280 ackley vs 6.8 western

[#publiclands]

Considering purchasing a new light weight rifle in a browning x bolt pro. Two calibers I’m considering are the 280 ai and the 6.8 western. Was leaning towards the 280 but after researching the 6.8 western I’m kinda leaning that way. One thing that may be an issue is the availability and cost of brass for either caliber.
Help me decide! Thanks

 

[Taudisio]

Should be a close comparison. Never looked at the two side by side. Either way is solid for an all around rifle if you reload. I had a 280ai and sold it. Still chewing on the 6.8w and if I want to throw one in the lineup. Both are a bit obscure rounds. I lean 6.8 personally.

 

[Breddoch]

I’ve not studied the 6.8 western but, the 280 ackley is rarely the wrong answer. If I could only have one caliber, that would be it.

 

[#publiclands]

Seems like most are leaning towards the 280 ackley…. One thing that I have noticed is that brass is quite pricey for it

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Since 6.8 western wasn’t created by hornady, it will likely go the way of the wsms and fade out of the picture

 

[#publiclands]

Yeah that’s what I’m thinking as well….just a fad? But since it’s a collaboration between both browning and Winchester it may stick around … browning did make an honest effort to at make the barrels with the proper twists on it with the 7.5 twist rate to optimize and get everything out of those long heavy bullets

 

[cwpepper]

I personally chose the 6.8 western over the 280 ackley. The reasoning for this is the 6.8 western is a short action while the 280 ackley is not. For a lightweight short rifle the 6.8 western has the edge imo for a backpacking purpose built rifle for the lower 48. But then the next question is, if short action is desirable for purposes shared (lightweight backpacking), to then compare to the close 7 saum. I ultimately landed with the 6.8 western on a hnt26 stock myself after all considerations.

 

[#publiclands]

I personally chose the 6.8 western over the 280 ackley. The reasoning for this is the 6.8 western is a short action while the 280 ackley is not. For a lightweight short rifle the 6.8 western has the edge imo for a backpacking purpose build rifle. But then the next question is, if short action is desirable for purposes shared (lightweight backpacking), to then take a look at the 7 saum. I ultimately landed with the 6.8 western on a hnt26 stock myself.

i was thinking that if I really wanted a light weight mountain rifle I would seriously consider the 7mn-08 in a Kimber Montana, Kimber hunter, or a tikka super lite
I would assume that it’s good out to 500 yards with the right bullet and proper placement on any thing up to elk.

That being said a 280 ai may make a good choice since I would already have 7mm bullets on hand

 

[z987k]

i was thinking that if I really wanted a light weight mountain rifle I would seriously consider the 7mn-08 in a Kimber Montana, Kimber hunter, or a tikka super lite
I would assume that it’s good out to 500 yards with the right bullet and proper placement on any thing up to elk.

That being said a 280 ai may make a good choice since I would already have 7mm bullets on hand

Ya, the 7-08 gets you there in everything but the low BC copper bullets or old low BC lead stuff.
Throw another fork at you, the 284win and the 280ai are ballistically identical, but you still get the 4 rounds, on a short action.
IMO the ultimate mountain gun is a 6cm, but if you want the ultimate mountain gun in 7mm, 284win is the choice. There's a reason Melvin Forbes chose it.

 

[Gila]

Ya, the 7-08 gets you there in everything but the low BC copper bullets or old low BC lead stuff.
Throw another fork at you, the 284win and the 280ai are ballistically identical, but you still get the 4 rounds, on a short action.
IMO the ultimate mountain gun is a 6cm, but if you want the ultimate mountain gun in 7mm, 284win is the choice. There's a reason Melvin Forbes chose it.

284 Win is my favorite rifle. I twisted a McGowen barrel onto a a Tikka T3 action. Will need a GAP reamer to get a longer throat to shoot the heavy bullets. I dropped it into a 23 oz carbon stock and put a lighter Trijicon scope on it….shoots 162 gr ELDs like laser beams. About 8 lbs. If I would have went with the lighter contour would be closer to 7 lbs. No factory ammo but plenty of brass and bullets available. Melvin’s NULA in 284 win was very popular with sheep hunters. I have a 6.8 Western that is about 8.5 lb that includes a 34mm tube scope which is a little heavier, on top of a 20 MOA pic rail.

 

[#publiclands]

Ya, the 7-08 gets you there in everything but the low BC copper bullets or old low BC lead stuff.
Throw another fork at you, the 284win and the 280ai are ballistically identical, but you still get the 4 rounds, on a short action.
IMO the ultimate mountain gun is a 6cm, but if you want the ultimate mountain gun in 7mm, 284win is the choice. There's a reason Melvin Forbes chose it.

I’m gonna have to look into the 284 … I have a rem adl that I could use for donor action

 

[shmtastic]

I just finished up loading for a 6.8 Western for a shooting buddy of mine. I have shot it back to back with my 280 AI. I think it would be more what you want to do with it, as they both shot the same weight bullets and felt identical behind the gun. His was a Browning with the 20" barrel, mine was the savage ultralight with 22".

Velocity with 140 class bullets are similar between the two. If you want long range, go with the 6.8 Western. If you want mid range, go with the 280 AI. If you are building, you can spec a 280 AI to do it all, been then again you can with any rifle in the .277-308 range easily.

But if you're shooting factory everything, including ammo and factory gun, I would look at it as 6.8 Western having better long distance options, and the 280 AI having more ammo options to custom tailor to the hunt.

Both shoot very well.

 

[Gila]

I just finished up loading for a 6.8 Western for a shooting buddy of mine. I have shot it back to back with my 280 AI. I think it would be more what you want to do with it, as they both shot the same weight bullets and felt identical behind the gun. His was a Browning with the 20" barrel, mine was the savage ultralight with 22".

Velocity with 140 class bullets are similar between the two. If you want long range, go with the 6.8 Western. If you want mid range, go with the 280 AI. If you are building, you can spec a 280 AI to do it all, been then again you can with any rifle in the .277-308 range easily.

But if you're shooting factory everything, including ammo and factory gun, I would look at it as 6.8 Western having better long distance options, and the 280 AI having more ammo options to custom tailor to the hunt.

Both shoot very well.

If only interested in 140-150 gr bullets just as well go with a 6.5 PRC and be done with it. The 6.5 x 284 Norma is an excellent choice as well.

 

[#publiclands]

I just finished up loading for a 6.8 Western for a shooting buddy of mine. I have shot it back to back with my 280 AI. I think it would be more what you want to do with it, as they both shot the same weight bullets and felt identical behind the gun. His was a Browning with the 20" barrel, mine was the savage ultralight with 22".

Velocity with 140 class bullets are similar between the two. If you want long range, go with the 6.8 Western. If you want mid range, go with the 280 AI. If you are building, you can spec a 280 AI to do it all, been then again you can with any rifle in the .277-308 range easily.

But if you're shooting factory everything, including ammo and factory gun, I would look at it as 6.8 Western having better long distance options, and the 280 AI having more ammo options to custom tailor to the hunt.

Both shoot very well.

Great info! If I went 280ai I would be going with a browning x bolt as they have a 1:8 twist barrel or a I would be building on a savage action with a 1:8 twist barrel. So I will be good with the 140-175 grain bullets. I don’t plan on buying factory as I plan to reload. The browning x bolt pro in the 6.8 has a 1:7.5 twist so I don’t think that it would stabilize the lighter 140 grain bullets well. But it would be really good with the heavy long range bullets.
The 6.8 does sound very appealing though as it does shoot the 175 plus really well.

 

[#publiclands]

If only interested in 140-150 gr bullets just as well go with a 6.5 PRC and be done with it. The 6.5 x 284 Norma is an excellent choice as well.

I’d be interested in 140 to 175 plus …

 

[Unckebob]

One of my regular rifles is a 280AI, but I recently bought a Browning Mountain Pro 6.8W which is much lighter.

 

[#publiclands]

hello … mind if I pick your brain about the two? Which one do you prefer? The mountain pro is nice but it’s probably a lot more expensive that the standard pro? How much lighter is it? Thanks

 

[6mm Remington]

280AI
Love that cartridge. It is a great killer on game and very accurate.

 

[Mtndawger]

I started shooting 280 AI about 2 years ago. During the factory ammo drought. Nosler brass is definitely more expensive, but readily available. Peterson is a good bit cheaper but only available once a year or so. 6.8W still not available. Now factory ammo for both is abundant. It’s still $40-$50/box on the low end to crazy on the higher end. I reload mine because I want to shoot fragmenting monos like Hammers and Cutting Edges. Fast, flat shooting 140-150 grain and it just kills them but I’m not shooting 600 yards…250 is my longest shot thus far. I’m certain that holds up without issue to at least 500 though. The AI over the past 2 years has had damn near an explosion in popularity. Which makes me think it will hold up better over time. Ultimately, in my mind they perform equally well. Do you want to reload or use factory is the primary question. Then which one tickles your fancy more? FWIW I had an x bolt pro 1st generation with carbon stock. For factory stocks it was ok but if I did it all over again I would buy the least expensive model and an aftermarket vertical grip type carbon stock. It will be much easier to shoot accurately. One of the issues with factory stock is the bolt release configuration on safe forces you to mount your scope higher which creates an issue since the scope is too high for the stock. Aftermarket stock with higher cheek fixes that. Also FWIW again with the AI Federal has finally come out with the terminal ascent 155 grain. That’s the ammo I would shoot if confined to factory. They just had a flood of it available and it shoots great with a great all around bullet

 

[StupidLightweight]

Both are fine cartridges, but I'm not encouraging anyone to go with the 6.8 Western due to the bullet diameter. American shooters have settled on .224, 6mm, 6.5mm, .284, and .30 cal bullet diameters. Those are the present and future. Like it or not, .277 and .257 are in the past.

If you want a modern short mag, go 6.5 PRC instead of 6.8W. The .280 AI is the sensible choice if you like .284 bullets and don't want a "common" cartridge. Now, if you want an even cooler round, consider the .284 Win. like someone mentioned above. Brass availability? I doubt that's a concern for a big-game rifle. A few hundred cases will last a looooooong time.