Ammo/ grain selection for .308

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tstaulcu

FNG
Joined
Nov 27, 2022
Messages
15
Use 165 sst in my tikka roughtec .308. Work great on deer and antelope
My dad swears by the SST he has always used the 150 grain in his bolt action .308 but I can only find them in the 165 grain so that might be a option. Have they performed well up close and medium range?
 
Joined
Dec 2, 2022
Messages
352
Location
Southest Michigan
I’ve always avoided SST due to how destructive they are on deer. It’s like hitting them with an explosive lol!


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TheHammer

WKR
Joined
Aug 1, 2022
Messages
530
Location
juneau wi
Whatever the gun likes honestly! That’s most important imo. Buy a couple boxes of various brands and send them down range. See what the rifle likes n go from there.
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2019
Messages
22
In years gone by, I had good results with Federal hunting rounds.

You don't need a nossler or anything exotic for white tail.

Also each one may perform somewhat differently in your rifle, 3 inched is plenty good at 200.

And how long are the shots? May be too close to make any difference.

What is easy to get?

Years back I thought I had 40 rounds of 7mm stashed, none. Hunting next day, trying to load up and get a sight in session.

Bought the Premium Federal in 7mm, it was as good as anything I ever made by hand and I never did another 7mm round again, 2 or 3 range shots, one hunting shot, a pack of 20 for emergencies (bear)

Longest shot was 250 yds and it hit right where I aimed it (no cross hairs though gura hairs found on Caribou, but it was so close that the Bou and I did not care, his troubles were done and mine were just beginning)
 

WMR

FNG
Joined
Jun 2, 2020
Messages
78
Norma 150gr 308 is available on their website for $16.99 now. Free shipping over $150. Hard to beat that. Deer die easily with well placed shots. Any 150-165 bullet will work fine. Don’t overthink it.
 

Yoder

WKR
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
1,302
Norma 150gr 308 is available on their website for $16.99 now. Free shipping over $150. Hard to beat that. Deer die easily with well placed shots. Any 150-165 bullet will work fine. Don’t overthink it.
I got some of that in 130 gr last year for my .270. It was all I could find. It shoots great. Had a pretty big exit hole on a small buck at about 40 yards. I would recommend.
 
Joined
Dec 29, 2021
Messages
47
165 Sierra Gameking HPBT over cfe 223 is what my subalpine 308 is loaded with. Not good BC but I’m packing a 4.5lb rifle im
Not shooting past 350 yrds anyway. Rifle shots then about an inch at 100 at 350 about 4”. Plenty good enough for such. Light weight rig.
 

Yoder

WKR
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
1,302
165 Sierra Gameking HPBT over cfe 223 is what my subalpine 308 is loaded with. Not good BC but I’m packing a 4.5lb rifle im
Not shooting past 350 yrds anyway. Rifle shots then about an inch at 100 at 350 about 4”. Plenty good enough for such. Light weight rig.
You have the worlds greatest user name.
 

bnsafe

WKR
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
587
I use nosler ballistic tip 165. I use them because I bought the nosler trophy grade 165 grain accubonds and the 2 have the exact same ballistics per the nosler box. My gun likes them and I can go from bt on smaller game to accubond on bigger game without re sighting or guessing. The bt blow holes in deer and lose meat, but I hunt public and I dont want them running anywhere I cant get them out of so I want them hit hard.
with that said I shot a doe a couple years ago with a 180 fed blue box and it went down in a heap. doesnt take much to kill a deer.
 

Yoder

WKR
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
1,302
I got some of that in 130 gr last year for my .270. It was all I could find. It shoots great. Had a pretty big exit hole on a small buck at about 40 yards. I would recommend.
My wife shot a buck a few days ago with these bullets. It was about 100 yards and the buck dressed out around 150lbs. The bullet went in through a rib right in the vital V and hit the opposite side shoulder. No exit. It took out the lungs but not very impressive at all. If it would have hit a heavier bone, I'm not sure it would have took out both lungs. There was a really good blood trail but the deer still ran about 100 yards. I might just shoot all these and use the brass for reloads.
 

Bucsfan69

FNG
Joined
Dec 1, 2021
Messages
60
For my hunting I use the Barnes TTSX 168 grains…. So it’s the same I’ll use for deer and elk
 

rcook10

WKR
Joined
Nov 17, 2018
Messages
371
Location
Wyoming
Don;t want to throw a wrench in the mix but as a long term die hard 165-180 grain 308 guy I've been shooting 130gr ttsxs for the last year and have been blown away by their performance inside conventional hunting ranges and very pleasant recoil. Out of my 6 pound Kimber I'm getting almost 3200 fps and inside 500 yards they still have 1500 ftlbs and 2300 fps. Time of flight is also hysterical if you're used to pushing 175-180 grainers. zeroed at 200 yard, i'm only 6 inches low at 300 and 16 inches at 400 so it's pretty damn flat. I took a big whitetail at 180 on a fence line and purposely shouldered him to prevent him hopping over to private. Had a friend need to borrow a rifle and he took an almost identical shot at 320 on a big bodied 3x3 muley. Both were bang flop/DRT. Both deer looked like someone had shoved a 2" pipe through their torsos and sucked out everything on the way. I'd honestly not think twice about killing elk inside 400 too.
 

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Watrdawg

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
140
Location
NC
I'm shooting 165gr Accubond out of my LMT AR10. My gun really likes it and many a deer have fallen to this combo.
 
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