I've had a number of 280s over the years and they've all shot OK, but never great. What have other people's experiences been?

My pet .280 is the same way...I get adequate hunting accuracy , appx. 1.5 " groups at 100 yards, but nothing to brag about...It is also very load selective...I had to find just the right combo to get groups as good as I get..

However the only times I failed to kill any animal I shot at with it, it was because I screwed up, and they were not all short range shots, either...

reloads with H4831sc and Nosler 150gr partitions and also Hornady 139gr boattails are very accurate in my .280.
Normally 3 shots under an inch.
Great caliber!
There is probably a bullet out there your rifle will like better, but maybe if you have decided your load is the bullet you want to use for hunting the accuracy you are getting is good enough.

The was a thread here saying that the 280 has a wrong leade design. A particular gunsmith said that he knows what the correct one is!

I looked in my book of cartridge designs and indeed the 280 is different, as I recall, than others such as the 30-06 for instance.

At one time the 280 was the top choice for custom rifles.

My .280 is a custom job, but the worst load I have put through it was 2". It shoots just about everything into 1 1/2" & many groups have been half that. This is from a very thin 23"bbl. (total rifle wt. w/ 3-9comp. is 7 1/4#).
I like 160gr bullets o/ IMR7828 & 140-150gr bullets o/ IMR4831 or H4831.

I have the original version, the 7x64. It was made in 1946 and still shoots MOA with Norma factory 175 gr loads. The barrel is 23.5" with a mannlicher stock.

My pair of Remington 725's will break an inch on a good day but average in the 1.25" range for 3 shot groups....with bullets ranging from 139-154 grain.....IMR 4350 or RL19 work well for me...

I like the 280 Remington but have found the 270 to be easier to develop loads for......

my Winchester Featherweight is incredibly accurate with lots of different loads. I've never had another M70 FWT that was anywhere near as accurate....Jim

[ 07-24-2003, 06:22: Message edited by: olarmy ]

Broke in a Ruger 77 with a Hogue stock for a buddy. With handloads its ultra-accurate.

My old Rem 700 was mediocre until I had it rebarreled with a #3 taper Douglas barrel. It shoots most hunting bullets into 3/4" or a bit more.
My newer Weatherby Ultra Lt Wt in .280 Rem is VERY accurate, especially with ballisitic tips. I have shot several under 1" groups (3 shots) at 200 yds with the Wby.

I have zero complaints when it comes to the .280 Rem, one of my favorite calibers.

FN in MT

My 7x64 Sauer 202 shoots many hunting loads into < .7 MOA and its petload -upper left in the pic- goes .4 MOA. Considering the similarity between the 2 calibers, I would expect the same accuracy in a good rifle.

Mine shoots right around 1 MOA with any of Speer or Hornady spitzers between 139 gr. and 154. In fact I measured a bunch of groups early on and they averaged 0.99"! Some groups are significantly better, none are significantly worse.

Only bullet I've tried that it won't shoot for some reason is the 150-gr. Partition.