What's the "Best" way to get to .280AI with resizing?

[Troutslayer2]

So, I get a new gun on the way and all the suppliers of Nosler .280AI brass are backordered.

If I'm going to buy other brass, what's the best alternative for resizing?
30.06 and neck it down?
.270 and go up?
.280 (if I can find it) and full length resize?

I have never resized anything before. I just run one of these other cartridges based on 30.06 through a full length .280AI resizing die, trim if necessary and load? Is it more complicated than that? Lapua brass the best to start out with? I just don't know the pros and cons of choosing which base to resize from.

 

[woods]

I prefer the regular Nosler 280 rem brass

Nosler Custom Reloading Brass 280 Remington Box of 50 - MidwayUSA

If you load up a stiff load for the regular 280 Rem it will stretch the brass perfect and is quite accurate (as long as you don't try to form it with a false shoulder)

Besides, the Nosler 280AI brass develops a do-nut and the regular 280 brass does not, go figure!

 

[jeffro]

Just load 280 brass, and fireform.

 

[boomtube]

"I have never resized anything before."

I assume you mean you have never reformed a case before?

If you're gonna do that, it's quite simple; use 30-06 and size it down in your 280AI die. That will give you better cases.

Neck it down, load a moderate charge and shoot it, it will come out of the chamber as your new cases.

 

[JD338]

The shoulder on the 280 Rem/280AI is forward more than a 30-06/270 Win so you will have a head space issue when you fire form unless the bullet is seated into the lands holding the case in place.

The best way to go is use 280 Rem brass to fire form, very easy to do. The AI will head space on the neck/shoulder of the 280 Rem case with a slight crush fit.

Here is a recent group shot from my 280 AI with R-P 280 Rem brass.

JD338

 

[setter]

Hey Woods. I'm curious about the donut with the 280AI brass. When does the donut become noticable? I would think that if you are using the same dies, both of the brass would eventually get the donuts. Are you preparing them the same? Neck sizing only, partial, or full length? I have some 280AI that I haven't used yet and would like to see if I can avoid those darn donuts from forming in the first place. Thanks.

 

[woods]

The do-nuts showed up on the Nosler 280AI brass after the first firing. The chamber is a tight necked custom chamber Hart with a .313" neck.

I am preparing both the 280 rem and 280AI brass exactly the same: outside neck turn to .013" neck thickness and straighten the necks on a Lee Collet. Check the fired cases by inserting a bullet down the neck, the 280AI brass stuck the 280 rem brass does not, on the left case with do-nut and bullet inserted till it stops, on the right case without do-nut and bullet inserted past neck/shoulder junction

In a test with 5 loads with the do-nut and 5 loads with the do-nut reamed out

it seemed to make a difference.

I can only theorize that the tight necked chamber and shoulder angle of the 280AI is conducive to producing do-nuts and that the 280AI brass shoulder hit the chamber shoulder sooner and the brass flowed to the shoulder/neck to form the do-nut. While in the 280 rem brass the shoulder brass had room to expand and the brass did not flow.

 

[458win]

Best way to get 280AI brass is to just buy 280 rem factory loads and shoot them. By the time you dink around with fireforming, paying for bullets, powder and primers your money ahead just buying factory .280's to get the brass from them. In my coopers the 140gr 280 rem coreloks shoot surprisingly well. Thats the great thing about an Ackley is you can just use whichever case it is in non-ackley form.

Good Luck

So, I get a new gun on the way and all the suppliers of Nosler .280AI brass are backordered.

If I'm going to buy other brass, what's the best alternative for resizing?
30.06 and neck it down?
.270 and go up?
.280 (if I can find it) and full length resize?

I have never resized anything before. I just run one of these other cartridges based on 30.06 through a full length .280AI resizing die, trim if necessary and load? Is it more complicated than that? Lapua brass the best to start out with? I just don't know the pros and cons of choosing which base to resize from.

 

[TOM H]

I'm "elcheapo" I use the COW (cream-o-wheat) method to fireformand that's how I save money to buy my Sinclair Case Neck Micrometer.

I use 15gr bulleye in a Rem 280 case Mike J's 6mm Ackley Reloading Page took me about 4hrs to fireform 100 cases. I'd also puchased 3 boxes of Nolser 280AI brass to compare and I have to said the neck thickness was pretty close they ran .013" to .135" the Rem cases ran .0125" to .014". I also have some win 280 nickel cases may try them later.

I know alot don't like doing that method but since I also load at the range once I get afew cases I can start load developement.

Since the 25-06 and 30-06 case are shorten than the 280 and 270 case I would use those and I think the Nolser store is back up and they have 280AI brass. Well good luck with your 280AI got a great caliber.