Bullets/ handloads

[Firedog]

I have always used Nosler Partitions for my Handloads for my .280. I am looking at working up a few different loads and was wondering what are some of everyones favorite bullets for Handloading. I have a great load in the noslers but working up a few others at least gives me a reason to go shoot :smile:

[ 08-30-2002, 09:53 PM: Message edited by: firedog ]

Nosler Partitions tend to loose 40% of there weight when they hit large bone and then become a light solid. They work but not as well as a Swift A Frame.

[Lured In]

Barnes X boat tail.

http://www.barnesbullets.com/barnes11.html

Unfortunately they don't make a .280 round.

[Chum King]

Not sure that I really want to get sucked into this one, but here goes.

I have to admit that I have not tested out the high dollar bullets i.e. Barnes, Swift, etc. I have no doubt that they are good, it's just that I have generally been happy with the performance of something I can afford to shoot.

I have had good results both on the target and on the "critters" with Hornady, Winchester, and Remington. I have had mixed results with Nosler. Mainly my problems with Noslers are that I have never been able to get a tight group with the partitions, and the ballistic tips are not reliable on big game (yes I tried them and wasn't happy with the results, even though the deer went down, the bullets didn't hold up).

In my 7mm Mag and 284 Winchester, I have found that they both really like the Hornady 175 gr. spitzers. I tried for a long time to get 150 gr. to work in the 7mm Mag, with no luck - that gun just wants a 175 gr. :whazzup:

The good thing is that you have lots of excuses to experiment. I still haven't settled on what I want to run through my 280 Rem, but I have been trying Partitions... oh wait didn't I say that I'd given up on them. [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

[Don Becker]

I started with Speer (for no particular reason except that it was a Speer reloading manual I was starting with). I've never really experimented with anything else, nor have I had any reason to be dissatisfied with Speer. I reload for every rifle and handgun I own (except for the .22 rimfire).

In my 7mm.06 (aka .280 and 7mm Remington Express), I use 115 gr JHP for varmint, 145 gr BT for deer, and 160 gr Grand Slams for Elk/Bear.

Is your .280 an automatic? Mine was originally a Parker-Hale .308 (mauser action) that, many years ago, I had re-barreled (Douglas), bedded, refinished, etc into the 7mm.06. I re-size and fire-form my own cases from military .06 brass. It's a GREAT weapon and a GREAT calibre . . . all anyone needs to do (especially if they prefer to avoid the kick of a magnum . . . however, I have an interesting story to tell re this and my .308 Norma Magnum . . . anyway) is to study how very closely the ballistics compare to the 7mm Magnum.

Don

[Firedog]

Chum King, I have had great luck in my .280 shooting 140 grain partitions with 52.5 grains of IMR 4350. Shoots nice tight groups with that load.

Don Becker, my gun is a Model 700 Mountian rifle. Great gun and like I said with that Partition load it is a real tack driver. I just want to work up a few other loads if for nothing else to get in some more shooting.

Lured in, a .280 shoots a 7mm (.284) round. One of the great things about a .280 is the variety of bullet wieghts and styles available.

[ 08-30-2002, 10:06 AM: Message edited by: firedog ]

I have a ,284 Win (kind of like me short and fat :grin: ) and like it. With the short magazine on the Sako AII that it is built on I have to use light bullets, 145 gr, or they take up too much case capacity.

I use 175gr bullets in my 7 mag.

I am not a 7mm fan (some how I ended up with a 7-08, 7X30, .284, 7x57 and a 7mm Rem Mag) but they do the job.

[ 08-31-2002, 07:10 PM: Message edited by: Keta ]

[pdxkevin]

This season I am shooting the new XLC BT bullets from Barnes. This coating is supposed to actually increase velocity by up to 185 fps.

This year its 300 win mag 168 gr. XLC BTs.

[Fishbone]

Don't forget Sierra Game King....tried and true, good performance for the price. As long as you are experimenting, I would very definately give these a try. Good luck.

[SR1 5]

Speer Grand Slams are often overlooked in my opinion. They are not as tough as the Trophy Bonded ot Barnes X but I have found if you have a rifle that doesn't group very well it will usually shoot Grand Slams as well as any bullet out there. The new Remington bonded core bullet might be worth a try also but I doubt if they are available in in anything but loaded ammo.

[Zen Leecher aka Bill W]

If'n it was me and I wanted a premium bullet out of a 7mm (.280 is a 7mm for those who wonder) round.... I'd just load Partitions and let it go at that. So what that the first 1/3 of the bullet is sacrifical and mushrooms off. There's enough left after that point to poke thru the other side and give the hunter a good blood trail.

Now I do consider 52.5 grains of 4350 out of a .280 a light load. I shoot 53 grains out of my 7mm Mauser and if I was shooting a .280, with more powder space, I'd like my .280 to clock out over 3000 fps rather than under 2900. Just my preference. I think the .280 would take up to 56 or 57 grains of powder, depending on the how tight the chamber is, choice of brass and primer, length of throat and hardness of the bullet. My preference is to load them hot.

As long as the gun groups the bullets in the 1.5 or 1.75 inch range @ 100 yards.... well, that's good enough for either "minute of elk" or "minute of deer". If the gun groups tighter, so much the better. Remember, the main reason for a premium bullet is bullet performance and not group size on paper. Usually they aren't bench rest quality bullets.

My 7mm Mauser is loaded with 53 grains of IMR 4350, a 140 Nosler Ballistic Tip and clocks out at 2985 fps.

One thing to consider, even though I tout loading cartridges to their maximum, it's not for everybody. Your current loading of 52.5 grains of 4350 in your .280 works for what you need.

[Firedog]

Zen Leecher, Nosler lists max load for 140 grain Partitions as 52.5. I have actually had them loaded a bit hotter and didnt like the results. Bullets just didnt perform well at all. I went back to this load and have had great success with it. Killed Deer from 50 yards all the way out to 400. Havent ever had a problem with them. I will probably always use partitions for my hunting rounds. I have sot 3/4 inch goups with this round also.

I just like to have the chance to work up some diferent ones and shoot some more.

[ 09-11-2002, 11:06 AM: Message edited by: firedog ]

[Zen Leecher aka Bill W]

Most reloading books these days really err on the side of caution when publishing maximum loads. I have some old ones published in the 1960's and there's a big difference in maximum load recommendations with current day books.

For field applications I like one of Bob Hagel's books on "Practical Ballistics....." or something. I forget the title. It was firsst published a while ago and about 6 years ago or so came out in a second edition. Other than not having recommendations in it for some of the new cartridges..from about the STW and later creations... it's a very good book.

Actually a deer doesn't care if it's been shot with a maximum load or a minumum load. They all work.

When I was first playing with loads with my 7mm Mauser, I first settled on a full case load of AA3100 that cranked out at 2720 and shot 1.1 inch groups in my Win 70 Featherweight.

After not getting the performance I wanted on a deer I checked out other powders in search of higher velocity. That's how I ended up with my IMR 4350 load. I had to think of whether I'd settle on 1.5 inch groups vs. 1.1 inch groups. I knew the smaller ones would shoot better at longer ranges, but the higher velocity would hit harder.

For practical purposes, the 200+ fps extra gave me about 50 yards further to hit deer.

It's mostly psychological.. higher velocity. I knew it, but I still wanted more power. Ever since then I never had a problem with deer getting away. In retrospect, the one I lost did die, but I think the main problem stemmed from problems tracking the deer, not bullet performance.

If you're going to keep your loads with the 52.5 grains of 4350 level of velocity you need to keep your bullet selections in the mid-range of bullet hardness. Softer bullets mushroom better at lower velocities, conversely the hard super-premiums were created with the real powder burning 7mm Mags in mind.

The Nosler Partion was designed to be soft in the front part to make sure it did upset at a range of velocities, and the core was for the deeper penetration.

I smacked a moose 10 years ago with a 180 Partition out of my .300 Win Mag. It drilled through 3 foot of moose (on a diagonal), poked thru, and sailed off into the sunset. I'm not thrilled the the possibility of the front part shearing off (the edges of the bullet jacket MAY shear off instead of staying mushroomed) but for all practical applications the Nosler Partition works for me and I see no reason to try for something more.

It's hard to argue with 36 inches of penetration and then still have the energy to poke thru the hide on the off side and zing off somewhere.

For about everything else I use my 7mm Mauser with 140 Ballistic Tips. They're a little softer than what I like, but at least they don't shed the core like I used to see when I shot Sierras.

I do have a different bullet I shoot in my .25-06 for antelope. For all purposes the bullet performance sucks when it hits something. The bullet's a little brittle and I find broken off pieces of the jacket in the wound channel. And this is in antelope which offer very little resistance to bullets. Main reason I shoot this bullet (120 grain Hornaday HP) is it groups beyond belief with a true maximum load. I've shot groups with this gun as small as 0.14". Worst one runs under 0.5". But it really gives good surgical placement on long shots. I only need to figure out the distance, dope the wind and squeeze the trigger.

I had one antelope in Montana on the last day of the hunt I shot. We were driving back to camp to quit and I spotted one way off. Told my buddy to stop the truck and I'd get out snd sit down. If the antelope stood for us, I'd shoot it. He didn't figure I could hit something that far off. (looked further than it actually was)

I leveled out the bipod feet so the horizontal scope line was level, dialed the antelope in and factored down the size from deer to antelope. Originally the distance was reading 600 yards, but since antelope are smaller by about a little less than 1/3, I figured 450 yards. The 30 mile an hour wind (standard metro for Montana) made doping a little tough. I allowed 20 inches for wind, but the results said I should have held 30 inches.... Results were the antelope cartwheeled off the hill at the shot and my buddy sat in the truck with his mouth open.

Guess I took a long time recommending you keep your bullet choices to the mid-range in hardness for testing.

I think I'd still recommend Nosler Ballistic Tips. I find they sure do put deer down fast. Also the tracking job is real easy as it leaves a good blood trail. Sure, you might have one bad shot like your Nosler Partition story, but this is a rare occurance. I suspect that if you used it on 49 more animals and compared the 50 results, you might find that you only have this one bad result.

[Diggerdan]

I agree with fishbone, you need to try out the Sierra Game-King! If you are ever having trouble getting bullets to group in your gun try sierra! I actually spent a few days with the operations manager of Nosler and he even says the same thing although I think Nosler is also an excellent bullet and if you don't already do so I highly reccomend shooting the seconds. They are alot cheaper and are every bit as accurate! That is all the guys that work at Nosler shoot!