Good Loads For The .280 Ackley

Left - .280 Remington and right - .280 Ackley Improved — Left – .280 Remington and right – .280 Ackley Improved

Q: I’ve just had my Ruger M77 in .280 Remington rechambered to the Ackley Improved version and have fireformed 100 rounds of factory ammo without losing a single case. That’s darned impressive. Now I’m ready to start reloading and am looking for two or three good loads, Can you suggest a recipe for each of the following bullets – Hornady 140gn GMX, Barnes 150gn TTSX and Nosler 160gn AccuBond? The powders I have are AR2213sc, Reloder 19 and 22. Should I use standard or magnum primers?
Joe Ludwig

A: I’m very impressed with the .280 Ackley Improved which treads closely on the heels of the 7mm Rem. Mag., but has less

Parker O. Ackley - Wildcatter — Parker O. Ackley – Wildcatter

muzzle blast and recoil. The Hornady 140gn GMX gets scooted along at 3195 fps by 63gn of Re-22; the Barnes 150gn TTSX and 59gn of RE- 19 gets a solid 3065 fps; and the Nosler 160gn AccuBond and 59gn of Re-19 churns up 2990fps. If you want a good varmint/predator load try the Barnes 120gn TTSX and 64gn of AR2213sc for 3360fps. The .280 AI gives magnum performance in a standard rimless case and I’d rate it as Ackley’s finest wildcat.