280 Rem velocity

MEATSAW · March 10, 2013, 05:05 PM

Just got some chrony results back on a 280 load using 52.0 g of ramshot hunter @ COL of 3.330" with a 140 gr nosler ct silver tip. I'm shooting out of a ruger m77 mk2 with a 22" barrel. Avg velocity was 2740 fps with a SD of 21.4, my question: is this a respectable velocity? Looking at factory loads it seems that most are pushing 3000 fps. Unfortunately load data is scarce for hunter in 280 so I'm not sure how close to max I am.

Jimro · March 10, 2013, 05:26 PM

I know these bullets aren't what you are using, but based on what I see here i think you should be able to get over 2,800 before you see any signs of pressure.

Hunter 139 HDY SP 49.7 2,649 55.2 2,943 57,490 3.285
Hunter 140 BAR XBT 48.2 2,596 53.5 2,884 56,540 3.330

But you'll definitely be able to kill big game with the load you have.

Jimro

William T. Watts · March 10, 2013, 08:29 PM

Meatsaw I think your velocity is in line with what you will find if you go to the various websites. The 280Rem is loaded down by the ammunition companies deliberately because of the various Remington auto loaders that cannot handle the higher pressures of a full power load. With a good bolt gun you can load your 280Rem to the same pressure level that the 270Win round is loaded to. I do not load the 140gr in my 280Rem I use only 150gr Nosler Solid Base or Partitions, NOTE Hodgdon's max load is 53.7grs of H4831 in their #27 data manual. I have loaded more than 1 full grain above that level with no signs of pressure in my rifle. I finally settled on 54grs of H4831 which is above the max load listed by most manuals, I stopped there because it was a very accurate load in my rifle.. The same bullet weight (150gr) for the 270Win using H4831 is listed as 55gr max in my number 4 Nosler loading manual.. Go figure.. William

reynolds357 · March 10, 2013, 08:45 PM

Keep in mind that 22" barrel is also taking away velocity.

MEATSAW · March 10, 2013, 08:57 PM

I will do some testing up to 54 gr and see where that gets me. Biggest thing is finding the sweet spot of top accuracy and good velocity. I'm thinking of moving to a slower powder if I can't find better accuracy than 1 MOA. I really like this 280 and would love to find an accurate load near 2900 fps.

William T. Watts · March 10, 2013, 09:32 PM

My 280Rem doesn't quite make it to 2800FPS with the 150's, I'm about 25-50 FPS shy, I do have a 22"barrel and frankly that load is good to 300-yds and perhaps a tad more, Sight your rifle in 2" high at 100 and you have point blank from muzzle to at least 300yds. Past that the average hunter cannot estimate yardage accurately anyway.. If you want more than that you may have the wrong caliber, you might want to consider a 7mm REm Mag. I had one and didn't like the heavier recoil, the 30/06, 280Rem or the 270 Winchester is enough rifle for the average hunter, they are certainly enough for me.. William

William T. Watts · March 11, 2013, 12:54 PM

Meatsaw I overlooked the 140gr Nosler Partition load that list 54grs of H4831 as a starting load and a max load of 58.5grs velocity exceeds 2900FPS out of a 24" barrel. Doesn't mean your rifle will duplicate that velocity but at least it has a chance. Another thing to think about is the phenomenon of fast barrel slow barrel, identical firearms using the same ammunition often times will vary more than 100FPS. I believe this is linked to bore diameter of the barrel, I have a 30/06 Ruger Hawkeye that has a very small/tight bore (almost .001") undersized that deliverys higher than normal velocity. Something else for you to think about!! William

jimbob86 · March 11, 2013, 01:10 PM

I've loaded a .270WIN with 56.0 gr of H4831 under a Hornady BTSP ....got into the 2900's .... 140gr @ 2740 sounds anemic ...... I make reduced recoil loads for the kids wth 130's @ 2800....... which will still drop Bambi DRT, IME.

If it groups well in your rifle, and you are happy with it, what's the problem?

57K · March 11, 2013, 05:33 PM

MEATSAW, the Hunter data comes from here:www.ramshot.com

GeauxTide · March 11, 2013, 08:03 PM

RL-19 has been superb in my son's and mine. His Interarms/Shaw has 26" and my Ruger Hawkeye has 22". A 140 NBT shows 3024 and 2867 with the middle load of 55gr. SD is 9.9 and ES is 29fps. Shoots less than an inch, repeatedly. If you want to go fast, you can get close to 3000 with a 139 Hornady. I will confess that I tried 56 and 57 gr and didn't get the numbers or much greater velocity.

.284 · March 11, 2013, 08:51 PM

Can I assume that you are hunting and can I assume in Texas Whitetail may be involved. If you want to go "Ricky Bobby" fast use this:

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=516111

MEATSAW · March 12, 2013, 01:42 AM

I was able to load up and shoot up this afternoon. Found good accuracy @ 53.0 gr hunter @ 2750 fps. Groups widen up but tightened up real nice when I got to. 54.5 gr hunter @ 2875 fps. No signs of pressure. Might try up to 55.5 and see where I get.

I'm mostly hunting whitetail and exotics (oryx, fallow, axis, etc) and of course, hogs.

Jimro · March 12, 2013, 08:05 AM

MEATSAW,

The original loading for the 280 was "neutered" because of the pump action rifles Remington was chambering, the weak extraction of the 760 kept the pressures moderate for reliability. Handloaders had been bumping up the performance in their bolt guns for several years so Remington "reintroduced" the 280 Rem as the "7mm Express" in an attempt to re-energize the market.

A lot of 280 Rem data is still on the lower pressure side for those old pump rifles, so just keep good notes on your handloads and see where you get. I expect your bolt action Ruger to get you where you want to be without any issues.

Good hunting.

Jimro

reynolds357 · March 12, 2013, 07:09 PM

And then they changed the name back to .280 Remington.

XB280 · March 12, 2013, 09:06 PM

I think you're on the right track.

I'm getting right at 2950 fps out of 56.8 gr of R-22 behind 140 gr TSX's with a 22'' X-Bolt in 280.

Mike1 · March 12, 2013, 10:41 PM

Like some others, my comment has nothing to do with your question other than velocity. I've had no trouble reaching mid 2900fps in my M70 22" bbl, with very good accuracy and without pressure signs.

Also like others, I used the Hornady 139 BTSP. While powders were H4831, IMR4831, H4350, IMR4350 and AA4350.

Mike

jimbob86 · March 13, 2013, 12:24 AM

Quote:

I'm getting right at 2950 fps out of 56.8 gr of R-22 behind 140 gr TSX's with a 22'' X-Bolt in 280.

I'll betcha the muzzle blast is nasty out of a 22" barrel- IMR7828 is bad enough out of my 24" 721, and RL22 is slower yet than the 7828 .....

XB280 · March 13, 2013, 03:58 PM

@ jimbob...

I guess I haven't really noticed, but it does rattle ya quite a bit more than the fairly mild dose of IMR4350 (51 gr. I think) I was using.

MEATSAW · April 1, 2013, 04:35 PM

Well made it out for another day at the range with some new loads. Sure enough my ruger took the loads perfectly and actually found a sweet spot with quite a heavy dose of ramshot hunter and 140 gr CT silver tips. Got them to just over 2950 fps. I also tried 150 gr CTs and pushed them just below 2900 fps.

I just picked up 2 lbs of reloder 22 so I'll work up some loads with that and compare what I get.

March 10, 2013, 05:05 PM	#1
MEATSAW Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2009 Location: Burnet, TX Posts: 727	280 Rem velocity Just got some chrony results back on a 280 load using 52.0 g of ramshot hunter @ COL of 3.330" with a 140 gr nosler ct silver tip. I'm shooting out of a ruger m77 mk2 with a 22" barrel. Avg velocity was 2740 fps with a SD of 21.4, my question: is this a respectable velocity? Looking at factory loads it seems that most are pushing 3000 fps. Unfortunately load data is scarce for hunter in 280 so I'm not sure how close to max I am. __________________ Veteran OEF (2002) and OIF1 (2003) - US Army Member of the Burnet Gun Fighters, Inc. and of course the NRA Oregon State University alum -- Go Beavs!

March 10, 2013, 08:29 PM	#3
William T. Watts Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2010 Location: Central Arkansas Posts: 1,074	Be aware my load is above the listed max/proceed with caution Meatsaw I think your velocity is in line with what you will find if you go to the various websites. The 280Rem is loaded down by the ammunition companies deliberately because of the various Remington auto loaders that cannot handle the higher pressures of a full power load. With a good bolt gun you can load your 280Rem to the same pressure level that the 270Win round is loaded to. I do not load the 140gr in my 280Rem I use only 150gr Nosler Solid Base or Partitions, NOTE Hodgdon's max load is 53.7grs of H4831 in their #27 data manual. I have loaded more than 1 full grain above that level with no signs of pressure in my rifle. I finally settled on 54grs of H4831 which is above the max load listed by most manuals, I stopped there because it was a very accurate load in my rifle.. The same bullet weight (150gr) for the 270Win using H4831 is listed as 55gr max in my number 4 Nosler loading manual.. Go figure.. William Last edited by William T. Watts; March 11, 2013 at 12:37 PM.

March 10, 2013, 08:57 PM	#5
MEATSAW Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2009 Location: Burnet, TX Posts: 727	I will do some testing up to 54 gr and see where that gets me. Biggest thing is finding the sweet spot of top accuracy and good velocity. I'm thinking of moving to a slower powder if I can't find better accuracy than 1 MOA. I really like this 280 and would love to find an accurate load near 2900 fps. __________________ Veteran OEF (2002) and OIF1 (2003) - US Army Member of the Burnet Gun Fighters, Inc. and of course the NRA Oregon State University alum -- Go Beavs!

March 10, 2013, 09:32 PM	#6
William T. Watts Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2010 Location: Central Arkansas Posts: 1,074	My 280Rem doesn't quite make it to 2800FPS with the 150's, I'm about 25-50 FPS shy, I do have a 22"barrel and frankly that load is good to 300-yds and perhaps a tad more, Sight your rifle in 2" high at 100 and you have point blank from muzzle to at least 300yds. Past that the average hunter cannot estimate yardage accurately anyway.. If you want more than that you may have the wrong caliber, you might want to consider a 7mm REm Mag. I had one and didn't like the heavier recoil, the 30/06, 280Rem or the 270 Winchester is enough rifle for the average hunter, they are certainly enough for me.. William Last edited by William T. Watts; March 11, 2013 at 06:22 AM.

March 11, 2013, 08:51 PM	#11
.284 Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2009 Location: davison, michigan Posts: 665	What are you hunting? Can I assume that you are hunting and can I assume in Texas Whitetail may be involved. If you want to go "Ricky Bobby" fast use this: http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=516111 __________________ Guns have only two enemies, rust and politicians! Deer are amazing creatures....so please don't burn the sauteed onions and I'll pass on the steak sauce, thank you.

March 10, 2013, 05:26 PM	#2
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	I know these bullets aren't what you are using, but based on what I see here i think you should be able to get over 2,800 before you see any signs of pressure. Hunter 139 HDY SP 49.7 2,649 55.2 2,943 57,490 3.285 Hunter 140 BAR XBT 48.2 2,596 53.5 2,884 56,540 3.330 But you'll definitely be able to kill big game with the load you have. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

March 10, 2013, 08:45 PM	#4
reynolds357 Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2012 Posts: 6,165	Keep in mind that 22" barrel is also taking away velocity.

March 11, 2013, 12:54 PM	#7
William T. Watts Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2010 Location: Central Arkansas Posts: 1,074	Meatsaw I overlooked the 140gr Nosler Partition load that list 54grs of H4831 as a starting load and a max load of 58.5grs velocity exceeds 2900FPS out of a 24" barrel. Doesn't mean your rifle will duplicate that velocity but at least it has a chance. Another thing to think about is the phenomenon of fast barrel slow barrel, identical firearms using the same ammunition often times will vary more than 100FPS. I believe this is linked to bore diameter of the barrel, I have a 30/06 Ruger Hawkeye that has a very small/tight bore (almost .001") undersized that deliverys higher than normal velocity. Something else for you to think about!! William

March 11, 2013, 01:10 PM	#8
jimbob86 Junior member Join Date: October 4, 2007 Location: All the way to NEBRASKA Posts: 8,722	I've loaded a .270WIN with 56.0 gr of H4831 under a Hornady BTSP ....got into the 2900's .... 140gr @ 2740 sounds anemic ...... I make reduced recoil loads for the kids wth 130's @ 2800....... which will still drop Bambi DRT, IME. If it groups well in your rifle, and you are happy with it, what's the problem?

March 11, 2013, 05:33 PM	#9
57K Junior member Join Date: March 2, 2013 Location: Heart of Texas Posts: 788	MEATSAW, the Hunter data comes from here:www.ramshot.com

March 11, 2013, 08:03 PM	#10
GeauxTide Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Helena, AL Posts: 4,424	RL-19 has been superb in my son's and mine. His Interarms/Shaw has 26" and my Ruger Hawkeye has 22". A 140 NBT shows 3024 and 2867 with the middle load of 55gr. SD is 9.9 and ES is 29fps. Shoots less than an inch, repeatedly. If you want to go fast, you can get close to 3000 with a 139 Hornady. I will confess that I tried 56 and 57 gr and didn't get the numbers or much greater velocity.

March 12, 2013, 01:42 AM	#12
MEATSAW Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2009 Location: Burnet, TX Posts: 727	I was able to load up and shoot up this afternoon. Found good accuracy @ 53.0 gr hunter @ 2750 fps. Groups widen up but tightened up real nice when I got to. 54.5 gr hunter @ 2875 fps. No signs of pressure. Might try up to 55.5 and see where I get. I'm mostly hunting whitetail and exotics (oryx, fallow, axis, etc) and of course, hogs. __________________ Veteran OEF (2002) and OIF1 (2003) - US Army Member of the Burnet Gun Fighters, Inc. and of course the NRA Oregon State University alum -- Go Beavs!

March 12, 2013, 08:05 AM	#13
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	MEATSAW, The original loading for the 280 was "neutered" because of the pump action rifles Remington was chambering, the weak extraction of the 760 kept the pressures moderate for reliability. Handloaders had been bumping up the performance in their bolt guns for several years so Remington "reintroduced" the 280 Rem as the "7mm Express" in an attempt to re-energize the market. A lot of 280 Rem data is still on the lower pressure side for those old pump rifles, so just keep good notes on your handloads and see where you get. I expect your bolt action Ruger to get you where you want to be without any issues. Good hunting. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

March 12, 2013, 07:09 PM	#14
reynolds357 Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2012 Posts: 6,165	And then they changed the name back to .280 Remington.

March 12, 2013, 09:06 PM	#15
XB280 Member Join Date: January 18, 2012 Location: Nebraska Posts: 16	I think you're on the right track. I'm getting right at 2950 fps out of 56.8 gr of R-22 behind 140 gr TSX's with a 22'' X-Bolt in 280.

March 12, 2013, 10:41 PM	#16
Mike1 Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2008 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 178	Like some others, my comment has nothing to do with your question other than velocity. I've had no trouble reaching mid 2900fps in my M70 22" bbl, with very good accuracy and without pressure signs. Also like others, I used the Hornady 139 BTSP. While powders were H4831, IMR4831, H4350, IMR4350 and AA4350. Mike

March 13, 2013, 03:58 PM	#18
XB280 Member Join Date: January 18, 2012 Location: Nebraska Posts: 16	@ jimbob... I guess I haven't really noticed, but it does rattle ya quite a bit more than the fairly mild dose of IMR4350 (51 gr. I think) I was using.

April 1, 2013, 04:35 PM	#19
MEATSAW Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2009 Location: Burnet, TX Posts: 727	Follow up Well made it out for another day at the range with some new loads. Sure enough my ruger took the loads perfectly and actually found a sweet spot with quite a heavy dose of ramshot hunter and 140 gr CT silver tips. Got them to just over 2950 fps. I also tried 150 gr CTs and pushed them just below 2900 fps. I just picked up 2 lbs of reloder 22 so I'll work up some loads with that and compare what I get. __________________ Veteran OEF (2002) and OIF1 (2003) - US Army Member of the Burnet Gun Fighters, Inc. and of course the NRA Oregon State University alum -- Go Beavs!