Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles .270 win vs .280 rem

Is the difference worth bothering over? No one in my camp shoots a .280, so I like the idea of having one. Something different, something new. Is there enough difference between the two to even warrent this discussion? Happy to hear opinions from all .280/.270 shooters.

I love my 280Rem if you handload the 280 is a great choice!

If I had to do it all over again, I would have bought a 280 over my 270. However when I bought my 270 I wasn't handloading yet.

I was just reviewing Nosler #5, and noted that there are more 7mm bullets than .277 bullets. With the 280, you can load from 120gr up to 175gr partitions. I think ballisticly they are about identical. The cases are the same.

I'd say it's either six of one or half doze of the other.

There really isn't any PRACTICAL difference. Some prefer the heavier bullets available in 7mm. Others laud the "flatter" trajectory of the 270. It is just debating minutia. I've had several different 280s over the years from Ruger and Rem. I am currently without one mainly because I went shorter and am now running a 7mm-08.

Get the one you want! If you don't like it, rebarrel it to the other.

RH

One of my pards has a 280 rem, he loves it.
I have to agree that if you handload its the way to go.
Oh did mention......my pard.....used to shoot,love .270's

You pretty much nailed about the only real reason to buy a .280 over the .270. Not everybody has one and that is important to some people. I am a huge fan of both cartridges and decided the only real way to settle the problem is to have a few of each. What one will do, so will the other in the field, off the bench, and over the chrony. Probably the biggest advantage one has over the other is the .270 is offered in more factory loads and is much more common. You will find .270 ammo sitting beside 06 ammo just about anyplace that may carry ammo (at least in US).

-Lou

Thanks for the advice fellas. I'm leaning towards the 280 just because it is something different - guess that is important to me.

I would go 280. Better bullet selection. Better cartrige. If the 280 had been invented 34 years ealier the 270 wouldn't be around today.
My sierra manual states "when loaded to equal pressures it will do everything a 270 will do and then some."
I am now just trying to figure out a way to justify having one along with my 7mm-08, 7mags, and multiple 30-06's.
A very nice cartridge.

If you're wanting to get one because it tis different then I can certainly understand.

IMO and IME any other reason to do so is just a bunch of hogwash...ballistic gack micro mgt 101 4 sure!

They're both great rounds and what can do so can the other and that is just the way it tis.

Mark D

Be really different in camp and put a 40 degree shoulder on any of the case's mentioned.Both are so close but think I'd perfer the 280.

Oh good grief you just started a sh#$ storm over absolutely nothing Did you do it on purpose? . We will now proceed to hear how the 280 kills everything it's even pointed towards and the 270 is a bb gun and vice versa. The fact is they are so close that any point you say about one will almost always pertain to the other. This will be strictly personal choice opinions on this thread, very little facts involved.
But hey...thats what makes the world go round'.
I'm a 270 man myself but its just personal choice, not because its better than the 280. Even though we all know the 270 is better:D

Bill

Having several of each, there are pros & cons:

If you don't handload, the 270 by a wide margin

In every rifle I've had, the 280 requires a 24" barrel to do velocity wise, what the 270 does with a 22" barrel. Some can argue all they want; they just have not worked with enough guns.

Slight edge to the 280 on bullet selection, but the 270 has more than enough; what more could you want? The 280 does not handle the 175 particularly well, just adequate. If you want to shoot 175, get a 7 Mag. or an 'o6 with 180's. The 280 is at it's best with 140 - 150 grain bullets, same as a 270 with 130 - 150.

Ease of reloading....no advantage either way and I've found both to be easy to find good loads for and both are generally not too finicky.

Accuracy is equivalent in both as is recoil

Buy the rifle you like & be happy with either caliber; they are both great.

JME

MM

Montana,
Your right on the velocity, but I've never understood why except in factory loads. But it does seem to work out that way.

TX,

I can't fully explain it either as the 280 has more surface area on the base of the bullet for gas expansion and should be better but it's not......must be the length of the powder column and efficiency?????

MM

Another veddy good idea.

Dober

In the mid 70's only one person shot the 270 in the Nat.Silh.Rifle championships....7m/m's ruled! If you have to ask about the difference, then you haven't checked out printed or actual matter! Try them out! Books tell you what they want you to hear!

Sure, the 270 shoots pretty accurate but knocking down an elk with a 150 gr. bullet vs. a bigger 7 m/m is no comparison. If Jack O'conner wasn't such a 270 nut, the 270 wouldn't even have graduated from "wildcat"!

As noted they are so close as to be ballistic equivalents. In your case one reason to have a .270 WIN would be that you could borrow some ammo off of one of your hunting buddies if yours got lost or gave out while at camp.

I think the .270 WIN wouldn't have been a wildcat with or without Jack O'Connor - he had no influence in its design - he "discovered" it after Winchester designed it and put it on the market. Now of course he is directly responsible for its early (and later) popularity through his writing.

MontanaMan,

The velocity issue probably has to do with load data for the cartridges mentioned. You'll typically see the 270 and 280 have the same max charge for a given powder when both use the same bullet/bullet weight. Sometimes the 270 even has a higher max charge. Either way this probably has something to do with the vels issues.

I have a 280 Rem. but it's because I didn't want a 270. Nothing against it, just wanted to be a bit different. It works just fine as I'm sure the 270 would work just fine, and my 30-06s work just fine, etc.

Tanks 4 the morning humor.......good for giggles

Mark D

Just confirms my point from earlier, mostly personal choice. Very little fact involved.
If you think any elk is going to be able to tell the difference between being hit with a .277 150gr or a .284 160gr(which is the largest bullet most people use in a 280) then you need to shoot more elk or put down the crack pipe!

Bill