.280 Rem

[Magnumsrule]

The 280. rem is also loaded to much lower pressure than the 270 win. The 280 was origonally designed to be used in the remington model 740 autoloader rifle so they did not load the cartridge to the full potential as to keep these rifles from being overstressed. This cartridge is also very good because it does not kick much. This cartridge is only slightly less that the 7mm mag but does kick much less.

[ArkansasHunter]

Thanks Magnumsrule...interesting that the ad has it pictured with a BDL model boltaction.
I added a 280 caliber rifle to my ever changeing gun want list. LOL...A.H

[samuel]

Originally Posted by Magnumsrule

The 280. rem is also loaded to much lower pressure than the 270 win. The 280 was origonally designed to be used in the remington model 740 autoloader rifle so they did not load the cartridge to the full potential as to keep these rifles from being overstressed. This cartridge is also very good because it does not kick much. This cartridge is only slightly less that the 7mm mag but does kick much less.

It could be that factory loads are low pressure but handloads are about the same as a .270win.Where the .280 is lacking from the 7mm mag. is powder capacity for slow burning powders for heavier bullets.It,s a great cartridge and even better handloaded. sam.

[tackleberry]

I own a Browning .280 A-bolt and have harvested 6 deer with it, and all were one shot kills. The deer buckled, and fell. I should add that I do not normally take hip shots. These were shots down a grass lane from a stand /house over a grass patch. So the shots were all behind the shoulder shots.

I'm a believer.

Dave

[Magnumsrule]

Yes the 280. rem is an excellent round. If you have access to the book cartridges of the world it will give you information on all of the hunting rounds in exsistance. In this book it says that the 280. is loaded to low pressures because of the semi-auto action. The cartridge was also marketed in bolt actions but the factory loaded ammunition is still not loaded high to make sure that the semi-auto guns are not over stressed. The 280. is still more efficient powder burner than the 7mm as for all the extra case capacity gained with the 7mm you do not gain more than about 100 fps when the recoil is increased greatly.

[rasterman77]

Originally Posted by Magnumsrule

Yes the 280. rem is an excellent round. If you have access to the book cartridges of the world it will give you information on all of the hunting rounds in exsistance. In this book it says that the 280. is loaded to low pressures because of the semi-auto action. The cartridge was also marketed in bolt actions but the factory loaded ammunition is still not loaded high to make sure that the semi-auto guns are not over stressed. The 280. is still more efficient powder burner than the 7mm as for all the extra case capacity gained with the 7mm you do not gain more than about 100 fps when the recoil is increased greatly.

The .280 using the Hornady Light Mags come damn close to 7mm mag so you seem to be right but have not fired the .280 & the 7mm mag in the same day so not sure about comparing recoil.

I love bringing these old threads back to life.hehe

[m.rehme]

I have a rifle in 7X64 which is very close to the .280, I would have bought a .280 but it wasn't available in the gun I wanted.
I am extremely well pleased with how well that round performs.
I've shot many many deer over the years and four bull elk.
Great Round.

[rasterman77]

Originally Posted by m.rehme

I have a rifle in 7X64 which is very close to the .280, I would have bought a .280 but it wasn't available in the gun I wanted.
I am extremely well pleased with how well that round performs.
I've shot many many deer over the years and four bull elk.
Great Round.

While reading about your 7x64 (which is compared to the .280 on every site by the way) I found out that France and Belgium do not allow ex-military ammunition (weird) and thusly use cartridges like this more predominantly.

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by Palladin8

Hey Kev just out of curiosity what's the recoil like with this cartridge? My brother and I got to talking and he asked me and since I have never shot the .280 Rem I couldn't answer. I would think it would be similar to the .270 or 30-06.

Just compare the muzzle energy. Providing the rifle weighs the same the kick will be essentially proportional to the muzzle energy. (There is no free lunch...).

If the thread starter is still following this thread, I think the 280 is a great cartridge and very under rated. The only knock on it is availability of factory loads. It can pack a bit more power than the 270, as it has more case room.

Ron

[Palladin8]

Yep still following it. I ended up buying a .280 Ackley Improved. It was only $30.00 more to have it chambered so I thought to myself why not I have never owned a "custom caliber". Well it has opened up a can of worms. I have had second thoughts about choosing the custom caliber but i'm sure once I pull the trigger for the first time it will all be forgotten.

[mwlu711]

you made a good choise palladin8.i have looked at the balistics on the 280ai its impressive i have a ruger 77mk2 in 280 rem. and love it.i dont think it kick any more than the 270 its accurite and has better bullet selection and it is good think you reload for it because i just moved and dont have my loading bench set up yet so when i just had to go shooting with my 280 i paid 29 dollars for the only box of ammo within 50 miles so now im set up.

[Magnumsrule]

How much bigger of a case does the ackley have over the rem?

[Lng Rng]

If you hand load 7mm Rem Mag and the 280 to max potential, you are still looking at a few hundred pounds of energy difference. You just have to decide if it is worth it to you.

Also, if you did load it to "close" to the same as a 7mm mag, the recoil would be equally close. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

[m.rehme]

Don't know if it still holds true today but the 7X64 is or was to the Europeans what the 30-06 is to us.
When I ordered mine I was told it was the most popular round in Europe.
Probably due mostly to the fact some countries don't allow ex-military ammunition.

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by m.rehme

Don't know if it still holds true today but the 7X64 is or was to the Europeans what the 30-06 is to us.
When I ordered mine I was told it was the most popular round in Europe.
Probably due mostly to the fact some countries don't allow ex-military ammunition.

It probably most closely matches the 270 and 280 cartridges, which in my view makes it superior to the 30-06.

7x64 | Norma Precision - ammunition

Ron

[ArkansasHunter]

This to me is an excellent thread...If there is to be another new rifle bought by me It will prolly be a 280 remton...A.H

[Magnumsrule]

Ya ive been mulling this same thing over for a long while now. Whether to get a 280 rem. or a 7mm wsm...

[Rye-man]

Get a .280 You will never be sorry.
I have been shooting one for almost 20 years and have taken many of deer and elk with it.

[Lng Rng]

Originally Posted by Magnumsrule

Ya ive been mulling this same thing over for a long while now. Whether to get a 280 rem. or a 7mm wsm...

My main hunting rifle for the last couple of years has been an A-Bolt in 7mm WSM. It has been a good gun, it has no more case capcity than a 30-06, yet Winchester claims about 3400 lbs of energy at the muzzle with 150gr PP's.

I have shot a few deer, and taken one black bear with it. In addition, my cousin used it before he bought his 270, and have always been happy with the performance.

If you want to shoot 175gr bullets, you either have to handload or get the Rem. Mag.

[.280Rem]

Originally Posted by samuel

It could be that factory loads are low pressure but handloads are about the same as a .270win.Where the .280 is lacking from the 7mm mag. is powder capacity for slow burning powders for heavier bullets.It,s a great cartridge and even better handloaded. sam.

Hi, new member here. I was attracted by googling info on the .280, and ran across this thread. I know it's old, but it was resurrected once, and I wanted to comment being that I'm a long time .280 owner and fan.

I reload, and have done LOTS of research on the .280 Load Data. All data you see in book is loaded to no more than 60K psi, the SAAMI Max Average Safe Pressure for the .280Rem. As mentioned before, this was due in part to it's initial chambering in pumpguns and autoloaders by Remington. It is safe to load the .280Rem to .270Win pressures, or 65K psi. How do you know the pressure? Well, you don't, unless you have access to pressure testing equipement. So, I do the math. Nosler says 57grs of R-19 and a 140 BT or Partition gets 3150fps in a 26" bbl. Subtract 35fps per inch of bbl for my 24" Rem700, and I should be able to get 3080 or very close, and do it at or under 60K psi. I may not do it with 57grs, as lots of powder differ, it may take more, or it may not, but the velocity, not the powder charge tells me where I am on pressure. Now, I feel safe loading up to 65Kpsi, but to keep some cushion, I like to keep it at @ 62K-63K, just to account for standard deviations...which SAAMI has already done, but a little more cushion doesn't hurt. (Actually most producers of data do the same thing, and thus most .280 data is actually at 56K-58Kpsi) I work up my load with that 3150fps in mind taking into account I'm loading to a little higher pressure than the Nosler data. I get 3150fps, and good accuracy, but I do it with a 139 Hornday instead. I got the velocity with the BT's, but not the accuracy I desired. Finally, I consult Quickload, and it confirms that the velocity I'm reaching is predicted to be in the 62K-63K range, and with the 139 Hornady, it's even lower (right at 60K) because of the shorter bearing surface.

In fact experienced loaders who know how to really read, understand, and use load data, find that the .280Rem will do the following at safe pressures from 22-24" bbls.

139/140s - 3075-3150fps
150/154s - 2950-3025fps
160/162s - 2925-3000fps

If you compare that, that's equal to most 7mm Remington Mag factory loads. I also tried Hornady Lite Mag once. It ran an amazing 3200fps in my gun. I had to check the chronograph to be sure it wasn't messing up...it checked out fine. Hornady advertises it at 3110fps.

There are many loaders that refuse to subscribe to loading the .280 to it's potential. They're convinced that the Max load they read on paper is the absolute, carved in stone, max powder charge, regardless of velocity, and despite the fact that the .280 data is woefully conservative due to SAAMI. I've been told by a few that they encountered pressure problems @ the 2900fps mark. What they're saying is, that they can't even duplicate factory load velocity by handloading, and I don't buy that. The major problem I see with most loaders is that they refuse to use the correct burn rate of powder for the application. H4350 (used for instance because it's so popular) is certainly a fine powder suited to a wide range of applications. However, there powders better suited to the .280 for maximum performance. The velocities I listed above generally can't be attained using the likes of R-15, IMR4350, H4350, or the like. The powders best suited for this application, in my experience, are: N-160, and R-19 for the 140s; H4831, N165 and R-22 for the 150s, And R-22 and N165 for 160s. R-22 and N165 are excellent for all the bullet weights actually. I've also read others claim that N550, and N560 are well suited to the .280Rem. The N550 is in the 4350 but it's double base design supposedly allows for more energy. From the Lapua/Vihtavuori site: The N500 series powders are impregnated extruded rifle powders with Nitroglycerol added as extra energy component. If higher loading densities and more energy are needed, N500 series powders are competent alternatives for the N100 series powders.

I have to say that I'm a huge fan of VV powders. They give top velocity, and very low standard deviations.

Sorry to have gotten so wordy, I'm just a huge .280Rem fan, and I love to be a pimp for it anytime I can.