So funny...but I love the debate. What I don't love is the opinionated and uneducated that think there opinions are facts.
Fact: A .280 remington, 140 gr Accubond(.485 bc), 2850 fps(22" factory Ruger), (57.0 gr RL19 powder/Fed 210 primer), will provide 1963 fps and 1198 ft/lbs @ 600 yds, and 1833 fps and 1045 ft/lbs @ 700 yds. I know this gun shoots this as I have personally chronographed it many times.
Opinion: 140 grain Accubond will easily handle a deer at 1000 ft/lbs of energy, and will handle elk at 1200 ft/lbs. Therefore based on this criteria and Noslers assertion that the min vel for that bullet is 1800 fps, I say this round is adequate for 700 yds on deer and 600 on elk.
Opinion: It is no harder to dope for elevation at 600/700 yards than at 300 yards, both require adjustment. I use clicks or my zeiss ballistic reticle.
Opinion: If you can consistently, 9/10 times, hit a milk jug at a given distance, in given atmospheric conditions, you can consider the same shot on game. Buck fever must be considered.
Opinion: I would rather use a gun with less recoil to practice than one that I consider to have excessive recoil or excessive over-bore and very short barrel life which would limit my off season practice(i/e a .280 rem vs a 300 RUM). Each person must consider their personal limits of recoil tolerance, but barrel life is less subjective.
Fact: Higher BC bullets will clearly outperform lower BC bullets at longer distance in terms of wind resistance and energy(I don't mentiond drop as if you can correct for that reliably it isn't a relative factor).
Opinion: If you find an efficient mix between velocity, bullet weight, and ballistic coefficient and match that to your PERSONAL recoil tolerance and reasonable barrel life you can find the chamber and round that might best fit you. For example, my teenage sons use 140 gr accubonds in .270/.280 remingtons @ 2850 fps and I use 168 bergers in a 7mm Mag at 3050 fps. The 7mm has much increased range, but requires a heavier guna and more recoil which I handle more easily at 200lbs than their 130lbs. 6.5 and 7mm bullets have very high bc's in standard to heavy weights, .270, 300 and .338 being less so.
Question: If I find the right gun and an accurate enough load to consistently hit a deer in the vitals at a given range and that gun can provide enough energy to ethically kill that animal then what is the problem?
Comment: Why do some people say things like "No one should be taking that shot with that gun"?
Opinion: A .280 with the right load and enough practice "can" be an effictive big game gun out to 6-700 yars!
Try that barrel out with a few loads and if it doesn't shoot most loads around MOA then consider a custom barrel before you spend a few hundred dollars finding the right load. Typically you can find one, but a well built and propertly fitted custom will get you there quicker.
Brian