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H4350 in a 280AI.

DustThroughaFan

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2023
Messages
193
Location
Texas gulf coast
I do some reloading for a close friend of mine for two of his hunting rifles. A 300winmag shooting 178 eld-x, and a 280AI shooting the 150 eld-x.

He's got 8lbs of H4350 invested in the winmag so I'm trying to find a starting point to try it in his 280AI.

In his 280AI I was using H4831 with the 150 eld-x but that's about gone and I'm curious if anyone has had good results with H4350 and the 150-160gr class of bullets.

I mention the 160's because I'm thinking about trying the 162 eld-x. No joke, he has probably killed over a hundred animals with this rifle and the 150 eld-x combo but never gets a pass through. He's killed everything from whitetail to oryx and nilgai.

He hunts south Texas primarily and has mentioned he'd rather get a pass through for tracking purposes several times so I'm thinking about moving him to the 162. That said, they usually don't make it far when hit with the 150.

So, anybody got any H4350 280AI recipes they'd like to share ?
 
I usually use a little slower powder than h4350 in the 280ai. But I did some shooting with H4350 and the 150 and 162. My barrel has a crazy long throat so I am able to have 100% case fill so I use n565.

But with the 162 I would start at 52 grains and work up. Then with the 150 I would start at 52-53 then work up. I have had 3 280ai and all of them have been great but powder charges can go pretty high.
 
I usually use a little slower powder than h4350 in the 280ai. But I did some shooting with H4350 and the 150 and 162. My barrel has a crazy long throat so I am able to have 100% case fill so I use n565.

But with the 162 I would start at 52 grains and work up. Then with the 150 I would start at 52-53 then work up. I have had 3 280ai and all of them have been great but powder charges can go pretty high.
This is the only 280AI I've ever loaded for and I agree with you on the slower powders.

I prefer a slower powder in a winmag also but my grandfather's pet load for his winmag was a 180gr sierra spbt using imr 4350. Another friend of mine uses H4350 in his winmag religiously with bullets up to 225gr. His 225 eldm load shoots .3's and has single digit sd's!

So I figured I'd give it a try in the 280. Thanks for the info!
 
Hodgdon Data for 280AI

Bullet: 162 GR. HDY BTSP

Diameter: 0.284"

Case: Nosler

Primer: Winchester LR, Large Rifle
black_open.png


Starting LoadMaximum LoadAvailability
ManufacturerPowderC.O.L.Grs.Vel. (ft/s)PressureGrs.Vel. (ft/s)Pressure
HodgdonH1000

3.325"56.82,65352,300 PSI60.42,79761,300 PSIBuy Now
HodgdonH4831





3.325"53.02,66254,200 PSI56.42,78861,400 PSIOut of Stock
HodgdonHybrid 100V



3.325"50.02,72652,600 PSI53.22,88261,400 PSIOut of Stock
HodgdonH4350



3.325"47.62,62952,900 PSI50.62,75560,800 PSIBuy Now
HodgdonH414
3.325"47.02,61052,600 PSI50.02,73060,300 PSIDiscontinued
HodgdonVarget





3.325"42.62,57054,600 PSI45.32,69062,000 PSIBuy Now
HodgdonH4895



3.325"40.92,53553,800 PSI43.52,65161,400 PSI
 
H4350 will work and work fantastic. That said you are leaving some speed on the table vs H4831, is it enough to matter? To me it's not if I had 8 pounds of 4350 and ran out of 4831. That said I use H4831 lol. The 162 isn't going to get the exit wounds you are looking for, not unless the animal is quite small like south Texas does on a double lung shot or the range is fairly long. It's an explosive bullet when it hits with much speed left, I'd guess you'd need 400+ yards before you can predict getting an exit wound.
 
You can use it but it will be slower than H4831. The hogdon data looks slow. QL says 2850 and 2900 for H4831. Now if you had some R26 thats the ticket. Maybe one of the Vhit powders. I can get 3000 with R26 but running 2950 with the 162.
 
..you couldn't find a better powder than H-4350 for any cartridge based off the tried and true 30/06 casing. I've loaded for everything from 25/06 to 35 Whelan and every diameter in-between and have never found a better power overall...
I have/had 3 -280 AI's. H4831sc was faster and shot smaller than H4350 in all of them.
 
Right!!!! 150 grain shooting out of a 280 AI probably close to 3000 fps. Im shooting 160 TMK 3030fps out of an 280 AI. Thats alot of energy dumping all of its weight at those speeds into the animal instead of just passing on through.
 
I do some reloading for a close friend of mine for two of his hunting rifles. A 300winmag shooting 178 eld-x, and a 280AI shooting the 150 eld-x.

He's got 8lbs of H4350 invested in the winmag so I'm trying to find a starting point to try it in his 280AI.

In his 280AI I was using H4831 with the 150 eld-x but that's about gone and I'm curious if anyone has had good results with H4350 and the 150-160gr class of bullets.

I mention the 160's because I'm thinking about trying the 162 eld-x. No joke, he has probably killed over a hundred animals with this rifle and the 150 eld-x combo but never gets a pass through. He's killed everything from whitetail to oryx and nilgai.

He hunts south Texas primarily and has mentioned he'd rather get a pass through for tracking purposes several times so I'm thinking about moving him to the 162. That said, they usually don't make it far when hit with the 150.

So, anybody got any H4350 280AI recipes they'd like to share ?
I did.
I just checked my notes and have used 55-56 grains of H4350 w/cci 200 under 162 A-MAX at 2890 fps avg.

If he likes 150's and penetration... 150 ABLR or 150 Accubond with H4350 will make him a happy hunter!
 

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