Opinions about a .280 Remington Rifle

[brentwal]

A local shop has a Remington 740 in .280Rem, the stocks a little rough, but the metal is in great shape.

Price is ok, and I have a Rem 742 in .30-06 thats almost NIB that I really like.

So what's the consensus about this round in the rifle??

 

[Jimmie]

As far as the round goes....if you've got a 30-06, you're not going to gain all that much from the .280. Maybe you just want it to have it, but just be aware they fill the same ballistics niche.

 

[rangerruck]

are you reloading? then i would say fine, if not, then a 7.08 would be better, way cheaper ammo, more factory choices, more rifles made for it. If I wanted a fast 7, and was not reloading, i would just get a 7 mag.

 

[rangerruck]

not to mention that both the 740 and the 42 had internal probs after firing a bunch of rounds, don't remember the prob exactly, but they become unreliable, in feeding, or ejecting or both. so I would skip it alltogether.
these also had very thing forearm wood, and had a prolem with not free floating in the rear, succesive shots that were fairly rapid, would make each succesive shot climb.
made from 1955 to 1959, and then replaced by the 742.

 

[rangerruck]

not to mention that both the 740 and the 42 had internal probs after firing a bunch of rounds, don't remember the prob exactly, but they become unreliable, in feeding, or ejecting or both. so I would skip it alltogether.
here is an excellent site for the pros/cons...
http://www.wisnersinc.com/additional_info/Remington_7407427400.htm

 

[jmr40]

The 280 is a great round. I have one and it is better than both the 30-06 or 270, but only marginally so. All 3 are so close most game hunted would never know the difference. The '06 has the advantage of being able to fire bullets of 180 gr. or more while the others do not.

I love the round, but not the rifle. The Remington autos are usually pretty reliable with factory loads, but the .280 really shines with the hotter hand loads and factory loads such as the Hornady Light Magnum. These will not function in the Remington autos and in fact will tear them up. They are bolt rifle only loads.