.280 AI shooters, info wanted

[rhino]

Okay I think I am going to go with a .280 AI in a 30 inch tube. I am thinking of necking down Lapua 30-06 brass. Now what is your COL and what would a good TURN neck be for a .280 AI match chamber?

Thinking of shooting either the 180 bergers or the 180 JLKs with the .735 bc. Maybe give the 175 SMK's a try.

RHINOUT!

 

[mattdienes]

280 AI-
i don't think you want to use 30-06 lapua brass,the starting length of 06 brass is,i think)-.045 shorter than 280rem brass,it will work if your reamer was designed for it.i would buy rws,fed,norma 280 rem brass and nosler makes 280 also.when an ackley case is formed it shortens a bit so starting with a short case might give you a heck of a carbon ring.remember to keep bullets tite in the lands and fire the case with a load a bit on the mild side for the std 280rem.this is a awsome round you can achieve 2850-2950fps with the 175/168 bullets with ease,

a load that worked well for me was VV165-59.5 210m norma brass 175 smk -010. good luck

 

[Cheechako]

rhino

Many shooters have used the Lapua 06 brass to make 280AI. But as Matt advised, don't do it unless your reamer is ground specifically for it. For the regular plain vanilla 280 AI I recommend Remington brass. Yes, Remington.. It's very good brass if you sort it out by weight, It's harder than Norma by a long shot, and cheaper by far than RWS or any of the foreign stuff.

BTW, you need to decide on the brass before you get a reamer because it is all different in base dimensions and if you want a tight butt you have to match the reamer to the brass, or vice-versa.

My reamer has a .255 lead and a 1 1/2 degree throat. This allows me to seat the Berger 180 VLD with the base of the bullet at the beginning of the shoulder. Lighter bullets can be seated with the bullet entirely in the neck. OAL with the 180 is 3.585". I turn necks to .310 with Rem brass in a .312 chamber. With Norma you can go to a bigger diameter neck, maybe as much as .314 in a 316 chamber.

With H4831 you can push the 180 to 2900 out of a 28" barrel. With Norma brass,softer and lighter) you can get a few more fps but the brass seldom lasts more than one or two full-power loadings. A 30 inch barrel is much better with the heavy bullets. Also, for the 180 VLD go with a 8 1/2 twist just to be safe. A 9 will probably work OK but if you plan to do any shooting at sea level it could be marginal.

Ray