Several years ago I did an analysis of the available .277 and .284 bullets and came to the conclusion that there were even more .277 bullets available. Of course, there weren't any 175-grain spitzers, but like you I've rarely run into anybody who used 175's in their .280. Most used 140-160's--though that has changed with the long-range trend. But still don't know anybody who uses bullets over 168 grains in their .280, and so far I have excellent luck with the new 170 Berger Elite Hunter in my .270, even with its 1-10 twist. I also don't know of any lead-cored 175-grain "premium" 7mm bullet that penetrates any deeper from a .280 than the 160-grain Nosler Partition from a .270.
These days there's an even greater selection of .270 bullets, thanks to the 6.8 SPC. Either an 85-grain TSX or 95 TTSX can be loaded to really high velocities, and while neither would be the choice for really long range, I know people who use them quite successfully at conventional ranges.
But as always, somebody will pick nits with all this--which is why, as I mentioned earlier, arguments about ALMOST identical cartridges go on far longer. In the meantime, those who've actually used a bunch of different cartridges considerably eventually find it hard to stifle a yawn.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
