.280 rem questions

[hypersonic]

Looking at buying a Thompson Center Venture in .280 rem. I will be using this for the mountains and lower lands in Wyoming on muley, antelope, and elk. Iam setup and currently reloading. Thought about 280AI but not looking to buy or build a custom rifle at this time.
My questions are:
-is the 1:10 twist adequate to stabilize the 7mm bullet weight range?
-the 24" barrel good length ?
- are there any major draw backs to the caliber?

No major draw backs to a .280 when it is hand loaded.
24" is just about right in the standard 280

The 10 twist should work up to a 160 weight partition, Berger lists their 168 classic hunter at 10 twist minimum you are going to have to play around a bit altitude is your friend when twist is on the edge.

I shoot the plain Jane 280 9-1/2" and it has become a favourite grab and go when range is not an issue its not too fussy. I have loads from 120 Btip ( if I ever draw a speed goad tag) 140 AB, Berger VLD, and 140 Btip 160 AB and 175 Hornady. You really can't tell the difference on game between the 270 with the lighter bullets or the 30-06 when you get to 160-175 grain bullets. I have taken mule deer whitetails moose, black bear and elk with this cartridge and have no complaints and have not had to make a second shot yet.

120 grain Btip superformance is your powder I am running over book but no problems
140 grains I use 57 H-4831 Rl-19 at 57 grains was faster but not as accurate for me so instead of changing primers and fooling around I stuck with 4831
160AB and 175 Hornady IMR-7828 is the powder I get the best results with.
Nosler Brass CCI-200 or FED-210

So not really fancy or ultra fast but still a nice cartridge with good balance that gets you to a quarter mile for the lighter stuff without issue and out to 300 or so for the bigger animals. As always bullet weight/ construction is important for what you are doing. I have never tried working up a 150 grain load with the way the 140's and 160 + grain bullets work the 150's just don't excite me.

Excellent Cartridge that was loaded way too light from the factory for pumps and autoloaders. Hand load it in a modern bolt action and see what it is really all about. Man Remington has done some stupid stuff over the years with cartridges lucky they still survive somewhat. My 280 is the reason I don't have a 7RM. When I need more I grab my 300WM.

I don't think you will be unhappy with the 280 once you get a handle on what it likes. I am sitting in a tree stand this year for a big northern Alberta Whitetail and range will be less than 200 yards and bull elk is 3 point or better on a general tag so its my 280 with 175 Hornady interlocks I don't expect any issues after I pull the trigger except for washing the blood off my hands.

 

[SofaKing]

No major draw backs to a .280 when it is hand loaded.
24" is just about right in the standard 280

The 10 twist should work up to a 160 weight partition, Berger lists their 168 classic hunter at 10 twist minimum you are going to have to play around a bit altitude is your friend when twist is on the edge.

I shoot the plain Jane 280 9-1/2" and it has become a favourite grab and go when range is not an issue its not too fussy. I have loads from 120 Btip ( if I ever draw a speed goad tag) 140 AB, Berger VLD, and 140 Btip 160 AB and 175 Hornady. You really can't tell the difference on game between the 270 with the lighter bullets or the 30-06 when you get to 160-175 grain bullets. I have taken mule deer whitetails moose, black bear and elk with this cartridge and have no complaints and have not had to make a second shot yet.

120 grain Btip superformance is your powder I am running over book but no problems
140 grains I use 57 H-4831 Rl-19 at 57 grains was faster but not as accurate for me so instead of changing primers and fooling around I stuck with 4831
160AB and 175 Hornady IMR-7828 is the powder I get the best results with.
Nosler Brass CCI-200 or FED-210

So not really fancy or ultra fast but still a nice cartridge with good balance that gets you to a quarter mile for the lighter stuff without issue and out to 300 or so for the bigger animals. As always bullet weight/ construction is important for what you are doing. I have never tried working up a 150 grain load with the way the 140's and 160 + grain bullets work the 150's just don't excite me.

Excellent Cartridge that was loaded way too light from the factory for pumps and autoloaders. Hand load it in a modern bolt action and see what it is really all about. Man Remington has done some stupid stuff over the years with cartridges lucky they still survive somewhat. My 280 is the reason I don't have a 7RM. When I need more I grab my 300WM.

I don't think you will be unhappy with the 280 once you get a handle on what it likes. I am sitting in a tree stand this year for a big northern Alberta Whitetail and range will be less than 200 yards and bull elk is 3 point or better on a general tag so its my 280 with 175 Hornady interlocks I don't expect any issues after I pull the trigger except for washing the blood off my hands.

Thanks.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

How long is your barrel? Are you hand loading or shooting factory ammo?

Barrel is 23.5" 95% of the rounds through this rifle are handloads. Which isn't many. A 7 caliber that cant handle a 140 at minimum isn't of much use to me. it gets cleaned more than it get shot.

 

[7magcreedmoor]

Barrel is 23.5" 95% of the rounds through this rifle are handloads. Which isn't many. A 7 caliber that cant handle a 140 at minimum isn't of much use to me. it gets cleaned more than it get shot.

Don't clean it too much, you'll never have the barrel seasoned enough to shoot well. Some barrels need just a couple fouling shots, some take a dozen to get consistent. I pull a dry boresnake through after a range session, but only "clean" after each 200 or so rounds.