280 rem popularity

Kelly and Beth

Kelly and Beth

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Rimbey, ab
Is it just me or is there more and more 280's surfacing now a days? I have always been a fan of the 280, I have 2 one of which was rechambered into a 280 ackley. IMO it is one of the best hunting rounds on the market and I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would buy anything else however with that being said I am a huge fan of the 7mm caliber.
 
I also have two of them, a stainless Savage from the (laugh now) Savage custom shop and an A Bolt Medallion. I use the Savage in nasty weather and the Browning whenever it is nice. Both shoot well and have put a lot of venison on the table. The A Bolt is particularly accurate. Great round. Also a 7mm fan with a custom Ruger MK II in 7X57, a Win in 7mm mag, and a BRNO M98 in 7X57 besides the 280s.
 
I have always wanted a 280 Rem. Still on the 'most wanted' list. I remember as a kid reading an article from Field & Stream (might have been authored by Petzal) about the 280, entitled 'Dr Death', and it has always stuck in my memory.
 
Bullet selection is great for .284....I always wondered why the .270 was so much more popular with hunters.
I was just looking at getting a 280 or a 7mm-08....whichever I could get a deal on first, 7mm-08 won that race lol
The 160gr look to be where I want the weight and velocity.
 
Even Jack O'Conner admitted the .280 was probably the better round ,but hey the .270 was here first and it works! Harold
 
My wife bought me a Browning Stainless Stalker in .280 21 years ago,it is still my Deer rifle that being said the cartridge never really caught on even when it was called 7mm express.
 
Both my 280's are Brownings. My ackley is an x bolt medallion so it doesn't get overly used the other one is an a bolt stalker. Both have proven very accurate. By far my most like carteidge. My 7mm collection consists of 7mm-08, 280 rem, 280ai, 7mm wsm, 7mm rem mag.
 
I'm a 7 mil fan also... but it is easy to see why the .280 languishes when you consider the popularity of the .270 and .30/06.
 
Years ago I was ready to buy a Ruger #1 Varmint in 280 and if I recall correctly it had a 26" barrel.
The selling pitch was it would rival the 7mm Rem Mag . . . but I passed.
1998 I bought myself a Remington 700 SS as a retirement gift and it is now my go to hunting rifle.
Topped with a Leupold Vari X6 2-12 and developed a load for the Barnes 140 grain TTSX at 3000+ fps it should be the last rifle I need to buy.



The furthest measured shot was at 400 yards and 2" to the left was still a "minute of deer".
 
I love them and have had a few over the years but as I am getting older I have been using some calipers with lighter recoil and moving what I had on to others
In fact a member here just bought my Remington 280 set in 7600 and 7400 . Still have a 700 buried somewhere in a safe but that is all I have left and holding that one in case I ever get drawn for a moose which the chances are slim. Almost 30 years trying and still nothing :(
Cheers
 
I had the Rem 700 Mountain Rifle in 280, with detachable mag. If it had the BDL floor plate I would still own that rifle, the Rem detachable mag dod not work well and was a royal PIA. Other than that the rifle shot well placing the first two under an inch and always seemed to send the third out a bit high. Would love to have another one!
 
I have an older 700 BDL. One of the ones stamped 7mm Rem Express.

I acquired it several years ago, and believe, at the time, it was unfired.

It is a very catholic rifle, shooting everything I have tried into 1¼ moa or less. [120 grain - 168 grain]

I shot a nice muley with the 140 Accubond at 3010 fps. Range was 220 yards. Bullet was recovered under the skin on the offside shoulder.
Still weighs 112.5 grains. Muley very dead, and quickly.

I do like the 7mm's as a group, owning a 7x57, a 280, a 7mmSAUM, and a 7mm Rem Mag at present. [have a 270 also, lol]

I've shot deer, Black bear, Moose, Elk and several coyotes plus one wolf with 7 mm's of one flavor or other.
I think if I had to pick one bullet weight for all these 7's, it would be 160 grain. [Partition or Accubond]

I shot a moose several years ago with a 7mm STW at 540 meters.
The 160 Partition passed through, and I recovered that bullet in the crusted snow on the far side of the moose.
It weighed 129 grains. One of two bullets that have exited game that I recovered anyway. [Usually these are lost]

Effective, decent BC's, and not doling out excess recoil, the 280 is an ideal all-round chambering.

Regards, Dave.
 
Bought a Ruger M77 Mk II in .280 Rem off Rembo in 2010. That rifle has taken 3 deer in the last 5 years. Nothing wrong with the .280 and the plethora of bullets avaliable in 7mm. The cartridge is popular enough, less popular than the other moderate big game cartridges probably because it was commercialized later and the well established. 270 and .30-06 both perform equally.
 
An A-Bolt in .280 has been my go-to for 22 years. In the interim I tried to Rem 700's in that chambering but they didn't shoot like my A-Bolt. I really think .280 sales peaked abut 1990; when the 700 Mountain Rifle came out in 1986, the .280 outsold all other chamberings combined.
I am a 7mm fan as well; I had and foolishly sold a 700 BDL in 7mm-08; I just bought and will try tomorrow, a NIB 700 CDL DM, also in 7mm-08.
 
Mid 80's to mid 90's I owned a Remington pump in 280, loved the round, not so much the rifle. Sold it to a friend that likes the pumps. Always wanted to get another but in a bolt action.

Maybe I'll try and hunt down one of those 40 7mm-06 stamped 700's. Lol
 
i like the 280. my cooper pretty much shoots any thing well but really loves 120 tsx and 140 ab. its vesatile like the 30 06. the 280 can do it all. i also have a 7mm and a 7rum.
 
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