In all honesty some are tryin to split hairs by comparin the 270 to the 280 to the 30/06. I' ve killed deer with 270s and have both the 280 and a 30/06. With the right bullets for the conditions, EITHER of them will do what the other will do. Now personally I would recommend more bulletweight than 150grains for elk or larger sized game (in the 270s case thats the most you will get in a commercial load), but every year MANY elk and even moose fall to that 270/150 load. If shots are kept under 250yds a 270/150 will perform awfully similar to a 30/06-180. And the 280/160 will do likewise. The key I believe is' nt necessarily in going with the heaviest bullet available, but in choosing a premium performance bullet like a Barnes Xbullet, Winchester Failsafe, Trophy bonded, Nosler Parts etc... I personally dont consider the 280 as having enough case to push the 175 grainers to any appreciable difference over that of a 160 of like design. Its kind of like the 30/06 with 200s and 180s. Many highperformance 180s will outpenetrate the 200s when fired from an 06. You simply need more velocity to justify the heaviest bullets use.

For deer I personally use in my 280 the Federal Premium 140 Trophy Bonded load as I like as much penetration as possible without sacrificing velocity by having to use a heavier bullet. The season before last I switched to the 139 SST Hornady Light Mag (my 280 is a custom with a 24" barrel and should be able to maximize such loads) and shot a big Missouri buck that was quarterin towards me at 50 yds. The bullet entered between the shoulder and his neck but didnt completely penetrate the lungs. He only ran 40 yds or so and piled up, but I know from experience on other deer and similar shotangles that the 140 Trophy Bonded would' ve exited behind the off shoulder and probably dropped him in his tracks. I also have a 7Rem Mag and for deersized game at distances of 300yds or less, there is essentially no difference between the 7mag and 280 if you are' nt talking about full length " raking shots, aka Texas heartshots" ! In that case, the extra velocity of the 7mag helps in spades.

I simply love rifles and have several calibers, much of which are very comparable on effectiveness for deer. IMO only when you get into long ranges (over 300yds) and/or move up to large magnums (like my Lazzeroni Warbird) do you noticable any appreciable difference on performance and " killing power" . Personally I really like the trends toward the shortmags. The guns are smaller, lighter, typically more accurate and you are' nt giving up any power or ballistics to gain such. The various 7mm shortmags are worthy of investigation. BUT make sure you understand that you need to procure ammo for them from various sources and BEFORE season as they are' nt yet commonly stocked by the old country stores out near deercamp!

From a