Near-magnum speed without the shoulder slap, the 280 Ackley Improved keeps shots flat and kills convincingly. On deer, steel, and long ridgelines, it earns every fan.
Whitetail Proof: A 217 5/8 Giant Falls to the 280 AI
The 280 AI isn’t the newest, flashiest 7mm cartridge, but it’s one of America’s best, especially for Western hunters. The author just used it to take a whitetail of a lifetime.
The weather was hotter than I preferred on a south Texas ranch in November, and I was worried that might keep big, mature whitetail bucks from moving much during daylight hours. I had previously hunted the ranch to shoot a true trophy buck, but had been stymied by the heat. That would not be the case this time.
On day two of hunting, my guide, Shane Smith, casually mentioned that there was a “decent” buck stepping out of the brush downrange on the sendero we were watching. My pal Shane knows his deer. He’s spent much of his life working at his family’s Freer Deer Camp, a one-stop shop offering hunters everything from supplies and top-tier taxidermy to meat processing. He also manages the game population on the ranch we were hunting, and kindly got the landowner’s permission for me to hunt.
As the seven-year-old buck worked to within 120 yards, we agreed that he might score 190 or so, which would easily make him my best whitetail buck ever. I didn’t hesitate to touch off a shot from my custom rifle built upon a Remington 700 action by Hill Country Rifles.
We soon discovered that we were wrong about the buck. He was far better than we thought. We misjudged his antlers because he was such a big-bodied deer, weighing 250 pounds on the hoof. Walking up on the downed buck, we were stunned as he grew before our eyes into something most hunters see only in their dreams. He had it all: long beams, tremendous mass, good inside spread, and 24 scorable points. He scored 217 5/8, making him a true buck of a lifetime. I know I will never shoot a better whitetail.
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Why the 280 Ackley Improved Earned a Cult Following
The cartridge I used to shoot that monster buck is one of my favorites, the 280 Ackley Improved. Some people may feel that choice is a little overkill for whitetail deer, but I chose to hunt with it for a lot of good reasons that are well known to fans of the 280 AI. For starters, I had a ton of confidence in the Nosler Trophy Grade 160-grain AccuBond load I used, which hits hard, has great long-range ballistics, and shoots tiny little groups out of my custom rifle. I am not alone in my fondness for the cartridge. The 280 AI has developed a seriously devoted following since its creator, Parker O. Ackley, decided to tinker with the 280 Remington in the late 1950s.
You will often hear the 280 AI referred to as one of a host of wildcats descended from the 30-06 Springfield. That’s not precisely accurate. The 280 Rem parent case of the 280 AI is a necked-down 30-06 Springfield, but the 30-06 actually descended from the 30-03 Springfield. Even with that lineage, the 280 Rem, introduced in 1957, suffered compared to the 270 Winchester. That was partly because the 270 had been around a lot longer and was popularized by the late, great Jack O’Connor, and partly because the 280 Rem was initially loaded to reduced pressures (and velocities) for use in Remington semi-auto rifles.
In 1979, Remington boosted the powder charge of the 280 Rem and renamed it the 7mm Express Remington. That marketing ploy failed, while creating a fair amount of confusion, and the cartridge went back to being the 280 Rem. It took many years, but the cartridge began to gain some favor, especially for use in Remington 700 rifles. Hunters eventually tumbled to the fact that the 280 Rem was no slouch. It launched same-weight bullets at the same 2,950 fps velocity that the 270 Win did, but it struck with more energy and a larger frontal diameter. It also offered the advantage of accommodating a full range of 7mm bullets, which spans a considerable selection. That’s where things stood until P.O. Ackley worked his magic on the cartridge.
Ackley’s Tweak That Turned the 280 Into a Hammer
Thanks to Ackley, the 280 AI is an even better cartridge than its parent. Ackley was famous for tweaking existing rounds by removing much of the case taper and steepening shoulder angles. This increased the amount of powder a cartridge could hold, increasing pressure and bullet velocity. In the case of the 280 AI, this meant altering the shoulder angle to 40 degrees. That increased powder volume by about five percent, boosting bullet velocity by about 100 fps over existing 280 Rem loads.
It sounds small on paper, yet downrange it delivers near-7mm Rem Mag performance without a large belted-magnum case or punishing magnum recoil. The 280 AI’s big advantage isn’t just about speed. The genius is efficiency. It’s suitable for all but large, dangerous game. With the right bullets, even that’s debatable. It’s little wonder that the 280 AI has become the most popular and successful of Ackley’s designs.
How Nosler Took the 280 AI Mainstream
The 280 AI got a huge boost in 2007 when Nosler succeeded in getting the cartridge accepted by SAAMI and began making factory ammunition. It is the only one of Ackley’s improved cartridges to gain SAAMI acceptance and be widely loaded by major ammo makers. Mike Lake, who still serves as director of Nosler’s Innovation Division and did the legwork to make that happen, says Bob Nosler was the driving force behind gaining SAAMI approval.
“The 280 Ackley Improved has been a favorite of the Nosler family for a very long time,” he says. “We first published reloading data in Reloading Guide #4, released in 1996, but the cartridge had been a favorite for many years before that.”
Noting that the 280 AI had been executed in several different ways over the years, Lake says Nosler wanted to standardize it the way that P O. Ackley originally designed the cartridge so standard 280 Rem ammunition could be safely fired in the 280 AI chamber, yielding fire-formed brass. Nosler obtained permission from the Ackley family to keep their name on the cartridge and preserve their legacy.
From Nosler’s point of view, the 280 AI remains a great cartridge. “The original premise of the cartridge, to get near 7mm Rem Mag performance from a standard action with less recoil, and to do it by simply setting the barrel back one turn and opening up the chamber in an existing 280 Remington rifle, still holds great appeal today,” says Lake. “The 280 Ackley Improved is a popular cartridge for Nosler, and it continues to see very good market demand.”
Ballistics That Hang With Magnums Without Beating You Up
To put the 280 AI’s performance in perspective, some comparisons are in order. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll use numbers for 150-gr. bullets. The 280 AI launches 150-gr. bullets at about 3,100 fps. The 7mm Rem Mag beats it by about 150 fps. The 28 Nosler beats it by about 300 fps. Both do so with a significant recoil penalty and, potentially, a barrel life penalty. Using this same-weight bullet, the 280 AI beats the 7×57 Mauser, 7mm-08 Remington, 284 Winchester, 280 Remington, and the 7mm SAUM in muzzle velocity.
Although it fits in the middle of the 7mm pack, the 280 AI is a very capable long-range performer. Here’s how the 280 AI stacks up against the 7mm Rem Mag. With a 150-gr. bullet zeroed at 200 yards, the 280 AI drops 6.7 inches at 300 yards and 38.7 inches at 500 yards. With the same bullet weight and zero, the much harder-kicking 7mm Rem Mag 150-gr. bullet drops 6.2 inches at 300 yards and 36.1 inches at 500 yards. The differences are negligible, but the overall advantages of the 280 AI start to add up.
Ah, but what about performance with heavier bullets? Results are much the same. Federal’s 168-gr Berger Hybrid 7mm Rem Mag load starts out at 2,870 fps. With a 200-yard zero, it drops 6.9 inches at 300 yards and 40 inches at 500 yards. Compare that with Hornady’s 162-gr. ELD-X 280 AI load, which launches at 2,850 fps. With a 200-yard zero, it drops the same 6.9 inches at 300 yards and 39.3 inches at 500 yards.
In terms of case size, amount of powder burned, and level of recoil produced, the 280 AI is simply a more efficient cartridge.
Recoil You Can Live With, Accuracy You’ll Brag About
There are now more 7mm cartridges on the market than you can shake a rifle barrel at. Some recoil less than the 280 AI, and some recoil more, but among the legit long-range performers, the 280 AI wins in terms of minimizing recoil.
For comparison purposes, figure on a little more than 19 foot-pounds of recoil energy for the 280 AI. In contrast, the 7 Rem Mag generates more than 23 foot-pounds of recoil energy. The 7mm PRC produces more than 25 foot-pounds of recoil energy. The 28 Nosler spins up more than 28 foot-pounds of recoil energy. These last three numbers are all close to the limit that many shooters can tolerate well and still shoot accurately. If you want a good long-range performer that won’t punish your shoulder, the advantage goes to the 280 AI.
Terminal Performance That Ends Arguments
I’ve shot several animals with the 280 AI, and terminal performance has always been, in a word, impressive. My big Texas whitetail was shot slightly quartering. He ran about 50 yards before dropping, which is not uncommon with big-bodied bucks. Subsequent examination revealed that the 160-gr. AccuBond bullet had completely demolished all vital organs before exiting. That buck was never going far.
Fellow outdoor scribes who like the 280 AI report similar results. Aram von Benedikt is a big fan of the 280 AI and has shot more animals with it than I have. “Federal’s 155-gr. Terminal Ascent load, in particular,” he says, “is ridiculously deadly.” He has a perfectly mushroomed bullet to prove it. The bullet was recovered from a big 6×6 bull elk that his son shot at 801 yards.
I would have no issue using the 280 AI on any North American big game, except for grizzly or brown bears. If a 280AI with tough bullets was all I had while walking through grizzly country, I would not feel undergunned.
Ammo And Rifles: Who Chambers And Loads The 280 AI
One area in which the 280 AI does not always compare favorably is wide availability of factory ammo. That’s mainly true for retail outlets in remote areas. However, you can fire 280 Rem ammo out of a 280 AI rifle, and fire-form brass for reloading in the process. The cartridge also offers an advantage to the reloader because the case geometry minimizes stretching and the need to trim cases as frequently after firing.
In many areas, however, 280 AI ammo is readily available or can be ordered. As noted, the 280 AI is the only Ackley-treatment cartridge to be widely loaded by ammo makers. Nosler offers seven 280 AI loads, including 140-gr, 150-gr. and 160-gr. AccuBond loads, as well as a 160-gr. Partition load, a 168-gr. AccuBond Long-Range load, a 140-gr. E-Tip load and a 140-gr. Ballistic Tip load. Hornady makes a 162-gr. ELD-X Precision Hunter load. Federal offers a 155-gr. Terminal Ascent load, which I have put to good use, as well as a 140-gr. Trophy Copper load and a 168-gr. Berger Hybrid load. Barnes offers an all-copper 152-gr. VOR-TX long-range load, and many smaller manufacturers make 280 AI ammo, as well.
Finding rifles chambered in 280 AI isn’t that difficult, either. Browning offers four different X-Bolt 2 models chambered for the cartridge, and Weatherby makes selected Mark V and newer Model 307 rifles in 280 AI. Savage chambers several Axis II and 110 models for the cartridge. Kimber Mountain Ascent rifles are available in 280 AI, and the Christensen Ridgeline FFT is chambered for the cartridge. With some searching, you may be able to find a Ruger Hawkeye African rifle or a No. 1 rifle in 280 AI on the used market. Any number of custom and semi-custom gun makers, such as Fierce Firearms, will happily build you a 280 AI rifle.
Accuracy That Builds Loyal Fans
Over the years, the 280 AI has earned a reputation, much like the 6.5 Creedmoor, for being an inherently accurate cartridge in decent rifles. My custom rifle, built by Hill Country Rifles, is no exception. The very first three-shot test group fired with that rifle, using Nosler’s 160-gr. AccuBond load, printed a .269-inch group at 100 yards.
That rifle’s barrel has 1:8.5 rifling, designed to stabilize heavier 7mm bullets, but that did not adversely impact a lighter Federal 155-gr. Terminal Ascent load, which printed ¾-inch average groups and a best group consisting of a single ragged hole. I’ve known of some people who used 280 AI in competitive shooting, which is not all that surprising. With the right rifle in the right hands, the cartridge can be that good. After using it to take the best whitetail buck I will ever shoot, it’s fair to say that I’m a true believer.
If you give the 280 Ackley Improved a try, you too may become one of its loyal fans.
280 Ackley Improved Cartridge Specifications
| Model | 280 Ackley Improved |
|---|---|
| Caliber | 7mm |
| Barrel Length | Varies by rifle |
| Overall Length | Varies by rifle |
| Weight | Varies by rifle |
| Capacity | Varies by magazine |
| MSRP | Varies by manufacturer |
Pros And Cons: Should You Go 280 AI?
- Pros: Near-7mm Rem Mag performance, milder recoil, broad 7mm bullet selection, proven field results, widely available factory rifles, and growing ammo choices.
- Cons: Ammo can be scarce in remote shops, handloaders may still want to fire-form brass, not ideal for the big bears.
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