Who’s Ackley and What’s Been Improved?
The round’s name pays homage to renowned cartridge designer and ballistician P. O. Ackley. His improvements to existing case designs and cartridges – often by increasing case capacity and amping up performance – lend us the warmly embraced .280 AI.
Ackley essentially improved on the .280 Remington. He removed the casing taper from the .280 Remington and greatly angled the shoulder to 40 degrees. Technically, the .280 Ackley Improved was not accepted by SAAMI until 2007, registered by Nosler, which interestingly offers a close competitor in the 28 Nosler. Until that point, the .280 was building a certain following as a wildcat round.
Related: All About the 28 Nosler
Though many Americans are dedicated to their 7mm Rem Mag rifles, even more scoff at the idea of metric chamberings. But did you know the .280 is actually 7mm? The .280 Ackley Improved uses a 7mm/0.284-inch bore bullet diameter, not unlike .280 Rem, 28 Nosler, and of course, 7mm Magnum.
Rifle Selection
Odds are, a hunter who’s considering the .280 Ackley Improved has big game hunting in mind, as well as the potential to take longer shots. Most of the top brands build exceptional rifles in the round: Nosler, Magnum Research, Kimber, Savage Arms, Weatherby, Ruger, and Christensen Arms, to name a few.
We recently traveled to Scotland with a Magnum Research Mountain Eagle bolt-action rifle chambered in .280 Ackley Improved and successfully harvested game from massive red deer or stags to the smallest roe deer. Topping the rifle with a Leupold VX-3HD with the CDS-ZL customized for our specific ammunition – Nosler 140-grain, to be exact – made this a user-friendly, do-all outfit.
Ammo Limits & Bullet Types
While we always like to see a laundry list of ammo manufacturers and load types on the open market, the .280 AI has a more limited run. However, the brands and rounds are top-notch: Nosler, Hornady, and Federal. Even at the time of this writing with ammo of many types in short supply, we were able to snag all three brands with relative ease. That said, we’d happily accept even more OTC choices.
Related: Low Recoil Ammo for Deer Hunting
For reloaders, the .280 AI becomes even more appealing. Premium bullets from most every manufacturer make the chambering suitable for everything from antelope to elk, moose to kudu, not to mention ideal long-range target shooting projectiles for competition and range. A few of our favorites: Federal Premium Terminal Ascent 155-grain, Nosler 140-grain AccuBond, Barnes 139-grain LRX, Berger 168-grain VLD Hunting, Hornady 162-grain ELD-X, and Nosler 140-grain E-Tip non-lead ammunition.
Additionally, cases for the .280 Ackley Improved can be made from common .30-06 Springfield brass by necking it down to .284-inch, and then fire-forming with a light powder charge. What Ackley gained with his casing transformations also happily granted longer case life for reloaders with considerably less case stretch.
Ackley for the Win?
