sjvcon Report post Posted July 6, 2014 You will see better accuracy out of a non-belted case (the 7mm is belted), or so they say. If you want a hot rod, you will pay for it with less longevity. The 6.5/284 is nice ... like Nut said, less barrel life than a .284. I like the Ackley stuff if you are going to hand load. You get a little more juice than the standard round, but not too much more powder getting there. As to actions, you can certainly look into Stiller, Surgeon, Badger, McMillan, and some others. All based on the Remington, but with all the tweaks already done (true/square/lapped/M16 Extractor/etc.). You will pay for them though .......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deserthntr Report post Posted July 7, 2014 I would also look at savage actions, there arent nearly as many options for aftermarket parts as a remington, but with that said i shoot a 6.5x284 for my LR gun. It has about 1000 rds down the pipe and i am starting to see my groups open up. I used to get 1/4 moa out of mine but am now shooting about 1/2 moa. Which is still great but seems large since i got used to my 1/4 moa groups. I have a savage 110 action, brux barrel, sss trigger, choate varmint stock, with a viper pst scope. it is a heavy set up but it shoots so sweet i wont change anything to make it lighter until i re-barrel... dont fix it if it aint broke right? I can get consistent first round hits out to 1000, but i have put a lot of time behind the trigger and know my gun. For coues and mulies it is perfect for what you want to do with it. very mild recoil, but like 308 and others have said barrel life is not excellent. When i re-barrel i will stick with a 6.5x284, i had 3 girls kill there first deer with it this year, one being 11 yrs old, so if you have kids it is an excellent caliber for them as well. I dont think you can go wrong with any of the calibers mentioned, but i would listen closely to everthing 308 says, he has a ton of time behind the trigger and alot of research and testing he has personally done with alot of rifles. i learned quite a bit from reading his posts, as well as some of the other guys commenting on your thread. The 6.5 is easy to load for and find a sweet load, but you will need alot of rounds down the pipe if you are new to reloading and shooting LR in general, and the 6.5 may not be the best option until you have things down and get the hang of it all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
208muley Report post Posted July 9, 2014 This whole convo has been great! Thank you all very much. Please add anything else you want to add. I will still have questions I'm sure about the gun, but I think buying the gun is one thing, reloading is quite another, but the big one I am now starting to think about is learning how to shoot long range. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roninflag Report post Posted July 15, 2014 Eric- if you go to desert sharpshooters there is a match schedule. shooting in the matches held around the valley you will become a great long range shooter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
208muley Report post Posted July 25, 2014 A friend of mine wants to sell me a 280 ai. Kimber mountain ascent. Is this a good rifle/caliber? I am just asking as I still haven't made up my mind on what to do. Ron, I still havent forgot to call you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sjvcon Report post Posted July 25, 2014 The .280ai is a great non-belted round. Pretty quick for a non-magnum. Only thing I know about Kimbers (having owned one) is the barrel profile is light, so it likes to heat up quick. That makes repeatable accuracy deteriorate over several shots. But mine was not that specific model, so who knows?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roninflag Report post Posted July 26, 2014 Eric- i believe that is a great rifle. very light , like my remington tititanium. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
308Nut Report post Posted July 27, 2014 280AI is a cool cartridge. The kimber MA is a good looking rifle but you need to get the serial# from the rifle and go to google to search kimber rifle recall. You'll get a link to their list of mountain ascent recalled serial numbers. Make sure it's not a recalled rifle. All that said I've heard other quality horror stories. My best friend has one on layaway in 308. The first one he had on layaway got recalled. I have seen some where the flutes weren't timed with the action and one that wasn't bedded like it was suppose to be. I'm not trying to steer you away, just maybe proceed with caution. M 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CWpredator Report post Posted July 27, 2014 If you're considering a full custom build take a look at the Stiller line of actions. They are rem700 clones but are perfect out of the box and 99% of the time require no truing or blueprinting and cost about the same as it would to buy a rem 700 action and have it blueprinted trued and squared. As for a barrel can't go wrong with any custom barrel. krieger as always been my preference along with Jewell triggers. For long range and of the 6.5s 7mms 30s and 33cal are all great choices for the long range. Another thing is don't skimp on optics. The scope is just as important as your rifle componets. Lastly range time! The more you get behind the trigger the better your long range shooting will be Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
208muley Report post Posted July 28, 2014 308, thanks for the heads up I will definately do some homework. I really want to thank all of you guys for the input on this, I just want to do the right thing as I'm not going to be able to run thru a bunch of different guns till I find a good one. So i thank all of you.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
208muley Report post Posted August 5, 2014 So I did some research thanks to 308nut, and the gun checks out fine. I was offered a great deal on this gun, perfect for backpacking coues deer, and It has never been shot so I bought it. It is getting bedded and floated as we speak. With that said, I have a rem 700 in 30/06 that I may decide to build off of if I really enjoy shooting the 280ai. This gun thing is somewhat new to me as for the last 20 yrs I have been, minus one deer, a bow hunter. Wish me luck guys and thanks for all the education, between this thread and the one on scopes I have learned a ton! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
208muley Report post Posted September 6, 2014 Just an update after the purchase. Went out today to figure out what my moa adjustment is for my turret. I sighted in at 100 at ben avery and had .5 or better with the nosler 140gr accubonds. Figured I might as well stay with them if they shoot that good. So out to the desert we went at aprox 4500' . To say the results made me happy is an understatement! I was .5 moa or better all the way to 700! I want to thank my buddy Jeff, who really knows these guns, for being there to coach this rookie how to set up and shoot this rifle. With a lot more practice and maybe working up a load it's kinda cool to think about how good this gun may shoot. Anyways, I guess all I need is for a whitey to step out anywhere inside 700 and he will be in trouble.. Thanks for the education everybody and good hunting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
