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Tikka re-barrel for 7prc or 280ai

Cleanmiss

Cleanmiss

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Minuteman
Nov 16, 2010
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sacramento
Being down for surgery, I have more than ample time to think about things I don't need. So my plan is to finally move on from the good ol 270win in favor of something that pushes heavy-ish 7mm pills like the hammer 170 hht. So here's where I need your help. I can very easily do 280ai and get em in the 3k fps range OR go trendy and have my bolt face opened to chamber for 7prc going just a little faster. No mater which I go with it'll be in mini chassis manners EH1-TK. I've read that a 280ai with some free bore to seat long bullets further out to help with capacity and pressure is an option but with a 170 not necessary. For the sake of convo what do y'all think?
 
You say rechamber but do you mean rebarrel? I ask because you first mention 270 and then talk about 7mm projectiles.
 
Yes re-barrel for a different round. I wasn't really clear. The main question is will it be worth the little extra work to go 7prc when I can easily just re barrel for 280ai?
 
It depends on your application.
The 280 AI will do everything that about 98% of sportsman need in the lower 48.
The 7 PRC really doesn't gain you that much, however, in considering over the counter ammo, 7 PRC will likely win.
It does perform better, but you have to weigh the benefits of the small performance gain with increased recoil.
In all honesty, the 7 rem mag will do everything the 7 PRC does when using the right reamer and twist rate, with the added benefit of lots of good quality brass available.
 
The 280ai will do everything I need and be the easiest. I have powders and primers that I can use. Will the prc be better in the long run due to it being pushed so heavily by the industry? I know I am definitely over thinking but it's keeping me entertained! The recoil is a great consideration too. I shoot my hunting rifle more than my other rifles. I'm guilty of falling for the marketing but at the same time I'm the guy that has stuck with with 308 and 270
 
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Your input is greatly appreciated! 280ai definitely seems to make the most sense especially running 170gr. I guess I should wait until I can shoot the 7prc before even considering it as well
 
I would let the bolt face you have dictate which you choose. I had the same decision you had to make and was going 280ai but I picked up a LA magnum Coupe de Grace action that was in stock during a black friday sale so I’m going 7mmPRC but would have preferred 280ai myself.
 
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I own both and the .280Ai is my favorite. It will do anything the 7PRC will but with less powder and the brass lasts for a long time.
 
I like 280ai, but I feel like it gets a lot of hype compared to how the market supports it. Very few to no factory loadings, and the ones there are are few and far between. No one makes good brass for it, and dies are a little on the more complicated side to find. Plus shooting 170 monos, you’ll likely be at max mag length pretty quickly in a tikka. 7 prc is the easy button besides the bolt face milling. If you understand the supply limitations of 280ai and are ok with that, it’s certainly a fine cartridge.
 
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3,000 out of a 170 in a 280AI seems to be pushing it pretty hard, but I guess you could be using a 26”-28” barrel.
Regardless, either one of them is gonna require more mods to your bottom metal and magazine if you want to use the long heavies in the Tikka long action mags.
 
I've been shopping around for components and parts. There's Peterson brass available for 280ai, hammer has the 170hht and I have powders and primers. The bad part is wait time on a barrel from carbonsix. That is what I was afraid of with a 280ai build. I can get a 7prc proof barrel from multiple places no problem. Brass is available and a couple powders are as well. As far as bottom medal I'll be using aics mags in the manners mini chassis.
 
I love my .280 AI, I’m sure 7mm PRC will be great too but the easy button here is the .280 AI.
 
Cleanmiss said:
I've been shopping around for components and parts. There's Peterson brass available for 280ai, hammer has the 170hht and I have powders and primers. The bad part is wait time on a barrel from carbonsix. That is what I was afraid of with a 280ai build. I can get a 7prc proof barrel from multiple places no problem. Brass is available and a couple powders are as well. As far as bottom medal I'll be using aics mags in the manners mini chassis.
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You’re going to have to mill the front of your trigger and/or notch the feed ramp for 3.715 AICS mags to work still
 
Kimber Montana 280AI with Hornady Precision Hunter 162 ELDX has served well for antelope/deer combo.
 
XTREM HTR16 said:
3,000 out of a 170 in a 280AI seems to be pushing it pretty hard, but I guess you could be using a 26”-28” barrel.
Regardless, either one of them is gonna require more mods to your bottom metal and magazine if you want to use the long heavies in the Tikka long action mags.
Click to expand...
Not at all. I can run those speeds all day and my primers are still round. I have a 24" Proof CF 1-8 on my rifle.
 
I recently went 280ai. Recoil is mild and easy to shoot. Mine shoots factory 140 accubonds at 3250fps and factory 160 accubond / 162 eldx precision hunter at over 2800, that will fill 99% of your hunting needs. If you reload performance can be higher and I don’t see any issues finding components. I’m seeing more and more factory loads available in many of the local gun stores. The Nosler 140 and 160 accubond stuff is all over around here along with the hornady 162 precision hunter.
 
david walter said:
Who makes a factory 280AI that won’t break the bank?
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Weatherby makes a bunch of models chambered in 280ai. Savage does as well. A guy I shoot with has a Savage ultralite, the one with the proof carbon barrel, and it shoots damn well.
 
Thank you all for the help and info! There's a reason I've been lurking on here for over a decade. So the only real hurdle for 280ai is going to be a barrel. I want to go prefit and not wait 7+ months so I'll try to find a decent gunsmith around here. As for the loading goes I'm primarily staying with monolithic and leaving barnes for hammer. Most of my hunting is CA but even out of state I still use copper, never had any problems. Hammer has some good load data for a starting point. As for the barrel I really want to stick with a carbon wrapped so choices are slightly limited. Any suggestions on Carbon barrels or gunsmiths would be killer. Thank you all again.
 
That's who has a 7 month wait last I checked. I'll call them this week and get a better idea on times.
 
Either cartridge may run into OAL problems in a Tikka with factory magazines and heavy bullets, BTW. If you're running 3.56" MDT mags or LA AICS mags (with a chassis or aftermarket bottom metal) then you're fine.
 
XTREM HTR16 said:
3,000 out of a 170 in a 280AI seems to be pushing it pretty hard, but I guess you could be using a 26”-28” barrel.
Regardless, either one of them is gonna require more mods to your bottom metal and magazine if you want to use the long heavies in the Tikka long action mags.
Click to expand...

OAL with heavies was an issue with my Kimber in .280ai, and I suspect it would be with the Tikka as well unless OP converted to AICS. I also think 3k with a mono 170gr is probably a bit overly hopeful in a .280ai of normal hunting length. I liked my .280ai, honestly 9 twist wasn't fast enough for what I wanted to do, and that's the main reason I got rid of it, although I was surprised a how hard it was to find AI brass, sure you could make it from .270 with extra steps, or .280 if you can find it, but i had a hell of a time finding ready brass a few years ago. Staball 6.5 is a surprisingly good powder for the .280 AI if you do wind up picking one up.

All that said, I sold the .280 and picked up a Tikka 300 WSM with the intent of shooting it a while then rebarrelling to 7mm PRC. I've enjoyed the WSM, but got my 19" PRC barrel a few weeks ago, so I'll be swapping over soon and loading some PRC up to try.
 
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david walter said:
Who makes a factory 280AI that won’t break the bank?
Click to expand...
I really like my Christensen Arms Ridgeline 24" .280 AI... Light, nimble, handles good, shoots even better than it looks.

The internal magazine allows me to seat the Berger 175 Elite Hunters 0.022" off the lands and still feed just fine. 👍🏼

IMG_2235.jpeg
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OUGD2498.jpg
 
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Cleanmiss said:
That's a sweet set up!
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If that's a rig you're interested in, I can give you the full rundown of the specs and parts to clone it. It really is about the perfect all-around North American hunting rig from the close-range deer stands in the southeast, to bean fields in the midwest, and lightweight enough to pack into the mountains and canyons hunting for elk, caribou, axis, aoudad, etc... with enough HP to dispatch whatever you're chasing (within ideal ballistic distances, of course).
 
FuhQ said:
If that's a rig you're interested in, I can give you the full rundown of the specs and parts to clone it. It really is about the perfect all-around North American hunting rig from the close-range deer stands in the southeast, to bean fields in the midwest, and lightweight enough to pack into the mountains and canyons hunting for elk, caribou, axis, aoudad, etc... with enough HP to dispatch whatever you're chasing (within ideal ballistic distances, of course).
Click to expand...
I really appreciate it but I have my heart set on that manners eh1 with their mini chassis. If you can send me any load info you care to share. Hammer has some good data but it's always good to see more. Shit that's how I learned about 200mr for 175 and up in my 308.
 
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