280 ackley improved

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flatsticks

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Hello and good day everybody .

Going to be loading a new caliber and wanted some suggestion on powder , bullets and brass .

First question is on brass , I know you can use 280 brass fireform it in the gun or is there an advantage to buying Nosler 280 ackley improved brass ?

Powder 4831 seems to be mentioned for this gun , is it a go to ?

Bullets are not easy to find right now was looking for maybe 156 Berger classic hunter for hunting and Sierra 168 ( suggested by a guy I know who has 7mm rifles ) for the range .

Any other ideas on good accurate hunting bullets will be used just for deer .
 
I just started loading for a 280 ai. There are a few powders that give good velocities, h4381is just one. I loaded up 40 rds with imr 4350 cause that's what I had the most of, but could have used h4350, imr 4831. H1000, or ramshot hunter. Right now hunter tends to be cheaper, at least at midsouth shooters supply, but is more temp sensitive than the others I've used.

I had a supply of Hornaday 139 interlock btsp that I shoot in my 7mm08, that will shoot sub moa out to 300 meters, as long as I do my part, but others I've used are also quite accurate like 140 nosler Ballistic tips, Sierra game kings and prohunters. I've used Hornaday sst's, the first design accurate but explosive on game.

flatsticks said:
Hello and good day everybody .

Going to be loading a new caliber and wanted some suggestion on powder , bullets and brass .

First question is on brass , I know you can use 280 brass fireform it in the gun or is there an advantage to buying Nosler 280 ackley improved brass ?

Powder 4831 seems to be mentioned for this gun , is it a go to ?

Bullets are not easy to find right now was looking for maybe 156 Berger classic hunter for hunting and Sierra 168 ( suggested by a guy I know who has 7mm rifles ) for the range .

Any other ideas on good accurate hunting bullets will be used just for deer .
Click to expand...
 
Barnes TTSX have been the most accurate hunting bullets in my rifles. 120 or 140 gr would be great and both are in stock at several places according to ammoseek.com
 
“Powder 4831” is not a powder. H4831 and IMR4831 are two different and distinct powders, both are appropriate for heavier bullets in the .280AI. What will the OP be hunting and at what distance, the 156 Berger may not be the best choice compared to lighter bullets. And why not use the same bullet for hunting and range shooting? That way the OP becomes familiar with a single load and won’t need to re-sightin his rifle for hunting.

https://hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-data-center?rdc=true&type=54



.
 
If your rifle was custom chambered I would suggest fireforming from standard 280 brass. This can be done using some fast pistol powder like Unique and toilet paper to save components.

Only reason being if it was custom chambered the Nosler brass may or may not chamber at all or improperly. If you go the Nosler route might be wise to see if your able to pick one up to try before you buy bulk.
 
.284 bullets seem to be the hardest to come by these days. Haven’t seen Nosler Accubonds in this caliber, regardless of weight in well over a year. Not many Bergers either. Like someone said, there have been some Barnes available, I just haven’t seen them.

I used RL19 in my .280. Don’t know much about the AI though.
 
I did a quick search at midsouth shooters supply and midway and there are several 284 bullets available at each retailer like 150 gr sst. 162 eldx that should work well for both range and hunting in the 280 ai.
 
Thanks for the updated suggestions.

Would love to have one bullet choice for hunting and the range but they have not been easy to find .

Have had good luck with berger bullets in my other guns.

Main target will be deer and max range would be 300-350 yars across open fields.

Will have to chek out Midway and midsouth for bullets .

Was thinking of picking up 50 Nosler brass and see how they work out but the thought of regular 280 bass does make sense also.
 
IMG_4657.JPG I don't have a 280 AI but I use a 280 Remington which is very similar but uses about 4 grains less powder. As for brass I have tried Nosler, Remington and Winchester. The Remington is of poor quality, the Nosler has a very tight primer pocket and I have been happier with Winchester nickel plated brass. The Winchester brass is easy to load and the nickel plating is so slick that the action works very smooth. Any of this brass will easily fire form to your chamber. As for powder I have had really good success with IMR 4831. I have also tried IMR 4350, Reloader 17, Reloader 19 and Reloader 22 but the IMR 4831 really works best. If you are a deer hunter I would stick to 140 grain bullets because they are a joy to use. The Sierra 140 GameKing is my target bullet because it is cheap but it can also be used for hunting. For hunting I prefer the Nosler Partition 140 and a high shoulder shot puts the animal down really fast. I have taken animals out to about 300 yards and the Nosler Partition is as good as it gets.
 
Last edited:
flatsticks said:
sage5907,

Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions. would love to try the Nosler Partition 140 but they are nowhere to be found at this time .

Very nice deer in that pic that you took .
Click to expand...
The 139 SST works very well for my brother with IMR 4831.
When I built the rifle I had worked up a load with H1000 and a 154 SST that was just as accurate. But he likes lighter bullets.
 
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