270 vs 280. thoughts?

chuck nelson said:
NIWbGkr.jpg


15 years old man.

Ironically, this is a 30-06.
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Love the smile Chuck. Congrats on a nice buck....too bad about the '06 ;-)
 
BlackRam said:
I have used both the 270 and 280 over the past 30 years, and there is marginal difference between the two. As great as the 270 is (and factory ammunition is loaded for better performance than the 280 due to rifles the 280 were introduced in), I prefer the 280 Rem with the 160/162 gr bullets. The new 165 gr Gamechanger from Sierra will be a great bullet in this cartridge too.
As you are reloading, the 280 makes more sense, as you already are using .284 bullets and have them on hand. And at least for me, everyone has a 270 or a 30-06; it was nice to have something a bit different.

Recoil wise, muzzle brakes will reduce felt recoil, but are not the better option. As mentioned above, they are extremely noisy, the air movement off of them is something you must experience first hand at the range to appreciate (just sit or stand to the side of someone shooting a braked rifle; it is not pleasant. It is very loud and feels like you were just slapped by a linebacker), your wife will not want to shoot with you, and if you go on a guided hunt, neither will your guide! If you are prone or sitting, the leaves, grass, dust or snow is going to fly and obstruct your sight picture of the game you are shooting at.

If you do not like recoil, use a cartidge and rifle stock configuration that suits you and learn how to hunt better. Getting closer to your game reduces required velocity/energy, and provides for a more enjoyable experience. The proper rifle stock configuration for you will depend on your physical build (ie. short neck/round face, long neck/oval face and actual felt recoil of straight (classic) stocked rifles and monte carlo stocked rifles) only trying them will determine which suits you better. Try some friends guns or buy a couple of boxes of ammo and try some used guns from your local gun store. Some people will say that the classic stocked rifle will provide less felt recoil, but the truth is, that it depends on the individual's physical build, and we are not all built the same.

And use ear plugs and ear muffs when practicing! More people flinch from the noise of the rifle than from the actual recoil! Evident when watching them shoot small calibers. The old test was having someone else load your rifle, and then having you shoot. The person will still blink, close their eyes, jerk their trigger (flinch), even when there isn't a round in the chamber. And it does not matter whether it is a 22 LR or a 375 H&H. It still happens.

I developed a flinch as a young shooter from a magna-porteed 300 Win Mag. Unfortunately, once you have a flinch, it is yours forever. The only way to reduce your flinch is by spending time at the range shooting rifles in smaller cartridges and focusing on your breathing, trigger control and keeping both eyes open as the rifle is fired. The 22 LR is the best place to start with this practice. I find it takes 200 to 300 rounds every year to get back to where I am not blinking as the rifle goes off. And I wear plugs and muffs. I also have new shooters do this when I am teaching them to shoot, or shoot larger calibers. Want to set them up to win, and enjoy this sport and past time, and not develop a flinch.

Best of luck to you!
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thanks so much for all the info. very helpful. appreciate the time you took.
 
There is no free lunch, recoil is simply a reality of shooting a rifle, the amount of recoil you experience is dependent on the rifle weight, the weight of the powder charge, and the weight and velocity of the bullet. Any adult fit enough to engage in contact sports can handle recoil up to the level produced by a .30/06 in an 8 pound rifle without difficulty one he has become accustomed to it. When loaded with 150 gr bullets, the .270, .280, and the .30/06 all produce similar recoil, and the 7mm RM is in the same ball park.

The first steps in beating the flinch is to understand that recoil, within reasonable limits, doesn't matter, and as has been suggested by others, the importance of hearing protection cannot be overstated. Handloading can help, in that you can load ammunition to fit your comfort level, then as your confidence improves, you can incrementally increase the powder charges for greater velocity. If you don't handload, you could choose a cartridge that is available with managed recoil factory ammo, but its not always easy to find. Avoid unreasonably light rifles, a loaded rifle that's fitted with a scope and sling, and weighs 10 pounds, produces much less recoil than a 6 pound rifle firing the same cartridge.

The rifle you shoot has much to do with the amount of recoil you perceive. The shape of the stock, and how it fits you does not change the amount of recoil that is produced, but it does affect the amount of perceived recoil. If the rifle has a low comb, less frequently encountered these days, muzzle rise will increase, and the rifle will seem to produce more recoil that one that recoils straight to the rear. Too high a comb, or too low a scope relative to the height of the comb, forces you to mash your cheek down on the stock, and recoil will be unpleasant. Mount the scope as far ahead as can be managed, where you have a full sight picture at the highest magnification. Getting tagged by the scope will make make it very difficult to ever shoot that rifle well. If you middle knuckle is struck sharply by the rear of the trigger guard, or your first knuckle by the bolt handle, or if you index finger of your support hand is hit by the forward sling swivel as the rifle recoils, all of these situations will be painful, and must be addressed before you can ever master that rifle.
 
I have a few .270's and a couple .280's. There is no difference between them. You can shoot the same game at the same distances when using identical bullet types of similar weight. 140 grainers in the .280 are analogous to the 130 grainers in the .270. You can think of it like this: they do the same thing, but one will be more common (.270) so ammo is easy to find and you're just like everyone else, and the other (.280) is more unique but you pay for that by not having as much selection on the ammo shelf.

The .280 will send a 140 gr bullet about 150 to 200 fps faster than your 7mm-08. You can load heavier bullets for the .280 than you can in the .270 if you want. You can also load 120 and 130 grainers if you like. To me the 140 gr is the best fit. And since you do reload you can share projectiles with the 7mm-08.
 
LandlockedIslander said:
Hello guys first post on this forum, been on Alberta outdoorsman for a while and heard this is another great forum so hello and nice to meet ya. I currently only own a 7-08 weatherby. bought it at a screaming deal for myself and wife to shoot till i could afford a gun formself and she can have the 08. my whole family owns and love the browning bolt in 270. i also love the bolt but i have been tempted to go the 28 nobler route rather than the 270. i get a lot of mixed opinions when i out this out so i was curious what you all thought. im looking for a gun i can hunt everything with. that isn't a 7mm remington magnum. (shot one for a few years and developed a flinch) should i stick with a 270 . or is there merit to going the 280 route? thanks for your thoughts.
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Short story, both are GREAT cartridges! Either choice is a great choice. Both are fast, flat and there are great bullet selections for reloading or factory made.
 
308 Win then for the win, but that's not what the thread is comparing.
Lapua brass is lovely stuff but unnecessary for killing game.
 
I don't know if you need to change cartridges since you are already set for 7mm-08. I can only think of Bison, Brown and White bears when I consider game in NA I wouldn't set out to hunt with mine. I know it could and probably has been done and certainly was done with a 7mm-08 Long (7x57), but I would be reaching for something launching about a 200-250 grain bullet 2600fps or faster until we exceed the .375's than I might accept slower.
Of course the .270 is very capable as posters have pointed out and the .280 is not lacking any in on game performance although it seems it isn't offered in your choice of rifle. In cases like this I would almost suggest a 7mm Rem Mag and loaded it mild, it will give .280 performance and recoil (especially in a braked rifle) the same while offering much easier to source ammunition and usually cheaper too. But the OP stated he was not interested in a 7mm Mag because of the recoil so that, in my mind at least, eliminates the various WSM's, Nosler,etc and even puts the .30-06 at the absolute threshold. I suspect getting to shoot the rifle you desire in a couple different cartridges would help you to decide.
 
todbartell said:
Well Woodleigh makes a 180gr Weldcore in .277" and you can load them to around 2650 fps from a 22" barrel, such a load would hit 100m with 2400 ft lbs of energy, easily making it legal. 2000 ft lbs would come at 230 yards. I didn't say that you could buy this ammo at Walmart, but you can easily assemble such a load.

For the record there is no current factory ammo in the 280 that will meet requirements either
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I wonder what kind of twist you'd need though? Almost all factory rifles in 270 have 10 twist barrels which would probably be marginal at best, no? The 170gr EOL berger calls for a 9 twist...

I still feel like the OP should consider the 257 Weatherby if his goal is 300+yd whitetail hunting...
 
Love the .280 rem, but there isn't many options for loads that you'll find at a local store, and not many rifles to pick from that are changed in it.
 
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