Newbie question

[rangi]

Hi, I have been watching this forum for a few months, reading a lot of awesome information that has whet my appetite to get into LRH. My question is regarding equipment. I have just purchased a new setup which is a rem. 700 action, mcmillan stock, shillen 24" bbl in .280 rem. It has a leupold mk4 lr/t m1 scope. The shop I purchased it from have set it up to shoot 162gn A Max bullets and by all accounts it shoots them to around .5 @ 100 yds. I mostly shoot red deer which I'm not sure of your equivalent but I guess they average 250lb. to ranges up to 400 yds. To the question, are the 162gn A Max's ok? I was thinking that 140gn AB would be better but they tell me these AMax's are better. They are doing 2850fps. I am a little worried that I have not achieved my goal of getting a flat shooting, long range outfit. Also, is the scope an overkill for what I am doing? My intentions are to get better at LRH and was hoping that this combo would suit me as I progress. ( I know that 400 yds is not long range to most of you, but it is for me at the moment). I have come from a 7mm08 which is a nice caliber but I wanted more. Any thoughts welcome.
Thanks

 

[bailey1474]

The 162 gr amax is a good long range bullet even @ 2850 fps. That .625 BC is pretty high.

I might be afraid the amax is a little fragile for the size of the animals you will be shooting. I would think the 160 gr Accubond would be a better choice for a 250 to 400 lb animal.

 

[rangi]

Thanks Bill for the reply. To clarify a bit more, I will use this rifle for all my shooting bar varmints, which will include goats, pigs, chamois, thar, fallow deer. So I know I am asking a lot of one load, but I will trial it and see how I go. Maybe the average red deer is more like 200 lbs. ( I have to convert from metric when quoting figures)

 

[James Jones]

The A-max is a pretty fragile bullet but the 162 gr pill is a long one that will take a little more penitration before it comes apart totaly and with you velocitys your not stressing it to hard , it it shoot accuratly then I'de use it just relize that if a monster steps out at 300yds and all you have is a quick quartering tword you shot you may have to pass if your rushed into a standing shot , but if your able to take a second and brace for the shot or take up a rest then you should be able to put the bullet where you want it.
I had a friend shoot a big hog (around 300lbs) at a range of 50-75yds with a 7mm-08 hae shot through the hogs on side shoulder through both lungs and the bullet fragmnets were lodge in the off side "sheild" , the pig dropped and never got back up muzzel velocity was in the 2600fps range

Ending statment , if they shoot accuratly then use them and that combo will take you to the 1000yd mark

 

[Desert Fox]

Your choice of caliber is a good one. 280 is one of those underrated caliber who deserve more accolade than it's been given. I myself learned to shoot long range using this caliber. My rifle, a sporterized Argentine Mauser 98 with 24" Douglas #7 contour on a Fajen stock. My deer load consist of 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, 55.5 grain of IMR 4831 at around 3000 fps. There's so many excellent hunting bullet in this caliber and there's no reason to use a target bullet for hunting. Welcome to LRH forum.

 

[rangi]

Thanks for the replies. I have doubted the bullet choice as well but the guy who has put the rig together assures me that I will be very happy with performance. He has said that he has taken large Red Stags and had awesome results, one shot, no steps taken, fall over dead. Reports the same performance at varied ranges, so I will try some on animals and se how they go, if no good I will change projectiles.
Edit to add - I went and listened to Chuck Pritchard from Nosler when he came to NZ and found that very interesting. He was telling us of the performance of the various bullets which is why I was keen on the AB's as he said they perform very well at all velocities unlike the BT's that didn't go as great over 3000fps. A case of trial and error I guess. Any way, sounds like my choice of rifle / cartridge is ok so I'll tackle the next part now and work on getting the bullets right.
Thanks again.