Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 280 Remington, 120 gr bullets, and H4350

Has anybody tried 120s with H4350 in 280 Rem? If so, what velocities did you see?

While doing load workup for a 280 Rem recently with 120 gr Barnes TTSX and H4350, I hit 3225 fps @ 56.5 gr and 3260 fps @ 57.5 gr (24" barrel).

No pressure signs, but those velocities were a bit higher than I had expected at those charges (my 2nd Ed Lee manual and Hodgdon online both list 3254 fps @ 59.0 gr as a max), so I chickened out and decided to pull the cartridges I'd loaded @ 58.5 and 59.0 gr.

I thought it odd that, historically, with different powders, using 140 gr jacketed bullets, this barrel has always been a touch on the slow side.

Dogzapper’s load:

280 AI 120 Ballistic Tip, 61gr H4350, 3320fps

Granted, this is an AI. It gives you a bit of perspective. I load 58 gr's Imr 7828 with 150's in my 280 Remington's without issue. Any time I have worked with a slow barrel while chasing velocity, it was aggravating. I finally had to learn to live with slower loads. But the animals never laughed at me.

Load 120 TTSX in mine, 55.5 grains of IMR 4350. Plenty accurate in a Kimber BGR I bought from a member here, thanks Dave!!

Sounds like a winner👍

In a standard 280 Remington 1st edition mountain rifle I'm using 59.0grs of H4350 to push 120gr Nosler Ballistic tips to a chronographed 3183 fps with excellent accuracy. This 22" skinny barrel has never produced astounding speeds, but this load is fast enough and when paired with excellent accuracy is good enough for deer or predators. I've read reports where other hunters used newer 120gr BT's on elk with excellent success, however I'd probably prefer something bigger for elk. For normal hunting I'll echo what others have said to say that the 280 Remington is about as good as it gets. The load above is from the Hodgdon 2020 annual manual developed for the 120gr Bar TSX. I substituted the 120gr Nosler BT and experienced no high pressure indicators. As always, use caution and start lower.

Dogzapper & I discussed 120’s at length. He likes them. I cannot bring myself to hunt with them. I prefer 150’s specifically. I can’t deny the capabilities of the 120’s.

I'll admit that although this 120 BT load shoots good, and should be plenty flat shooting to 400 yds or so, I'm more familiar and comfortable with the 154gr interlock spire points and I recently loaded up two boxes of those. I've not yet taken any game with the 120s. I may pull out a box of old computer paper and do a bullet test on them. Running 3180 fps is awfully fast, and a cc of mediocre construction may not handle it. These newer ballistic tips appear to be better made.

I also really like the 154gr interlocks at 2900fps. They may not shoot as flat as the 120s to 400 yds, i also don't shoot at anything nearly that far.

Glad you mentioned this. He told me the 120 BT’s became viable once Nosler had toughened them up for use in the specialty handguns.

No flies on the 120 bt , every deer dies quickly. With a lifetime supply it'll be awhile before running out.
This 225 lb buck drowned in his blood within seconds.
My 280ai, 280 and 7-08 likes them.
The 120bt is tougher than most think.

I too have a Rem 700 Mtn rifle 1990 vintage 22” .280
It shoots pretty much any standard bullet very well, the 120 NBT included. Is was curious about their jackets being thicker so i cross sectioned one and compared to the 140 gr NBT. They are indeed much thicker jacketed, like twice as thick. They are accurate and fast. I hit 3200 easily with H-4831 early in testing and quit there due to the accuracy being so good.
Popped quite a few rockchucks with them but moved on to 150’s for my hunting loads.
The 160 NP at 2900 and IMR- 7828 was so good i gave up on the 120’s …..even though my confidence in them is high.

I'd pick a 160gr NP at 2900fps for a general 280 Rem hunting load any day of the week. Would handle the bigger species of NA big game when the opportunity comes.

My 280 Rem MR was for sale on the second hand rack in a shop in SW Wisconsin. A good friend picked it up, but never used it, so he sold it to me. I quickly found out why it went down the road. 2 to 2-1/2" 100 yd groups were the norm with 140gr bullets. Brand made no difference. I ordered up a Score-High stock bedding kit from Midway, adjusted the trigger and Dyna-tek'd the barrel and accuracy is now where it should be. Looking forward to using it for a Western Kansas deer rifle perhaps on my uncle's farm. The 280 Rem is great on the plains.

FWIW, I haven't been able to get this rifle to shoot 160 gr Speer HC bullets, despite pushing a bit beyond book-max charges of H4350, any faster than the high 2700s. Accuracy was underwhelming.

That's why I was so surprised to hit well into the 3200s with the 120 gr TTSX and a middling load of H4350! Using the TTSX because Nosler BTs have been hard to come by.

Next time out, I'll shoot 56.5, 57.0, and 57.5 gr for groups and see if there is any accuracy potential there with this powder and bullet combination.

When testing the 120gr Nosler BTs in the 280 Remington, I tried three different powders. Winchester 760, Hodgdon Superformance, and H4350. I have the loads and speeds for each, but H4350 was the fastest and produced the best accuracy. I'll need to find another use for Superformance.

Looks like I've boiled my 280 rem powders down to just two. H4350 for 120s through 154gr, and IMR-7828 SSC for 160s and heavier.

Superformance is reported to be a great choice for the 22 Creedmoor. I have both.