280 ai
- Thread starter Jjeat
- Start date
The 280AI was once a wildcat but was approved by SAAMI in 2007, by Nosler. So, it’s no different than a 270 Win, 7mm-08 or numerous other cartridges that have a parent case…originally a wildcat but legitimized because it became popular (or trendy) to some extent.
Like many other cartridges in the tightly packed spectrum of medium hunting cartridges, it has small advantages and drawbacks.
It’s a great cartridge and one of my favourites for large western game, but it’s not magic. For some people like me it is “just right”.
Like many other cartridges in the tightly packed spectrum of medium hunting cartridges, it has small advantages and drawbacks.
It’s a great cartridge and one of my favourites for large western game, but it’s not magic. For some people like me it is “just right”.
My understanding - the 280 AI made shortly after the .280 Remington was produced (1957) - it was never a wildcat. It was simply an improved cartrsidge... made by firing a mass produced factory round in the improved chamber. A wildcat chamber has no mass produced factory round that can be fired in it. It matters not when and if SAAMI "approves" it.
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HUH ?
RJ
It WAS a wildcat. That changed in like 2008 though.
280ai is a great cartridge. If I was to build a single gun for all my hunting I'd be hard pressed to go with something else. It's too similar to 7mm Rem Mag to get a big hold on the market though, 7RM has a multiple decade head start, and with it thousands of not millions of rifles already in the hands of the people.
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I guess your definition of wildcat is a lot more specific than the one most people use. In my experience wildcat refers to a cartridge with no factory ammo, no factory rifles. Whether you can shoot factory ammo in it - like you can with many AI versions - was never something that entered into the equation for me.
I can see the point in delineating between wildcat vs improved cartridge, I've just rarely if ever seen someone do it.
My definition dates back to 1966 while attending the gunsmithing school PO Ackley started in the late 1940's.
We were taught wildcats had no factory round that could be fired in the chamber... that's what made it a wildcat.
Improved cartridges alway had a factory round that could be fired in the improved chamber... an if you give it some thought... that kind of makes sense.
And in the end terminology is important...
I Jones'd over the 280 Ackley Improved for a lot of years. Finally built one in 2019 or so and wondered why I waited so long to do it. It outperforms my 7RM with the same bullet weight in the 140-160 grain class, never tested anything heavier. It is very mild for recoil, and while my rifle is not a true ultra light rifle it is light enough that all day treks in the hills never leaves me wanting something lighter. Discussions over which caliber is superior is pointless, 270 vs 280, while you can't swap bullets, they are essentially the same thing, with people in both camps touting the advantages of their choice over any and all others. The reality is the 280 AI is a fine cartridge, one that truly should be more popular among big game hunters. But for some unexplained reason it never truly caught on, but thats fine, shoot what ya got, and put more miles on and enjoy the experience!
I absolutely agree.
Thunderhog
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Most gun manufacturers don’t chamber it, and if they do it’s not in many models. Lots of gun shops don’t carry any ammo and if they do it’s a limited selection of expensive ammo.HUH ?
Compared to 6.5Creed 308 270 30-06 7RM 300WM it’s not even close for the availability of guns and ammo. The above cartridges will do everything the majority of hunters need, while finding guns and ammo at every gun shop from every manufacturer.
telL me iM WronG RJ
Nope ! Good Reply ! Your not Wrong - Pretty spot on for info - it’s a Good CARTRIDGE and really Great if your a handloaderMost gun manufacturers don’t chamber it, and if they do it’s not in many models. Lots of gun shops don’t carry any ammo and if they do it’s a limited selection of expensive ammo.
Compared to 6.5Creed 308 270 30-06 7RM 300WM it’s not even close for the availability of guns and ammo. The above cartridges will do everything the majority of hunters need, while finding guns and ammo at every gun shop from every manufacturer.
telL me iM WronG RJ
It’s prob the BESTEST non magnum ( case size ) cartridge in the medium range . I have one in a custom HVA but still use my 30-06 
lol RJ
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If/when I buy another bolt gun, this is most likely the chambering it will be in. Problem is, in my safe it will be flanked by the 264 WM and 30-06 so no real place or need(like that has ever mattered) for it.Nope ! Good Reply ! Your not Wrong - Pretty spot on for info - it’s a Good CARTRIDGE and really Great if your a handloader
Pretty hard to beat the "do all" 30-06 from a hunting perspective.
You may be correct on your definition, and I agree that terminology is important. That said, let me pose a question to you. Does your assertion that the “280AI was NOT a wildcat” hold true if the parent case was a wildcat when it was improved by P.O.?
From my Sierra book: “the 280 cartridge, as we know it was a wildcat prior to 1957 when it was legitimized by Remington and originally called the 7mm-06. Upon SAAMI approval it was renamed the .280 Remington and in 1979 was recertified with higher pressure loads and was renamed the 7mm Remington Express. Early versions of this cartridge were around since the early 1920s. The 7mm-06, the 285 OKH, and the 7mm Mashburn are all examples of the same basic case.”
P.O. Ackley was said to be working on the 30-06 necked down to .284 in the late 40’s or early 50’s… prior to 1957 when Remington legitimizing the .280 parent case. He called it the .280 improved 40deg shoulder, I believe.
If the parent case was a wildcat when it was originally improved, does that not make the improved case a wildcat also?
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270WSMXBolt
Regular
- Location
- Delta B.C.
So I new I had watched this some time ago but had some difficulty finding it. For some reason the algorithms kept showing me comparisons between the 280ai and the 6.8wstrn of which there are tons. Probably because of ballistic similarities. I would be interested if anyone has made some higher twist versions.
I'm not certain but am lead to believe that any cartridge that wasn't SAMMI approved is considered a wildcat. Probably tomato, tomatoe. But if your reaming the chamber and fire forming in the early days, I'm OK with me calling it a wildcat. Saying it's not a wildcat is just as correct now.
I'm not certain but am lead to believe that any cartridge that wasn't SAMMI approved is considered a wildcat. Probably tomato, tomatoe. But if your reaming the chamber and fire forming in the early days, I'm OK with me calling it a wildcat. Saying it's not a wildcat is just as correct now.
Ackley naming a wildcat a .280 when it was based on a 30-06 case was simply being American not using 7mm. The .280 had nothing to do the the .280 Remington other than the bullet diameter.
Remington was making .280 Remington ammo in 1957 for the rifles they chambered it for. Remington renamed the .280 Remington in 1979 and called it the 7mm Express. I believe this was an attempt to induce sales. That name died quickly and Remington reverted to calling it .280 Remington, the same name they gave it in 1957. There was also a very brief time in 1978 where they produced a few rifles with the barrels marked 7mm 06 and they produced ammuntion marked 7mm 06. This was a complete screw up by Remington as the rifles and the ammo were NOT 7mm-06. They were actually chambered for .280 Remington and the ammo was actually .280 Remington. They quickly renamed it 7mm Remington Express and in 1981 changed it back to .280 Remington.. All this name changing was to try to increase sales... the .280 Remington never had the popularity the .270 Wnchester enjoyed as it was introduced 32 years after the .270 and with a reduced load compared to Winchester's 270.
So as far as I know the .280 Remington case was never a wildcat. Remington mass produced it in 1957 and had ammunition and rifles on the market. Now there may have been similar cases based on the .270 case. The 280 and 270 are the same length (both longer than 06) but when Remington manufactured the .280 Remington and introduced it in 1957 it was a factory mass produced cartridge.
Over the years there have been lots of ignorant articles written about the Ackley Improved cartridges. Some even call them wildcats.... Ackley never called them wildcats... simply because all you had to do was chamber a factory round and fire form it. He considered that an improved cartridge. At least in 1966 in Trinidad, Colorado he did.
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