Fellows

I have been reading some articles about both of these cartridges and have slight problem which I should pick. I'm not sure...

Are there any 280 and 270 freaks out there. A well known gunwriter said that 280 rem is everything you need for North American hunting except for the bears/elk.

Is it soo that the 280 would make a better mountain cartridge than the old trusty 270 for sheeps, goat, caribou, pronghorn?? You tell me

"Don't be shy"
/ JOHAN

I can't see that.07 in diameter would make much difference. The only advantage the .280 would have would be the availability of heavier bullets.
Lots of game has fallen to these 2 rounds and I doubt if any of it could tell the difference.

There are alot of .270 owners out there who grew up reading too much Jack O. and believe they can hunt anything that walks w/ the .270.
I put both rounds in the same camp, good deer & antelope carts. I would use either for elk, but would use heavy for caliber bullets & keep my shots under 300yds w/ a good shot presentation. I'm sure game can't tell the difference btwn. the two.

The .270 Winchester is a long-time favorite cartridge of mine. It was originally designed for mule deer, sheep, and pronghorn, and that's the class of big game it's best restricted to. I've carried the .270 for elk, and I know guys who have taken a great many elk plus moose and even grizzlies with this cartridge. It's at its best with premium 130 gr. bullets at 3150 fps. or thereabouts - the original formula that Winchester came up with back in 1925 when the cartridge was introduced.

Even so, it's no giant killer, and I'd rather carry a .300 magnum or .338 magnum for elk, moose, bears, combination hunts up North, or else African plainsgame.

The .280 Remington hasn't exactly been a lucky cartridge for me (long story) but if you happen to luck onto a good .280, you've got yourself a good rifle. It'll handle all that the regular old .270 Winchester will, plus a bit more.

AD

If you reload the 280 is a great round if not don't wait to the last minute to try and get some ammo. Almost everyone sell 270 ammo in one form or another. I myself am trying to decide if I want a 280 or a 7mm-08.There is nothing wrong with either one within there limits.

My father and uncle use it for white tails in NY state, they're pretty successful with it. I personally don't care for 130 grain bullets (which is about all they can get that will shoot real accurately). That having said, like everyone else, it's a good round, i suspect the 280 to be the same deal, only using 284 diameter bullets, which translates into a wider availability of bullets to choose from. But I digress, exactly what are you looking to use this gun for, what game animal?

[ 06-14-2002, 08:34: Message edited by: Curtis_Lemay ]

Go for a .280Rem!!

Why? Read about it on my homepage about .280Remington (in swedish).
http://communities.msn.se/280RemingtonSweden

Like Tina Turner sings "It�s simply the best..."

Jonas

[ 06-14-2002, 13:03: Message edited by: Jonas ]

JOHAN,

For me the .280 is the better choice. The .280 is the twin caliber of our european caliber 7X64.

I love my 280 but there seems to be a simple answer to your ?? If you don't reload go for the 270, if you do the 280 give you a much better choice of bullets including heavier 1's if you go for a moose or elk.

I agree with the previous post. Properly loaded the 280 can make a hell of a lightweight mountain gun with good 300 yard potential. But ammo is harder to find. The two rounds perform very simular. But if you reload, go with the .280.

I have both and it's 6 of one half dozen of the other. Either will work and work well on deer size game. The 280 will have a larger bullet selection and heavier bullets are available if you reload. Either way you can't go wrong.

Both are very good and time-proven cartridges, IMO, and rather universal in application. Both have been "patterned" (to word it politely) after European predecessors - the .270 after the 6,8 x 57 Chinese Mauser, and the .280 after the 7 x 64 (Brenneke).

Regards,
Carcano

The .270 Winchester is generally loaded closer to its potential in factory loads, while the .280 has always been significantly underloaded.

Proper loads tailored to the individual rifles would make the .270 a slight favorite for lighter game at longer ranges and the .280 a slight favorite for heavier game. But even then, the difference is academic.

Johan:

I love the .280, but given that you are in Sweden, I would go for the 7x64, which is for all practical purposes, the twin of the .280. I imagine that in Sweden (or anywhere else in Europe) 7x64 ammo is easier to get than .280 or .270. If you are set on .270 or .280, I would still go with the .280, since I imagine that 7mm bullets are easier to get in Europe, than .270. While I hate to admit it, since I hate the .270 (for no rational reason), there is very little difference between the two on game. The .280 would be slightly better on larger animals (over 200 kilograms), but the .270 is slightly better at long range (over 400 meters). The differences are splitting hairs.

"Is it soo that the 280 would make a better mountain cartridge than the old trusty 270 for sheeps, goat, caribou, pronghorn?? You tell me"

The answer, for the game you've listed, is a resounding "NO, IT IS NOT BETTER THAN THE .270!! But, it is as good, and for larger stuff like bearsw and elk, it has a slight advantage due to the heavier bullets generally available. BUT A .270 WIN., loaded with 150 or 160 grain Nosler Partition bullets will, and has already, easily killed every type of game in North America, including Kodiak and Polar bears!!

I totally agree with your post Elguello. The advantage of the 280 lies with being able to fire a good 160 gr bullet at a reasonalble velocity to make a 300 yd elk/moose gun, which you cannot inb a 270. with lighter bullets on deer sized game they will produce identical results. I therefore lean to the 270 for this purpose.

BR

Don't forget, you can load 160 gr. Nosler Partitions in the .270........

AD

My very own first centerfire rifle was/is a 280, so I have somewhat of a soft spot for it. I now own both. This biz about the 280 penetrating farther due to the 175 grain bullets is pure non-sense. 150 grain X and fail safes in both cartridges will out penetrate any of the common 175s including the nosler partition. As for 175 grain X in the 280, I havent found a very good use for them as the long bearing surface doesnt lend itself to the velocity I want... so I just stick to the 150s. Johan... if you are a handloader, I would stick with the 280.
Just my 2 cents
take care sf

It is certainly true that the Barnes X bullets will out-pentrate most other expanding soft points. However, given the Barnes' propensity to shoot somewhere other than the point of aim, the question of just what object in the vicinity of the target is going to be penetrated becomes the operative issue.

If I were going to shoot some varmints at long range I might lean towards the .270 and if heavier big game was the thought then it's the .280. Most 7mm's have a faster twist and that's better for longer bullets and special bullets also.

But it's not between these two only. It depends upon ones battery and likes and dislikes. I would order a 7mm WSM myself if I already had a 30/06 or a .308 Win. If not the 30/06 should be first.

A while ago the .280 Rem was on the top of some list of most popular custom rifle calibers. I expect that has changed.

As the immortal ELMER said. " The 270 is a pritty good coyote rifle"

All kidding asside, the 270 is a 277-06, and the 280 is a 284-06, and with like weight bullets, you ca spit farther than the difference between the two. IMO, both are light for Elk, and Big bear, but both make good cartridges for Moose, and Deer, Prong Horn, with the edge going to the 280 because of the availability of heavier bullets in the .284 dia, fo larger things like moose, or African plains game, and Leopard. I must go along with Allen on this one, I would more than likely use a 300 Win Mag, or 338 Win Mag that either of them, for most of the things I hunt with a small rifle! That's my take on Keethe's coyote rifle!

[ 06-20-2002, 02:21: Message edited by: MacD37 ]