Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What can you do with a 280 that you cant with a 270

I'm not sure where to ask this question, but here it is.

Comparing the 270 Winchester to the 280 Remington, having similar powder capacity....

I've been a long time fan of most anything that pushes 7mm/.284" bullets.
However, after having been "relieved" of my 284 Winchester I've acquired some 270's/270 WSM's.

Although the 270's will get the job done, I still have a itch for another 284/280.


Help me put this to rest..

What can I do with a 7mm/284 bore that the 270's won't accomplish (out to 500 yards on all N.A. Game except Large Bears).?
Should i be content with the 270's or should I acquire, scratch the itch, a .284/7mm bore.?

Nothing....keep the 270, great cartridge.

You can be a little different. Everybody and their brother has a 270.

I love my 270… however I'd get a 280ai over a " plain "280.

The difference between those two cartridges wouldn't fill a thimble. I have a .280 and really like it, but it won't do anything a .270 can't.

Absolutely nothing at all.

However, if you have an itch for a 7 MM look no further than to a 7-08.....it's a short action .270 Winchester...….well it shoots like it is and is available in several short actions.....that is if you consider a short action to be of value to you.

I have had basically both, only my 280 is a 7X64. A larger selection of bullets in the 7mm, other than that either will do about what the other can.

Spend more money on factory ammo.

You probably hand load though.

-Jake

There are more bullets that I like in .284 than in .277. But when it came time to set up my sons with guns--knowing that they are not looney at all--.270 got the call.

Bocajanala,

Yes, I hand load.

Having had both, you KNOW the answer. You can shoot slightly heavier bullets. Other than that, there is no real difference. I'm really a fan of the 270WSM. Get yourself a Kimber Montana in 270WSM and you have a lightweight rifle equivalent to a 7mmRM (with 150s or less).

OTH, if you want a 280, get a 280. I would never advise against someone buying another rifle.

There is really not $0.05 worth of difference between them. But, If you got an itch you best scratch it. Actually there may not be $0.02 worth of difference. Right now I have both a 270W and a 7mm Rem Mag Since I can't make up my mind ,I use a 25-06. for use here in PA any of the three are more than adequate. Along with others like 243W, 257R,etc,etc

I'm in that boat. I know that the .284 has the bullet weight advantage and also know that the 270 has bullets that will work.

Probably it's the looney in me that pines for the .284 and that's also quite probably an "emotional" hang up more than a practical need.

I heard so much of the .280-is-superior back in the 1980s that, as conscientious gun writer, I had to find out. Had a custom "mountain rifle" built on a Remington 78 action(exactly the same as a 700 but a cheaper, birch-stocked version) by the late Dave Gentry, which weighed under 7 pounds with scope--partly because Dave was a .280 fan. He claimed it shot a lot more accurately than the .270--but the 78 was originally a .270, which shot extremely well with most loads.

Dave's custom did not shot quite as well, because he used a lot thinner barrel--but with the right loads it shot well under an inch. Used it as my primary "light" North American rifle for around a decade. It was a very lucky rifle (which I tend to believe in), and among other animals used it to take my biggest mule deer ever, both in antler and body, and one of my two biggest caribou. But have plenty of experience with the .270, both my own and that of others including Eileen (who used the .270 as her ONLY big game cartridge for over a decade) to know every one of those animals would have been taken with similar results with a .270.

Some argue that the .280 has an advantage at longer ranges, due to the standard 1-9 twist and, heavier, higher-BC bullets. But out to around 400 yards (the realistic range when I was using the .280 a lot) I could never could find any difference. That heavier/high-BC advantage is being reduced lately with new .270 bullets, and tighter rifling twists.

But most of us aren't concerned with that. In my experience (which includes not just the Gentry .280, but others--and plenty of .270s) there's zip difference in the field. However, you can buy .270 factory ammo just about anywhere, which isn't true of the .280. That has been a factor even in Montana, where a friend who was long-time .270 fan switched to the .280 for couple years. He even outfitted his family with .280s--and for various reasons they ran out of ammo on an eastern Montana pronghorn hunt. There wasn't any .280 factory ammo locally--despite the 90s still being part of the ".280 is superior" era..... He went back to the .270, and killed a B&C bighorn ram with one this fall.

Scratch the itch. You're a rifle loony, right?

"Scratch the itch. You're a rifle loony, right?"

Well, there is that....

Maybe it will be the rifle that will change your life!

One never knows, there might be the "ONE" I actually had one of those, a lucky rifle that shot lights out. Several good game animals and was actually used by several others that had similar success. My daughter learned to shoot with it, and when she married and moved I let her have it. It's been about 5 years now and I am still searching for the replacement.

Nothing when it comes to hunting.

Plus, there are quite a few very accurate 270 WIN factory ammo options and 270 WIN factory ammo is easier to find when compared to all 7mm/0.284" bore cartridge options other than the 7mm RM.

270 WSM and 270 ROY factory ammo is virtually non-existent on dealers' shelves in most places that I've visited for as far back as I can remember.

7mm-08 and 280 REM factory ammo isn't very common in eastern Nebraska, but it is usually available at major retailers like BPS/Cabela's and Scheel's. 7-30 Waters, 284 WIN, 7mm SAUM, AND 7mm WSM factory ammo is virtually non-existent on dealers' shelves in most places that I've visited recently. Other than 7-30 Waters and 284 WIN,, all of the other low volume 270 and 7mm/0.284" factory ammo seems to be available on-line, but that requires prior planning and that seems to be an attribute that the majority of casual hunters lack.

As with most situations that you have some control over, proper prior planning promotes positive professional performance.

If you want one, get one, it’s simple.

The answer to the question: "If O'Conner had access to a .280 the .270 would not exist".