280 Remington

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bearhunter

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So I built a 280 Remington on a Model 700 Remington Action with an aftermarket trigger and Boyd's Laminated stock.

This is a very strong action and I wanted to push the bullets faster than the loads in my manuals list. I started with max loads of H4831 and wasn't impressed by the velocities at all. Accuracy with the 140 grain SSTs was erratic as well. Now I'm pushing 61 grains of powder over CCI 250 mag primers and the velocity out of the 24 inch barrel is pretty decent. Pressures aren't anywhere near maximum from what I can see and velocities are pretty decent but I feel there is still more to be had safely.

This particular rifle really appreciates fast loads. The more powder I get in the case, the better it shoots.

I'm going to try some RL19 to see what happens, carefully of course. They have a very close burn rate so harmonics shouldn't change much if any. We'll see.

RL22 is also a candidate but only because of how it burns. It has a lonnnggg burn and pressure curve in comparison to the other two powders and has a burn rate that almost duplicates IMR7828ssc. The only difference being I can get more into the case if appropriate.

I'm in uncharted territory here, according to the manuals butttttt the loads in the manuals defer to the old autoloaders and pumps that the cartridge first was loaded for commercially. The Rem 700 is definitely stronger and I would like to wring as much performance with good velocity/accuracy out of this rifle as I can. It's likely going to be my last build for my own purposes, so I want to get it right. I'm pushing 70 and it's one of the reasons I finally succumbed to my wish list cartridge/rifle combinations.

Have any of you loaded this great cartridge to it's full potential???????????
 
Here's my recipe that I've used for years in my Remington 700 .
280 Rem. Fed: case
210 Lg.Rifle : primer
H44 60 grains: powder
139 gr.Hornady BTSP :Bullet
Chronograph speed :just over 3000'/sec
This recipe was worked up for speed then dialed down for accuracy.
My Remington 700 stock has 35 notches on it mostly deer and moose with maybe a wolf and bear or two .
Another recipe from 1999 was: Hornady .284 BTSP 139 gr. over 57 gr. Nobel 4350 reaching a speed of 3000'/s
Can't find my data from when I worked up THE LOAD for 139/60 gr.H44


For what its worth I did work up a load using Nobel 44 for a speed of 3120'/s but didn't use it for hunting ( probably not accurate but reason wasn't written down)
 
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The recoil from the above load wasn't noticeable 20 years ago but now that I'm reaching 80 I think that I'll cut it back a half grain or so....as long as the accuracy isn't degraded .
 
Bearhunter I was wondering how you made out with your R22 experiment? Or any further testing you’ve done loading the 280Rem to it’s full potential. It would be nice if the manuals would include a +P section for this cartridge like they do for 257Roberts and others.
 
For the bet data for loading to higher, safe pressures in your 280, recommend either getting QuickLoad or getting someone with QuickLoad run the numbers for your rifle with the components you are desiring to use, up to 65,000. This will provide you with the best data, and tell you what the max safe load(s) will be.
You may be surprised at how much velocity can be safely gained. Not as much as one might think.
Extra velocity (larger gains) will usually put you well past safe pressures! QuickLoad will let you know.
The 280 Rem is a great cartridge and a great performer on game with its actual velocities, but it is not the 280 AI or the 7mm Rem Mag.
I love my 280 Rem, but have also really enjoyed my 7mm Rem Mag when I had it, and the 7MM STW I still own.
If you wanted more velocity, you should have went with one of the larger cases.
But as you said, you wanted the 280...and there is nothing wrong with its performance within safe parameters, and no animal is going to know the difference at normal hunting ranges. Hope you enjoy your new rifle in the field!
 
It’s not so much about getting extra gains out of the 280 or making it into a 7mag. The quest is to just load it to the same potential as the 270 ie same pressures. All things being equal like pressure and bullet the 280 should equal the 270 and slightly better due to slightly larger bore. Same as the 30-06 will better both of the smaller bores with equal weight bullets and equal pressures.
 
leveractionjunkie said:
Bearhunter I was wondering how you made out with your R22 experiment? Or any further testing you’ve done loading the 280Rem to it’s full potential. It would be nice if the manuals would include a +P section for this cartridge like they do for 257Roberts and others.
Click to expand...

I eventually gave up on both RL19 and RL22.

I couldn't get decent accuracy out of either of them, likely because of the inconsistent velocities.

I settled on H4831ssc as my powder of choice.

I tried 5 different bullets, 139 grn Hornady SST, 139 grn Sierra SPBT, Speer 145 grn mag point. Nosler 150 grn SPBT and Barnes 140grn

I finally settled on the Hornady SST over 60.0 grn H4831ssc, over CCI250 primers for 2950+fps, most accurate with sub moa groups, if I did my part, from a 23 inch Hart barrel with a 1-9 twist.

The other load my rifle liked was the 150grn Nosler, over 58.5 grn H4831ssc, over CCI250 primers for just around 2900fps, but the accuracy wasn't as good, just over 1 moa. Good enough for hunting, out to 300+ yards.

I also tried 55 grains of IMR4350, over CCI250 primers, under 140 Hornady and Sierra bullets for 2850 fps, accuracy wasn't consistent

57.5 grains of IMR4350, over CCI250 primers with the same bullets and just over 2900 fps, accuracy still wasn't consistent

One thing people don't know or forget is that velocity and powder charges ARE NOT PROPORTIONAL.

Once you reach the saturation point of your bore, it takes a lot more powder to squeeze out another hundred fps and way more to squeeze out a couple of hundred, which can quickly lead to dangerous territory.

Finding the sweet accuracy node is far more desirable than squeezing out every fps the cartridge, bullet, rifle is capable of

The loads above are "safe in my rifle" which has a minimum spec chamber/headspace. The chamber was cut with a reamer that won't be able to be sharpened again.

I have a set of small base Bonanza dies but don't full length resize. I only size enough to do the neck and set back the shoulder a couple of thou, which also resizes about a quarter inch of the sidewall, just below the shoulder. I finally got enough stretch that I had to trim the case mouth after 8 reloads.

I had to reanneal the cases after 5 reloads. Likely the brass started flowing forward right after.

Again, these loads are safe in "my rifle" They would IMHO be to hot for a pump/semi auto rifle, other than a BAR.
 
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try to track down some RL26, I had 150gr ABLR going 3080 fps from a 22.5" 280 Rem I had a few years back before I had my 280AI built
 
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