Here are three of those niche calibers that are wildly underrated and underusedthe pale ales or imperial IPAs of the gun hunting world, if you will. We show you how. This is one of the most interesting points of comparison between the 7mm Rem Mag and .280 AI though. The .280 Ackley Improved will hit him with 1533 ft-lbs and drop 34.2. That being said, the .280 AI is clearly a little closer in performance to the 7mm Rem Mag than it is to the .280 Remington. Ever since, the .280 Ackley Improved has earned great popularity in the US market. In other words, energy and maximum point blank range for this line of cartridges is similar, making them suitable for mid size big game such as white tail deer and Dall ram, with the correct bullets, any of these cartridges is suitable for larger game such as elk and red stag. The result was the .270 Winchester cartridge, which they released in 1925 with the Winchester Model 54 rifle. MidwayUSA offers the Nosler M21, but youll find that there truly isnt as large of an offering available in rifles chambered in .280 Ackley Improved as youll find in other common calibers. Importantly, although SAAMI specd the .280 AI with a common 7mm rifling twist rate of 1 turn in 9 inches, the cartridge is better served with a faster twist rate. Among other things, hes particularly well known for his series of Ackley Improved cartridges. In this article, Im going to do a detailed comparison of the 270 vs 280 Remington vs 280 Ackley Improved vs 7mm Remington Magnum in an effort to answer the above questions and parse out the differences between those four cartridges so you can make an informed decision regarding which one will work best for you. Great article and comparison of similar cartridges. Ive taken several whitetail deer with rifles chambered in .300 Blackout. Youre bound to see a few stacks of .308, .270, and .243, but finding .280 Ackley Improved may be virtually impossible in your area. The relatively new .280 AI is nowhere near as common as the 270 or 7mm Rem Mag. New horizons and beers are on tap. $84.49 ($4.22/count) Out of Stock. Going longer gains little; going shorter loses too much. Mag. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. For ammo, check out Federals 150g Power Shok cartridge. Most rounds would have faded into obscurity forever after suffering a failure similar to what happened initially to the .280 Remington. Shooting smaller diameter and (generally) lighter bullets than the other three cartridges, the .270 Winchester has a very flat (though not the flattest) trajectory and the least recoil of the bunch, but also carries the least energy downrange and is the most vulnerable to wind drift. You can find rifles of all varieties chambered in .300 Blackout. Mag. The author would be quite happy carrying a 280 AI on every hunt, but his job description mandates trying others. Ive watched my hunting partner Thomas Provstgaard shoot the 139-grain LRX clean through stout-bodied African plains game, including a steeply angled shot on a massive 55-inch kudu bull. Cases obtained by firing--and thus fireforming--standard cartridges through Ackley's improved chamber could be handloaded to give improved performance. Others opted to neck down the .30-06 case to use smaller diameter bullets (like the .25-06 Remington), which is what the folks at Winchester did when they modified the case to use .277 instead of .308 bullets. Why did the .280 Remington struggle to initially gain traction in the commercial shooting and hunting market? And might also be interested in our 6.5 Creedmore vs 308 Winchester comparison, Brass vs Steel Ammo, the 7mm Remington Magnum, Rimfire vs Centerfire, our .5.56 vs .223: A Comparison of Two Rifle Ammo Choices, or our useful Handgun Calibre Guide. Weatherby chambers many of their rifles in the .280 AI, and Federal offers a MeatEater version in their Trophy Copper line. Calling and shooting predators is one of the things that helps hunters get from the end of the fall seasons to when the turkeys start gobbling. 280 Ackley Improved 280 Ackley Improved 120gr Barnes TTSX. Handloading the 280 AI is straightforward and easy with a wide variety of medium- to slow-burning powders, but this isnt a handloading-only cartridge these days. Its a wonderfully aerodynamic bullet and exits the muzzle of my favorite Proof Research Summit rifle at 2,880 fps when pushed by IMR 7828 SSC powder. actually preceded it by 18 years. Some gun designers necked up the .30-06 to develop bigger cartridges like the 338-06 and the.35 Whelen. Peak trajectory would be 4.96-inches above point-of-aim at 175 yards. A primary advantage of the .280 Ackley Improved is the increased magazine capacity. Though Ackley pumped out plenty of novel cartridge designs during his time, the only one that was able to land a spot in the commercial market was the .280 Ackley Improved. The belted 7x61mm Sharpe & Hart Super came out in 1953. Similarly, by shooting a 280 AI instead of 7mm Rem. If you have a rifling twist thats fast enough, the .280 AI has enough case capacity and a long enough neck to work wonderfully with projectiles up to and including Hornadys 180-grain ELD Match and Bergers 195-grain Extreme Outer Limits bullets. Thats absolutely true. Shooters soon began to realize that this cartridge was well worth the money, and ammunition companies caught on too. This plays a significant role in its rising popularity, as well see. RCBS #3. As you can see, even though they have a very similar trajectory with both light and heavy for caliber bullets, the .280 Remington has a clear advantage over the .270 Winchester in terms of wind drift. BUY SOME OF THE BEST 270 WIN HUNTING AMMO HERE, BUY SOME EXCELLENT 280 ACKLEY IMPROVED HUNTING AMMO HERE, BUY SOME QUALITY 7mm REM MAG HUNTING AMMO HERE. Mag. This 1972 classic stars Robert Redford as an ex-soldier who forsakes civilization for a new life in cold, indifferent lands already home to Indian tribes. Head to Head: .280 Ackley Improved vs. 7mm Rem. Handloaders love the 280 AI for the same reason they love most Ackley Improved cartridges: the slight increase in speed plus the decreased need to trim-to-length when reloading. The .280 AI will never replace with .270 Win., but its a cartridge of equal or grater capability that deserves its place at the table as a legitimate factory round. In addition to all being excellent choices for deer sized game, these cartridges are also suitable for bigger creatures under the right circumstances. From $ 142.99. Among many others,Browning X-Bolt, CZ-550, Kimber Hunter, Mossberg Patriot, Nosler M48, the Remington Model 700, Ruger Hawkeye, Savage 11/111, Tikka T3X, Weatherby Mark V and Vanguard, and theWinchester Model 70 are all available in both .270 Winchester and 7mm Remington Magnum. Several manufacturers make bolt-action rifles chambered in .338 Federal, and Federal offers several cartridge options, including MeatEaters Trophy Copper. Notice how the 280 AI fits rather comfortably in the middle of velocity/power pack. Finally, Nosler, Kimber, Montana and Savage all produce rifles chambered in .280 Ack Imp. Federal Premium TROPHY COPPER .280 Remington Improved 140 grain Trophy Copper Centerfire Rifle Ammunition. At the top end, for extended-range work, I like Hornadys 175-grain ELD-X. Best 270 Rifles For Hunting Ultimate Guide. Give a Gift Instead of using the much more commonly used .284/7mm bullets like the 7mm Mauser (and many newer cartridges like the 7mm-08), for reasons that arent clear today, the .270 Winchester used .277 bullets. All Rights Reserved, Borden's 7mm Rem. The unique roots of the 7mm Remington Magnum and the shared heritage of the .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, and the .280 Ackley Improved are all obvious in the photo below. The smaller diameter of the 280 Rem. First, they introduced the .280 Remington in their Model 740 autoloader. Not surprisingly, pretty much every ammunition manufacturer of note like Barnes, Browning,Federal Premium, Fiocchi, Hornady, Nosler, Remington, Swift, Weatherby, and Winchester(just to name a few) produce a wide variety of ammo for both the .270 Win and the 7mm Rem Mag. Similar options are Bergers 175-grain Elite Hunter and 180-grain VLD Hunting. As the mathematicians among us know, when you increase diameter, frontal surface area increases exponentially. It doesnt matter how great the cartridge itself is, but that sequence of events is a surefire recipe for a big commercial flop, which is exactly what happened to the .280 Remington. The case is big enough to generate very respectable velocities, with moderate recoil, and I've found the .280 AI to be very accurate. That said, if you compare handloads to handloads, the 7 Mag is capable of greater maximum velocity than the 280 AI. and the .280 Ackley Improved is the steeper 40 degree, which lengthens the case body and allows for about 5 percent more powder capacity. That being said with proper bullets, and I tend towards the 150 grain in .270 though Ive had good results with the 130s. Barrel length is another thing you should keep in mind. However, the .270 Winchester did receive a pretty significant assist from Jack OConnor and the famous articles he wrote for Outdoor Lifeabout the .270 over the years. In stock. The differences between the .280 Remington and the .280 Ackley improved are minimal. However, the reduced body taper and sharper shoulder can sometimes cause feeding issues with certain rifles. According to Derek Peterson, president of Peterson Cartridge, "The .280 Ackley Improved casing will launch a 7mm, 120 gr . In my experience, the .280 AI generates nearly as much velocity as the popular 7mm Rem. or the 7 mm Rem. The Big Game Hunting Blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com.au, and other Amazon stores worldwide. Choose Your .284/7mm Projectile Youll see similar results when comparing the .280 Ackley Improved with a .270, as the AI will shoot somewhere around 300 fps faster than the .270. 1 chambered for the cartridge and a year later announced the .280 AI in the superb Hawkeye African line of rifles. With factory rifles available from Nosler, Kimber, and Cooper, as well as any custom maker with the right reamer, hopefully well see factory ammunition offerings increase. Shellholders: Hornady #1. In this case, it takes about 6% more powder to produce about 1.5% more velocity and this results in about6-7% more recoil. Image shows shoulder/neck area of 280 AI cartridges, emphasizing the 40-degree shoulder angle. Can Coolers | An Official Journal Of The NRA, Find More Great NRA Publications Perfect For Every Interest, Discover Everything That The NRA Has To Offer. Additionally, since it has such an efficient design, the .280 AI doesnt use as much powder as the 7mm Remington Magnum to achieve nearly the same level of performances. However, for hunting, there are better balanced options for the .280 AI. Many consider the .270 Winchester to be on the light side for elk andmoose hunting, but especially when using heavy, premium quality bullets (like the Nosler Partition), its absolutely capable of getting the job done. The .280 AI can push a 120g round about 3,200 fps (about as fast as a typical 55g .223 Rem.) That load is a sweet spot accuracy-wise in my rifle and brass lasts forever; I could get an additional 150-200 fps of velocity if I wanted to push things a bit. Ackley Improved 40 degrees, this cartridge was standardized by Nosler and accepted by SAAMI in 2008. Regardless of the cartridge you choose, youll have a gigantic bullet selection consisting of virtually every major style of bullet to choose from like the Barnes TTSX, Berger VLD, the Hornady ELD-X, GMX, InterBond, InterLock, and SST, the Nosler AccuBond, AccuBond Long Range, Ballistic Tip, E-Tip, and Partition, the Remington Core Lokt, the Swift Scirocco and A-Frame, and the Winchester Power Point (just to name a few). velocities with less recoil and muzzle blast. The results are also about what youd expect for the Hornady Precision hunter loads for those three cartridges. It was intact and weighed nearly 100 percent. The .280 Ackley Improved offers a modest ballistic improvement over the .280 Remington in terms of trajectory, wind resistance, and retained energy. This undoubtedly has an impact on bullet velocities. performance by about the same speeds. When you bump up to the magnum .30s, comparisons change. I hit the Cape buffalo squarely in the chest with a .375 Holland & Holland, a cartridge the size of a banana. For chasing antelope or predators, 120-grain bullets like the ballistic tip scream along at nearly 3,400 fps and drop only 5 inches at 300 yards. Before we get started, I have an administrative note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. Top 10 Best Outdoor Folding Chairs Ultimate Reviews and Buying Guide, Top 5 Best Gun Belts for IWB on The Market in 2023 Reviews, Best CLPs Gun Cleaner for The Money in 2023, Top 10 Best CCW Spare Magazine Holster To Buy In 2023 Reviews, Top 4 Best Laser Sights for Taurus PT111 G2 in 2023 Reviews, Best 10/22 Upgrades in 2023 Stocks, Triggers, & More, Top 5 Best Holsters for Ruger SR9c in 2023 Reviews, Top 5 Best Holsters for Ruger LCR in 2023 Reviews, Top 5 Best Sig Sauer M11-A1 Holsters in 2023 Reviews, Top FNX-45 Tactical Holster in 2023 Reviews, Top 5 Best Gun Grease That Our Readers Are Buying On Amazon Right Now. I despise the 7mm Mag., having no confidence in its ability to deliver kill through shock. Since its inception in the late 1950s, the cartridge has continued to pick up steam among big-game hunters, especially those looking to extend their maximum effective range on medium- to large-bodied . However, the cartridge shoots larger diameter bullets that are generally heavier. 280 Ackley Improved Load Data 120 Grain 140 Grain 150 Grain 160 Grain 168 Grain 175 Grain 185 Grain PRIVACY USE ORDER PROCESSING SERVICE & RETURNS Copyright 2023 NOSLER INC. Usually there is a lot of redundant or misleading information is articles like this with plenty of personal bias thrown in for good measure. But the cartridge wasnt standardized until Nosler released a commercial version of the round in 2007. Here's why: 280 AI shoots 50 fps to 100 fps faster than the 280 Remington with the same bullets in the same standard-length actions. Copyright 2023 Big Game Hunting Adventures LLC | All Rights Reserved. These modifications resulted in added capacity, which increased velocity, and less case stretch, which resulted in longer case life. Just why did the .280 Ackley Improved stick? To fully-realize the versatility of this cartridge, youll either need to handload or be willing to purchase custom loaded ammunition. That seems early until you learn the 280 Ross, quite popular in Canada and leaking down into the U.S., was a 1906 release. He didnt even flinch! Your articles are not like that. So, if it wasnt bad enough that the management at Remington didnt fully get behind the cartridge and offer it in a bolt-action rifle from the start, they also kept changing its name. You need to carefully analyze your potential needs and choose the one(270 vs 280 Remington vs 280 Ackley Improved vs 7mm Rem Mag) that you think will fit them best. Not only is it a belted magnum cartridge, but it has a larger rim diameter anda 25 degree shoulder. Bottles & 12-oz. Like many calibers, the .280 Ackley Improved (AI) is underrated only by those who have never used it. The rifle is so accurate and the round so effective that I have rarely needed more than one shot per animal. If not, then you should probably stay away from the .280 Ackley Improved (unless youre fine with just 1-2 brands as factory ammo options) and go with either the .270 or the 7mm Mag. Access the newest seasons of MeatEater, save content, and join in discussions with the Crew and others in the MeatEater community. Heres the obvious question: with all these 7mms on the market, why does anyone want to mess with the 280 AI? Remington made an attempt at knocking the .270 Winchester off its perch when they rolled out the .280 Remington cartridge in 1957. 74.79 $. At this point, only Federal, Nosler, and Hornady make .280 Ackley Improved factory ammo. Joseph Von Benedikt shows his custom 500 and how well it shoots. I went through the similar analysis on options however when I got my .280 R, the .280 AI did not have factory ammo. My first 280 AI was a 5-pound Rifles, Inc. Strata Stainless built by Lex Webernick. I meant, of course, a good bear tale where a grizzly or Alaska brown bear got the upper hand and chewed off the hunters scalp. The 7mm Remington Magnum comes next at 61,000psi and is followed by the .270 Winchester and .280 AI, which both have a maximum SAAMI pressure of 65,000psi. For a decade or more, the .280 AI has been my favorite all-around cartridge for big game in the West. Thats not a gigantic difference, but its also not nothing either. However, the brass is then fireformed to .280 AI after doing so, which is yet another reason why its a good idea to handload if you like the .280 AI. Indeed, the .280 Ackley Improved (280 AI) is one of the newest SAAMI standardized rifle cartridges on the block. The barrel band swivel was intended to give it a European "safari-style" flair. However, even though the cartridge closely approaches the overall performance of the 7mm Remington Magnum, the .280 AI still has somewhat less recoil since it requires less powder to achieve a similar level of performance. So, Remington renamed the cartridge AGAIN after a few years and went back to the .280 Remington, which is what its called today. .280 Ackley Improved - Published Manufacturer Loading Data. Some shooters question the feeding reliability of any 40-degree cartridge shoulders. For example, when using the same weight bullet, .280 Ackley Improved factory ammunition typically shoots 50-150 (usually around 100 fps faster) than most .280 Remington factory ammo. Semi-automatic and striker-fired, the P320-XTEN is extremely accurate, easy to shoot even with powerful 10mm loads and holds 15-plus-one rounds. It's also a 30-06 rim-size. The difference is about 14 percent. The .280 Ackley Improved (.280 AI) was registered with SAAMI in 2007 by Nosler. This sharper shoulder can also increase case life, which is a good thing for the handloader. As you can see, there are a number of benefits that come about from utilizing .280 Ackley Improved. Are you looking for a great cartridge for sheep, mountain goat, ortahr huntingwhere you need a heavy hitting cartridge with manageable recoil in a lightweight and easy to carry rifle? This item: RCBS .280 Ackley Improved F L Die Set $75.99 RCBS Single Stage Shell Holder, Hardened Shell Holder $12.36 Customers also search Page 280 ackley improved brass 280 ackley improved rcbs 280 remington hornady overall length gauge lee precision reloading case length gauge From the brand Reloading Kits Visit the Store POWDER DISPENSERS This was an incredibly high velocity for the 1920s and was a tremendous speed improvement over the .30-06 Springfield, which was itself considered a very high velocity cartridge for the day. Its a legitimate, repeatable 0.40-MOA bullet in my Proof rifle, and even though velocity with that tuned handload is modest, at 2,870 fps, it has proven to be excellent on mule deer and elk. Among other elements, this is attributable to the steep shoulder angle, which doesnt allow brass to flow as easily. Drive Nosler's 150-grain AccuBond Long Range bullet 3,050 fps in a 10 mph wind, zero it for maximum-point-blank-range (10-inch target,) and with a dead-center aim your bullets should stay within that target out to 376 yards. Walther's new Performance Duty Pistol is ready for both concealed carry and conventional service situations. Handloaders will find this cartridge to be pretty forgiving and simple to load. Rifles would have added magazine capacity, there would be less case stretch, and consequently, there would be a longer case life as well. The .280 AIs additional case capacity does good things, but it doesnt change laws of physics. 280 AI Rifle Inc. in a backpack on a glacial moraine. There may be others. Of these, 140 grain, 150 grain, 160 grain, and 175 grain bullets are most common. Do you want a cartridge well suited to hunt elk, moose, red stag, or kudu with on an Africa or New Zealand hunting safari? 280 Remington chambers can be easily converted to 280 AI. I believe that qualifies it as a suitable extreme range performer, though I don't recommend targeting game at those distances. Mag. Can the .280 AI really live up to the claim made by some that it can do everything the 7mm Mag can do, but with less recoil? is One Gun To Rule Them All. Find me a good flapping scalp story, Id say to the Outdoor Life editors at many of our staff meetings. Savage 110 Hunter .280 Ackley Improved Bolt Action Rifle 22" Barrel 4 Rounds Syn. Since it uses a larger diameter case derived from the .375 H&H, the 7mm Magnum has a very large powder capacity and is capable of shooting the same weight bullet faster than the .30-06. If you are a handloader though, the choice is a no-brainer. This isn't your grandpa's muzzleloading system. I shoot federal 280 150 gn nossler. This gives shooters a lot of options in rifle brands. With 200-grain bullets pushed at 2,900 fps or so, the big .30s clearly impact with more visible resulton both ends. So, when it comes to 7mm versus .280 Ackley Improved, it appears that theres a very clear winner. Mag., it was based on a shortened 300 H&H case. As a result, recoil is around 5 percent less. Both Nosler and Hodgdon provide detailed loading data for the .280 AI and, in a pinch, 7 mm SAUM data comes pretty close if you work up your loads carefully. For those reasons, most 7mm Remington Magnum loads have more energy remaining downrange, a flatter trajectory, and (all other things being equal) will penetrate better than .30-06 Springfield loads using the same weight bullets. 6.5 Creedmoor vs. 6.5 PRC: Which is Better? This helps support the blog and allows me to continue to create free content thats useful to hunters like yourself. Given the rising popularity of long, sleek, aerodynamically efficient bullets, Id go with the 1-8.Rebarreling is a great option if you already have a shot-out barrel on any standard-length action. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/1G7xXag. Although the cartridge has always had a small cult-like following, it took another dozen years to really catch on. Later, they also offered it in their Model 742 autoloader and Model 760 slide action before finally offering it in the Model 721 and 725 bolt-action rifles. That being said, all four cartridges are generally good options for reloaders. The .270 Winchester has by far the least recoil of the bunch. As you can see, that particular 7mm Mag load has a little morefree recoil energy than the .280 AI when used in the same weight rifle, but is shooting the same bullet only 50 feet per second faster. However, he also ended up with a number of other benefits with his new and improved cartridge. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. | AccuBond Long Range 2,930 fps, Hornady Precision Hunter 162-gr. 1/6/2023 Stephen. Taurus has redesigned this sporting pistol for performance. Its also true that those .280 AI loads generally require a little less powder and thus produce less free recoil energy (all other things being the same). 280 Ackley Improved To set the stage for this cartridge description, you should know that it is but one of more than a dozen commercially loaded 7mm cartridges now on the market that fire .284-inch diameter (28-caliber) bullets. Remember, ejecta (exploding gases and particulates exiting the muzzle) contributes greatly to recoil. Not only does the .280 AI offer a noticeable ballistic advantage over the .280 Remington, but its also capable of performance nearly on par with the 7mm Remington Magnum.

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