280 Ackley or 7PRC. Which do I want?

[jimh406]

I'd go short action, too. It's a bit lighter and shorter with 6.8 Western, 7mm SAUM, or 300 WSM.

If you want to stay 7mm and not short action, how about 7mm Backcountry from a manufacturer that creates a short barrel version?

If you are reloading for accuracy, I don't think I'd want another rifle in 280AI. There's some chance in mixing up ammo, brass, or settings on your dies.

 

[Unckebob]

You specified “for hunting” as THE purpose for the new rifle.
In my mind the 280ai edges out the 7prc for the hunter in the following 3 categories:
1. Less recoil should equal faster follow up shots. Especially for lighter hunting rigs.
2. Any mag (blind or dbm) will hold more rounds of 280ai.
3. Feeding reliability goes to 280ai.

For the first time, I had a deer I shot run in a direction where I could see it well enough to try a follow up shot. I got off an accurate shot so fast I stunned myself (I am far from a great rifleman). My rifle fed the 280 round like it wasn't even there.

 

[Vern400]

I was trying to make the same decision a few months ago. Currently have a 7 RM. I decided on the 280 AI ... right up until I heard about the 7 back country. Bad part is the rifle I want (Weatherby 307 Alpine CT) has a 90 day wait to get the 7 BC & 280 AI

Are you concerned about the 80,000 PSI operating pressure? I believe it uses steel cases. Most brass cases are rated somewhere near 62,000 PSI plus or minus a bit. I wonder if you'll be approaching 264 Winchester magnum barrel life with a 7 BC. It's expressly designed to run suppressed with a short barrel and maintain velocity. I don't know if the sharpness of recoil will be noticeable or not, but it will surely be there from a physics standpoint. That might cause some serious compromises in other areas. But if that's what you need, that's what it does well.

 

[WestMOhunter]

Between the two cartridges you stated you had it narrowed down to, I would determine what bullet you plan to shoot. If you are going to shoot 140-160 then I would go for the 280AI, if you think you want to shoot 160+ then I would go 7PRC.

I like 7mms and am currently shooting a custom 7mm Rem Mag.

Some very good advice on this thread, but I think this one hits the point the best about bullet weight. I’ll modify slightly to include 168ABLR/Berger, and it’s .280AI for the win IMO. Less recoil, +1 in the mag. You can read all over the interwebs where .280AI fans (I’m one) will say it will do almost the same as a 7 Rem mag. Others will say, no way that’s delusional… I can get another 100+ fps out of a 7 mag over a .280AI. I believe you have to jump up to a 175 or heavier to see significantly (more than 50 fps) higher velocities than 280AI. I keep referencing 7 mag because many are finding the PRC will not outrun a (properly throated and twisted) 7 mag. with a heavy bullet. Using that as a relative comparison I suspect there is minimal difference in performance with a 160/162/168 between .280AI and PRC, especially when you consider the difference in felt recoil. The difference in recoil between .280AI and 7 mag is not huge, but I can feel it.

 

[Crowmangler]

Are you concerned about the 80,000 PSI operating pressure? I believe it uses steel cases. Most brass cases are rated somewhere near 62,000 PSI plus or minus a bit. I wonder if you'll be approaching 264 Winchester magnum barrel life with a 7 BC. It's expressly designed to run suppressed with a short barrel and maintain velocity. I don't know if the sharpness of recoil will be noticeable or not, but it will surely be there from a physics standpoint. That might cause some serious compromises in other areas. But if that's what you need, that's what it does well.

I guess I'd be a bit concerned just because it's a "new" caliber & potential issues that might come with it such as ammo availability (I don't reload & don't have time to go down that rabbit hole) but there's at least 5 different offerings just from Federal alone.
It did go through extensive testing & is now a SAAMI cartridge so that should alleviate some of the concerns.
I just really like the 307 Alpine CT & if it were offered in 7RM I'd already have one in hand.
TBH, I'm not shooting anything bigger than an elk at 5-600 yards max so there's not much difference in either one of those 3