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. !

Nothing you said is wrong, but you base it on a lot of if's. I've actually done it.
I have a min spec chamber.
I mentioned that loaded ammo is within SAAMI spec.
We are talking about Lapua brass which as you mentioned is not max sized.
I select bushing size based on desired neck tension, not chamber dimensions. If my chamber was larger by just 002", going larger would leave me with zero neck tension.

What does your Lapua brass mic out to prior to (or after) resizing? What's the neck of your fired .280 AI brass?

Doesnt have to know what it mics out at neck one down load a bullet and see what the neck dia. is with loaded bullet that will tell you.

Any information would be useful. He claims to have a min-spec chamber, but I question if that's true because if so he would be at zero clearance starting with .014 wall brass. Either the Lapua brass is very thin, or his chamber's not as small as he thinks.

I took a different route. Jon R. Sundra always used Winchester nickle plated brass for his 7 JRS, a sort of Gibbs like short neck blown out 280. I got around 500 cases at a close out bargain sale. I think the myths and misconceptions about nickle plated brass helped reduce the price. He always wrote that it had the highest capacity of any of the cases he tested.

The only thing I have done differently is to run either a stainless steel brush or one covered in 0000 steel wool inside the necks to remove any loose or extra plating. The only issue I have had is when I over annealed a batch and lost about three cases due to separation at the shoulder. I am only on about my 6th loading on the first bag but seems to be holding up fine, no trimming and so far no shoulder bump or FL re-sizing needed but will do this anyway on the next loads to head off and cambering issues.

Other rifles I have gone the Lapua route with a lessor number of cases. If you wanted cheep I would look into once fired LC 30-06 brass. You could save enough to get a hydraulic form dye if you wanted to save barrel life and components. I also used some 6.5x65 RWS brass and it was excellent even if the head dimension is undersized.

It’s not complicated. Size just enough to ham the bolt closed on the lapua -06 brass. Load a bit low and shoot them. Don’t be surprised by good accuracy while forming.

Hmmm, I sort of have the opinion now that Llama Bobs #'s don't lie. I haven't had any issues but I get where he's going with it and now rethinking things. My ammo is in spec but it doesn't leave much room for bullet release and/or variation. Anyway, I'm going to delete my posts above, not because I have an issue eating my words, but just because I don't want anyone following my advice on the topic for now.

Looks like it's too late to edit my earlier posts.

Nosler brass is excellent and what I use now. As a bonus it is properly headstamped 280 Ack. Imp. For years I fireformed Remington brass with great results, I just had to cull a few. I always fireformed new brass only and followed the instructions in the Nosler reloading manual. I don't have any experience with Hornady brass in 280.

How many loadings do you get?

6-7 before I start seeing split necks, sometimes more. I'm to lazy to anneal cases or I would probably get a few more.

take 30-06 brass and run it into your 280ai full length size die. Take a moderate book load and fire. Good for off hand practice and the reward is a fully formed 280ai brass. It is a bit short but no biggy.

Loaded up some Nosler brass with several different powder combos with 140 Nosler AB. I found IMR4831, RL22 and N165 all to be pretty accurate. I did try some factory Nosler 160 AB and they shoot excellent also. My 140 grain loads shot right around .5 moa which is excellent for the recoil. I tend not to shoot great with higher recoiling rifles.

Looks like my load will be

Nosler brass
140 grain Nosler Accubond
RL-22 63 grains
210's

Hmmmm.........

The softest brass I've ever encountered was 243 and 270 Nosler. The best at at non-premium prices has been Hornady in recent times.

Agree , add 260 to the list .

Nosler across the board bullets/brass/ammo is WAY over priced .
I use nosler 280AI brass only because i bought it on sale at cabelas years ago on sale - about $50/50ct. . Only bought it for the convience of not fireforming . Priced at $85.34 = $1.71 per case what a joke . I don't buy anything nosler not even the seconds at shooters pro shop <-- because even there the rejects aren't worth the price .

Sierra has joined nosler in expensive bullet race - none of their products come in my door .