am looking at Browning A-bolt rifles and trying to decide between .270 win , .270 WSM, and .280 Rem. I love the flat trajectory of all of these cartrages. I like the .270 due to the availaility of ammo in both cartrages. that's what i don't like about the .280, it's a little harder to find... but i like the .280 due to its ability to shoot a heavier load in case the opportunity presents itself that i might be able to hunt big game... my question is mainly etween the .270 WSM and the .280... which packs more punch? thanks for the help...
Give me the tried and true, and as Danny said, I can counter any newbe that you can name!
My choice for this particular thread? .280 Remington!
I am wagering you don't own one with your dim view of it so how are you going to counter it?
Had (3) 280 Remington bolt guns all with 24" barrels and 1 Ruger 1b with a 26" barrel ..the only one that would come close to velocities mentioned in any reloading manual was the Ruger. This also applies to factory ammo velocities and using what was available Remington 140 grain corelockts and Hornady ammo and Federal Premium HE trophy bonded bullets. DOn't be surprised to see no more 280 anything for sale in five years and I think the round would be a terrible choice for a new rifle . WSM's are new and so is the tooling at the factory so the brass is substantially better then regular brass and because of the case design you will not have to be doing much trimming after shooting it awhile.
Now I have owned/own three rifles chambered in short mags 300 wsm and the 7 wsm. The 7 wsm will shoot 3150's all day long with their bottom line 150 grain powerpoint bullet factory load that one can easily find in a Walmart . Try finding 280 rem ammo in a Walmart . Its not getting any better since the major manufacturers keep reducing 280 factory offerings on a yearly basis. BTW my handloaded Remington 700 custom shop 24" barrelled KS 7 rem mag will shoot 3100-3150 with a max load out of the Hornady manual . Oh I guess I could squeeze that 7 rem mag a little more and get 3200 or so out of it but it seeems pretty paltry compared to the same length barrel and factory ammo of a 7wsm.
In short if you have a 7 rem mag you like a 270 win mag you like use it no reason to trade for a short mag. If however you are looking for a new gun don't listen to hearsay from people that don't own them or even worse listen to gun writers . Buy one and try it out and learn from your experiences.