If you are a handloader though, the choice is a no-brainer. Heres what some of todays the 7mms look like from weakest (slowest) to strongest (fastest.) The .280 gets significantly more passthroughs than the .270 and it just seems to kill better. But do you know how to properly use them? Being a standard .30-06-diameter cartridge case, nearly all popular bolt-action hunting rifles will hold at least four rounds in the magazine, and many models comfortably swallow five down, plus one in the chamber. Mag. Berger VLD Hunting 3,100 fps. Subscriber Services. 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. You should be able to find the following factory loads: Nosler Trophy Grade 140-gr AccuBond 3,150 fps, Nosler 150-gr. So where do we stand with each cartridge? Im not aware of any rifles that are currently manufactured in all four cartridges, so in the interest of making as close to an apples to apples comparison as possible, I just decided to make the comparison with a hypothetical rifle that weighs exactly the same for each cartridge. For example, all three of Federal Premiums 140-grain loads for the .280 Rem. As you can imagine though, the name change resulted in a lot of confusion between the 7mm Express and the 7mm Rem Mag, which are NOT interchangeable. Savage 110 Hunter .280 Ackley Improved Bolt Action. Thanks for your support. Federal Premium TROPHY COPPER .280 Remington Improved 140 grain Trophy Copper Centerfire Rifle Ammunition. 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. Even so, the .280 Ackley Improved is not as fast as the 7mm Remington Magnum, as a few of that cartridge's avid supporters would have us believe. Last Shot Conveniently, the .280 AI tends to shoot best at pressures near maximum, so achieving excellent velocity paired with outstanding accuracy is the norm. 280 Ackley Improved Vs. 7mm Remington Magnum, Last edited on 14 February 2023, at 22:32, ".280 Ackley Improved: A Celebrated History", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=.280_Ackley_Improved&oldid=1139392825, This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 22:32. Federal. Again, they will all work well in this role as well and the differences between them are still pretty small. You present facts and options. Mag. Its also easy to see why the 7mm Remington Magnum quickly pushed the .280 Remington even further out of the limelight at first. 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 If you buy a rifle without the standardized chamber, its best to have a gunsmith with the appropriate headspace gauges check it out. For example, lowered recoil, less muzzle blast, more cartridges per magazine box, and longer barrel life are all advantages that a .280 Ackley Improved rifle has over a rifle that is shooting 7mm. 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. Among other things, hes particularly well known for his series of Ackley Improved cartridges. Mikey Hartman, Lt. Col. 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. 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. With equal barrel lengths, the Ackley Improved version gets you about 100 additional fps of velocity with a 140-grain bullet and a 24-inch barrel. Ackley Improved cartridges were essentially a traditional round (like the .270, .30-30, .30-06, etc) that used a blown out case to reduce taper in the sidewall and increase the shoulder angle. 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. Interestingly enough, Nosler also publishes a .280 Ackley Improved load with a 140gr bullet at 3,222fps that slightly exceeds the velocity of that particular 7mm Rem Mag load above. Federal Classic Hunter Berger Hybrid Rifle Ammunition.280 Ackley Improved 168 gr BTHP 2800 fps 20/ct. Maximum pressure obtained from SAAMI (p23 and 28). 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. The .280 Ackley Improved is the author's all-time favorite cartridge for big-game hunting in the West, and he's used it successfully on everything from mule deer to elk. In fact, the bull trotted off with his buddies. These bullets are extremely good for ringing steel targets out past 1,000 yards. The .280 Ackley Improved will hit him with 1533 ft-lbs and drop 34.2. Bottles & 12-oz. Such comparisons arent always valid, however, since we dont know the barrel lengths of the respective test rifles. Choose medium-slow burn rate powders, such as H4831SC and Reloder 19 for light- to midweight projectiles. The rather quick transition from straight cartridge wall to blunt shoulder does suggest potential hang ups on some rifle feed ramps, but I sure haven't experienced this on my Rifles, Inc., which is based on a Remington 700 long action. Are there other pros or cons of the .280 Ackley Improved that we didnt cover within this article? The result was a new case with slightly more (usually around 4-5%) powder capacity. Using a case length of 2.525 inches, the .280 Ackley Improved fits nice in a standard long-action receiver, and in spite of the steep shoulder, I have found the cartridge will feed well in most rifles. In a broadside situation, a shot placed behind the crease of the shoulder will result in the bullet traveling through both lungs. Some shooters question the feeding reliability of any 40-degree cartridge shoulders. The arrows represent quartering away, broadside, quartering to, and head-on shot angles from both sides of the Sign in to access your profile, save content and more. Nosler brass has always been my go-to, because its invariably near-perfect and comes weight-sorted and prepped for accuracy, meaning trimmed to length, chamfered, and deburred, and with flash holes uniformed. With all that in mind, its easy to see why lots of hunters and shooters in North America quickly got behind the flat shooting and hard hitting 7mm Rem Mag. Mag., both driving 160-grain bullets to nearly identical speeds. Those differences in the external dimensions of the .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, .280 Ackley Improved, and 7mm Remington Magnum do translate into differences in ballistic performance, though probably not quite as much as youd initially expect. Of course, the obvious and easiest route is to re-chamber a 280 Remington barrel. Typically, a rifle magazine that can hold 4-5 .270 or .280 cartridges will only be able to hold 3 7mm Remington Magnum cartridges. 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. That seems early until you learn the 280 Ross, quite popular in Canada and leaking down into the U.S., was a 1906 release. The .280 Remington is somewhat less common, but still pretty easy to find with Barnes, Federal, Hornady, Nosler, Remington, and Winchester all producing good quality .280 Remington hunting factory ammo. On another hunt, my brother-in-law took a nice buck with a little break-action rifle from about 85 yards using a 125g projectile. For a decade or more, the .280 AI has been my favorite all-around cartridge for big game in the West. The primary difference between the standard .280 Rem. Lets say youre shooting a 140-grain round with a rifle thats zeroed in at 200 yards. Indeed, depending on the exact barrel length of the rifles in question, the real world advantage one cartridge may have over the other may narrow considerably, disappear, or even flip in favor of the other cartridge. If youd like to learn how the .270 Winchester compares to its parent case in the .30-06, read the article below: 270 vs 30-06 Debate Settled Once And For All. 280 Ackley Improved .280 Ackley Improved 160 Grain Nosler AccuBond~100% Hand-Loaded!! Mag. 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. 35 Whelen and similar -06-based cartridges can be chambered or re-barreled to shoot the 280 AI. On Wednesday, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) sent a notice of intent to sue to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), due to the hunting of gray wolves in Wyomings Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. Ackley after he added a 40-degree shoulder to Fred Huntington's .280 RCBS Improved. However, there are some important differences that set them apart from each other. Compare that to a 175-grain 7mm bullet fired at 2,850 fps from the .280 AI, which generates less than 26 ft-lbs. It's also a 30-06 rim-size. The .280 Ackley Improved will hit him with 1533 ft-lbs and drop 34.2". Savage 110 High Country 280 AI Bolt-Action Rifle with Camo Stock. Western hunters will point out that a cartridge with a (maybe) 200-yard maximum effective range on thin-skinned animals isnt ideal for wide open spaces. While all four are pretty commonly available, the .270 Winchester and the 7mm Remington Magnum are by far the most popular out of the bunch. If you have the time, it is always best to let the animal turn and offer a broadside shot. They eventually got around to offering it in their legendary Model 700 bolt-action, but dropped it after a couple of years before finally reintroducing it in the Model 700 in 1979. The .280 AI is similar, with 140 grain, 150 grain, and 162 grain bullets being the basically only choices at this time in factory ammo for the cartridge. The .280 AI can push a 120g round about 3,200 fps (about as fast as a typical 55g .223 Rem.) Finally, bullet size is other big distinguishing factor between them. speeds with the same bullet. Despite the above redundant confusion of cartridges shooting .284-inch bullets, that list is not complete. As a result, recoil is around 5 percent less. Nosler offered factory-loaded ammunition and reloading components. This caliber was developed in the early 2010s for military applications. Of the two, the .280 Ackley Improved has a little less recoil, but ammo is easier to find for the 7mm Mag. 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? Why did the .280 Remington struggle to initially gain traction in the commercial shooting and hunting market? Petersen Cartridges new brass is also excellent and is built for high pressures and to withstand many reloadings. Ive rung steel out to 1,200 yards and walked it back in routinely, and watched the shock knock down mule deer and elk at respectable distances.. Its enough to significantly increase energy transfer, without impeding penetrating ability. The .280 Ackley Improved (.280 AI) was the result of the .280 Remington case modification by P.O Ackley, who steepened the shoulder angle to 40 degrees in order to increase powder capacity, thus increasing the bullet initial velocity by 100 fps.[1]. 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. Improved Military Rifle IMR 4350. How much less? 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. Heres how to avoid the poseurs and choose the right one. With that in mind, the minor differences in trajectory and retained energy between the three are not at all surprising. Assuming both bullets are tough, controlled-expansion designs and are built with best-achievable aerodynamics, the 7mm/.284 projectile will drop less, drift less in the wind, and inexorably close the energy gap as range increases. I decided to start with the Berger classic 168 and 4831. The .280 AI was developed by modifying the case from the .280 Remington. $49.99 ($2.50/count) Your muzzle velocity will be 3150 fps, and the energy straight out of the muzzle will be 3084 ft-lbs. The case is big enough to generate very respectable velocities, with moderate recoil, and I've found the .280 AI to be very accurate. The .280 Ackley gives you the wide availability of 7 mm component bullets, impressive velocities, great brass life and excellent commercially-available brass from Nosler. I used Noslers own reloading data published online (available here, here, here, and here). Some were reluctant to adopt the cartridge, but many American hunters eventually came to appreciate the flat shooting characteristics of the round as well as the fact that it was so effective on thin skinned game. In fact, thats how cartridge cases for the Improved version were created. 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. Mag., it was based on a shortened 300 H&H case. However, way out there, it absolutely trounces the .30-06, thanks to the far better aerodynamics of the 7mm bullets. Handloaders will find this cartridge to be pretty forgiving and simple to load. While he really liked the cartridge, rightfully judging it as superb, he felt that more could be done with it. Also developed by necking down a .30-06 case, the .280 Remington offered hunters a slight ballistic edge over the .270 Winchester and also utilized the more popular .284 bullets. This sharper shoulder can also increase case life, which is a good thing for the handloader. Finally, the .280 Ackley Improved is rocketing to western-hunting stardom. Berger VLD Hunting 2,950 fps, CCCC 140-gr. Even finding a rifle may prove to be somewhat difficult. For the heavier bullets from 160 to 180 grains, H4831SC, Reloder 23, H1000, and IMR 7828 SSC are excellent. Weatherby chambers many of their rifles in the .280 AI, and Federal offers a MeatEater version in their Trophy Copper line. This is illustrated in the table below comparing Nosler Trophy Grade and Hornady Precision Hunter factory ammunition loaded with 130gr AccuBond (.435 BC) and 145gr ELD-X (.536 BC) bullets in .270 Winchester, 140gr AccuBond (.485 BC) and 150gr ELD-X (.574 BC) bullets in .280 Remington, 140gr AccuBond (.485 BC) and 162gr ELD-X (.631 BC) bullets in .280 AI, and 140gr AccuBond (.485 BC) and 162gr ELD-X (.631 BC) bullets in 7mm Rem Mag. Access the newest seasons of MeatEater, save content, and join in discussions with the Crew and others in the MeatEater community. With 200-grain bullets pushed at 2,900 fps or so, the big .30s clearly impact with more visible resulton both ends. This is why the management at Nosler decided to standardize the .280 Ackley Improved and submit it to theSporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) for approval, which it received in 2008. Id wager that the .270 Winchester is a little more commonly used than the 7mm Rem Mag. Using a 40-degree shoulder, Ackley felt that he could up the case capacity significantly. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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? 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. What's the Perfect Trigger Pull Weight for a Hunting Rifle? It was a sub-0.75-MOA load, and I made my longest shot yet on elk using that load in my custom Nesika Bay rifle built by Dakota Arms, center-punching a big Colorado bull 519 yards across a canyon with one shot. Theres only one question: What are you waiting for? Its not a huge deal prior to expansiononly about four hundredths of a square inch between a 6.5mm/.264 and a 7mm/.284 diameter projectile. And it is a high performer. E tips so its ready for CA hunting. This gives shooters a lot of options in rifle brands. There are faster .284 cartridges out there than the .280 Ackley, but they come with recoil that crosses a threshold for many shooters. This undoubtedly has an impact on bullet velocities. Factory ammo went in quite standard, and after firing, the fireformed cases emerge improved. The .270 Winchester uses .277 bullets while the .280 Remington, .280 Ackley Improved, and 7mm Remington Magnum all use slightly larger .284 bullets. Make sure to watch till the end. Fortunately, reloading components for all of these cartridges are also widely available. Taurus has redesigned this sporting pistol for performance. The Mossberg 500 Pump Action Shotgun is one of the most popular home defense shotguns on the market. is One Gun To Rule Them All. 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. Lets pause and take a look at why the 7mm/.284 bore diameter is significant. Yes, we all strive for that perfect one-shot kill, but were also human, and sometimes we screw up. 139 gr. Before we get started, I have an administrative note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For this reason, the .280 AI is best suited for handloading. Reader K. Akins recently wrote to ask which cartridge I thought would benefit the most from conversion to Ackley Improved:the 260 Remington, 270 Winchester, or 7mm-08 Remington. The .280 Remington and .280 Ackley Improved (especially the Ackley Improved) are both pretty good alternatives to hunters who want a little more powerful cartridge than the .270 Winchester, but with less recoil than cartridges like the 7mm Remington Magnum and .300 Win Mag. The .270 Winchester also uses .277 bullets while the .280 Remington, .280 AI, and 7mm Remington Magnum all use .284 bullets. Its also better suited to using heavier bullets than the other cartridges. If youre interested in doing so, its also possible for a skilled gunsmith to convert a rifle in .280 Remington over to the .280 Ackley Improved chambering with a chamber reamer. That being said, all four cartridges are generally good options for reloaders. with less recoil, more magazine capacity, and longer barrel life. Such projectiles drop less and drift less in the wind, even though they do start out a bit slower than light-for-caliber bullets. Mag.? By 2007, the .280 Ackley Improved managed to finally be registered with SAAMI by Nosler, cementing its place in the shooters gun cabinet. RCBS #3. Head to Head: .280 Ackley Improved vs. 7mm Rem. During many of those critical early years, the cartridge was only available in the Model 742 autoloader. Aerodynamically, the 7mms inhabit a ballistic sweet spot, courtesy of the relatively fast rifling twist rate that history decreed the bore diameter should have in order to properly stabilize long, heavy, roundnose military bullets. Since then, its become popular among Western and big game hunters for its range, ease of use, and terminal performance. During the spring conservation order, you can hunt with outfitters from Arkansas to Saskatchewan. Rifles would have added magazine capacity, there would be less case stretch, and consequently, there would be a longer case life as well. 130 grain and 150 grain bullets are by far the most common. The cartridge uses the same case as the venerable old .308 Win., but necks it up to accept a .338-caliber projectile. Heres one last thing to consider when comparing these cartridges: magazine capacity. However, it was Nosler who, in 2007, brought the cartridge to SAAMI for approval and commercial production. 7mm Remington Magnum, 150-grain 3,250 fps, 7mm Weatherby Magnum, 150-grain 3,300 fps. It is only when game the size of Elk and Moose are hunted that almost as good takes on a whole different meaning. Case capacities and reloading data were obtained from Nosler (here, here, here, and here). 1 chambered for the cartridge and a year later announced the .280 AI in the superb Hawkeye African line of rifles. On the other hand, the .280 Remington is normally offered with 139 grain, 140 grain, or 150 grain bullets, but its possible to find a few loads with 156 grain, 160 grain, and 165 grain bullets as well. This is one of the most interesting points of comparison between the 7mm Rem Mag and .280 AI though. Last, but not least, Ive come to love Federals 155-grain Terminal Ascent bullet. Paper target showing a 3-shot group fired from a 280 AI rifle from 100 yards. My first 280 AI was a 5-pound Rifles, Inc. Strata Stainless built by Lex Webernick. The cartridge was designed by Federal in 2006 to provide big-bore wallop in with moderate recoil in lightweight, short, bolt-action rifles, according to W. Todd Woodards excellent book, Cartridges of the World. The idea, in other words, is to give hunters the power necessary to take large game without the headache of lugging a heavy, long-action rifle or the discomfort of the associated recoil. A primary advantage of the .280 Ackley Improved is the increased magazine capacity. Read the article below if youd like to learn more details about some of the various hunting rifle choices for the 270 Winchester. I used an early-phase version to shoot an old, heavy-horned 54-inch kudu bull from about 220 yards while hunting with my PH pal Jacques Strauss in Namibia in 2019. As youll see in a minute though, Remington didnt give up on the .280. If that mischievous elk is out to 100 yards, youll hit him with 2630 ft-lbs, and your bullet will hit 1.6 high. So, Remington renamed the cartridge AGAIN after a few years and went back to the .280 Remington, which is what its called today. Considering that the 7RemMag came from the same .458, .338, and .264 Magnum (belted) case, when loaded to the same pressure levels and housed in a rifle of 26, it will exceed any max velocity possible with the .280AI by at least 150fps (hand loaders have proven this fact for decades).