I read an article on this cartridge and checked out the ballistics. I can't really understand why this cartidge isn't more popular. Remington only chambers one of its rifles for this round??? Opinions?????

The .280 is an excellent choice! It has suffered the same fate of the 6MM Remington! It was introduced at a time when another popular caliber was becomming the rage!
The .280 was born as the 7MM Express, and reborn as the .280. It is becomming very popular in my area. The ballistics are not far behind the 7MM RM, so if I didn't already have the 7MM RM, the .280 would be my choice!

I believe the .280 was originally designated as such. I bought a brand new one, a 725 Rem. which I still own, in 1963. It is stamped as "280 Rem.". Some years later, it was redesignated as 7mm Rem. Express, in an effort to follow market directions, and increase sales. Later, the designation was changed back to "280 Rem". It's enough to befuddle a professor. Anyhow, they are a tremendous round, and I think the original intent was to give Remington a cartridge to compete with Winchester's (read Jack O'Conner's) .270. It did so woth minor acceptance at first, but has come to be a very well-respected round.

Your right, and it's a GREAT round. I got on the 280 Rem. band wagon in the 70's and it's done all i have asked of it. I've always prefered it over the 270 Win. because of the heavier bullets available for it for "bigger", big game animials.

I've harvested caribou, blk. tail and white tail deer, blk. bears ect.. with mine, and it's always worked very well.

With handloads useing NP's, icould easily live with mine as my only big gamecartridge, for the lower 48 for the rest of my life...

Drilling Man

and just a little bigger still is the 30-06, where it all began, i.e. before folks started downsizing it.

ELKampMaster,I'm notknocking the .30-06 as I own one. Check the ballistics of the 140gr .280 Remington Express Corelockt against the .30-06 150gr of the same bullet type and it looks as though the .280 Remington has more energy overall and shoots flatter???? I'm referring to the Ballistics calculator at the Remington web site. Just seems to me that Remington should be sticking to it's guns with this round. (Pun intended!) I really am surprised that they don't have other model 700's chambered for it. [:-]

Remington blew it when they introduced this cartridge in pumps and semi autosinstead ofin a good bolt action.THey also didn't have O'connor promoting it like the 270win did.

I have a .270, a .280, two 30/06s (I had a 25/06 as well but someone "anonymously borrowed it from my truck" several years ago [:@]) as well has two 7Rem Mags. Inside of 300yds there isn't a deer alive that can tell you the difference between any of them when a quality bullet is stuck where it is supposed to be. Of those 7 rifles the most accurate is the .280 but it is from the Remington Custom shop so it should be, the rest are stock rifles with little or no mods done too them (one of the 06s was worked and it comes mighty close too my Custom Shop on the range!).

If you want to take "Texas heartshots" on em at 450yds then buy something else (my 300Wby and Lazzeroni Warbird excell at such shots!) or if you STRICTLY hunt in timber and shoot less than 100yds then you don't need much more than a "tutty tutty" or a 35Rem. BUT since when was being practical and only owning one gun fun? My wife doesn't play well with other women so for me I have to get my "multiple desires" answered by firearms. I love my .280 and killed my biggest whitetail with it (a 154inch 14ptr from MO) and continue to use it on occasion.

To honestly make an effective arguement for a .270/.280/30-06 over one or the other I feel is a complete waste of time. I have NEVER lost an animal with either caliber that was properly hit. If game larger than the largest whitetails (KS, MN, WI, CAN.) or caribou are on your menu then of the three I would pick the 30/06 and shoot 180 triple shocks from it. BUT in all honesty the .280 with quality 160s will do essentially the same thing!

Good luck,
RA

You hit the nail on the head red! My pal has a 280 and is enamored with it. Good for him. I bought a 270 as my first rifle and had to listen to him tell me how inferior it is when compared to his 280. Bull, They're all in the same ballpark and are all based of the ole 30-06. 280 is an excellent choice and I wouldnt mind having one, but as long as that pal of mine has one, I feel the urge to lovingly annoy him by not hunting with one myself. What is best? Owning all three!

The 270 and 280 bounce off those darn saber tooth elk.....