.270 or .280

[drgonzales]

How much difference is there from the .270 and .280. Aren't they pretty close to the same?

[Bill Poole]

There's a HUGE difference if you forgot to buy ammo and you're running into a small town walmart the evening before opening morning.

 

in terms of lead hitting venison ..... no difference at all

 

but that's coming from a guy who does not own a .280

 

Poole

http://arizona.rifleshooting.com/

[billrquimby]

The Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading says:

 

"The 280 is not as popular as the .270 but is catching up. The major reason for this probably lies in the fact that it was not offered to the shooting public until 32 years after the .270 and offered no appreciable gain in ballistics. However, the 280 does have greater loading potential than the .270 because of the wider range of bullets available."

 

Bill Quimby

[coueshunter]

I believe if you are really into reloading, the .280 can and will outperform the .270. Now that the ammunition is more readily available, it is a nice caliber. I bought mine back in 1982 and you couldnt find factory loads but could handload alot of different bullet weights. Now you can get a decent selection of factory loads. As to what someone else said about getting bullets in any small town, they are right. If you buy the gun, buy a good supply of the bullets from DNR sports, cabelas, sportsmans etc. so when you are going on a trip, you have plenty of ammo because not a ton of stores carry it.......Allen Taylor.......

[More D]

I have always liked the .280. I did not get one because of some one the reasons listed, pricier to shoot, not readaly available, etc. If you look at some of the ballistic carts it will show the .280 having better energy out past 200yards than the 30-06 in simaler weights. A tad bit better BC number is the reason. 5-10% better numbers on energy and drop past 200 yards doesn't really mean all that much to a game animal when hit in the right spot. Dead is dead.

 

Now for your question: Is it better? No not really. It is like me saying that my 30-06 is better than Lark's .270, Lark's .270 is better than 25-06's 25-06, 25-06's 25-06 is better than 300WSM's ......you get the point. They can shoot better than I can so is more the monkey behind the rifle that counts.

 

I will say this if you have to choose between the two get the .270 only because it is cheaper to shoot/practice with and more practice makes you a better shot !

 

 

 

 

[matthewp45]

.280 is my choice only from experience. The reasons have already been listed. If you hand load you also can use the same bullets to reload a 7MM mag, 7MM 08, .280, etc.

[firstcoueswas80]

i take a 7mm mag over the 280 because it is a bit faster and flatter and ammo for the 7mag is actually pretty available. saying that, i have been thinking about selling my 7mag in order to get a bigger bore 30 cal. i have a 30-06 but have been wanting a 300wsm for my elk gun. i like my 7mag and my 30-06 so i am probably going to keep the 7mag. who knows, if the 61.5 grains of H4350 with the 120 tsx shoot like the have been, it will be my back up gun for my deer hunt.