This elk season my friend got to try out my rig and shoot an elk at 600 yards he loved it and is hooked. He's letting me put together a rig for him now and we are doing matching .280ai's but he is starting to get concerned. His main concerns come because ammo is hard to find and we live in CA. By 2019 we can only shoot copper for hunting and already in some state owned areas they have gone copper and then there's Condor zones. So as a reloader am I steering him in the wrong direction should he go another route. We've been best friends for years and I told him I'll set the guns up and reload all his ammo but I understand his concerns. Am I steering him in the right direction? Is there another long range copper round I'm not considering. Build components Rem 700 long action that he already has, Bartline 2b barrel, and a McMillan with Edge.
Quick one and only gun opinion
- Thread starter ofdscooby
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TXAoudadKlr
Well-Known Member
Whats your friend's concerns if your reloading? If he's concerned about a factory ammo option he might want to look at going with a 7mm rem mag. Should be able to find Solid copper ammo for it pretty easy
Nosler has custom loads in etip for 280ai. There are guys that get great accuracy shooting federal 280 rem barnes in their 280ai's. Once I built my straight 280, the 7mag stayed waaay back in the safe. You can't go to the 7mag with bolt face/action he has, so stick to the plan.
7mm
Both the .280AI and 7MM Rem Mag will do the job. However, like others, my personal preference between the two would be the 7MM Rem Mag esp. when elk is involved.
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blacktail 8541
Well-Known Member
This, also there should be more loads becoming available as manufactures start to compete for market share.
don't listen to those 7mm RM knuckle draggers. The 280 Ackley is clearly for the more refined shooters. 
Nosler factory ammo, 150 grn eTip is great for the 280ai.
Or just talk him into reloading, and you open the door to a whole bunch of options. If you have a 1:8 twist barrel, the 168 grain Barns LRX is an interesting option. Otherwise the 145 grn LRX.
Nosler factory ammo, 150 grn eTip is great for the 280ai.
Or just talk him into reloading, and you open the door to a whole bunch of options. If you have a 1:8 twist barrel, the 168 grain Barns LRX is an interesting option. Otherwise the 145 grn LRX.
Wedgy
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One thing to note with copper bullets is they require a faster twist barrel than an equal weight lead bullet, so if doing a .30 caliber for example you might want to get a 9 twist instead of a 10 so you can shoot a 200 grain copper bullet.
