Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7-08 20” barrel vs 280 Rem 22” barrel

Have the itch for a new Christmas rifle. And before I jumped into one, I was wondering how much more am I going to gain from shooting 140’s in a 20” barrel 7-08 to 140’s and 160’s in a 22” barrel 280 rem. I have chosen the Remington 700 platform for the 280 rem because of the availability of aftermarket parts. Also chose the 280 because that’s what I want.

What you want is a good enough reason to get the .280!!!!!! I have a 7mm-08 never showed me very much...

If that's what you want, then don't even question. Velocity loss between the two, the 7-08 with the 20" tube is giving up 200-300 fps on the 280, especially when you get to the 160's

I love both but with the style and places I hunt, my 20" 7mm-08 is what I consider near ideal

I've owned four different 280 Rems over the years, and never should have sold at least three of them! A new M70 Classic, a '09 Argentine Mauser sporter, and a Ruger No. 1 marked "7mm Rem Express". Back when you could get a handful of tags in Montana, I brought home three mule deer with three shots in a weekend with the Classic. Also killed multiple pronghorn with that gun, mostly launching 160s. I don't recall that I ever blooded the other two. I still have one, a custom stocked '09 in 280AI that is dialed in with 140 gr. Barnes that I've yet to take on a hunt. An embarrassment of riches. You won't regret your choice... it is a sweet cartridge.

Do you reload?

Not much point in getting a .280 if you don't. The SAAMI specs on teh .280 are ridiculously low.

A 22" 280 will run 200+fps over a 20" 7-08.

One thing I've noticed over the years, those that own SA cartridges like the 7-08 tend to try to turn them into something they're not by a lot of handloading gyrations, the search for "the" wonder powder, and generally running them too hot.

+1

How far do you shoot? It only matters at the very end.

max range is gonna be 400 yards. I had planned on reloading or having a friend work up a load for the 280 esp in the 160's. As of now my first set up is going to be the Rem 700 MTN rifle with Talley lows and a 4-12X40 of some kind, havent fully decided yet. I like the new VX freedom 4-12X40 but the MOA reticle gets blurry quick due to my eye sight, kinda thought of ordering one with the plain duplex reticle.

My first .280 was the cartridge I started handloading for. I bought a simple LEE Classic Loader ( hammer em in hammer em out) but an RCBS scale. I also used a hand priming tool (they came out the next year) I used IMR 4831/139 Hornady. Wonderful round! Later in life, I had a Mod 700 MR .280 reamed to the 280AI. I used the 150NBT on deer/antelope/exotics and the Speer 160HC on elk. Wonderful round. I had one 7mm08, a Kimber 84M Classic ( a wonderful rifle) the caliber was used on exotics, but I only used the 139 SST Lite Magnum. But guess what? That LM ammo shot the 139SST to 3100fps, but man, were they hot! Sticky bolt flat primer each round! . Guess what again? Yep, .280 speeds. You can't go wrong with a .280!

Just get a 270 Win, it will deliver +3,000 fps with a vast amount of off-the-shelf ammo found anywhere on the planet all with a 22-inch barrel. Actually the 270 Win has always been the thorn in the side of the 280 Rem. Popularity and field use would greatly support this assessment.

Yup, true. But he didn’t ask about the 270.

Just thought I’d throw it out there so he could contemplate since the two share the same parent hull and performance in the field.😉

More companies like Berger are pushing the limits in bullets and BC. .277 hunting 170 grain VLD with BC at close to .700. Like all original thoughts, slower twist, lighter bullets, high velocity was a goal. Now heavy for caliber, fast twist, long range wind bucking is in vogue. For that recipe a .277 bore with 1-8.5 or 1-8 twist is in a real sweet spot considering it falls between the high BC popular .264 and .284 bores. Just sayin maybe the 270 Win can take on a new life after 95 years on the market.

if my friends found out I got a 270 they would beat me up and then make me shoot one of their 30-06's

Between the 280 and the 7mm-08, I’d go with the 7mm-08. Without a doubt, less is more.

And I the opposite. The additional speed with 160s equates to energy down range. Never a bad thing.

Have a Sako 85 finnlight in 7-08, just got the itch for something else.

They sound like the kind of guys you want to have around when you're at the bar and it's closing time.

They usually don’t let you get beat up to bad lol