# .280



## swampthing (Mar 15, 2010)

Just posted about a .280 I had a while back on another thread. Just wondering if the .280 is popular out west. I know a guy that has a pile of guns and hunts out west, in Africa, Alaska, British Columbia,,,,you name it....His go to gun is a .280 ackley improved...He has killed more stuff than anybody I know and says that "nothing compares to the .280 AI on game"


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

280 is an excellent rifle. It was kind of unpopular at it's inception due to the rifles it was brought out in (remington pumps and autos) did not bring out the best in the caliber and it was not loaded to it's potential due to this.

The 280 will do everything the 270 will but probably has more versatility due to the increase in bullet weights it is capable of shooting, but not quite as versatile as the 30-06.

The 280 AI is almost a duplicate of the 7mm rem magnum.

The most probable reason for it's lack in popularity is there is so little difference to the calibers around it that were introduced prior to the 280, namely the 270 and 30-06, and the popularity of the 7mm magnum.

It has seen a rise in popularity due to the ability to be chambered in lighter mountain type rifles than the 7mm magnum.


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## swampthing (Mar 15, 2010)

Yeah and this guy says the Akley improved will surpass the 7mm magnum without the belt....Lately I have been intrigued with the 7mm and 6.5mm rounds.....The .260 is amazing......I believe the popularity of the .243 in the USA is a marketing thing.....it was called the .243 and rem came out with a better round but called it 6mm mag.......We just dont like MM in the US....I believe if the 6.5-06 would have been promoted properly, the .270 would not exist.....just my opinion though


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

A lot of things are timing, now it would seem everyone needs to have the latest and greatest. Look at the WSM, WSSM's, RUM, and RSAUM, pretty much all of the WSSM's are dead, the 270, 300 and 325 WSM seem to have a following, but really don't do any thing that can't be done with older calibers, the RSAUM's are pretty much dead, but the RUM seem to have a pretty steady following at least with the 300 and 338.

As for the metric calibers, some catch on, some don't. They seem to be more and more accepted every day.

I don't know if it is just me, but most of the reloading data really lightened up just prior to the new magnums coming out. I have 19 different reloading manuals, not counting the manuals from the powder manufacturers, spanning over 60 years, and I know in several of my rifles the max loading has dropped dramatically after staying the same for 45+ years. Then magically, all the new short magnums are now the equal of the older calibers. Or it could just be that everyone is lawyered up, or there are a bunch of crap rifles out there now in the more standard calibers that the companies are scared of.


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## Bernie P. (Sep 25, 2008)

They're very popular here in the NE.I bought one myself.


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## rasmusse (Oct 24, 2006)

I have 2 sons that guide elk hunters in Colorado and they see a number of .280's used by hunters. One client made a kill at 420 yards with a .280. I have another son that has a .280 as his main rifle and loves it. I do think it is becoming more popular these days. If you hand load it does give you a lot of options with all the 7mm bullets out there.


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## Piebald (Feb 26, 2010)

The .280 is a great round. That bullet is offered in two other setups that seemed to over shadow the .280. For a lesser recoil you have the 7mm08 and for the distance and ballistics the 7mag. If I were to choose between a .280 and a .270 I would take the .270 only because of the ease of finding ammo. Both mirror one another at the range.


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