Any comments on .280 rem?

[Damon619]

Any comments on .280 rem?

[Golfing Sportsman]

Just as good as the 7mm Remington magnum but with out as much recoil. Only trouble is that if you don't reload there is not that much ammo available on sporting goods store shelves.

[ishawooa]

In theory a ballistic twin to the .270 Win. I have both and don't see much difference even with my reloads. By the way no matter how you load it you can't make a 280 AI perform the same as a 7 Rem Mag, close but not quite so why bother?

[steve182]

nice load, just difficult to find ammo. Very few choices if you don't roll your own.

[westjoe]

This is a great caliber. I have a model 700 in .280 and it is nothing short of great. Its knockdown power and accuracy makes it a great choice for deer, black bear, and elk. I personally have took several whitetails at 150yds. plus and a black bear as well. I feed mine remington corelokts and it does fine with them. They are a little more expensive then say a .270 or .30-06.

[Beekeeper]

The .280 Remington is a good rifle cartridge. For the reloader it offers a little more versatility than the .270. There is not much difference in bullet diameter .284 vs. .277, but there are more .284 bullet choices available, particularly in heavier bullets. .280 factory ammo selection is very limited. If you don't reload buy a .270 or .30/06.

Ish is correct about the .280 Ackley Improved. It will get close to the 7mag with 140's but soon looses ground. To me it has less recoil and muzzleblast than the 7 mag, not a bad thing...

.280 AI ammo is available from Nosler and Norma is flirting with making it a factory cartridge.

[Edward J. Palumbo]

Like many other shooters, I've owned .30-'06 and .270 rifles, all of which performed very well and accomplished all that could be expected of them. In the mid-'70s, I rebarreled a tired Rem Model 700 in .270 to .280 Remington with a 24-inch heavy stainless tube and, as other shooters have noted, I had a broader spectrum of bullets (including Match bullets) from which to choose. That rifle was remarkably accurate at 200 yards and beyond. At some point, priorities changed and I accepted the offer of another shooter who told me, "If you EVER sell that rifle, I want to first opportunity to purchase it." And so he did. I can't comment about recoil; that .280 weighed about 13.5 lbs., so it really didn't recoil much. I think very highly of the standard rifle cartridges - .30-'06, .270 Win., .280 Rem. - and I avoid debates about which is "better", since they've all proven themselves as excellent North American game cartridges, but individual preference is not a matter of scientific impartiality. If a cartridge works well for you, you will remember it and opt for it when other choices are presented. The .280 is unquestionably one of several excellent choices.

[hjohn429]

Basically the 280 is to the 7mm. Rem. magnum as the 308 is to the 30-06. I think it is a great cartridge. Great for deer, elk, and target shooting.

[shane]

I like it better than the .270 for anything. Shoot me.

[T.W. Davidson]

I have two 280 AIs, both with 26" barrels. I also have a 7x57 AI and a .270 Win., with 24" and 22" barrels, respectively. I handload for all of these rifles, and have experimented for quite a while with load development in each rifle/caliber, with premium hunting and match grade target bullets ranging from 120- to 150-grains.

Conclusion: At ranges out to 400 yards--which is about as far as I'm ever likely to take a shot at big game, and even then only very rarely, and under optimal conditions--I see no significant difference between any of the above cartridges/bullets and downrange lethal performance when obtaining heart/lung shots. (If you fail to get a heart-lung shot, or other immediately lethal shot, then the particular caliber/rifle you shoot is moot.)

Any of the above calibers, including a .280 Remington, when properly handloaded using premium bullets (or with factory ammo loaded with premium bullets), and when obtaining heart/lung shot placement, will take anything you need in North America at any reasonable range. If you do not handload, I would not buy a .280 Remington because factory ammo availability can be sometimes an issue, whereas it never is with a .270 Win. If you do handload, then any of the above cartridges will give you essentially equivalent performance out to 400 yards. Pick the cartridge and rifle that makes you feel most comfortable and with which you can shoot your best repeatable accuracy.

TWD

[rudyglove27]

Agreed with Beekeeper answer above and A + 1 for you sir!!!