280 remington improved

catmonkey

In the not-to-distant future, I was going to have one of my rifles rebarreled for the 280 remington and came across very sparce info on the improved versions with 30 and 40 degree shoulder angles. Is anyone familiar with these cartridges? Can you direct me to info on the improved versions of this cartridge as to reloading dies, cartridge cases, cartridge case resizing info, etc. If in a pinch, can the 280 remington (stardard cartridge) be fired out of either of these chamberings?Thanks,John

AntiqueDr

Not all improved cartridges are created equal. Some provide a larger increase in velocity than others. Remember that most of the improved cartridges came about before the current crop of wonder-magnums existed. For instance, the .300 H&H Improved spawned the vast majority of current factory .300 mags and their subsequent offspring.The .280 Rem Ackley Improved (40-deg shoulder) will give you 7mm Rem Mag performance with some loads, in some rifles. You can fire factory .280 ammunition in the Improved chamber - in fact, that's how you make .280 Improved cases. From then on, neck size only.If you like handloading and developing just the right combination of bullet, powder and primer then you'll appreciate the Improved chambering. If you prefer convenience, stick with factory.

---

We buy, sell and trade quality guns and scopes!Ask us about Shepherd Scopes!Visit our website at www.ApaxEnterprises.com

cpermd

Kenny Jarret is the Smith who has rejuvenated the 40 degree Ackley Improved 280.Yes,you can fire factory 280 in them.cpermd

docsama

Please give us the address and/or phone number of Kenny Jarrett?Many thanks.

k albrecht

Nosler Reloading Guide #4 has a section on the 280 Rem. Ackley Improved. Lots of good info.

Boomerang

The .280 can be loaded up to greater velocities without having to go to an improved/modified version. The.280 is an excellent and versatile cartridge in its on right. I am very pleased with mine.Here is an article on the .280 Rem I thought you might find informative.A NEW SERIES ON FORGOTTEN CARTRIDGES280 REMINGTONONE OF THE WAYS MANUFACTURERS OF ANYTHING RAISE SALES....IS TO RELEASE ` NEW AND IMPROVED' VERSIONS OF THEIR PRODUCT WHETHER THEY ARE NEEDED OR NOT ! WHEN THIS IS DONE WITH NEW CARTRIDGES, THE OLDER VERSIONS TEND TO PICK UP THE NAME `OBSOLETE'...AND SLIP INTO OBSCURITY... WHETHER THEY SHOULD OR NOT....ONE OF THE THINGS I HARP ON IN MY BOOKS AND ARTICLES IS THE WORD `OBSOLETE' DOESN'T MEAN INEFFECTIVE!!!!!!! THIS STARTS A NEW SERIES ON ALL THOSE VERY FINE AND EFFECTIVE ROUNDS THAT THE MANUFACTURERS TRIED TO SUPERCEDE...FOR MANY REASONS, BUT MOSTLY FOR THE SAKE OF SALES....One of the reasons the 280 Remington ..aka... 7mmRemington Express.. aka...7mm06 failed, isn't because it was not a great cartridge. But because Remington tried to chamber it in everything, including pump action rifles....so the pressures had to be kept down...meaning velocity suffered. When the commercial velocity figures for the 280 were compared to the 7mmRemington Magnum, the difference was fairly large...and compared to the 7mm08 the difference wasn't very much. The 280 became the middle round with what appeared to be little going for it.But as always, in a strong bolt action the reloader closes the gap between the 280 and the 7mmMag very quickly...about ten years ago or longer, Ruger made a special short run of unusual 280 Remington chambered bolt action rifles. I ran into in a pawnshop in Tucson one day. It was a Ruger mod.77 with a 26 inch medium/heavy barrel. The previous owner must have only used it for deer seasons or some such...the bore was flawless, the action and barrel blue was pristine...only the wood stock showed any use. It had obviously been dragged thru many of Arizona's brush filled hills and mountain sides.....The owner of the store, an old friend of 25 years, pleaded with me to take it off his hands...saying it was a lousy cartridge, no one wanted "the damn thing" and I could have it for his cost and transfer. Which was a price less than the cost of a brand new Ruger 77 in 1980!!!! Now I really didn't need it...but I figured at that price I could always use it in a good trade...and besides I have always liked the 7mm bore better that the 270 bore. Ruger still catalogs a 280 Remington with the light 22 inch barrel. And a few custom makers of course will chamber any caliber the buyer wants....at a commensurate price.I have had several 270 Winchester chambered rifles, and even a 270 Weatherby Magnum...both fine cartridges. But for the small difference up in size, .277 to .284, there is a big difference in bullet weights and styles, in favor of the 284 caliber.The great 270 Winchester load that made it famous was and is the 130 grain SP at 3150 fps from 24 inch barrels. Jack O'Connor the top notch outdoor and hunting writer of the 1930s thru the 1970s made the 270 world famous. He killed everything from rabbits to moose with it. And I am not saying the 270 can't match the 280 in velocities in every class of bullet weight...it can, and even has a slight edge in B.C. in any bullet weight over the .284 caliber. And the local gun shops will always have a few 270s from several makers...but they will always be short on 280s.Even so the .277/8 caliber doesn't have the selection in bullets of the .284 caliber. I can list the bullet weights in 284 caliber I have worked with...not the styles and designs...there are many in each weight...but here's my list 100/120/ /125/ 130/139/140/145/150/154/160/165/168/175/180/195..in grain weights!Of the fifteen I have used, abused, hunted with, ran velocity and accuracy tests, my favorite weights are the 100 gr/139 gr/154 gr/175/and the Barnes 195grainer. The very best bullet I have worked with is the 139 grain Hornady SPBT. Bullet design number #2825. This bullet is designed with a soft pointed nose that resembles a well sharpened pencil in nose length and a deep boat tail base. With a B.C. of better than .470 it is the long range game taker supreme. With my load giving this bullet close to 3200 fps...with a three inch high at 100 yards it hits zero at 300 yards and is down only 21 inches at 500 yards!. These are actual range figures not computer generated tables.Now I rarely shoot at anything live at 500 yards. But I have killed a good many water filled gallon milk jugs, lots of rocks, tree stumps, and old telephone poles out that far, and further. I have used this bullet on animals from coyotes to feral cattle over the 1000 lb weight, but at reasonable ranges usually well below 300 yards. It is just a fine all around bullet for me in 7mm. I use it in the 7X57, the 7Waters (I clip the nose for a flat tip and deeply hollow point it), the 280 Rem and the 7mmMag.In my Ruger 280 I actually don't load the 100 grainers to their top velocity. I don't want to burn the barrel throat while shooting vermin...especially in the heat of Arizona. Shooting 100 to 150 rounds a day can do it, if I'm not careful. 3300 fps is easy and flat shooting, I like H414 for this, and 56 grains only gives around 48,000 to 49,000 CUP...far, far below the 60,000 psi this rifle and cartridge is capable of...keeping temp and friction much below erosion levels of the steel...as long as I pace my shots.The two heavy weights I like best are the 175 grain round nose and the 195 grain Barnes soft point. A good load for a 30-06 with a 200 grain bullet for large game, is 60 grains of H 4831 for 2700 fps.....Now with the 7mm 195 grainer, Barnes recommends only going to 2500 fps or so in the 280 Remington, because there are a number of lesser strength actions. But with the Ruger bolt action 53 grains of H4831 in my rifle under the Barnes heavy weight, I get just over 2700 fps(3150 ft lbs). The 30-06 does it with less pressure because it has a larger expansion ratio...but the 7mm/195 grain bullet has an incredible .570 B.C. So with my 3 inch high at 100 yards, it is down only 16+ inches at 400 yards.....Also pushing the various 175 grain bullets to 2800 fps isn't difficult on man or rifle. I use the 195s only for very large game (tested on feral cattle). But the 175 grain Speer Mag-Tip, or the 175 grain Hornady round soft nose, really do most of my large animal work. My Ruger likes 53 grains of 4831 for 2800+ fps with the Hornady and 2760 fps for the Mag-Tip, with well over 3000 ft. lbs of muzzle energy.Beginning to sound like 7mmRemington Magnum ballistics? It should, in a strong action the 280 is within 8 to 10% of the big magnum round, but using 12 to 18 less grains of powder.The 175 gr. Mag-Tip at this velocity is a very tough bullet. I once shot a very ugly and heavy hog....broad side, with this bullet from a 7mmRemington Magnum...at 140 paces or so it broke both shoulders leaving a two inch exit and demolishing a good size rock behind him. I put a Hornady 175 gr. roundnose long ways thru a large mule deer at around 120 paces. It went from tail to exiting the chest...taking out a small fist size hole on exit.The finest shot I ever made with any .284 caliber was with a very fine 7mm Mauser 98...that was rebuilt into a sporter in Africa in the 1930s. It had a slightly large chamber at the round's shoulder....and the velocities could be handloaded to very good levels....with necked sized brass. We (a neighbor from Tucson and I) were sitting on a ridge side of Black Mountain in Arizona, deer hunting. Looking out towards miles of flat grazing areas, glassing with binoculars, land which was below us at 6 or 700 feet. Another friend that leased the land from the state for very expensive Brahma cattle was having trouble with coyote packs pulling down new born calves the prior spring. He had asked me on the phone the night before we went hunting, if I saw any `yotes to take them out.My neighbor saw the coyote first and directed me so I could pick him up in my glasses. Once spotted, out around 400+ yards, I slipped into the sling on my 7mmMauser, and zipped the scope up to 9 power. My neighbor said something about never shooting anything else when hunting deer. Which I paid little attention to...the `yote was jumping and popping up and down on the hard crusted snow...obviously trying to catch a mouse he could hear under it. Shooting down and way out...I figured I would hold just over his back with a little lead for the rifling twist...the 139 grain SPBT was loaded to around 2800+ fps....with a little luck I hoped...as I squeezed the trigger....an instant after the shot my neighbor said (he was watching thru his glasses) the coyote leaped straight up landed on his back, rolled upright, and ran dead straight in a mad rush for 50 or so yards and fell over. The recoil though light still prevented me from seeing the show.The bullet had caught him right behind the shoulders but low, completely pulverizing the heart....and exiting with a fifty cent size hole out the bottom side of his chest, taking a good deal of lung material with it. Even though my friend didn't like the idea of shooting a coyote while deer hunting...he said it was worth it to see such a shot. Asking me if that was normal shooting for me.....of course I changed the subject. We skinned him out...it was the first `yote I have ever seen that had mostly silver in his pelt, with black down the center of his back.In the Tucson area the `yotes are mostly peltless....because of the heat most of the year they grow very little long hair even in the winter...(it's hair not fur..they are K-9s). They are also very bold...I take many of them with silent loads from long barrel rifles. Tasco makes a very special varmint scope....6 to 24 power but the cross hairs are what is important. They are of the usual, what they call 30-30 design, with heavy cross hairs but narrow where they cross, giving two aiming points for range. But this scope has four dots between the heavy cross hairs and where the thin ones cross.....giving long range aiming points and on the sides for windage.My near silent load for this rifle is a 180 grain dead soft cast bullet with ApacheBlu lube, no gas check, over 2.2 grains of Bullseye and standard WW large pistol primers. Doing 700 or so fps...I have better power than the old 38 Special 158 gr round nose load from a 6 inch revolver. At 12 power and at 100 yards, the second dot puts it right on(50 yards first dot)...the 100 yard group runs around two inches. Since I keep my shots under 100 yards...it's a deadly combo. And the bold `yotes in this area have learned that some sort of lightning strikes them here...and it is best not to nose around Paco's place.One of the best molds I have is a Lyman 287346AV it drops a 145 grain long tapered rounded nose...from soft lead. With 20 BHN hardness it drops at 136 grains....and can be pushed easily at 2800 fps without a trace of fouling, again using ApacheBlu lube. This particular bullet has almost a SPBT shape...though the gas check in place makes it a flat base. At 1100 fps the 145 grainer goes into a ragged hole at 50 yards. When a squirrel is laying flat on the top side of a branch to keep you from having him for lunch, it will go right up thru thick branches, squirrel, and all.With the 136 grainer at 2800 fps it's a long range crow sniper load. And it also takes the arrogance right out of tough southwestern jack rabbits.....which we know around here are made out of hard tack, bailing wire, and have 20 gage steel springs in their butts. They whistle up there own coyotes just to practice foot racing.With the right bullets I could hunt everything in the Americas and 98% of Africa....the cartridge is not so big that it makes reduced and cast loads impractical, it actually arguments them. With the Barnes 195 grain jacketed bullet very large tough game have met their match....and from antelope thru elk, medium weight jacketed bullets will do. Sounds like the all around rifle cartridge doesn't it? Then why did it almost slip into obscurity...?????Boomer

---

Protect our Constitutional Rights. [This message has been edited by Boomerang (edited 12-05-2001).]

DENWA

Cat-- if you want 7mm Mag velocities Go with the 280 ackley = 280 with 40 degree You can still shoot reg 280 if you don't reload but if you do you WON'T be dissapointed. Besides if you ever sell the rifle the 280 ackley will make it much more desireable. Many more custom rifles are being built on this caliber because it has 7mm mag performance with less powder and recoil.

catmonkey

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not so much looking for 7mm mag velocities as much as staying with my favorite bullet and maintaining fairly high velocity. I have a 7mm mag and was looking to use the same 140 gr Nosler partition bullet with a shorter barrel length. The 7 mag will be giving way to an ultra mag and I wanted something a little shorter, lighter and not quite as abusive for a very dense wooded area I sometimes hunt. I'm still undecided, but much better informed. I appreciate the responses.Thanks,John[This message has been edited by catmonkey (edited 12-06-2001).]

cpermd

Kenny Jarrett can be reached at Jarrett Custom Rifles, 383 Brown Road, Jackson, S.C. 29831; phone 803-471-3616. cpermd

buckmiester

something the others forgot to mention is that when u fire factory ammo in an improved chambered rifle your velocity and accuracy will be reduced. only after fire-forming and then reloading will u get the utmost out of an improved chamber. i have several improves and am happy with all of them. u might try reading p.o. ackley's books "handbook for shooters and reloaders"for more information. hope this helps.

buckmiester

something the others forgot to mention is that when u fire factory ammo in an improved chambered rifle your velocity and accuracy will be reduced. only after fire-forming and then reloading will u get the utmost out of an improved chamber. i have several improves and am happy with all of them. u might try reading p.o. ackley's books "handbook for shooters and reloaders"for more information. hope this helps.