I hope to hunt elk in 2019 with my 30 year old son.

I finally decided to fore-go a new rifle and work with my M700 CDL 280 Remington. Bought it in 2004 or so... soon after purchase I replaced the J-lock abominination with an aftermarket Gretan firing pin assembly with gloss red bolt shroud from Brownells. It is topped with Talley low rings and a Conquest 3-9x40. Added an uncle mikes 1" nylon sling. Rifle has been in the safe for several years without use. the trigger is stock with no adjustments - it has given me no troubles...i have maybe 100 rounds thru the rifle since purchase.

Pulled it out and can't bring myself to subject the walnut stock to elk hunt harsh weather... Could not bring myself to spend $750 on the Brown Precision stock (have never held one in my hands and have no rifle buddies who can demo one to me), so decided to roll with the sale offered by Stocky's for a B&C 2265 Alaskan Ti black with red web. the stock arrived and weighs 30 ounces.

Also ordered from Nosler some 140 grain e-tip they are running a sale on... the specs are MV 3000 fps, with a 200 yard zero the bullet is down 19" at 400 yards with V = 2261fps and E = 1589 ftlb... can't imagine that not being sufficient V and E for the bullet to expand and punch thru an elk at 400 yards from any angle...

if all this comes together with MOA accuracy i believe this rifle is set, other than one of Redneck's bolt-handle enhancements...

Dogger: A while back I killed a nifty 5x5 Bull Elk here in SW Montana with the 140 grain Nosler Partitions from my 280 Remington Rifle.
One shot through the heart/lungs and six seconds later that Elk was down and still.
I am not bragging but I am sure that Bull was 400 yards away - at least. No time for digging out the "range-finder" on that sub-zero morning.
Good luck on your Elk Hunt.
Come to think of it my customized pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in 280 Remington (25" barrel) has a Browns Precision stock on it.
Enjoy the Hunt with your son.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My .280 has killed a butt load of elk with the 140 gr TTSX at about 2900 fps. honestly it has worked so well that I rarely carry my 300 Wby that I bought for an elk gun.

Killed most of my firsts, including elk with a 280. The gun won’t be the problem if you don’t get one.

A gloss red bolt shroud? Is that kinda' like the "Easy Button"?


If you're looking for confirmation of your rifle and load, it will work great on elk...........

My wife uses a model 70 classic featherweight in 280 using 150gr ballistic tip using h4831

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...1631014/re-wife-first-moose#Post11631014

i used to frequent a range that required you to put your rifles not on the line in a rifle rack. i witnessed a guy wonder where his rifle walked off to... come to find out another shooter took it out of the rack thinking it was his... i figured a red bolt shroud would make it obvious to anyone that it was not their rifle, should it ever happen to me.

sort of like choosing dive gear that is pink... NO ONE else (males) on the dive boat will take your pink dive gear, i have not tried that technique but i know a DM who swears by it. lol

nice moose!

Had that happen on several occasions while shooting in sporting clays tournaments- lots of shotguns look alike!

I knew a guy who used to paint his ladders pink. He says "Would you steal a pink ladder?"

Dogger -

That setup should work. Good luck to you and your son.

I have killed a couple elk with a 280 and 154gr Hornday interlocks and they worked well. I shot a cow this year at about 60 yards with a 150gr NBT out of a 280 AI and it was a bang-flop deal. I think your set up will work great.

Nice choice. You could add antelope and deer if you wanted and still have the right gun for everything!

Killed my first elk with the same cartridge and similar bullet/velocity combo. It died just fine.

My 280 has been involved in some Elk assassinations.

Dogger, I've killed 10 bull elk with my .280AI, while the AI version may get a little more velocity in the field the difference in killing powder is small. You'll be well armed with your .280. Please don't tell others that I don't think there's much difference between the two rounds.

The Rem CDL .280 is by far my go to rifle when I hunt fields in Tn. for whitetails using 140 BT or some 140 TSX. It is scary accurate with almost anything I feed it but will touch holes with the Fed 140 BT's.

Once, a long time ago, I wrote to Jim Carmichel asking him which of my rifles I should take elk hunting. One was a 280. He responded that one of his favorite elk rigs was a 280 shooting 140 grain Nosler Partitions. I have that letter around somewhere. I think you have it covered.

I’m thinking about my 284 Winchester for Elk in CO next Fall. It’s more joyful to carry than my 300WSM. Where we go anything over 100 yards would be uncommon. I’m thinking about a Barnes TSX, lots of time yet though.

Just for grins i am going to see how well the Norma Kalahari 120 grain load shoots... that bullet design intrigues me. still waiting on the Nosler 140 e-tips to arrive

Sounds good, especially the part involving your son

Get some extra ammunition while the sale is still on and practice A LOT. Most kills are made by good shooting and your set-up will be fine.

While you are at it, put up a target at 200, 250, 300,350,and 400 yards and see if you are comfortable with the accuracy you get at such ranges.That was an educational experience. I looked at my results and decided to limit my shooting to XXX yards. I like elk with just one bullet hole.

I’ve heard good things about the etip. Picked up some 165 grain to try in my 308 win.

I’m planning on using my .284 for elk this coming October. It likes the Barnes TTSX 140-gr bullets very well and I’ve used them to take a large whitetail at 500 yds, a large mule at a 100, and a beautiful cinnamon blackie in between.

I also have the Federal Tipped Bonded Bear Claw in the same weight to try but am wondering if anybody here has used the Hornady 7 mm 150-gr ELD-X in their 284/280...

It looks like it might be another good choice.

I have been using my Remington Mdl. 725 in .280 Rem. for many, many years. Bought it new in 1962. Killed elk, deer, Black bear, and antelope. No problem whatsoever putting game on the ground.

I use 160 grains Nosler Partition in front of 54.0 grains of IMR 4350. That is very good elk medicine.

Good luck on your hunt.

L.W.

I have posted this before, but I'll say it again here. Back in 1990, just before I headed out on my second Colorado elk hunt, I wrote to Jim Carmichael and asked him if I should take my 280 or my 30-06. He very graciously wrote back and said that either would be fine, but his personal favorite elk rig was his custom 280 shooting 140 grain Nosler Partitions. I have that letter around somewhere. If the 280 with a 140 grain bullet is good enough for Carmichael it should be good enough for the rest of us.

I shot my first Elk with the 140 TTSX. I was quite curious what the bullet would do. It hit the cow in the brisket & traversed the entire thoracic cavity, exited the rear ham & re-entered the hindquarter & exited a second time. That cow was running about half trot when the bullet hit her. She slowed immediately and began to wobble, stopped & fell over. It reminded me of a young boy on his frist bicycle ride not knowing how to stop properly.

The 140 TTSX left the muzzle of my 7 Wby at 3400 fps. The straight line penetration surpsrised me. I have no doubt in my 280 being capable of the same within its velocity range.

I would zero that load for 250 instead of 200 as your scope is not a turret-twisting type and I take it you do not have a ballistic reticle all of which is ok. That change in zero will keep you under 3” high at mid-trajectory (~ 150 yds or so, so hold a bit high) but instead of ~ 18” low at 400 yds you will only be about 14” low, reducing hold-over at that range.

Makes it a bit easier at those longer ranges.

You could always dig it out after the shot to check.

I prefer mine with 2 holes....one entrance and one exit! 7mm Wby does it with 150 TTSX. No reason why your .280 won’t do the same at reasonable range. Happy Trails