280 Remington

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tilo

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I am in the market for a new gun/caliber and am looking seriously at the 280. Does anyone have some first hand experience on this caliber?

As for species, I hunt from the river bottoms for moose and mountains for sheep/goat and anything in between. I'm not interested in the 280AI and believe if this is the direction I want to go, I will favor the 7mm mag.

Thanks.:wave:
 
tilo said:
I am in the market for a new gun/caliber and am looking seriously at the 280. Does anyone have some first hand experience on this caliber?

As for species, I hunt from the river bottoms for moose and mountains for sheep/goat and anything in between. I'm not interested in the 280AI and believe if this is the direction I want to go, I will favor the 7mm mag.

Thanks.:wave:
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A properly loaded 280 will be very close to the 7 mag,it's one of the most well balanced and powerful cartridges out there. The 160 Nosler Partition will do anything you need it to do......
 
280 is a great cartridge, east of west it is not out of place on any hunt when loaded properly. Moderate recoil and enough ammo options by Federal to get a guy by if he doesn't handload
 
What's not to like about the .280? It's a flat-shooting, hard-hitting caliber that's very much "at home" with 160/154 grain bullets for moose, deer or whatever big game you're likely to encounter in Canada.

Want a flatter trajectory? Load a 140 grain TSX or interbond and you're ready for whatever crosses your path.

So, why isn't the .280 AI on your list?
 
I have been shooting my 280 Rem for 13 years. Mine is very accurate and shoots flat. It has been a big game slayer par excellence, and it has a string of one shot kills with no misses that has lasted pretty much the entire 13 years. Needless to say, the 280 Rem may be the best all-around cartridge available; little recoil with performance that for all practical purposes [pretty much] duplicates the 7mm RM. However, I believe it is really a handloaders cartridge, as factory offerings are very limited. When I finally decide I only need one rifle, it will be my .280, no question.

This ram was taken with my 280 at 512 yards with a 140 AB. It can do it all.

P8270107-1.jpg
 
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I've been using mine for 15+ years. It's got moderate recoil, lots of power, and my rifle is far more accurate than its owner. There is not a huge assortment of ammo, but if you can't kill it with the Federal Premium 150 Nosler Partition load, you're too far away. I have no problem finding factory ammo but don't use it often.
Mine likes H4831 or IMR 4831 powder, and after trying a whole bunch of bullets, I've settled on the Hornady SST. Both the 139-grain and 154-grain weights gave me best groups of 1/2 MOA.
I don't own a 7mm Magnum, but tried one in the same rifle (A-Bolt) my .280 is in, and I found a startling difference in perceived recoil. It's my never-sell centrefire, and I was too slow when the CDL came out, so didn't get one of those. Great rifle, great chambering. Rem should have kept the .280 as a chambering in that rifle, but they seem to go in cycles: they ignore one of their finest cartridges almost to death, reintroduce it, it seel like hotcales for a while, then they ignore it again. I think if they offered it in the SPS series and the CDL they'd sell a whole whack of rifles.
 
rickp262 said:
I just bought one from a friend. Brand new Remington 700 CDL in .280 scoped. $450. He won it, and didn't have a use for it.:dancingbanana:
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Hmm, news to me. When did they start chambering the CDL in .280? Its not in the '07 or '08 catalogues...
 
The first year only (was that '05?) they chambered the .280, then dropped it. Those people are foolish, sometimes. In a standard-weight rifle, it's a pleasant cartridge to shoot. In Rem's Mountain Rifle, not so much. They only offered it in the 700 BDL for a couple of years, and the CDL for one. I think they'd sell a lot if they offered it in full-size rifles. They hadn't had it in a bolt rifle for several years when they intro'd the Mountain Rifle in about 1986; for several years the .280 outsold all other available chamberings combined in that rifle. They should have followed up better. I think they treated the .260 about the same way. It's a minor miracle it caught on as well as it did.
 
dpopl8r said:
Needless to say, the 280 Rem may be the best all-around cartridge available; little recoil with performance that for all practical purposes [pretty much] duplicates the 7mm RM. However, I believe it is really a handloaders cartridge, as factory offerings are very limited.
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Why not go with the 7mm-08 Rem,it may be the best all-around cartridge available; little recoil with performance that for all practical purposes [pretty much] duplicates the 280 Rem. However, I believe it is really a handloaders cartridge, as factory offerings are very limited


303carbine said:
A properly loaded 280 will be very close to the 7 mag,it's one of the most well balanced and powerful cartridges out there. The 160 Nosler Partition will do anything you need it to do......
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A properly loaded 7-08 will be very close to the 280 Rem,it's one of the most well balanced and powerful cartridges out there. The 160 Nosler Partition will do anything you need it to do


...actually get a 7mmBR...it's close to the 7-08, which is close to the 280 which is not as close to the 7 Rem Mag as some believe...and I've had them all, including the 280AI...nver had a 7mmBR though.....maybe I should sell my 7-08 and get one...afterall..it's close...:D
 
The only rifle I have that can claim all around status is my .280. Easy to reload and if for some ungodly reason it gets discontinued you can reform '06 brass very easily. The .280 is an awesome rifle for anything you could want to shoot on this continent, with the right load it will handle the large ornery bears as well.
 
Have two. Rem Pump Model 7600 & Model 700 BDL that was rebarrelled to 280 Rem.

Very good round. Recoil is quite manageable. If I every get to a gun shop that has one in a Browning X-Bolt Stainless Stalker and like it as much as I think I will it may come home with me.

If I could only have 1 big game rifle the 280 REM would be it.
 
Rembo said:
...actually get a 7mmBR...it's close to the 7-08, which is close to the 280 which is not as close to the 7 Rem Mag as some believe...and I've had them all, including the 280AI...nver had a 7mmBR though.....maybe I should sell my 7-08 and get one...afterall..it's close...:D
Click to expand...


Actually, the 7-08 is not as close to the 280 Rem as some believe.....
 
280

Thanks for the positive feedback. Very nice ram you have dpopl8r. Wow, one shot at that range is very good.

I wished that there were more gun makers who had this caliber. If I do buy a new rifle, I think it will be the Remington Alaskan Ti in the 280 or the 30-06 in the Sako Finnlight.

Cheers
 
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