Experience with the 280 Remington

[rdog]

In about 1999 or 2000, the Australian Weatherby distributor had a super sale of Mk5 rifles, i purchaced a stainless 280 Rem & a blued 240 Weatherby mag in the 6 lug mk5 model both shoot 3 shots about 1 moa very constantly with 100g bullets the 240 is my favorite goat rifle both rifles are fitted with Leupold vx2 3-9 scopes.
I have shot a lot of pigs with the 280 using 140 grain rem cor lokt bullets hand loads, comparing its results to my 270 Win with 140 grain bullets & my 30/06 with 150 g bullets the results are identical dead pigs. is any body able to share their experiences with the 280 rem & what bullets they use ?i purchased 300 rem cases no factory ammo.

 

[CraigV]

I've got a Remington 700 Mtn Rifle, that I bought back in the late 80's. I shoot Hornary 140gr ELD's out of it, and they are fantastic. Accurate and great knock down power on deer and pigs.

 

[Finprof]

Like you I have a 270 a 280 and a 30/06. For 40 years I used Remington Core Lokt in 130, 140, and 150 grains, respectively for deer and hogs. Out west for Elk I use 150 grain Nosler Partition bullets in the 280. I bought some RWS 160 grain but haven’t used them.
I am thinking about using the Partitions for deer and hogs as well since the performance on deer and hogs the past couple of years has been good.

 

[ARHinAK]

If you’ve been around here for very long you’ll see page after page after thread after thread with people singing the praises of the old 7x57 Mauser with everyone’s favorite bullet and all the beasts they’ve slain.
Substitute .280 for 7x57 and there you have it! With just a touch more recoil.
People really love the 175 gr Nosler Partitions.

 

[MRBlack]

I’ve got an early (1989) Don Allen Dakota 76 in 280 Rem and really like it. I took it to South Africa in the summer of 2021. I used it on both Kudu and Nyala in close bushveld conditions (100 yards or less) and was very pleased. Both animals went down quickly. I used a 160 grain Swift A-Frames and a healthy dose of Reloader 22.

 

[flatwater bill]

I had a Ruger Tang in 7X57......was apparently the only man on Earth unsatisfied with cartridge, and had it rechambered to 7mm Express.......(tells you how long ago that was). Despite the reloading manuals of the era showing no better performance than the little 7x57 I took the chance. The 280 outperformed my expectations and the manuals by quite a bit. The old 742 Woodsmaster rifle was the reason for the light factory and recommended loads. I stepped this up quite a bit. Famous Jim Carmichael said about the 7mm's "I could never see a whit of difference between 140 grain bullets and 160 grain bullets on game". Well, I sure could. It was and is my favorite deer and elk rifle. Wish I had a hunting family member to hand it down to. There are a lot of special things about that rifle that won't be apparent on the chopping block. My favorite load was 55 grains of IMR 4350 driving a 145 grain Speer Grandslam, or 54 grains in the soft thick Rem brass. That produced 2950 ish from a 22" bbl..........in summary, my experience with the cartridge has been great. Best of luck with yours..............FWB

 

[rdog]

I had a Ruger Tang in 7X57......was apparently the only man on Earth unsatisfied with cartridge, and had it rechambered to 7mm Express.......(tells you how long ago that was). Despite the reloading manuals of the era showing no better performance than the little 7x57 I took the chance. The 280 outperformed my expectations and the manuals by quite a bit. The old 742 Woodsmaster rifle was the reason for the light factory and recommended loads. I stepped this up quite a bit. Famous Jim Carmichael said about the 7mm's "I could never see a whit of difference between 140 grain bullets and 160 grain bullets on game". Well, I sure could. It was and is my favorite deer and elk rifle. Wish I had a hunting family member to hand it down to. There are a lot of special things about that rifle that won't be apparent on the chopping block. My favorite load was 55 grains of IMR 4350 driving a 145 grain Speer Grandslam, or 54 grains in the soft thick Rem brass. That produced 2950 ish from a 22" bbl..........in summary, my experience with the cartridge has been great. Best of luck with yours..............FWB

I have just got 6 boxes of old stock 160 g Speer Grand Slams to try, funny you know i also have a Ruger 77 in 7x57 & only used 175 g factory PPU out of that, i am rediscovering my 280. it has a 24 inch bbl.

 

[Mike Van Horn]

Been a while back, in the 80’s. I had a 7mm express (280). Reloading for it and a friends 7 Remington. 154 grain Hornady interlock. Bullet worked good in both, Pronghorn to Elk

 

[Marc Ret]

A 150gr Nosler Partition out of a .280Rem is a bit less than ideal on a 15lb wild eastern turkey at 20yds.......

 

[Silvine]

The 280 Rem is a great cartridge for a handloader. Plenty of 7mm bullets, plenty of excellent powders, you can buy properly headstamped brass or size your own from 30-06 as needed.

Ballistically it "trails" the 7mm Rem Mag the same way the 30-06 "trails" the 300 Win Mag. For a custom rifle you sure have good taste.

 

[meigsbucks]

My only experience with the .280 on game is with the 140gr Nosler Partitions on white-tails. I’ve also carried it with 140gr Barnes TSX but haven’t taken anything with them.
I’d like to load some 160gr Swift A/F’s and give those a whirl in Africa sometime.

 

[MRBlack]

My only experience with the .280 on game is with the 140gr Nosler Partitions on white-tails. I’ve also carried it with 140gr Barnes TSX but haven’t taken anything with them.
I’d like to load some 160gr Swift A/F’s and give those a whirl in Africa sometime.

I am on the back order list at Swift. They indicated that 160gr 7mm A-Frames would be available in the first quarter of this year

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

In about 1999 or 2000, the Australian Weatherby distributor had a super sale of Mk5 rifles, i purchaced a stainless 280 Rem & a blued 240 Weatherby mag in the 6 lug mk5 model both shoot 3 shots about 1 moa very constantly with 100g bullets the 240 is my favorite goat rifle both rifles are fitted with Leupold vx2 3-9 scopes.
I have shot a lot of pigs with the 280 using 140 grain rem cor lokt bullets hand loads, comparing its results to my 270 Win with 140 grain bullets & my 30/06 with 150 g bullets the results are identical dead pigs. is any body able to share their experiences with the 280 rem & what bullets they use ?i purchased 300 rem cases no factory ammo.

@rdog
Nick Harvey recommends any good 160gn bullet driven to 2,900fps in the 280 as a good balance of power and ranging ability.
I've always had a soft spot for the 280 and 280AI but my 25 and 35 cover all my bases.
Bob

 

[nztimb]

@rdog
Nick Harvey recommends any good 160gn bullet driven to 2,900fps in the 280 as a good balance of power and ranging ability.
I've always had a soft spot for the 280 and 280AI but my 25 and 35 cover all my bases.
Bob

I was doing that with a 7x61 S&H for a great many years

 

[gillettehunter]

I have a 7 SAUM that will have a velocity that exceeds the .280 by a little. Not enough to really matter at under 300 yds. I've taken the SAUM to africa for my last 3 safaris or so. Been very effective with 180 grain bullets including 3 eland. Works equally well on deer, elk and pronghorn. You should enjoy it a great deal.
Bruce

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I was doing that with a 7x61 S&H for a great many years

@Von Gruff
Gary I was reading about the 7x61 S&H and 7x57 well before I had heard of the 7mm rem mag and 280. Thought they were amazing cartridges for a 10 year old dreamer.
Bob

 

[DG870]

Killed this pig with a 280 shooting 175 grain round nose bullets. I’ve shot several deer and a few coyotes using 139 grain Hornady SST’s with good results. It is an effective caliber.

 

[nztimb]

@Von Gruff
Gary I was reading about the 7x61 S&H and 7x57 well before I had heard of the 7mm rem mag and 280. Thought they were amazing cartridges for a 10 year old dreamer.
Bob

I had mine built on a M24/50 FN Colombian in the late 70's when I was in AU. Bill Marden, gunsmith in Punchbowl NSW built it for me and after close to 1000 rounds through it had it rebuilt into the 404 Jeffery.
Always ran the 160gn bullet and loved the rifle but built a few 7x57's to replace it

 

[geoff rath]

A 150gr Nosler Partition out of a .280Rem is a bit less than ideal on a 15lb wild eastern turkey at 20yds.......

So, no turkey dinner from that bird ...

 

[geoff rath]

@rdog
Nick Harvey recommends any good 160gn bullet driven to 2,900fps in the 280 as a good balance of power and ranging ability.
I've always had a soft spot for the 280 and 280AI but my 25 and 35 cover all my bases.
Bob

Go on, Bob, you KNOW you want one ...