elkaholic
Well-Known Member
Yes! I've used it and it works well. It doesn't have to stretch as far....Rich
280 SHERMAN MAX vs .280 A.I.
- Thread starter elkaholic
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
Yes! I've used it and it works well. It doesn't have to stretch as far....Rich
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Awesome! Does it still remain the proper case OAL after it undergoes the slight bit more expansion?
Hey Rich, how do you think your 280 MAX will handle the 190s from Matrix? They are a VLD style bullet and my 284 with 9 twist would not stabilize them at all. Impressive sideways bullet profiles when they smacked the steel at 200 meters though!
Very curious about the work you are doing there, could get expensive for this old red neck though!
Very curious about the work you are doing there, could get expensive for this old red neck though!
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
case length is fine after forming
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
I think you would need an 8 twist, although I never ran the numbers.
Sideways kind of defeats the high b.c. of the 190's
.......Rich
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Excellent!
Will I still need to use a .338 expander die prior to necking them back to .30 cal, or not now since I'll be using pre-formed .280 AI brass?
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
You need the expander because the shoulder is too far forward on the Sherman to headspace on the A.I.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Ok, cool. Thanks for the info Rich.
rogue savage
Active Member
Any more real world data on the 280 sherman?
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
I like to be as honest as I can with people and not try to blow a bunch of smoke. In the '06 sixed cases, there is less to be gained with the 280 Sherman over a 280 A.I. than with most of the Sherman cases. The reason is simple! The 280 Rem case is longer and has more capacity than other 'o6 sized cases to begin with, and when you improve it with the A.I. version, there isn't as much left to improve upon. Does this mean that it isn't worth it? In my opinion, no! If you can gain 2.6 grains capacity with no down side; why not? It is only slightly more difficult to form than the A.I. and you can gain about 50'. In the case of a 6.5-06 or a 30-06 A.I. vs a Sherman, you are gaining considerably more because of the much greater opportunity for case capacity by using a 270 or 280 parent. If 50' means nothing to you, then by all means build an A.I. which is a fine cartridge! My feeling about building a 280 Sherman is "if you're going to be a bear, you might as well be a grizzly"! My opinion is that the Sherman is a perfect balance between the Gibbs and the A.I. The Gibbs was always the velocity champ but did so at the expense of a poor case design (extremely short neck)! The A.I. was a good design, but left some velocity on the table. The Sherman case is the ballistic equal to the Gibbs, and has the case design attributes of the A.I. In answer to the question of real world; just add approx. 50' to whatever your 280 A.I. gets. Sometimes, by just adding 2 or 3 grains capacity, it puts you in an area where you can use one step up in a slower powder. This often means more of a gain than just having the capacity. The introduction of RL33 is a good example. Hope this helps..........Rich
Pine Lakes Bob
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2017
- Messages
- 2
Rich: Will the 280 Sherman Max reamer produce a chamber for a overall cartridge length less than 3.4 inches when using the Berger 168 bullet. I am still looking for a long distance, high energy caliber that will work with my pre 64 Model 70 action. I was almost set on the 280 AI but this discussion has me rethinking. 50 fps could make a big difference downstream. I welcome any suggestions.
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
3.4" is way to short for any high b.c. 280 bullet......sorry
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
Yes you can do that.
This is an OLD thread by the way. These days I would build a 7 mm Sherman Max based on the Saum case with head stamped brass.
