrels (or at least none of the tell tale signs were there)until I replaced barrel #3.
Bolt did not lift hard, brass base not burnished by the ejector, no split cases, and it shot under !/2 minute but in less than 400 rounds one of the barrels (the last one I replaced)was bead blasted from the breech 8" forward.
Many years ago I went thru this process because of a chronograph, my desire to have a 300 WM that would shoot faster and flatter and because the Lyman Manual (if memory serves me correctly) said a guy could drop 76g of IMR 4350 in a 300 WM case and shoot it. Well I could but it got pretty expensive.
I guess that's how I figured out there was too much pressure. My bet with the 280AI is that as one of the posters said you can stuff all the double based powder in the case (as long as it will hold it) you want until the chrony tells you what you want to see. Might work for some but I learned my lesson a long time ago.

Dave

RaceTire, I am loading right at max. as shown in Nosler #6, using IMR 4831. I have also worked with RL 22 and IMR 4350. At this point I have not experienced any signs of excessive pressure HOWEVER, I will not go beyond what is noted as MAX in this manual.

Actually as is almost always the case I have found the sweet spot with a 150 BT and the 160 AB about 1 grain under max. and that is a comfortable place to be.

Randy

I personally believe anything over 3200 with 140's is over pressure, and those that claim 3300 and above are living on borrowed time,the 280AI is a great cartridge but some expect it to be more than it safely can be!

Randy,
If it satisfies you with the way it shoots and you are a grain under that's what matters. A 140 @ 3300 in a 280 AI anyone who owns one would be real impressed with that velocity especially if accuracy was good.
The 280AI may in some rifles reach that number with a 140 but the potential consequences are more than I want to deal with. Barrels are pretty expensive.
The difference between 3300 and 3100fps using a Berger 140 VLD @500 using a 300 yard -0- is 3 clicks. The diff in energy is 230 ft lb. 1769/1539. Doubt any animal would know the difference.

Dave

I should also concede the fact that the 7RM ain't exactly the Virgin Mary.... it's a know chamber floozie too. So with these two cartridges in particular... it's pretty easy to get lost in the forest, cause people just keep planting more trees.

That's kind of what I'm getting at here.... as is Bob and Dober. Guys who run .280AIs.... generally speaking... are guys who are going to MAKE them run as close to a 7RM as possible. You did.... I did too... twice. Otherwise... why would you build one? With the 7RM most folks run it pretty easy.... and the guys who do lean on them... are the same guys (or type of guy) who floor the AI.

Pick one... and clobber stuff with it. I can't think of a critter that'd know the difference on one end.... and 99 out of 100 shooters wouldn't know the difference on the other. Hell... I bet half the guys who've read this post have actually had to Google "SAAMI"....

What if some or all the normal pressure signs are in some ways masked by the shape of the 280ai case?

With a 26" tube I can see flinging 140's at 3250-3280. In a 24" tube I'd also agree that 3200 is about tops.

Dog,
You are funny. Great post!

Dave

AF,
I guess he finds out when he runs a brush thru the barrel and pulls it back toward the breech and one day the rifling is missing 8" out.
No doubt in some cases the signs don't show up as in the case I cited in one of my previous posts. No signs. The quality of the Sako AV action on the particular rifle (in my case) must have masked the signs.
There was no masking the barrel issue when it showed up. Good discussion. Heading over to the Orange County (Florida) Convention Center this morning. Exhibiting at the PRI (Performance Racing Industry Trade Show) Hope all have a blessed day today.

Dave

Have a good time!

Precisely...and these differences can never be underestimated.And also why we really don't know when we use data from the manuals that we are blissfully operating at or in excess of SAAMI specs, and conversely we could still be within those specs even if we do exceed manual data.

This is precisely why a chronograph is so essential,and while not perfect as a means of measuring pressures, it should at least serve to tell us when we are over the top.

it isn't always enough to say...Well I stuck to manual loads and got 3300 fps and the SAAMAI data says I am at 65,000 psi so everything is OK...

No not always.I recall one 7 mag with a Krieger barrel that gave 3080 or so with a 160 and manual load;and a second 7 mag with a Douglas tube that gave over 200 fps more velocity with the same ammo.

But the velocity of well in excess of 3200 fps was too much velocity for that case, which I knew,and backed down accordingly with that rifle.

And before someone starts thinking the 7 Rem Mag is the only cartridge afflicted this way, forget it because I have seen precisely the same thing in 270's, 280's, 300Win and Weatherby,and a host of others.And I have also seen factory ammo for the 7mm WSM give velocities that a 7mm Mashburn tops out to meet,and had ejector slots ironed into the brass....I am sure the stuff was supposed to be within SAAMI spec,but not in that barrel that day.Per Federal,It was loaded to 65,000psi too.But I did not let that serve as tacit license to chase those velocities and frankly could not come close with my hand loads.

So when you see your rifle give extraordinary velocities with stock manual loads it isn't always carte blanche to assume everything is OK and you just have a fast barrel...it may be a warning to back down.

Like dogshooter says you gotta use your noodle with this stuff.

Another thing besides the obvious issues associated with custom tubes, trued actions and straight taper cases which all conspire to hide traditional pressure signs, is what Bob Hagel noticed adn wrote of years ago, but which rarely gets mentioned anymore, and that is the smaller area of the case head on an 06-based case will tend to show pressures signs less quickly than the larger case head area of the belted magnums.

Add all these little things up and it is not hard to understand why some are running velocities off the chart but think everything is completely OK because they are religiously sticking to tested manual data;well maybe so but there is just as good a chance that the extra velocity you are getting is not free,and is an indication that you are already off the charts or close to it.

Seeing all this stuff over many years is why I eventually got to the larger 7mm cases like the Dakota and Mashburn....not always for the extra velocity they are capable of, but also because when I see 3200-3300 fps from a 140 gr bullet I know I have lots of slack and safety margin in my loads.

I got precisely the predicted speed with one grain less Magpro than Accurate predicted I'd need.
I'd say those loads were safe (and under 65K) in my rifle.

Well reading all this .280 Ackley stuff got me sorta horned up...so beautiful warm day with NO WIND I dusted the ackley off and rounded up 3 powders, and 2 different 140's (Sierra & Nosler BT's)
My rifle is a 24" Nula with a chrome moly barrel.

first N165 and the campfire load of 63.5 gr and the 140 BT..Great accuracy about 3/8" but velocity of just 3000.

Increased 1 gr. and 3060

One more grain and 3100, but sl ejector mark on the nosler brass and the primers were dead flat..group opened up to 1 1/2"

A long way from 3300 and 7 mag territory!

R22 same bullet, went up to 64 gr. & slight ejector mark 3120. borderline too hot IMOP

R17 same bullet up to 59 gr. Too hot ejector mark -2" group and 3140 vel.

So the Ackley is a neat round certainly effective with 140's but IMOP is NOT a 7mm Mag. At least not with anything I am comfortable shooting out of it.

Lefty C

If you'd have gotten precisely the predicted speed with one grain more Magpro than Accurate predicted you'd need.... would you say those loads were "over max pressure"? How do you know?

Just askin.... seriously....

I wouldn't go over the max listed Magpro load. When I did go to max I had slightly sticky bolt lift so I went back to the load which produced 3050 with the 162 Amax in my 26" tube.

Now I have a much better capability than most to measure ACTUAL pressure since I got the Pressure Trace system.

I need to wring that out thoroughly very soon.

I have no history with which to form an opinion of how this rifle responds to other 'book' loads.... so I'll ask another question or two.

Say you reached book max (64ish grains?) and velocity was 2875... you saw no signs of pressure at all, and everything looked normal. Would you add a half-grain and clock it? Now it's 2930... nothing funny, brass looks/measures the same. Another half-grain?

I would refer to other loads in the same rifle. If they too show a propensity for retarded velocity with book loads... I'd up the ante and 'assume' I'm in the same neighborhood as the 'book'. If other loads got book velocity with book loads.... I'd maybe write off the powder and look elsewhere.

What I'm asking you is.... how do you decide when enough is enough? The book load.... the velocity.... the 'pressure' as interpreted by your experience and the advice of others?

Pressure trace will be cool indeed... and I'm sure will open eyes. Most of us knuckle draggers will never enter this realm however... I'll just have to rely on my brass to tell me when I'm leaning a little on the east end of the powder measure.

On a 65K cartridge I'm not sure I would add powder beyond max book loads.
On a 61K cartridge I probably would provided the rifle is strong enough and modern enough to do so.

Now if I have a PT transducer glued to the barrel I'd probably keep adding powder until I began to see "traditional" pressure signs just to see what pressure is produced when these pressure signs are seen.

That will be interesting to see.....

Lefty thanks for that information. Simply another example of the wide differences to be encountered between various barrels chambered for the same cartridges and something I've observed numerous times over the years ( not only with 7mm's, but with 270's, 30 caliber,and on up the ladder).More time spent with 30 caliber and under has shown more examples of it, but it exists elsewhere, too.

When I see us depending heavily on printed data and predicting absolute pressure results for a given cartridge, I blanche a bit....and especially when I see wild claims for smaller cases being the "equal" of larger cases, using pressure figures "assumed"(not known)I become even more skeptical and know immediately somethin ain't right.

I have no doubt I have run a 7 Rem Mag over SAAMI spec at times...and at other times well under.I still have not had anyone provide a reasonable explanation for the the fact that the Nosler manual shows,across the board,mor velocity from a 24" barreled 7 RM than a 26" barreled 280AI.

I think this stuff about loading one to 65,000 and the other to 61,000 and comparing them is an utterly silly conversation because the proponents don't have a clue what the pressures are in the respective barrels for each,other than reading about it.


They wouldn't get to first base in a courtroom doing things this way...which is why I find it so ridiculous.But courtrooms deal with "truth".... or try to....and reloading forums frequently deal in wishful thinking coupled with delusion and agendas.

Oh silly, silly Bob....... don't you know affect and unicorn farts are good for an additional 50-75fps?

dogshooter I have seen those differences between steel buttplates and cushy recoil pads as well....

Good stuff there Left-thx for sharing

Dober

Since Lefty C posted RL17 and I had next to no luck looking for data when I wanted to try it I'll add that I stopped at 58.5gr RL17 and 140gr NBT with light ejector mark.

7mmf,

Since he burning rate is close I used 4350 data.

My rife must be "slow" bcause Iam etting no where near the velocities that most are posting here.

LC

I also used 4350 data to get rough starting point and loaded up a ladder to get a max in my rifle. I didn't chrono that load. I have this weird thing about chrono'ing starting loads because I'm afraid I'll steer away from a powder that might produce good precision but might not meet my velocity expectation.

That day I was starting over on my loads because I had just started coating bullets with hBN. I tested RE17, RE19, and RE22. My best starting loads were the RE19 & RE22. RE17 did not produce nearly as tight nodes as the other two so I chose to save it to play with for another rifle. RE22 has been a proven performer in that rifle since I built it back in '99-2000 timeframe.

Here, here... I've been using a load that dogzapper suggested in my Ackley lately which is 60 grs of IMR-4831 with 140 gr Nosler BT's. Very, very accurte with no "traditional" warning signs.

140 NAB, 63.3 grns of VV N165, fed 210m, gives a velocity of 3206 from a 24 3/4" tube. Pressure signs are non existant and brass life is forever. Accuracy is consistantly sub .5 MOA . As good as a 280AI gets IMO when running 140 grain pills

Have you noticed any temp sensitivity with that VV-165 ? I hear lots of guys say that 165 is a great powder for the Ackley and I have a bunch of it that I was using in my 300 WM. Someone here was reporting that they weren't getting alot over 3000 fps in their 280 Ackley with 140's using that load in a 24" barrel.

Its usually summertime when i do load work/sight in. Never had a bullet fail to hit where the crosshairs are. Never noticed anything different as to pressure signs throughout the year with that powder. Louisiana gets as good as it gets for offering weather from damn hot and humid to colder than dangit. Again never noticed any differences when weather changes

Wasn't is Melvin Forbes who wisely stated that there isn't much in the world that cannot be hunted with a 140 grain 7mm bullet at 2900fps?

There are two very different schools of thought when it comes to stepping up to the next cartridge case size.....

Some handloads are looking for speed and sue the case to push their favored light/medium weight bullet faster and there is a now older, school of opinion that preferred to use the larger case size to propel heavier bullets at the velocities they were familiar with.

The fly in the ointment is that bullet technology is rapidly negating the need for the heavy weight bullets in each caliber.

The game is not over, but the scoreboard is leaning towards velocity over bullet weight, that is for certain.
John

I am a novice reloader. Have 2 280AI's. One is being built and other is being stocked after a recent build. Owned one prior but did not personally load for it. I hit pressure signs (sticky bolt) on my new gun. Was trying it out in an old stock. 75 degree temps and close to the lands. This was with 150 TTSX and 160 Accubonds. Both loads were slightly below published max loads. I just bought a chronograph. Have not tried it as have no cf rifles at home right now. what will the chrono likely tell me about this rifle's performance? Will the below max loads likely be faster than the book or could I just have a chamber/barrel that does not like to be pushed? Hate to ask a dumb question but unsure how to use the chrono as a reloading tool. Know it will tell me speed for ballistic calculation. Is the chrono otherwise there to show unusually high velocity absent other pressure signs as a safety tool? Thanks.

Look at a LOT of data,as much as you can,to get an idea of what the cartridge is capable of in different barrels to get a weighted average of velocities. A pattern will emerge.

Confirm with your own loads and watch the chronograph. Also watch primer pockets and other "traditional" pressure signs. They may not be perfect but they are all you have unless you buy pressure equipment.

Expect anomalies. No two barrels are ever the same, even if from the same maker, chambers cut with the same reamer, same day.

In reading others experiences,toss out the exceptionally high velocities they obtain, and the exceptionally "low". The truth will likely be in the middle range of things.

Remember that within ear shot of this site are (how many?) a few hundred 280 AI users(?). That's a few hundred different barrels, with varying dimensions,cut with different reamers,different mixes of components,fired under different conditions and over that many different chronographs. If results are identical to yours it's more luck than design....but it'll still happen.

Just because someone else gets 3200 with a 140 gr bullet from a 280AI does not mean you will...too many variables.

Never owned one, but seeing 3300 fps from a 140 gr bullet from a 280AI would have me on red alert,whether it showed pressure signs or not.Even larger cases do not alway go that fast in some barrels.

Get some factory ammo in the same bullet weight and see what it does. Word is the 280AI is loaded pretty hot and if your barrel is getting substantially more velocity than the factory stuff from your hand loads, you may want to back off.

Thanks Bob!

True statement right there.

Yeah, I would depart the scene for sure, hurriedly.

My Kimber 280 Ackley tends to show pressure signs a couple grains BEFORE I reach Nosler book max loads with Ballistic Tips. My max load for the 162 A-max is 59 grains of 7828 for 3020 fps.

59 grains of IMR 4831 with a 140 BT gives me sticky bolt lift.

If I ever build one, it's gonna get a steady diet of the 150 NBT with enough powder to get it to 3,000 fps. I'll stop there and try to go fill an ark...

Rel 17 or 22 will get you there.
57gn Rel 17 gets me 3020 with a singlr digit E.
62gn of Rel 22 delivers a bit more with 3076fps and around 14fps spread. This load shoots around .75MOA in my 22" barrel.
John

65.0 RL22

CCI. BR2 or GM210

140 ttsx


Or same with 145 LRX but 63.0 grains

Anyone else using 145LRX? Have great accuracy with 4350 and the 150TTSX, wouldn't mind getting it a little faster and sleeker with the 145 though

I run IMR4831 with Sierra 140 SP Gameking and see pressure signs at 3170 from 23" Obermeyer 5R barrel. Boots run his 7mm tight at .274 but says the 5R design helps with pressure. Best accuracy I get is 57 grains of IMR 4831 @ 3080 into one ragged hole. I am not trying to beat or replicate the 7mm Rem mag. I am just trying to squeeze as much juice as safely as I can in a standard long action and bolt face. I hate belted magnums and midgets magnums and have had many and sent them away. Some say a regular .270 can push 140 up to 3000 fps and .280 rem up to 3100 FPS too when loaded to .270 pressures. From "my experiences" i find that accuracy drops when you push 140 grain .270 to more than 2900 and the .280 Rem to more than 3000. Most Accuracy nodes i find for the .270 win with 140 and a .280 140 rem is around 2800. In "my" .280 Ackley I can push to 3100 piece of cake with great accuracy of the low side of pubished data and have room to spare. If I squeeze it more I can push to 3180 fine but accuracy drops. So for me, 200 extra fps from standard .280 Rem with a more accurate load, more cartridges in the chamber, brass life and cool factor is what cuts the .280 Ackley for me. Not that a deer or even myself will see the difference 200 fps can make, but its there to brag, lmfao. Dont need a magnum to kill deer and the .270 is gay (fire suit on)

I didn't even know you could fit 65 grs of powder in the Ackley. And yes, I own one myself.

I can only stuff 63 and it is really compressed.

Maybe they are using a coffee grinder to turn stick powder into ball powder.....

My .280 Imp. is the RCBS version, a ballistic twin to the AI.
My hunting load is 62.0 gr. of RL22 behind a 140 gr. Nosler Accubond bullet, which gives me 3180 fps and good accuracy out of my 23.5" barreled Ruger No. 1.
There's not a whole lotta room for more of this powder!

Bighorn, how you like that Rel22? I have not tried reloder22 or magpro yet.

My thoughts too. In the 3300's with 140's sounds on the very, very high end to me. I'm not sure I'd take that QL 65k as gospel.

Ok, didn't know the thread was this old. Read up to Bob's post and quoted feeling the loads I was reading about above it were too, too hot.

Looks like it was sorted out reasonably.

RL22 is the only powder I have ever tried with full power loads in this rifle, and I am happy with the results.

Bighorn I will have to go hunt down a tub myself.

I shoot 62 grains of Rel 22 pushing a 140 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. Great accuracy, but not quite as much velocity out my Kimber Montana.

Bumping this because I have a new Forbes 280AI heading this way. Hoping to run 145 LRX's or similar. 9.5 twist

Anyone have any updates they'd like to add?

Forbes are good...:)

If you haven't already, buy Nosler's manual. They have a lab...and they actually shoot the cartridge...:)

The Nosler loads I have shot in a RI 280AI (SAAMI) are right on the money--I subtract 50fps for their 26" barrel data in my 24" Ackleys. The RL 19 load is matched with a grain less. My guess is the snug chamber. The ULA I had back some time ago also had a snug chamber. There wasn't manual then per se, but it would not digest loads that had gone thru two other AIs that I had.

Not trying to draw a parallel betwixt Melvin's rifles, but assuming it is probably made just as well and any rifle can be different in regard to the same load.

The Nosler manual loads worked up with a chronograph, give better guidance than any one else loads, experience or opinion.

fwiw...

added: powder-wise, mine have done well with stuff on the slower side. currently runnning MRP, but not married to it. RL 23 looks interesting...

Wow! All the time I spend on here,and I just found this thread. Personally,I love my 280AI. It has a sweet spot with the 140 grain pills. It will group TTSX along side (in the same 1" sticker),Hornady 139 grain spire points. With RL19 or either of the 4831s. 160 grain Partitions and 7828 will drill one little tiny hole,but not what I want to run day in and day out for whitetail. Not pushing mine very hard. Only 60 grains of RL19 over a cci 200 primer in Nosler brass and a 140 TTSX. The rifle is a m700 / 24" Pac Nor barrel, Burris Signatures on Warne steel bases. Meopta Meostar #4 reticle. Been considering an elevation dial from Kenton. Need to get that ordered.

I use Quickload and a Labradar to develop loads. The QL program does indicate pressure , is this indication spot on......I doubt it, but it is not too far off either.

With accurate recorded velocities and correct inputs to the program you can find a node in as little as 5 shots (this is to establish burn rate of your particular lot of powder) then another 5 for a tiny group. Quick load needs to be studied and all inputs need to be accurate.

My 280ai runs on a node with a 162 ELD-X at around 2800ft/s, indicated pressure is around 60K, five shot groups at 100 yards are inside 1/2 inch.

Velocity is the result of the correct powder for application within excepted pressure and on a node.........velocity is of little concern but accuracy is.

R26 is showing promise with 140s - 160s don't hammer it and only expect 50-75 fps more than MRP and you should be fine pressure wise. I would have to look up the charge weights but mine matched Mule Deers so they are in good company.

280 AI - Borden Timberline, Lilja #1, McMillan Edge, Timney (Thank you KenaiKing)
63 gr N165 gives me +/- 3200 with 140 AB’s. Not much I can’t hunt with that.


280 Remington - Weatherby Mk V UL (Thank you ChipM)
150 CoreLokt’s @ 2850 fps (commercial ammo) have kept my freezer quite full season after season prior to the acquisition of the Ackley.


Did not need the Ackley by any reason, the rifle is actually what I wanted. It just happened to be chambered in 280 AI instead of 280 Remington. Would just as soon take one as the other.

I had really good luck with RL23 than 26 in 140's and 162's, couldn't get rid of a little bit of a flyer with 26.

Hornady is making 280 AI brass now or I just noticed. And on sale for half of Nosler brass.!

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/238192/hornady-reloading-brass-280-ackley-improved-box-of-50

This is good news, the primer pockets on my last batch of Nosler brass had to be cut deeper.

My one and only 280AI was a reamed out Mod 700 Mtn rifle .280. I only used the nickle plated ( I hate that stuff!) Winchester case at the time ( early 90's) I worked up to 61gr R22/Nolser 150BT and a 9 1/2 primer. It shot around .5 to 1" for 3 shots, then would walk off. I killed some stuff with it here in Uath/Wy but when I went to Texas in Feb ( about 75 deg) I got a real sticky bolt. I determined that I would only use it in colder weather. When I finally got a chance to clock it....2950fps. 50fps gain was all I got out of that 22" barrel. I traded the rifle off. I remember when the Hornady manual ( late 70's) showed 7mm Mag 3400fps with the 139sp. I could not get there in a 24" 7mm mag Mod 700. I could only get 2950/160 PT either, not the 3100fps in the maual! ( IMR 4350) I later found Joy in both the 7mm STW and the 7mm RUM...but bigger/heavier rifles, which I found out that do not work for me here in the mountains. Nothing is as sweet in my hands as a standard caliber in a Mod 70 FWT Classic or Mod 700 Classic. My new to me older Tanger Mod 77 338WM with a very customized slimmed/trimmed/recheckered stock is a good candidate too. I now just have it and a Mod 70 FWT in 7x57. I'll shoot the 7mm Mauser to "modern" pressures, but sure won't try to make it like a properly loaded .280. I say "properly" as when I started loading for a regular .280 the factory ammo pressures were set for the Model 740/742. Jim Carmichael's writings turned me on to two magnificent calibers...the properly loaded .280 and the 338WM. I tend to judge all other by those two, even more so than the 30-06! I guess I got "tainted"..:)
I never clocked it but 55gr/IMR 4831/139 Hornady shot 1" perfect triangle, 3 shot groups from my first Mod 77 .280/22" bbl. Any guess as to how fast that was? I don't know is why I'm asking? Shot my first "Long Range" ( for East, Tx) buck at 276 long steps...and was called a liar about that even! ha

tag

Old thread but what the heck, I enjoyed seeing Bob's posts again.

In mine, both I-7828 and R-26 get me to 3050 with 150 NBTs, with good accuracy out of a 24" barrel.

My first load today in new kreiger bbl on pre 64 action. H4831SC, 63.0 gr, 139 gr barnes LRX came in at 3/8" @100.. I quit!

This is my intent.

Yes, I realize it’s an old post.

I had a Ruger 77 tang safety rifle in 280 Remington "improved" to 280 A.I. back around 1990. The rifle is long gone, but I still have the barrel. Also gone are my load notes.

I recently acquired a new 280 A.I. rifle, a Savage 100 Hunter from a guy here at the 'fire. It has a 5R barrel. I haven't shot it a lot, but enough to see that it is quite accurate. I have been busy fire-forming brass and shooting moderate loads. I'm not looking for 7mm Remington Magnum velocities.

That said, has anyone tried RL-26 in his 280 A.I.? I recently loaded 61 grains of RL-26 under a 150 grain Nosler Partition. Velocity was only 2,860 fps, practically a starting load. The Lee loading manual velocities seem to match my velocities pretty closely. Nosler velocities are higher than mine with similar powder charge weights and the same Nosler bullets.

I now have plenty of RL-26 so I would also like to try it with some 140's. I've been trying IMR-4831 and RL-22 with ok accuracy but nothing stellar.
H4831 SC seems to be the powder for 120's. Just shot this group yesterday.

300 yd group with H4831/ 120 BT