The 7X64 will approximate the .280 Rem power wise.Your opening a can of worms with the ballistic tips.They are very accurate but some find them too fragile[explosive] on game bigger than deer.I've seen surface wounds on antelope with 100gr 25-06 ballistic tips and exit wounds like a football with 130gr .270 on mule deer.Too eratic to suit me.I use almost exclusively Hornady interlocks and Partitions.This is a matter of personal preference like the Ford/Chev debate.....................to each thier own.................Harold
The 7X64 will approximate the .280 Rem power wise.Your opening a can of worms with the ballistic tips.They are very accurate but some find them too fragile[explosive] on game bigger than deer.I've seen surface wounds on antelope with 100gr 25-06 ballistic tips and exit wounds like a football with 130gr .270 on mule deer.Too eratic to suit me.I use almost exclusively Hornady interlocks and Partitions.This is a matter of personal preference like the Ford/Chev debate.....................to each thier own.................Harold
Harold,
I was thinking about using the ballistic tips for my .257 Roberts. You've had good luck with the Hornady's?
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Be sure you are right, then go ahead. - Davy Crockett (1786-1836)
I'm partial to Hornady's and have used the Interlocks on everything from grizzly,moose ,elk,blackbear,caribou,deer to antelope with no bullet failures.Your .257 would work nice for deer with any of available weights starting at 100gr,117gr and the 120HP.The 117-120 will tilt a elk or moose if you do your part.Personally I think the ballistic tips come apart if pushed beyond 2800 fps.When deer are shot from100 yards out and farther with this bullet it seems to work as intended.Jumping deer out of beds at pointblank is another matter entirely.Grenades.......BTW your .257 is a very well balanced sensible cartridge...........Jack O'Conner spoke highly of his.............Good shooting....Harold
I used the 100 gr. BT's after purchasing my 257 Roberts. Over my chrony I ran them a little over 3100 fps. These bullets weren't tough enough on 140 lbs deer in Oklahoma. I switched to the Hornady 117 gr. BTSP at 2900 fps and put deer down with devastation. I have used the 115 gr BT's with better success at 3000 fps. In my opinion the Hornady held together better and expanded reliably. I recently received a 25-06 as a gift and have had good success with the 110 gr. Accubond on whitetails and feral hogs.
I've loaded for my .280 for 25 years...The rifle has never had a factory load fired through it..
My pet load over the years has been the 140 grain NoslerBallistic Tip...
All reports of erratic performance aside, my .280 has killed about 30 head of big game, from pronghorns to caribou, very efficiently with the ballistic tips..
That includes about a dozen caribou, the bigger bulls weighing 300 to 400 pounds...
If I were hunting elk with it, I'd probably use a tougher bullet, like a Nosler Partition or a Barnes X...The one moose I shot with it, I used a 160 Nosler PT...
But for DEER sized game, the ballistic tip will work just fine..
I've found that bullet on the soft side for anything but rib shots...
Personally, i've had better performance with Speer bullets than i have with Hornandy... but if i had to pick the best all around bulletsi've ever used on big game, it would be Nosler partitions by far.
My 280 mountain rifle loves Speer 145 boat tails, and is very accurate with them. I've harvested white and blk tails with them, also blk. bear and caribou, but i also consider them to be on the soft side... just not as soft as 140 BT's...
ballistic tip 7x64
