All things .308 Win

[igethangry]

I like my 16" with 6" suppressor a lot. Very handy rifle. 168 ELD-Ms at 2582 FPS gives me a 5 MPH gun and keeps me just above 1800 FPS at 500 yards. Above 2000 FPS at 350 yards which is fine for me.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

In this internal debate now.
I would like a 400 yard capability for elk but I don’t reload.Need to do some research.
Any factory ammo recommendations?
Thinking 18 inch or possibly 16 if I can get the velocity,supressor of course.
Not interested in anything longer.

 

[Taudisio]

In this internal debate now.
I would like a 400 yard capability for elk but I don’t reload.Need to do some research.
Any factory ammo recommendations?
Thinking 18 inch or possibly 16 if I can get the velocity,supressor of course.
Not interested in anything longer.

Black Hills Gold 308 Winchester Ammo 155 Grain Sierra Tipped MatchKing

Black Hills Gold Rifle Ammunition features premium rifle bullets loaded for extreme reliability and accuracy and is a favorite among police snipers...

www.midwayusa.com

This should get you there. At 0ft elevation, and 2500fps MV, it hits 1800fps at 450 yards.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

In this internal debate now.
I would like a 400 yard capability for elk but I don’t reload.Need to do some research.
Any factory ammo recommendations?
Thinking 18 inch or possibly 16 if I can get the velocity,supressor of course.
Not interested in anything longer.

I shoot factory white box match 168's from a 20" sako and they are 2592 fps, slow lot if that's norm now, but mild recoil in the setup so don't care much, you should have plenty for 400 yard elk from those shorter barrels! I shoot its 3/4 scale 123 gr eldm (pretty much same bc/sd) at only 2386 fps from a 65 grendel and has dropped doe at 420 and bucks and other does at 300/355 also, all exits, even the 420 doe hit in chest and exit back of ribcage, and moose I took at 275 with the 308 168 exits broadside and soaked up 3 quick and died within few yards of first shot spot, so even if you end up high 2400's or more likely low 2500 fps range with the 168 whitebox you'd have plenty at 400! plenty at 500...then there's superformance of same 168 but I haven't shot that to see how much faster it is...or if it groups as well???

you have good options no problem for you goals in 308, also shot regular 165 fusion ammo from 20" tikka and that stuff was snorting at 2676...way faster than the 168 eld white box! and you felt it too lol, so if they make a tipped version maybe try that, I just don't like the terminal performance of fusions as much nor the bc for retaining distance, and then there's the threat of +peak so....win win, you'll have all sorts of options, you already have great options in factory

 

[omicron1792]

In this internal debate now.
I would like a 400 yard capability for elk but I don’t reload.Need to do some research.
Any factory ammo recommendations?
Thinking 18 inch or possibly 16 if I can get the velocity,supressor of course.
Not interested in anything longer.

The Nas3 175tmk. Will be over 2700, maybe 2750.

 

[danhuntingmi]

I shoot factory white box match 168's from a 20" sako and they are 2592 fps

Typical velocity for a .308 w/ 165 grain bullet is 2700 fps out of a 24 inch barrel. This setup will scrape by around 1500 fpe at 400 yards with a fairly high bc bullet.

.308 loses about 25 fps at the muzzle per inch of barrel. So a 20 inch barrel would run about 2600 fps at the muzzle.

 

[Sponge]

Black Hills Gold 308 Winchester Ammo 155 Grain Sierra Tipped MatchKing

Black Hills Gold Rifle Ammunition features premium rifle bullets loaded for extreme reliability and accuracy and is a favorite among police snipers...

www.midwayusa.com

This should get you there. At 0ft elevation, and 2500fps MV, it hits 1800fps at 450 yards.

@Coopsdaddy

I tried a box of that black hills 155 TMK in my 22" Sauer 100. Average of 2680 fps in 5 shots.
As a velocity reference for my rifle, in the same shooting session, FGMM 168 SMKs shot 2600 fps avg over 10 shots (advertised at 2650)....the roundabout conclusion being that black hills may be overstating their velocity a tad, but not Hornady bad, with their 155 TMKs, I'd bet the BH 155 TMK would be 2500-2550 out of an 18" barrel.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

Typical velocity for a .308 w/ 165 grain bullet is 2700 fps out of a 24 inch barrel. This setup will scrape by around 1500 fpe at 400 yards with a fairly high bc bullet.

.308 loses about 25 fps at the muzzle per inch of barrel. So a 20 inch barrel would run about 2600 fps at the muzzle.

just assumed rot for most is 1800 fps min impact for distance solving - in that case, the 168 white box should go plenty past 400, at 2500 fps launch, at 3000-4000' about 495-515 yards, and superformance if shoots could add 4" back to your barrel lol? I dunno, may try it but happy with the slower white box

 

[bwood1]

Has anyone loaded up their .308 with 125gn Nosler Accubonds or Partitions? If so, I'm curious how easy they are to load for, and well they've shot for y'all.

I'm intrigued by the lower recoil and lighter, faster bullets for truck hunting on Texas ranches. Should be more than enough pop that sized game. Plus I won't be worried about burning out a barrel if I want to do some egregious plinking.

If someone posted something about this before, my apologies. I'm new to this particular thread and haven't gone back through all 47 pages.

 

[Taudisio]

@Coopsdaddy

I tried a box of that black hills 155 TMK in my 22" Sauer 100. Average of 2680 fps in 5 shots.
As a velocity reference for my rifle, in the same shooting session, FGMM 168 SMKs shot 2600 fps avg over 10 shots (advertised at 2650)....the roundabout conclusion being that black hills may be overstating their velocity a tad, but not Hornady bad, with their 155 TMKs, I'd bet the BH 155 TMK would be 2500-2550 out of an 18" barrel.

That is why I put 2500 in the calculator, I expected 2500-2600 so I put it on the low end out of caution.

 

[bwood1]

A couple of my hunting buddies recently acquired .308s. Out of jealousy I retrieved my mother's old .308 out of the family safe.It hasn't been fired since the late 90s if I had to guess. I was surprised to find that it's a Ruger M77. I hadn't put eyes on it in at least 20 years. I actually thought it was a Remington. I was kind of let down at first because I had some dreams of rebarreling, adding a trigger, but keep everything else the same (accurate retro mod style). After staring art it for a bit, I'm kind of excited to keep it original. Doing some serial number research it looks to be from '89 just before they stopped making the tang safety version. It still has the Leupold M8-6x that came with it attached. Amazingly clear glass.

Super excited to get it out to the range.

I finally got to the range with it. It took me a bit to get it sighted in. I did it a bit more by feel than actually counting clicks etc. I just wasn't sure how much each movement would change the sight, because the directions on the turrets weren't super clear. So, it took me about 10 shots to get it in the right spot. My last 3 shots were just over an inch. I'm pretty happy with the accuracy given the age of the gun.

The part I didn't love, is that I must have just forgotten what it was like to shoot without any kind of recoil/muzzle device. It kicks like a mother! I feel like it kicked 2x what my braked 300WM does. I'm sure part of it has to do with it only weighing 6.5lbs. Another part is that I may have gotten sloppy with my form over the years, and this shined a light on it. In a weird way, I think it's going to help me do a better shooting my other rifles and working on spotting my shots. At any rate, it definitely reinforced to me why I was a terrible shot as a kid. I was shooting 165s out of a Model 7 .308 with an 18" barrel that weighed nothing. I could never expect my 11yr old son to be accurate enough to ethically hunt with this thing, and he's a decent shot with 6.5cm and down

I even loaded ammo that I thought was going to be soft shooting. With my boy in mind, I loaded some Nosler 125 Accubonds to 48 grains of Varget thinking the lighter bullets would result in lighter recoil. I was wrong.

Was my thinking that a light bullet would mean less recoil incorrect?

Maybe the higher powder charge that the smaller bullet allows is more impactful than the light for caliber weight of the projectile?

I have no clue as this was my first time reloading .308, and I've only loaded for one other gun which is a .224 diameter. So, recoil there is negligible anyways.

All that being said, I have 10 more rounds loaded up that I'm really confident in, and I can't wait to put a white tail in the freezer with this rifle.

 

[1000yards]

Was my thinking that a light bullet would mean less recoil incorrect?

Maybe the heavier powder charge that the smaller bullet allows is more impactful than the light for caliber weight of the projectile?

As I understand it, weight is weight. So if your bullet weighs five grains less, but you're putting in five more grains of the same powder, then that part of the equation won't change.

 

[bwood1]

As I understand it, weight is weight. So if your bullet weighs five grains less, but you're putting in five more grains of the same powder, then that part of the equation won't change.

True, I should have said "higher" powder charge. This isn't really the thread for it probably, but If I'm loading 10% more powder because the bullet allows for more case capacity than say a 165gn bullet. Then would the extra pressure generated from that additional powder be more impactful on recoil than a projectile weighing 40 more grains?

 

[1000yards]

True, I should have said "higher" powder charge. This isn't really the thread for it probably, but If I'm loading 10% more powder because the bullet allows for more case capacity than say a 165gn bullet. Then would the extra pressure generated from that additional powder be more impactful on recoil than a projectile weighing 40 more grains?

I don't know, you'll have to do the math:

ShootersCalculator.com | Recoil Calculator

An online calculator that calculates the recoil energy, impulse, and velocity of a firearm according to the firearm's weight, powder charge, bullet weight, and bullet muzzle velocity.

shooterscalculator.com

I don't think pressure has much to do with it. Just the weight of what you're launching, the weight of what you're launching from, and how fast you're launching it.

 

[bwood1]

I don't know, you'll have to do the math:

ShootersCalculator.com | Recoil Calculator

An online calculator that calculates the recoil energy, impulse, and velocity of a firearm according to the firearm's weight, powder charge, bullet weight, and bullet muzzle velocity.

shooterscalculator.com

I don't think pressure has much to do with it. Just the weight of what you're launching, the weight of what you're launching from, and how fast you're launching it.

Thanks, hadn't looked at that site before.

Either way I just need to not be a baby and shoot better .

 

[SaffaUK]

Has anyone loaded up their .308 with 125gn Nosler Accubonds or Partitions? If so, I'm curious how easy they are to load for, and well they've shot for y'all.

I'm intrigued by the lower recoil and lighter, faster bullets for truck hunting on Texas ranches. Should be more than enough pop that sized game. Plus I won't be worried about burning out a barrel if I want to do some egregious plinking.

If someone posted something about this before, my apologies. I'm new to this particular thread and haven't gone back through all 47 pages.

Tangentially related and hopefully somehow useful

Sako make a 123gr Gamehead factory load. Very popular here and guys use them a lot with good results in Fallow where I am and up to Red deer which is as big as we get here

Factory load shoots really well in my 20” Tikka and average around 2985 or so fps

I’ve not used them in game yet but they’re going on my next hunt.