Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Western Big Game Rifle

There is not one bit of "practical" differnce in the field as far as trajectory and killing power in any of the calibers you list, pick the rifle that feels best to you..

To state that anyone of these calibers is "better" than the other under field conditions is just wrong IMO..From roughly 25-06 to 7 Mag. and all in between is about the same..Perhaps a noticable difference shows up with the big 30 calibers but still not as much as some seem to think..the real difference comes with the .338 and up..but with proper bullet placement even this advantage will shrink. Proper bullets are mor important than caliber by a long shot.

The bottom line is a heart shot elk/deer is just that..The difference comes when the shot is a tad off center and I mean a tad, that's not much. Also, going away shots where the extra penetration really pays off bigtime makes the bigger calibers more desirable, and is always a consideration with me, otherwise I would use the 30-06 and nothing more.

The above is only my personal opinnion..

Here's another vote for the 280. I've had one for 10 years in a Ruger 77 Stainless Laminate. I love that gun and will never part with her. Seems a lot of guys also love their .280 around here. I've taken elk, deer and antelope with mine, it never left me wishing I had more gun. I've never seen such a consensus on a forum about anything, much a less a personal choice like cartridges. Get the .280 and live happily ever after.

As a big fan of the .280, having owned two and still have one. I'd have to point out that the factory ballistics of what is available in the .280 are not nearly as good as what you can handload that round. While I rarely use factory ammo, that is a consideration if you need ammunition and don't have time to load for it.
I own and like the M70 winchester. That would be my first choice in rifles. I've had alot less trouble with them than I have with the Remingtons I've owned which include a .280 in the Remington Mtn. Rifle. The .308 rd has a very wide selection of really good ammo as well as cheap surplus stuff for practice.
My second choice would be the Remington Mtn. Rifle.
I'd love to own a Ruger #1 in 7X57. However, they are a single shot, which would require some consideration. Sometimes you really do need a second shot in a hurry for any of a number of reasons. The 7X57's factory ammo selection is the worst of the lot.
The Browning X bolt is an unproven/unknown quality as it is very new. The A-Bolt, that it replaces, has a poor rep for working under harsh conditions. Personally, I'd stay away from them until they have established a solid rep. E

280 Remington Mountain rifle would be my pick, light accurate and plenty of punch.

of the choices you mentioned i suggest the 280. but if you had a decent bolt 30-06 on your list, i'd go with that.

I have one of the first production run Mountain Rifles in 280 and it is a nice,light,and accurate rifle. I have killed a pile of deer and hogs with the 280 and it just works really well without excessive recoil or muzzle blast.

I have used mostly 139 grain Hornadys and 140 grain Balistic Tips and have had great results with them on paper and critters.

If you handload,the 280 is a lighter kicking version of the 7mm mag,with pretty much identical field performance at about 95% of 7mm mag velocity.

Get the 280.

.280 no doubt the better choice logically, but you'll feel better about yourself and your hunting with the 7x57. In the Ruger, it's no slouch at modern pressures.

Well let me be another to say welcome to the 'Fire. I've slacked off this year in the centerfire ammo I send downrange to about 50-75 rounds on the weekends. However the 22 has been getting tons of use practicing offhand (about a half brick a week)

I can't find any reason to not like a 280 Mountain Rifle. My brother and I had one that got bounced between the two of us for a lot of years. Just yesterday he said he's seriously thinking about selling it off. Its a 30-06, and with 180's its brutal to shoot. A dull axe blade would make a better butt pad than that rounded off Remmy POS would

Your part of Colorado can't be a whole lot different than the W half of Montana. I'm partial to the Kimber 84's for the steep ass hunting I do every fall. But now that you're in the neighborhood, you'll be wondering why rifle manufacturers build so many fat pigs for the masses. I swear Remington Ruger and Winchester must think that 90% of people hunt out of blinds where you can drive the truck right up to it


My sweety and I. Its the 308...



Rifle, Scope, Ammo and Turner sling, 7 Lbs 2 oz. Turner 1903s are a pound, but well worth it unless you like tellin' stories about the one that got away.

Glad to see that Mr. Dan uses a sling,establishing himself as a sophisticated and erudite rifleman.....plus it helps hit things,without those beserk Erector Sets hung on the front of the rifle(Bipods)

Plus, a fixed power scope, too! Were it not for our choices in caliber,we could be twins

Yes - go with the wonderful 280 Remington caliber in your western Rifle.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Whichever rifle fits you best and appeals to you the most. All of the cartridges will work just fine although for elk and bear I would probably lean towards the 308 or 280.

If I had to choose between the 280 and anything BUT the 308, the choice would be easy. If your only choice in 308 is Winchester...280's the way to go.

Never owned a .280, so tell me what makes it such a wonderful cartridge? Grin

100% Right and will add a stiff charge of RL19.......

It could be possible that you're my illegitimate Grandfather

There's nothing wrong with using a fixed 6 on a Winchester 70 in 270 BTW. Somehow I just know that set-up would work

Now that sophisticated and other big word part... Have you read my tag line? Next time I eat a Beer Baron Sausage with Chili and Sauerkraut, I'll keep my pinky out and be thinking of ya'

Where do you start? It's every thing a 270 is, plus the advantage of the reloading the most popular caliber bullets in the world.

I find it interesting that nearly all the posters are keying in on the chambering and ignoring the rifle. I'd pick a Win. model 70 over a Remington 700 any day, have had too many bad experience with Remington's lack of Quality Control. I would not choose a single shot as a primary hunting rifle, they are a lot of fun but somewhat limiting.
The .280 offers a theoretical advantage over the .308 for long range hunting but that matters on paper only, not in the field. I have and use both.

And if you need a real penetrator for big critters just give it a strong 175 grainer to work with.

.280 is a great gun. I've used a 7x64 for the last 2 years and really like its preformance, it just about like a 280.

Has the original poster ever stated WHY he (and we) are limited to those rifles from which to choose?

I still say, if a guy can only have ONE RIFLE for western hunting... Kimber Montana in 300 WSM, a Leupold 2.5x8 in Talleys... maybe a Boone and Crocket reticle in the scope... DONE!