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Old December 28, 2012, 11:41 PM   #1
DeerSlayer86
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What's your favorite 280 AI recipe?

Going to start loading for 280 AI and was wondering what your pet recipes are for this one. I'll do a lighter load 120 grain and a heavier one in 160 or 168,171, 175...something like that. Will use barnes ttsx and LRX and play with the accubonds too.

And for brass...do you find it's best just to fire form 280 rem brass or get the nosler 280 AI brass?? Thanks guys
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Old December 29, 2012, 09:15 AM   #2
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What kind of rifle you got?
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Old December 29, 2012, 12:50 PM   #3
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Cooper 52
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Old December 29, 2012, 02:35 PM   #4
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One of the gun rags just ran an article about the 280 AI.
PM if you want me to try and locate it./
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Old December 29, 2012, 07:58 PM   #5
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I use Nosler brass and they have good reloading data for the 280AI and I've had good luck using their load for 160AB with IMR-7828 and I like R-17 also.

I read article that Cooper putting together a custom loading program for their rifles you might want to give them a call or see what powder they use to test load with for the 280AI.
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Old December 30, 2012, 07:03 PM   #6
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Old Roper...do you find the nosler 280 AI brass is the way to go? Opposed to fireforming 280 rem brass? Its less work, thats for sure! The last batch of Nosler cusrom brass I got for a different rifle I was pretty disappointed in it. Way over trimmed the case length and the contricity on the neck from case to case was not good. But they're the only ones I know of that are making AI brass. The barnes guys told me to start at a max load from their 280 rem data and work up to about 7-10% above that...do you think that would be a general rule to start with?
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Old December 30, 2012, 10:18 PM   #7
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DeerSlayer86,

My wife's 280AI was completed prior to Nosler brass but her chamber was cut for it so had to fireform some brass using COW method. Since I load at range after I got few cases formed I started load development using 150gr TSX and data was from Nosler manual. I had lot of new Rem brass left over from my 7mm Express days and only different between the Rem and Nosler brass in that rifle was cost.

I've had pretty good luck with Nosler data for the 280AI vs Hodgdon. If I don't have data what I do is start with data say for the 280 and I use start load and work up from there and I chronograph each load. Reason I like Nosler data they use 26" long barrel for the 280AI my wife's barrel is 25.5" and mine is 27" long. If you got 24" might start with Hodgdon data.

One of these day I'm going to firefrom some of the Win 280 nickel brass got me about 100rd of that stuff.

You had bad experience with Nosler brass just fireform some get what you want. I've got 5 ackley's besides the 280AI's so was nice to have break with the Nosler brass got 6 boxes of it when it came out.

Well good luck
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Old December 31, 2012, 12:35 AM   #8
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I found a couple boxes of the nosler brass so ill give it a whirl. I know they make good stuff. My barrel is 26" so I'll use the nosler stuff start and cross reference with the other published stuff out there.

Old Roper,

What kind of velocities are you getting with 27" vs your wife's 25.5"? In the 150-160 grain range?
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Old December 31, 2012, 12:07 PM   #9
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DeerSlayer86, My wife's rifle doesn't shoot same load as I do so not much on comparing loads. If you look at last couple load in Nosler manual for the 160gr AB I get mid 3000fps couple grs under max and most of that in the barrel.
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Old December 31, 2012, 04:43 PM   #10
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fire forming was the only option when Ackley cut his chambers!

Commercial cut 280AI chambers are different (longer) than Ackleys chamber, Ackley cut his chambers with a standard 280rem chamber reamer .004 under minimum, a ackley improved reamer for the second reaming to clean out all of the first cut chamber so the rifle would chamber and fire standard 280Rem ammunition. I was a student at Trinidad St Jr College 1999-2001 so I am familiar with this chambering, I built a 280Rem rifle with the standard configuration in my rifle. Commercial chambers now are close but not the same.. Standard 280Rem rounds fired in the current commercial 280AI will have to stretch more as a result of this change..William

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Old December 31, 2012, 06:46 PM   #11
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The 280AI has been SAAMI spec since 2008

http://www.saami.org/PubResources/CC...20Improved.pdf
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Old December 31, 2012, 07:58 PM   #12
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Nosler took the 280AI chambering to SAAMI to have it standardized, by a vote of the members of SAAMI they found there was Ackley's original design and a version by Remington's custom shop that was .014" shorter. To avoid confusion they changed Ackleys design by lengthening the chamber. Current production 280AI ammunition as produced by Nosler will not chamber in a genuine 280AI, they are too long!! For the people that have a genuine 280AI chamber they can use 280Rem ammo or virgin cases in there rifles to form cases. William

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Old December 31, 2012, 10:23 PM   #13
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William, I heard all that before and seen the drawing.

When Nosler and Sierra published the drawings in their manual for the 280AI before it was SAAMI spec and not sure how many rifles build with those chambers. What little I know about the Ackley's if I had one build back then I'd fireformed some brass and I think Nolser had those drawing in their manual #4 and #5. Long before Nolser came out with #6 it was known there was going to be changes as that manual came out 1 yr before 280AI became SAAMI spec. Manson was making reamers for that Nosler brass before it was SAAMI spec.

I would of assumed someone who purchase that brass would of checked that brass against their existing brass. I would of done it just see how good they match chamber see if they got shoulder sharp etc. I'm not saying it should be buyer beware and it's not first time this has happened and it's real hard for me to figure someone not hold those two cases together comparing them and looking at them.

As far as true Ackley that's always be debated for gunsmith. You have some won't set the barrel back and some argue headspace and I'm not sure if I was in the business I won't of done the same thing as Nosler did. I got 5 other Ackley's right and I had about another 12 build since the early 80's so I've had my mix of Ackley chambers most of them were good.
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Old December 31, 2012, 11:05 PM   #14
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I've never cut an Ackley chamber, however I have cut two 280Rem chambers, one for myself and the other for my son. With the Ackley cut chamber I would feel a bit more comfortable because standard ammunition can be fired in it and standard 280Rem cases can be used to form cases. I think it would have been simplier if the Ackley version of the 280AI had been adopted instead of the Nosler/SAAMI version Nosler is building. I have two 280Rem rifles I'm happy with, I have gauges for the standard chambering so that's another reason to stay away from the AI no matter which version it is. William

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Old January 1, 2013, 09:28 AM   #15
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William, as you know you can headspace without gauges. All my mags are done that way and I've had AI done that way and I'm sure Nosler may of not wanted the liability on a wildcat rd. The armchair quarterbacks didn't help either and they set the PSI for the AI. How many time have you heard equal pressure for the AI and it's a given you build an AI this is how you do it.

I've said this for years you build an AI it should be consider new case and not be tied to the pressure of the parent case. If you look at Hodgdon data for the 280AI they run it over spec pressure.

What would happen if Nosler did make that brass and something happen with one of those older chambers who's got the deepest pockets.

The did the same with the 6mm PPC (Palmisano & Pindel Cartridge), or 6 PPC which was what Sako and Ruger chambered their in rifle it's better know as the 6ppc USA chamber and here is clip on it.

Both SAKO and Norma make factory-formed 6PPC cases, but these are not commonly used. The Sako 6PPC USA is slightly larger, and will not fit in most current match chambers.
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Old January 6, 2013, 12:57 PM   #16
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...bring it back to topic guys

There has been a lot of good info posted about the chamber differences and all kinds of fun stuff but I am looking for a much more simple answer here . So what are you finding are your go to powders and bullet weights? Its a 26" barrel so I'm thinking along the lines of IMR and H4831, RL22...stuff like that. Any suggestions?
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