how realistic? 1k 280AI

[midnightmalloy]

im building a 280AI on a LEFT HAND sako 75. the rifle already has a mcmillian sako hunter stock and 4.5-14x44mm mil dot conquest on top. im thinking economical since i need to rebarrel and want a muzzle break. either pac nor #4 contour 24" or a benchmark barrel. i want to use a 1-9 twist and 168 or 180gr vld hunting bullets. i want to have the cost of the barrel, muzzle break and installed for $500-600? i can get a pac nor stainless super match barrel blank for $252 so how possible is it to have it installed and pay for a break for $250? is it also realistic to think this setup would go 1k?

 

[Sendero_Man]

how good of friends are you with your smith ?? probably be slightly higher in cost, depending on which brake and labor rates.

280 is doable to 1000yards for paper.... don't think I'd personally use it for hunting at those ranges. I would limit it to 500 - 600 yards for hunting if that far... not enough energy left.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Its realistic sure but I would add 2" to the barrel and make it a 26" finish length.

 

[muleyman]

I agree with above about the costs, I think it will be higher than your numbers, however I think the 280AI is so close to the 7mm mag in ballistics that out to 800-1000 yards is do-able for large deer size game. If it's the only thing I had and the conditions were right it would more than likely get the job done on something slightly bigger.

I have the pac-nor barrel in I believe the #4 contour, .650 at the muzzle but it's in a 26" tube. I don't have a break and really the recoil is so minimal I don't know if you really need it, if you want it, by all means put one on. Mine kicks to what I consider around a 20 gauge shotgun. It's really not bad. Definitely go with the 1-9 twist for the bullet weights your considering but you might think about going up to a 26" barrel. I think you'll be very happy with the caliber with whatever you decide to do...........

 

[Boss Hoss]

Going to have to do a lot of careful load development -- range and condition estimation will be critical because at 1K the rifle you are talking about is getting to the performance edge esp with the heavy bullets. Trajectory will really start to rainbow so vertical is going to be a huge issue esp with the 180 grain pills..

 

[Pdvdh]

280 is doable to 1000yards for paper.... don't think I'd personally use it for hunting at those ranges. I would limit it to 500 - 600 yards for hunting if that far... not enough energy left.

+1
I shoot the 162 Hornady Amax out of mine, which has a 9 twist 28-inch barrel. But I consider its effective range limit to be about 800 yds for game animals due to lack of sufficient retained velocity past ~800 yds - sufficient velocity to help ensure bullet expansion. I have no muzzle brake on mine, and don't feel the need. The recoil is not that bad.

 

[4xforfun]

Going to have to do a lot of careful load development -- range and condition estimation will be critical because at 1K the rifle you are talking about is getting to the performance edge esp with the heavy bullets. Trajectory will really start to rainbow so vertical is going to be a huge issue esp with the 180 grain pills..

This sounded like an errant statement, so I ran the numbers on my infinity program based on our 7mm rem mags.

Without getting into detail, the the berger 180 vld at 2950, which is easily attainable in all of our guns, hits way harder, is going faster, drifts far less, and shoots flatter than a 140 Nostler BT at 3200, also very attainable in out 7 mags. Now, if the data is to fast for the AI, just back the numbers off a hundred FPS and get exactly the same results.

Your statement seems to sugjest that the lighter bullets perform better than the heavy bullets at long range. Just wondering what you ment. I confuse easily, you know!!

 

[midnightmalloy]

thanks a lot guys. i am looking into a benchmark barrel. they will fit and finish the barrel, thread it on my action barrel included for $525. sounds good and if i want a muzzle break i can send it to get a muscle break for $200 later. i want to hunt elk, black bear, deer, antelope and some long range coyotes with this set up. 1k might be far to take an elk at this range with the 280ai but all the rest according to my data says the rest are well within this range. let me know what you think.

 

[4xforfun]

I would hold off on the break untill you get a chance to shoot it. I realy can't see the need to break a 280 AI...but...everybody's threshhold is different. On the flip side...the only draw back with a break is noise......I don't wear hearing protection in the fields while hunting, and a breaked gun is way to loud to shoot without hearing protection......Again...everyone has a different threshold for sound, also........

You can always get s cap to replace the break in the field....best of both worlds.