280 Ackley

[kman300]

Those speeds seem a bit slow to me. The factory 280rem 140 btips run 3035fps in my 280 rem in 0C. Slow barrel?

 

[colonel3006]

That's a beautiful looking rifle. I really like the bronze barrel and bolt. Very nice other than bolt on wrong side. Lol.

 

[todbartell]

That's a good start. Shouldn't take to much tweaking to tighten up those groups. Speeds are not to bad either. 58.5 gr of H4831SC and a 168 Berger Classic Hunter out of my 24" Copper gives 2880 fps. You say that you are not going to hunt with the 168 Berger. What bullet do you plan to use?

I usually hunt with Barnes or Accubonds. I have 145gr LRX and 160gr AB, as well as 150gr Swift Scirocco, 162gr ELD-x, 175 ELDx

Those speeds seem a bit slow to me. The factory 280rem 140 btips run 3035fps in my 280 rem in 0C. Slow barrel?

The same box of factory 140's did 3007 fps from a 24" Kimber Montana I had a couple years back. As for the handloads, most are 3-4 grains below max. I don't doubt I'll be able to push 2950 fps with the 168gr with RL26. I'm more interested in accuracy and the node looks to be in the 2820 ballpark with RL26. I loaded up some more ammo last night with RL26 59.2grs and RL22 58.0 for a retest, will stretch it out to 300 yards next time out

 

[kman300]

I look forward to your results. How temp stable is rl26? I haven't bothered with RL powders in quite some time. I am also interested in your 145 lrx results if you plan on posting those. I couldn't get them going faster than 3k with 4451 before getting pressure signs. Might have to look into a different powder.

 

[todbartell]

I used RL17 in my last 280 Ackley with the 145gr LRX and the load I settled on was 3050 fps @ 24". Had them higher but in that rifle the accuracy was a bit better at 3050. Knocked a bull elk over nicely!

I have tested RL26 in hot/cold for a few cartridges :

300 Win Mag 175gr Barnes LRX
RL26
+22c 3125 fps
-4c 3116 fps
0.35 fps per degree

300 Win Mag 210gr Nosler ABLR
RL26
+22c ~ 2809 fps
-16c ~ 2712 fps
2.26 fps per degree

300 WSM 200gr Nosler AB
RL26
+26c ~ 2895 fps (21 round avg)
-16c ~ 2890 fps (14 round avg)
0.12fps per degree.

7mm SAUM 162gr Hornady ELD-X
RL26
+15c 2970 fps
-5c 2969 fps
.05 fps per degree

All but the one 300wm load varied very little. Not sure why that 210ABLR load dropped so much in the 300wm and the 175LRX didn't, all speeds measured by Labradar doppler

 

[kman300]

Looks like I might have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing your results.

 

[Homesteader]

I used RL17 in my last 280 Ackley with the 145gr LRX and the load I settled on was 3050 fps @ 24". Had them higher but in that rifle the accuracy was a bit better at 3050. Knocked a bull elk over nicely!

I have tested RL26 in hot/cold for a few cartridges :

300 Win Mag 175gr Barnes LRX
RL26
+22c 3125 fps
-4c 3116 fps
0.35 fps per degree

300 Win Mag 210gr Nosler ABLR
RL26
+22c ~ 2809 fps
-16c ~ 2712 fps
2.26 fps per degree

300 WSM 200gr Nosler AB
RL26
+26c ~ 2895 fps (21 round avg)
-16c ~ 2890 fps (14 round avg)
0.12fps per degree.

7mm SAUM 162gr Hornady ELD-X
RL26
+15c 2970 fps
-5c 2969 fps
.05 fps per degree

All but the one 300wm load varied very little. Not sure why that 210ABLR load dropped so much in the 300wm and the 175LRX didn't, all speeds measured by Labradar doppler

Maybe that 210g load was operating at the highest pressure, making it far more sensitive to a small increase of anymore pressure, compared to the others.

 

[remington jim]

Maybe that 210g load was operating at the highest pressure, making it far more sensitive to a small increase of anymore pressure, compared to the others.

Were the cartridges all loaded with the same LOT of RL26 ? RJ

 

[todbartell]

Were the cartridges all loaded with the same LOT of RL26 ? RJ

yes they were

 

[Boomer]

I used RL17 in my last 280 Ackley with the 145gr LRX and the load I settled on was 3050 fps @ 24". Had them higher but in that rifle the accuracy was a bit better at 3050. Knocked a bull elk over nicely!

I have tested RL26 in hot/cold for a few cartridges :

300 Win Mag 175gr Barnes LRX
RL26
+22c 3125 fps
-4c 3116 fps
0.35 fps per degree

300 Win Mag 210gr Nosler ABLR
RL26
+22c ~ 2809 fps
-16c ~ 2712 fps
2.26 fps per degree

300 WSM 200gr Nosler AB
RL26
+26c ~ 2895 fps (21 round avg)
-16c ~ 2890 fps (14 round avg)
0.12fps per degree.

7mm SAUM 162gr Hornady ELD-X
RL26
+15c 2970 fps
-5c 2969 fps
.05 fps per degree

All but the one 300wm load varied very little. Not sure why that 210ABLR load dropped so much in the 300wm and the 175LRX didn't, all speeds measured by Labradar doppler

When an anomaly occurs, sometimes its better to repeat the process several times to see if its replicated, or if it just goes away.

 

[todbartell]

160gr Accubond ladder test this morning, with RL26. First shot (9 o'clock) hit high so I made a scope adjustment (I've recently mounted a Swarovski Z3 4-12x50 BT) and shots 2-5 landed in 0.8moa. Each shot 0.6gr apart in charge weight. Speeds in the 2883-2978 fps range from the 22.5" Benchmark

The other 3 groups are RL22 and 168gr Berger Classic with 3 different charge weights

 

[Crashman]

Great looking rig, looks like a shooter too! I have one build by Terry and it is an outstanding rifle, his build, above all other builds I have is exactly what I asked for and performs exactly as expected.

Interesting to see your results with the temperature tests and the reloader powder, I generally stick to Hodgdon extreme powders for their claimed temp stability but to be honest I have never done any sort of testing to know how stable they truly are.

 

[Black-Jacket]

well that rifle tickles my fancy

 

[todbartell]

Retest with the 160gr Accubonds confirmed it's a good load! Fired four consecutive groups that averaged 0.51MOA @ 100 yards

60.1grs RL26 does 2956 fps from the 22.5" barrel

 

[Buckmastr]

Impressive speed and accuracy nice job. 22.5" barrel too!

 

[Suther]

Retest with the 160gr Accubonds confirmed it's a good load! Fired four consecutive groups that averaged 0.51MOA @ 100 yards

60.1grs RL26 does 2956 fps from the 22.5" barrel

Hard to argue with those results! Very nice. Just makes me want one more...

 

[todbartell]

Stretched it out a bit this morning with the 160gr Accubonds

300 yards, 1.6" / .52moa

578 yards. Corrected the 2.5moa for the estimated 7mph wind. Was pretty close, minute of moose ribs!

 

[WhelanLad]

Rifle looks awesome!

 

[todbartell]

Cleaned it last night after 202 rounds down the pipe since new. A few wet patches of Sharpshootr Carb-Out alternating with dry patches, then a wet patch of Wipeout Accelerator followed by a wet patch of Patchout. Let it sit for 30 mins then pushed a half dozen dry patches down. First shot from clean bore this morning landed +2" high @ 200 yards (1moa high) and the next four were bang on for elevation and into a 0.7moa group with the Berger 168gr Classic Hunters. I was pleased with how quickly it settled down and began shooting great

Next target was at 302 yards and laid three in there nicely. 1.4" / .44moa) ~ 58.0grs RL26 / 168gr Berger

Code:

Stats - Average	2808.42	fps
Stats - Highest	2818.21	fps
Stats - Lowest	2793.48	fps
Stats - Ext. Spread	24.73	fps
Stats - Std. Dev	7.94	fps
Shot ID	V0	V50	V100	V150	V200	V250	Ke0	Ke50	Ke100	Ke150	Ke200	Ke250	PF50	Proj. Weight	Date	Time
1	2802	2727	2655	0	0	0	2928	2773	2628	0	0	0	458.14	168	7/24/18	7:06:02
2	2793	2719	0	0	0	0	2910	2756	0	0	0	0	456.79	168	7/24/18	7:06:45
3	2806	2730	0	0	0	0	2937	2779	0	0	0	0	458.64	168	7/24/18	7:07:58
4	2815	2736	0	0	0	0	2955	2792	0	0	0	0	459.65	168	7/24/18	7:09:13
5	2807	2734	2658	0	0	0	2938	2787	2635	0	0	0	459.31	168	7/24/18	7:54:42
6	2818	2741	2672	0	0	0	2962	2802	2662	0	0	0	460.49	168	7/24/18	7:55:21
7	2813	2738	2665	0	0	0	2951	2796	2649	0	0	0	459.98	168	7/24/18	7:55:44
8	2812	2736	0	0	0	0	2949	2792	0	0	0	0	459.65	168	7/24/18	7:56:58

Last week I swapped the Swarovski Z3 4-12x50 (great scope) for a Leupold Vx5 2-10x42. Was looking for a little lower bottom end magnification for hunting in the timber, and a turret that allowed me to shoot past 600 yards. So far very happy

Began playing with a couple other loads too, Berger 195gr EOL & RL26, and Sierra 197gr Matchkings over H4831sc. Both show some good promise. Last trip out had the 195gr @ 2640 fps, grouped decent at 640 yards. 197gr MK @ 2550 fps, sub moa at 200 yards. Fun to see the results, and utilizing the 1:8 twist rate

195gr Berger interests me. Reviews online show the holding together pretty decent at 400 yards on elk from a 28 Nosler (3000 fps or so MV). That's about what the 280 produces at the muzzle. Massive G1 BC of .743

Here's how it would stack up against a 300 Win Mag factory load (180gr Accubond @ 2960 fps)

280 Ackley 195gr EOL @ 2640 fps
200y 2422 fps / 2540 ft lbs energy. 0 inches bullet drop (zero) - wind drift in 10mph crosswind = 1.8"
400y 2214 fps / 2123 ft lbs energy. 22" drop, 7" wind drift
600y 2018 fps / 1763 ft lbs energy, 73" drop, 17" wind drift
800y 1831 fps / 1451 ft lbs energy, 157" drop, 32" wind drift

300 Win Mag 180gr Accubond @ 2960 fps
200y - 2600 fps / 2700 ft lbs energy, 0 incles bullet drop (zero) - wind drift in 10mph crosswind = 2.4"
400y - 2265 fps / 2050 ft lbs energy. 19" drop, 10" wind drift
600y - 1957 fps / 1530 ft lbs energy. 65" drop, 25" wind drift
800y - 1676 fps / 1122 ft lbs energy, 148" drop, 47" wind drift

30% less wind drift is huge. Equals the 300wm in energy at 400y, pulls away from there. Pretty impressive for a cartridge that makes 25% less recoil than the 300 Mag​

 

[beeman2]

Do you have any on game experience with the Berger and AccuBond? Curious as to which bullet you prefer. I currently shoot the 168 CH in my 280AI as well; but have never shot an animal with them. Run The 215 Berger in your comparison. Be more fair comparing it to the 195 gr 7mm. The 215 Berger is by far my favorite bullet.