I sold my last 30.06 and am thinking about a 280 Rem. In a Ruger Hawkeye. Never owned or even shot one. Looking to use it as a spare for elk hunting. I imagine it would be easy to reload? How is recoil? What is typicsl bullet weight to use?

Simple physics tells us that when handloaded to full power it will recoil more than a 270 and less than a 30-06.

Given that it sits between those two easily loaded rounds it shouldn't be cantankerous to handload.

I'm old school, so I'd probably top it off with 160 grain Partitions for elk if I were ever to go after them. For the deer and pigs I do hunt I'd dig out one of my old boxes of 154 grain Interlocks from my 7mm Wby. days.

I had a boat paddle stocked M77 MK II in 280 and I think it had a 1 in 10 twist, but I read somewhere the newer Hawkeye's have a 1 in 9.5 twist. The new Ruger African in 280 AI has a 1 in 8.5 twist. I've also read that some rifles that have a 1 in 10 twist tend to shoot 150 grain bullets better than 140's or 160's. Garry Sitton (RIP) wrote about it years ago. The only way I could get non nickle plated cases was to buy Fed loaded ammo and then handload them. Rem and Win cases are plated, or at least they used to be.

Great cartridge, I really should get another one...

The .280 is a grossly underrated and under appreciated cartridge. It is efficient...so far as to the components you put in and the ballistics you get out. Heartily recommend, and it would be impossible to go wrong with a Ruger Hawkeye.

I have a Hawkeye in 280. Got it from CDNN for $450. The picture in the ad shows the polished blue finish, which is what I wanted. Came with a flat matte finish instead. Mounted a Leupold 6x42 on it after buying a #3 scope ring to mount the scope lower. Handy little rifle.

They work just fine. Even with junk 154 gr. Hornady SP bullets.



Todd

Never owned one but an elk guide I know in Colorado uses the exact rifle. He shoots factory ammo and has no complaints. I'd say get the rifle and use it.

Bought my wife a Mk II in 280 Rem 20 + yrs ago, It is a dandy combination. It loves 150 grain bullets and as Todd shows, they don't have to be premiums.
Though I finally developed a load for her using 150 grn NPT's and RL22, she did just fine with 154 grn Hornady's on pronghorn, deer, elk, and even moose.
As for the Hawkeye's, just like its predecessors, they are darn good rifles. The 338 I had was a moa rifle, and the 7mm Rem Mag I shoot presently is sub moa,
though honestly I did have to float the barrel to get it to settle down.

Have a Hawkeye in 280. Got it on a sale as well, had it coated to be a rain and mud gun. You can obviously reload with lots of options, but there's actually a decent range of factory stuff out there and, while not "cheap," it isn't super expensive either. You've got partitions in 150 from Federal and then Remington still makes the 165 soft points (corelokt). Lots of smaller shops online also sell semi-custom partition or a-frame loads.

Last I looked, CDNN still had blued/synthetic Hawkeye .280s for $499, a great deal on a solid rifle. I've had several Hawkeyes, still have one. Not a single issue thus far. Prefer Mausers when I can get them, but the HE comes very close, and are available new and easy to get, while finding the right Mauser may take a little looking around.

I have one of the CDNN 280’s and another buddy has one as well. Pretty solid rifle for 500 bucks. If anything it’s a decent action to make something else out of as well.

Any accuracy reviews on them or favorite loads?

I'm on my second .280, which happens to be custom, tang safety Ruger. Bought my first one back in 1987. A Remington Mtn. Rifle. Easy to load for. Factory ammo is loaded a bit light, but don't let that bother you. I killed a running buck at 276 yds. with a 160 gr. Nosler Partition Handload that left the muzzle at only 2660 fps. The bullet hit at the bottom of the chest cavity and passed just close enough to the heart to nick the bottom of it. The buck went right down. Probably because the bullet opened on contact. The Federal ammo loaded with the 150 gr. partition is slightly faster and I'm sure would work quite well. E

Look again Pappy, they're $469.

g

Mine is a 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch gun, but I didn’t do any “load development” per se. I just loaded 58gr of H4831 in a Hornady case with a CCI 200 primer and a 140gr Partition. I can keep it on a 6 inch plate at 300 yards. Good enough for me.

Purchased one of the All Weather (stainless/synthetic) Ruger Hawkeye .280 Rem rifles in 2014. Love the rifle.

I currently load 140g bullets for it at a sedate 2900+ fps. No need to go faster as I have my 7mm RM for that. I'm tempted to use the 155g Federal Terminal Ascent with its claimed .586 B.C.

Mine put 6 Barnes 140g TTSX into a ,875" group at 100. WW brass, CCI 200, H4831SC, 2875fps avg.

Also 3 into 0,75" with 162g A-MAX and IMT7828SSC, 2781fps avg.

2-shot scope checks have provided .70" with North Fork SS and H4831SC, 2942fps avg. and 0,066" with same 140g TTSX load as above. (0.066" is not a typo.)

I like mine. A lot.

Picked up one of the stainless ones from CDNN a few years ago. Have only shot a few groups while zeroing it. Barnes factory shot under an inch each group which is good because I brought 30 boxes for $10 a box. The reason I got the gun in the first place. Set it up for a loaner so have not spent any more time with it. Wish I had picked up another to make a 9.3.

I sold mine so I have brass and dies available. PM me if interested.