Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rem M700 Mt Rifle: 7-08 or .280?

‘‘Tis the season for a new rifle. One of the guns I’ve been thinking about is a m700 Mt rifle. How do you like yours? Which cartridge would you pick? Both have a 9 1/4 twist barrel, I have plenty of 7mm components for loading.

This will be used for 90% deer hunting. Ranging from a few yards to about 300.

As I have and really enjoy the 280 I would choose that one. If you prefer short action rifles over long action then the 7-08 is a close second. You can load up the 280 to a fantastic level and cover a wide margin of game. I will admit it is harder to find longer scopes to match the look I like, but not impossible. I like the balanced look of the long action Mountain Rifle but whichever suits you would work well.

I don't think you could go wrong with either caliber in that rifle. I have hunted with both rounds, but I keep going back to the .280 for deer hunting. Now if someone gave me a Winchester 70 Extreme Weather in 7mm-08, I might could change my mind.

Objectively, in the situation you describe, the 7mm-08 every time. Every time it's housed in a short action, anyway. If someone offers me a tikka in 7mm-08 vs a .280, I'm taking the .280.

To my mind, the rational reasons to go .280/.280ai is because there's a heavy bullet you'd like to use, or conversely, you want to push a mono way out there at hopefully a still stout velocity. And not that the 7mm-08 wouldn't do it, just that a little extra powder is a little extra powder.

Then again if you like one particular rifle over another, and it was in a .280 rather than the 7mm-08, do what you've got to do to be happy.

7mm-08. All you need.





P

your post includes the question: "Which cartridge would you pick?"

I would pick .280, in fact that exact gun in .280 is on my wish list.

I don't yet have a .280, so I "need" one. I feel a Remington cartridge should be in a Remington rifle, so I don't want to buy my .280 in any other brand, not that there are very many available.... Browning? who else? I resisted the urge to get it in a No1 when that was available.... I'm worried Rem will discontinue this chambering....so I better get one soon!

I do NOT like the AI cartridges, so I don't want .280AI.

Remington has other models in 7mm-08, and probably will continue to chamber it.... lots of other makers chamber in 7mm-08, so when I get an itch for a 7mm-08 there will be plenty of choices.

The bad part of the .280? only one ammo available (Rem core-lokt 140 gr)... no prob, I handload, I can choose weird calibers, we can make brass from '06 and choose from a bazillon bullets.... but what happens when I get a bit old and pass the rifles on to younger relatives or friends... well at least the guy who gets the .280 won't have as much trouble finding ammo as the guys who get the 9.3's.... unless Rem discontinues it....

so, I would get the .280

let us know how yours shoots!

Poole
(isn't this rifle stainless? why can't we buy silver scopes anymore???)

Not bashing, but curious as to why?

Where do you get that there is only one factory ammo available for the .280 Rem.? A quick look at Midway USA shows 16 different factory loads. I own a .280 Rem., and although I have everything to handload with I have yet to do it. I know for a fact I have 5 different factory loads at home for my .280.

7-08 Tom...

280 Model 70 Featherweight......

This is full of misinformation. That said, they're both great cartridges that aren't going anywhere. Pick one and don't look back.

7-08 all day long.

I’m leaning 7-08. I have a m70 fwt 7x57 that I love. I’m set up with dies for it and the .280, as I’ve had several .280’s over the years. I’ve never had a
7-08 and think it may be time. The lower recoil is also appealing as I get older and shoot more.

Deer hunting to 300 yards doesn't require lots of horsepower, you wouldn't even need to load the 7-08 wide open.

New Mod 700 Mountain Rifle in the synthetic stock or older , wood stocked model? I had an early 90's Model 700 Mountain Rifle in .280, before the Detachable Magazine models ( I hate them). I had some great hunts with that rifle, even had it reamed out to the Ackley. I only gained 50fps with the Nosler 150BT it liked to shoot. It also shot the Speer 160HC well, and killed elk like crazy! I think they are a Classic combo in .280. I had a Kimber 84M wood stocked little rifle in 7mm/08 and it was even handier, but in the Remington...280 all the way! I have owned them in .270 and 30-06 and they were sweet too! I have two favorites....the older Mod 700 Mtn rifle and the Winchester 70 FWT Classic. Pick the caliber you like...as long as its .280, ha

How is there a practical difference between those two at less then 300 yards? Just flip a coin and go kill stuff

7-08 is a great choice, I just added 1 to my rack and love it.

I have two M700 Mountain Rifles. They happen to be in 7mm-08 and 280.I like them both,the 7mm-08 has slightly less recoil but the 280 does shoot flatter and balances better to me. The long action Mountain rifle seems to fit me better for some reason. Maybe the few ounces of extra weight make it feel better in my hands.

Both are accurate,the 280 will give you 3000 fps with a 140 grain bullet,and the 7mm-08 is good for 2800 fps with the same bullet.

I like the 280 a little better,but my kids prefer the 7mm-08.

280 AI for me but any of them would be fine. Pick the rifle that feels best and go with what ever caliber it is. Like Ruraldoc said the long action feels better to me. I like the idea of a short action but I think he and I like some muzzle weight or the balance point is further forward on the long action. But if used mostly for stalking the short action would be handy. So the usual answer get both a 280 280 AI with at least 24 inches of barrel and a 7-08 with a 20-22 inch barrel.

280