If you handload the .280 is a great cartridge and can be sub in for the 7mm rem mag or 06'. If buying over the counter skip the 280 and want the .284 cal buy a 7mm rem mag instead. Factory offerings are a limiting factor to the .280 rem, as is availablity.

As far as recoil the 7mm rem mag has a bit more than a comparable 280 but it is anything but bad. The most important thing is fit, secondly an aftermarket pad can make all the difference and of course learning to roll with the push or jab. The 280 rem I load for is my partners abolt, fits me very poorlyplus has thehard plate recoil pad. Bites me a lot worse than my 7mm rem mag.

If doing it over I'd still stick with the 7mm rem mag!