Who is shooting their Ruger Hawkeye African .280 Ackley?

[Joker12]

What I had hoped to find out the most is how the RUGER .280 AI shoots.

A friend of mine has a Ruger African 280 AI and I have been helping him develop a load for it using 154gr Hornady interlocks. So far the rifle shoots quite well. We have yet to chrono the loads so don't have that data yet.

 

[sgt_zim]

I've had an on-going interest in the 280 AI for awhile, and also curious about the Ruger African version. Anything new on this front in the last few months, anyone?

finally got brass, just vacillating around on a scope.

 

[YancyW]

I have a 280ai in a Cooper M92. It shoots lights out, it is very close to the most accurate rifle I own and it is under 6lbs unscoped, under 7 with one.

160 accubonds get close to 3000, 24" tube. I have a bunch of 140 AFrames I bought for a 7x64 I was going to use in Africa, if I were to take the 280ai again, that is likely what I would load, or the above mentioned Hammer hunters.

 

[Dukeisok]

I have a bergara stalker in 280 ackley. Significantly sub moa all day long with handloads of 145 barnes lrx. I get 3140 fps with sd of 9 over reloader 17 at or slightly over barnes book max (worked up slowly and backed down to an accuracy node) in hornady brass. It is actually below book Max from nosler for similar weight projectiles. It is a sweet shooting round and on paper my loads are slightly faster than a 7mm rem mag with less powder. Probably not enough to make a difference in the real world. No personal experience with the ruger African.

 

[HuntingGold]

That's an Oregon blacktail. The first critter to fall to my 280 AI which was Christened as "Lori Darlin."

I never could settle on a load for the old Grand Slams that I bought out of an estate. I switched to a 160 grain Sierra with H4831sc and started closing in on a load. Deer season crept up and this nice buck volunteered. Elk season rolled around but we did not find another volunteer.

I will continue to shoot and test the gun over the next year. I hope to get my fingers on 160 grain partitions soon and play with those. Nathan Foster gives that bullet high marks and the Nosler factory is Oregon based making it home-grown for me. Bottom line is load development is fun and I like this new gun.

If all goes well, I'll take Lori Darlin to the Eastern Cape later this year for further testing.

 

[shootist~]

Wow. Several excellent choices to consider, not to forget the Ruger as well. RL-17 as a Barnes recommended powder was a bit of a surprise, especially considering I actually have a supply.

 

[CBH Australia]

A friend of mine has a Ruger African 280 AI and I have been helping him develop a load for it using 154gr Hornady interlocks. So far the rifle shoots quite well. We have yet to chrono the loads so don't have that data yet.

Well, we found one Ruger African for you, and plenty of praise for the .280ai if that helps.

 

[CBeck]

This is hardly an in-depth report but so far I’m well pleased with my Ruger African 280AI …. I’ve done limited shooting due to ammo availability and reloading component availability but I did bore site and shoot a three round group. This is 50 yards with factory AB 140 grain. First shot low was straight off the bore sighter.

My only dilemma now is refinishing the stock… Mine is very plain grain which I don’t necessarily mind but I don’t love the artificial stain polyurethane finish. that’s actually how I found this thread was looking for refinished factory stock photos.

It is a wonderful stock to hold, very sleek and trim. I’m not particularly recoil sensitive but compared to my 7 mm Remington magnum it is significantly less recoil with similar performance.

Ruger obviously the one on the bottom.

I know many have complained that the 280 Ackley improved was an abomination in an African themed rifle but I would argue that it’s a 7 mm and just as worthy of being in the Ruger African series as the 375 Ruger which is hardly a historic caliber either.

 

[shootist~]

@CBeck
Beautiful camera work, sir. Thanks for posting the pictures and the information.
Looking forward to seeing how things progress.

 

[CBeck]

@CBeck
Beautiful camera work, sir. Thanks for posting the pictures and the information.
Looking forward to seeing how things progress.

And I appreciate your help in my reloading thread. Hopefully soon all the missing components will come available

 

[nomspc]

I am waiting for a Palehorse Zero 280AI barrel for my R8. Supply chain issues have stretched this almost out to a year, primarily due to lack of availability of Krieger blanks. Hope to have a report up here soon.

 

[CBeck]

Well, this is a disappointing turn of events. As I mentioned I haven’t shot my rifle but about 5 times all during site in so loaded singles…..but for whatever reason I decided I would fill the magazine and cycle the bolt a few times.

It feeds completely unreliably. Picks up the first cartridge out of the magazine and then won’t pick up the second one, so on and so forth as you cycle all the way through the magazine.

I guess there’s no way to post a video?

 

[shootist~]

Well, this is a disappointing turn of events. As I mentioned I haven’t shot my rifle but about 5 times all during site in so loaded singles…..but for whatever reason I decided I would fill the magazine and cycle the bolt a few times.

It feeds completely unreliably. Picks up the first cartridge out of the magazine and then won’t pick up the second one, so on and so forth as you cycle all the way through the magazine.

I guess there’s no way to post a video?

I bet it's something simple like the carrier dragging. Maybe pull it apart, clean and apply a light lube?

 

[CBeck]

I bet it's something simple like the carrier dragging. Maybe pull it apart, clean and apply a light lube?

I have been all thru it…deburring all rough edges, checking the follower, adjusted the spring slightly.,.,cannot figure it out. The primer end of the shell will not come up enough for the bolt to catch it every time. The rounds seesaw in the magazine if that makes sense.

 

[shootist~]

I meant to say follower. Possibly it's a known defect and Ruger will send you a part, but most likely they will want the rifle shipped to their warranty center. Pain in the royal ass stuff for sure.

 

[CBeck]

I meant to say follower. Possibly it's a known defect and Ruger will send you a part, but most likely they will want the rifle shipped to their warranty center. Pain in the royal ass stuff for sure.

No doubt. I’m going to ask for a new follower, mag box and spring before that but suspect you’re correct.…you Know what they say, if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.

it’s a bit of a running joke in my family that I have has appliance karma. They could make 100,000 washing machines and if there is one bad I’m going to get it.

Apparently my bad appliance karma now extends to firearms.

 

[CBeck]

I thought an update was needed. I got the idea that my trusty 280 Remington m77 mkII in the boat paddle stock likely shared the same parts as the 25 year newer 280 Ackley Improved Ruger Hawkeye African.

I started by swapping the magazine spring and follower with the same results of not picking up all cartridges from the magazine well.

So, I decided I would swap the actual magazine box as well. Though with visual inspection, they appear to my eye to be exactly identical, much to my surprise that did the trick.

Oddly enough, the M77 mkII doesn’t seem to mind the magazine box and seems to function fine with it. Swap them back and the feed issues return to the African.

The African still seems to be a little more finicky about having the cartridges stacked exactly perfectly or it will still occasionally not pick up a round but it is a significant improvement.

I will be requesting a new follower, magazine spring and magazine box from Ruger which I’m sure they will gladly provide based on my previous experiences with their customer service.

 

[shootist~]

That's very good news, @CBeck
Please let us know how Ruger handles the problem.

 

[CBeck]

I c

That's very good news, @CBeck
Please let us know how Ruger handles the problem.

I called Ruger this morning and they requested the rifle back. I explained about swapping magazine boxes and said I’d rather try swapping the parts before sending it in.

She asked which parts I wanted, she ordered them and I should be receiving them shortly.

 

[CBH Australia]

That's very good news, @CBeck
Please let us know how Ruger handles the problem.

I c

I called Ruger this morning and they requested the rifle back. I explained about swapping magazine boxes and said I’d rather try swapping the parts before sending it in.

She asked which parts I wanted, she ordered them and I should be receiving them shortly.

Sounds like they are handling it pretty well.