.280 Remington

[Ben]

I recently traded with one of my best friends for a real nice BSA, 280 Remington. The gun was a 30/06 for the 1st 20 yrs. of its life and was re-barreled in 1990 by a gunsmith in PA with a Douglas XX barrel and chambered in .280 Rem ( standard .280 Rem., not the AI version ) .

I'm a professional stock finisher and immediately upon receipt of the rifle, I stripped the stock, put on an ebony fore end tip, a nice grip cap, and a Pach Decel. Pad. I glass bedded the barreled action, the barrel free floats.

Most of my experience with cast bullets ( in the past 30 yrs. ) has been with .30 cal, 8 mm, and 35 cal. rifles.

This is my 2nd .280 Rem, it definitely has a preference for the hvy. weight cast bullets. I shot many groups recently similar to the one you see below. I'll move on out to 100 yds. on my next trip out with the rifle.

Some photos below......... :

 

[JWFilips]

Gosh Ben...You have more surprises then I have Good days! You made that into a beautiful rifle ( as you always do) The .280 is very unfamiliar to me
the .270 Win yes but aways was curious about those on either side. I think what it amounts to is "Give Ben any caliber and wait to be impressed with the results!!!"
Wish I had the means at this time to get a few or even one new rifle...Maven gave me first crack at his immaculate Swede but alas Just couldn't spend the money at this time with my employment uncertain. for now I will use what I own of which I'm pretty happy.But just totally enjoy your post of all these beautiful guns! Please keep them coming
Jim

 

[Ben]

Jim,

Thanks for those generous remarks.

Jim, You've got some VERY accurate center fire rifles.
You don't have to take a back seat to anyone ! !

Ben

 

[35 shooter]

Looks like all but one would have been in Lincolns head inside the penny.
Another nice looking and accurate rifle!

 

[JWFilips]

Thanks Ben: some day I will expand my allotment Then You know I will be asking more questions Here!

 

[Brad]

Ben, I gotta ask. You aim at all these coins but never seem to hit them! Are you that cheap?

Nice looking rifle. Looks like a great shooter too.

 

[Ben]

A penny saved is a penny earned..................

 

[Brad]

Yeah but think of the value to a grandson of a penny with a hole thru it. One shot by his grandfather!

 

[35 shooter]

Brad has a point there Ben. Especially one that had 5 shots through it like that one would have had lol!

 

[Ben]

When my Social Sec. check goes up, I think I'll do it.
Right now, I don't have the money for something like that............

Ben

 

[KHornet]

Think I would pay a 5 dollar yankee bill for a penny with 5 shots thru it.

 

[Ben]

This is the cast bullet along with 20 grs. of IMR - 4198 that my custom, .280 Rem. rifle shoots so well.

Ben

 

[Brad]

Does that bullet have a straight tape from ogive to front band ahead of the grease groove or is it parallel nosed for a bit then a shorter taper starting ahead of the grease groove?
I do like the looks of that bullet.

 

[Ben]

Brad,

Parallel nosed for a bit then a shorter taper starting ahead of the grease groove.

You don't think this one would penetrate, do you ?

Ben

 

[Brad]

Oh, it would penetrate just fine. Cast from the right alloy for the speed and it would be good for deer.
I don't own a single SAECO mould, might need to re-evaluate that.

 

[Ben]

I own way too many SAECO moulds , that's the reason I'm pennyless right now.

Ben

 

[KHornet]

Good looking mold and bullet Ben. Own just a couple of Saeco molds, and appreciate the quality of bullets I turn out with them.

 

[JWFilips]

I know The SACO 87 Grain bore rider in my .243 win Ruger 77 V is hard to beat. Sure looks like Ben's .280 version but then again SACO has carried this design forward thru a few calibers. I know it was the first cast bullet that really impressed me when I started to play with cast in the .243 I found it one of the easiest to work with & develop loads for

 

[Ben]

Jim,

I have the SAECO # 311, 30 cal. 165 gr. that is designed like that.
It is still a bit new to me, I'll learn more as time goes on.

Ben

 

[Ben]

I thought that I needed to cast some more of the SAECO 073's.
This will keep me shooting for awhile.



My .280 Rem. has a Douglas , XX, barrel on it.
This is as far as the SAECO will enter the muzzle of my barrel.
( Most likely the reason it shoots so well )