The 280 is a fine choice, even though I have never owned owned one. In my 50+ years, I have owned several 270' s, three 30-06' s, a 7mm Remington Magnum, and a 7mm Weatherby Magnum. From what I have seen and read, I would choose a 280 in a good bolt action over all of them. Get yourself a good reloading manual and start comparing ballistics. Pay particular attention to velocities, bullet drop, and ballistic coefficients for all the calibers I have mentioned here. I think you will be surprised. For a fellow with objectivity, the truth is plain to be seen. There is very little to be gained by going to a magnum caliber. The 280 (7mm) has more versatilty than the 270 because there are more available bullet weights for it.

Hope I don' t offend the 270 and ' 06 crowd too much!

Clint