Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 280 Pet Loads...let's see'm....

More proof of life after death. Thread started 3/5/11.

With that said, I like 57.8 gr. WMR (Winchester Magnum Rifle) for 2907 FPS on average. rifle is a DWM Argentine Mauser custom, 24" barrel. Groups run ,50" to .75" depending on how well I'm doing on a particular day.

The good news is I have a good supply of WMR. The bad news is Winchester discontinued it over 15 years ago. FWIW, it works great in the .270 Win., .280 Rem., and .300 Win. Mag. It absolutely will not work in the 30-06. In fact Winchester only gave data for 200 and 220 gr. bullets for WMR. I tried working up something with 180 gr. bullets and simply put, forget about it.

I only posted the load should someone besides me have a supply of WMR.
PJ

Kind of how the .280 rem rolls, it just cannot go away. 'More proof of life after death.....

Yeah but it's a damn good cartridge. Too bad Remington screwed the pooch by not loading it to its full potential. I just remedy the problem with my reloads.
PJ

I know the 280 well, been running one since 1988.

Been side tracked with other cartridges, none much or any better though....

The 280 is tough to beat! My 280’s liked the 154 grain Interlock, 162 grain Interlocks, and the 150 Partition the best.
One of my first 280’s was a 7x57 before a chambering reamer had its way with it. The best bullet in that 280 was a SPEER heavy Mag-tip - a great elk bullet. AAs I recall it was 160 grain???
The main powder I used in the 280 has been IMR 4350.

The load I'm running in the 280 last few seasons is

H4831 58.5 gr. Fed 210, rem case with a 150 gr. Btip on top. All shots touching @100 yards with 2850 fps chrono'd from the stock Ruger 22 inch barrel. Laid down a few deer and a rag horn bull elk asorted vermin with the load.

All the hype about the 'beefed up' ballistic tips got my curiosity loading. I confirmed they were 'beefed' after breaking the far side scapula of the elk after driving from behind opposite side last rear rib on the elk at 80-ish yards. Zero reservations of using this btip on elk... from my .280.

The 'do it all' for years load....

Imr 4831 56.5, fed 210, rem case 160 gr. Speer Spitz, nosler partition. 2900 chrono'd fps from the ruger again. Clusters one inch @100. Kilt many of elk and deer with a bear thrown in.

There have been some factory loads used also. The ones that I found to be stellar on game are the long discontinued winchester 140 gr. Power point, Remingtons 140 core-lokt and there 165 gr. Core-lokt rn.

The win power point load would flatten deer, 80 lbs or 300 lbs. Found two in deer, one in the neck of a big 5x5 rutted up whitetail and one under the rib hide of the 300lb mule
deer buck. Took big deer to stop'em, both bang flops also.

The lighter core-lokt was like the power point, bang flop. Only found one 140 core lokt in a deer. Looked like the remington picture ad. Found they work very well on mountain lions also. The 165 core-lokt don't care what's in the way, it's leaving a good exit hole. Deer and bear dispatched all had good sized exit, very good blood trail or flopped right there. Have yet to find one in game, maybe that will change when I get to run one into an elk.

Just to pile on a bit, I decided to try out the PRVI Partizan 174-grain SP a while back because my favored 150-grain Partitions seem to have gone extinct and I'm down to a couple hundred of them. An 8-pounder of H1000 came my way several months prior and it seemed like a natural to pair it up with the 174s. At 60.5 grains, 3 five-shot groups at 200 yards averaged a little under 2-1/2" or about 1-1/4 MOA fired out of an econo-custom VZ-24 with an A&B barrel. Velocity averaged about 2770 (sounds awful close to the old .30-06 shooting 180s, no?). I haven't shot the 174s out of my Super Grade; the 150 Partitions are reserved for that rifle.

I plan to murder hogs with this 174-grain slug launched by the VZ-24.

I also laid in a supply of 150-grain ELD-Xs, but have not tried any of them yet. I expect them to shoot as well as the 150 Partitions do using Re26. If not, I can always revert to H4831 or H4350 or even dip into the H1000 if need be. Surely one of the four will be very good.

I ran 57.0grs of IMR-7828SSC and the Sierra 175 soft point Gameking. Chronied 2758fps from a skinny 22" 700 barrel in standard 280 Remington chamber. This load is from the Nosler #5 manual, but I subbed a Sierra instead. They shot excellent. One of the smaller groups my rifle managed. I got a good deal on them at a gunshow and threw this load together to try them out. Typical Sierras. Very accurate. Would make an awesome long range load. Neck and neck for power with a 30-06 and a 180 at 2700 fps, but with a .533 B.C. It takes a 200gr 30 cal Sierra to equal that.

I’ve got two. A 7600 and a 725. Both are great shooting rifles.









M7600












I like them both. Great shooting rifles and easy cartridge, just like a good 270…

Boomwacks 58.5 with the 150 BT shoots excellent in my 7600 as well.

I like that 725 Scotty. I always say if I run across one in 270 or even 280, I'm going to buy it. I saw a 721 the other day, it was chambered in 270 win. I damned near bought it, it's one of those rifles that was hard to give back. Aluminum butt plate, all original stock and nice bluing. Reminded me of an old pre 64 model 70. Now I look on gunsinternational and none of them are in the condition that rifle was in. I don't like 270's or Remingtons, but that one was an exception. $425 far too cheap for that rifle, so it has me thinking!!!!

I love those 725's, very similar to a Model 70 Featherweight to me. My 280's had a recoil pad added, but it shoots just fine as it sits.

Those old 721's were really great rifles for their day and at 425, I think I would have caved.

Man, I almost did. Now I have the regrets!!! I may go there tomorrow!! I really like the 725 because of the safety lever. They took that design from the M1917 I love. Very easy to manipulate. I've heard some guys prefer that style even over the venerable wing safety. Sweet rifles you have there Scotty. Those pumps can be wicked accurate as well. Almost had my azz handed to me by a young dude (I mean got dang country boy) shooting a 760 in an offhand match when I was younger. If it hadn't been for the 1 extra egg I shot offhand at 100 yards, he would have taken home the pot. That sob kept up tit for tat on the 4" steel plates. Not really a challenge for either of us. He knew how to handle that 760 and it was pretty impressive from my standpoint.. Walked away with $150 that day. Made me appreciate the 760 much more after that. They aren't just an "Amish machine gun" or however that phrase goes. I bought one because of that day, but the one I had rattled too much. So I sold it. It was a cool left hand model and it shot very well.

Yeah, the 760's and 7600's are definitely my weakness. I don't have a ton, but I have a short 270, 280, Whelen and a Whelen carbine. They really shoot way above their paygrade.

Bob had a 760 280 Rem carbine I'd give a left nut for.

Oh dang. That would be a cool one. I miss that old guy. He had some cool rifles. I'll tell you, I have a lot more respect for those pump remington rifles. Kind of like I have respect for a rattle snake. Always loved the 870 too.

They are good shooting rifles. My standard 35 Whelen is pretty darned awesome shooting too. Just got the carbine though, that'll just get a peep sight and zeroed at 100 yards. But man is it sure handy. I bet it'll shoot just fine as well.

Very cool man. I always thought rechambering one to 9.3x62 would be bad azzed...

That was my plan when I scored the 760 270 Win. I was going to do a 338-06 or 9.3. Well, I kinda have a soft spot for the 270 Win, so I had the barrel trimmed back to 20" and with 150 PT's it works well as it is... Maybe one of these days I will though.

My wife slums it with lowly classic featherweight in a 280 she’s managed to get couple moose with it. Top secret load is in this thread.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...1617864/re-wife-first-moose#Post11617864

Do you fire it from the hip yelling ‘Merica?

HA! That's cool stuff John.. Looks like it's a go to.. Those 150 Ballistic Tips are damned good bullets.

I use the 140 Sierra's in the M725 and sub a 140 Bitterroot for hunting. Pretty sure for what I am doing the Sierra would work fine as well too. I know RL26 is some sorta quick in that one.