I have been a long time loader but I just got a new caliber.... .280 REM. The rifle is a new Sig SHR 970 that I purchased off an elderly guy in a parking lot. He had bought it for his grandson a few years back as a graduation present. Apparently his grandson got mixed up in drugs and he was not going to give it to him. He was taking it to my local gun shop to sell it back to them. They were only going to give him 300.00 for the rifle and the two additional barrels he had for it ( .25-06 and .270 ). I paid the man 500.00 for the package which is still a heck of a deal...and only fair. I also like the interchangable barrels.

Anyway.. I have loaded the .25-06 and .270 for years but never the .280. Anyone have any suggestions of fave loads that they could recomend?

Thanks in advance

The debate between the .270 and the .280 is as old as it gets.....IMO why would anyone shoot bullets 150 grain and smaller in a .280 if he had a .270???

This is what makes the .280 shine over the .270.....it'll do anything the .270 can and then handle the 175 grain bullets for the bigger game!!!

I'd be shooting 175 grain (particians) over about 51 grains IMR 4831

Because a 280 with a quality bullet like the barnes x in 140grain beats 270 anything. Another powder you may want to try is VV N165. Makes my 280AI really zip with 140tsx. And the beauty of that powder is high pressure is not a concern. You cant fit enough into the case to make excessive pressure. And accuracy is superb. Groups in the .3s are very common. I will add the fact that this is a custom 280AI w/25 1/4 hart#5 built by Jim Borden. But I see no reason that powder wont impress in the standard 280. give it a try. A 140tsx will do everything a heavy bullet will with less recoil. It is my do it all bullet in the 280. To clarify, the 140tsx is still gonna weigh 140 when its all said and done. A 175 will weigh 140 after the fact if you are lucky. And yes that 140tsx will lay the hammer to elk and moose. I would not hesitate to take either one with that bullet.

Ten years ago I had an old Remington ADL 270 rebarreled to 280 Rem. I left the barrel finished at 25.5". This rifle is at its best with full doses of IMR4831 or RL19. I use RL19 behind the 140 gr. Nosler BT or the Nosler Partition. I am .5 gr. over max in the Nosler Manual #4. Groups are under .5" as long as I am having a good shooting day. I have recently worked up a load with the 175 gr. Partition. Again I exceed the listed max by a little. Accuracy is .75" and recoil isn't too stout. This is my elk load if I get the chance to go. I always use Federal primers and Winchester Nickel brass. As for an accurate factory load mine will shoot the 140 gr. Winchester BST nearly as good as my reloads. Something I forgot I get 3100+ fps out of the 140's and am just shy of 2800 fps with the 175's. The 175's are on par with a 30-06 and 180's but you have morre sectional density, higher B.C., and a flatter trajectory. You made an outstanding purchase and when you have some results let us know. Another shooter I know uses the 175's in front of IMR7828 and can exceed 2800 fps in a 24" barrel Rem. 700 BDL. Best of luck.

For deer I recommend the 150 Nosler Partition with H4831sc.

For elk I recommend the 160 Barnes Triple shock with I4831.

Thanks for all of the input guys... I will most likly be shooting both the barnes 150 gr XBT and the 160 gr VLC. The only thing I dislike about Barnes is the fact of calculating the OAL..they should atleast give a general "all purpose" OAL as all of the other manuals provide.

thanks for the help guys....looks like I may be putting my Browning A-Bolt .270 away for a long time to come.

Better accuracy and flatter trajectory from the 140tsx. The xbt is a finicky little fella. I promise you the 140tsx will not dissappoint. Elk, moose, whitetail, black bear, the 140 out of that 280 will do it all and quite handily I might add. There is no need to worry about needing heavier bullet weights when comparing the tsx or other barnes offerings to lead core bullets.

I eventually will move over to the 140 TSX...but for now I want to use up the 7mm Barnes bullets I have as I have 450 of them. I had used them in my 7mm Rem Mag but I since sold it once I got the .280 (had to make room in the guns safes) I have had great success in the past with the x bullets from many different rifles and calibers and I am hooked on Barnes. My .270 loves the 130 gr TSX. As long as I can get them to shoot a 2 inch group at 100 yards I am happy as I have a self imposed limit of 250 yards for my shots. The next rifle to find a barnes load for is my .300 WSM.

Thanks again for the help

For deer I load the 120 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter to about 28500-2900 fps. Drops deer like a sack of rocks. I took a big mule deer last fall at about 200 yards. It went through the near shoulder and exited behind the opposite shoulder. It went down in its tracks. The 280 I have has a 26 inch barrel. I have loaded the Nosler Ballistic tip in 140 grains as well. It shoots good group wise but I have not shot at any game with them yet. For deer I would not want to push the 120 bullet any faster than 2900. It may be a little fragil at higher speeds. The 270 and 280 are pretty close in performance and both are about perfect for deer and elk hunting.

WEll I finally got out today to do some range testing with my .280. The best results I got were the 150 gr XBT over 48.5 gr of IMR4350. It shot groups just a hair over an inch (three shot) The 160 gr XLC didnt do as good but still grouped under 2 inches at 100 yards...good enough for hunting. The next bullet I am going to try is some 160 gr Speer GRAND Slams. They have shot well in the past, in factory form, out of my fathers .280 so Id figure I grab a few of his boxes and load them up to see what happens. I will report back.