Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 280 Remington

few weeks ago I picked up a Remington mountain rifle stainless in 280 and was wondering what your good and bad experience you had with the 280 ? I'm going to try some Federal 150 grain Nosler Partitions

You should love it, I assume you handload?

I purchased my first 280 Remington in 2003 as a camper-kept back-up rifle for the hunting lease. Bought 2 boxes of Remington Express ammo after sight-in & stashed the gun in the camper.

Next 350 mile trip to the lease I arrived to find that I had left my preferred rifle at home. Put the 280 to work and have never hunted without it since. I have had over 15 of them in that time. My three current keepers are the original Ruger 77 All Weather that started my love affair with the 280, a Wby Mk V UL & a Borden 280 AI.

I have whacked 50 animals with 52 rounds fired. All were killed with Rem. Express 150 Core-Lokts. I need no other cartridge to keep my hunting at maximum output.

Once you use it you'll be hooked.

My experience hasn't been very good, but not in the way you might think. My 280 is my "unlucky" rifle. I've owned it longer than any other rifle in my safe, yet the only thing I've ever killed with it is a coyote. I've never seen a deer with that rifle in my hands.

I plan to try again this fall, and carry it until I break it's curse. It's a great cartridge and my rifle, a Ruger M77 MkII, is very accurate. I just have to get a deer to cooperate!

I'll echo Don Fischer. The 280 Remington is one of the best hunting cartridges available. Low recoil, generally easy to find an accurate load for, and it kills like a sledge.

For whitetails and the like, it is pure poison.

Enjoy!

Tate....problem isn't the cartridge, it's the river. Buy a Remington in 280, your luck will change.

Lol...

Tony

I think it's a great round but like Tate I think I'm 280 cursed since I've had more misses and deflected bullets in the woods with a 280 than any other round, including what was probably the biggest buck I ever shot at. I have to chalk it up to the shooter and not the gun or cartridge and I always try to take clean shots, no brush busting. However mine has taken some deer quite handily also.

I don't think it's possible to have a bad experience with a 280 if you point it right.

That is the truth no matter what cartridge is used.

I've had better results on deer with the 280 (or 280 AI), than any other caliber I have used. That includes 30-06 and even 338. Not sure why, maybe just coincidence. It has given quicker kills, less tracking, and more bang-flops than the others. Preferred bullet now is a 140 TTSX or 145 LRX (280 AI). Tried the 120 grain TTSX, but they are a bit destructive at 3400 FPS.

I think coincidence is all it is....I've used the 280 an many other similar cartridges giving the same or similar bullets the same velocity,on quite a few game animals and can't see a difference.

No magic.

Now the 270 on the other hand is capable of producing pure magic...

Sam: I have favorite cartridges. The 270 and 280 are among them.

But I could never see that necromancy was involved.

Load up some 160 grain partitions and go kill stuff.

Ts300wsm: Back in 1986 I had a custom Rifle built in 280 Remington caliber.
Since then I have killed Mt. Goat, Blacktailed Deer, Antelope, Mule Deer, Black Bear, Whitetailed Deer and Bull Elk with it - so far.
Someday I will kill a Caribou with this wonderful cartridge/Rifle combination.
My 280 has a 25" Douglas Supreme medium weight barrel on a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 action in a McMillan fiberglass stock.
This Rifle is accurate and very reliable - it also is very lethal on medium size Big Game!
I use the wonderful Nosler 140 grain Partitions in my Rifle and have since day one - so no experience with the Nosler 150's.
If I ever get a Bighorn Sheep tag this is THE Rifle I will use.
The only two shot kill I can remember with this Rifle/cartridge was on a running Bull Elk that I "led" way to much.
My first shot struck that nifty Bull in the nose (I still feel bad about that!) but it stopped him in his tracks and my second shot was right through the heart/lungs and that was that.
All my other kills were one shotters as I recall.
I hope you have as good luck with your 280 as I have had with mine.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I built a .280 a couple of years ago...great round.
140 grain barnes.

It's killed the best whitetail of my life ('14), a 300lb mountain goat last Fall, and daughter killed a nice cow elk with it last Fall, too...DRT.

So far I've tried Remington Core Lokt 140, 150, and 165 grain bullets in my 700 bdl. It likes 140's the best. I wish my chrono hadn't broke so I could see what velocity they're hitting.

If it likes the round, who cares? I've never had a chrono, and other than some mild interest, never missed it.... . I want accuracy first, terminal performance next (or reversed, maybe, within reason!) and trajectory (speed) comes a distant third.

I would prefer using 120's with my .260, but it doesn't like anything but 140's (that I have found so far). And it likes those very well indeed. Doncha hate when that happens? I can live with MOA in a non-preference weight. I guess.....

I've used the .280 - it's a fine round. Mine too liked the 140s best, but did OK with others

I had a Ruger M77 heavy barrel in .280. But it was a righty, and I shoot lefty.

So I sent it down the road and got a Remmie 7600 when they brought it out in .280. Got a lefty safety put in it, and rocked it ever since. It likes a Hornady 139 BTSP.

It's a good 'middle' cartridge between the .270 and '06.
Good selection of bullets, too.

My main hunting rifle is a 7x57Ackley Improved which is nothing more than a standard 280. 56.5gr of RL19 behind a 140gr Nosler for 3050fps is pure magic on Texas stuff. powdr