LOL - I've often thought the same about the 270 and '06! Yep maybe I'm a simple kind of guy, but when the numbers are compared....could not resist thinking "Now why did those need improving? And what did they gain?"
That said, seems as though the 280 Improved does crank it up a notch. Especially with some of the newer powders and higher BC bullets available these days. I haven't worked with this one directly but it just might be in my future...retirement age is approaching!
And..................this is where the fight started! Anything that the .280 Ackley Improved can do the .270 Ackley Improved can do or better!!! It may not be as popular because it hasn't caught on due to some 1950's bad press and old powders. .007 thousandths of an inch does not make that much difference when it comes to deciding which round is most effective for calibers. Wait a couple of years, some ammunition manufacturer, who has run out of new ammunition to manufacture, will check the market to find what has not been lauded, boasted and what IS dreamed about. Then the cartridge will receive an incredible marketing campaign, written up in every possible hunting and shooting magazine as the latest laser round in the world, that will drop and elephant at 1000 yards, and it will become the latest/greatest round of the 21st century, the .270 Ackley Improved Creedmore!! Please don't get me wrong the .280 Ackley Improved is an impressive round by all counts, however the .270 Ackley Improved is a round has gotten an undeserved bad rap for many years. My intention is not to bash any cartridge, it's just that the .270AI does not get the recognition it deserves.