can the .308 do it for all around sheep?

[4IDARCHER]

I have been debating customizing my rifles or ordering a new rifle for sheep and/or caribou. I am almost completely a bowhunter but for sheep I am not 100% sure I want to tackle it with bow, due to the high cost and low odds. I have a friend that is considering selling his lightly customized Kimber Montana in 308. I have shot the rifle and it handles great and feels right. From my time as a designated marksman in the Army with the M14 I am very familiar with the .308 round but just wondering what other's on here think. I know it doesn't have the glamor of the 280, or the flatness of the 270WSM, but I am thinking with some of the 150-165gr superformance ammo the round shoots fairly fast and should be an ok choice at least.
What do you guys think?

 

[Ray]

When Becca and Luke get back from the SHOT show they will chime in on the .308 usefulness on sheep and other AK game. In the mean time look through their posts on the subject.

My insight is that if you can hit the animal in the lungs with a good bullet that performs at the velocity it will be traveling at when it gets into the lungs then you're done with the choice.

Keep in mind that here in AK children kill sheep, caribou, blackbears, and moose with .243s and .308s every year. You should be able to do it too.

 

[AXEL]

More than 40 years ago, I spent three months, completely alone in the mountains on the BC/AK border, with one helicopter supply trip and no breaks during this summer. I had sold my first gun collection to finance college and some major surgery the previous year, so, I had nothing for defence against the numerous Grizzlies in the area.

During, this time, I spent a LOT of time thinking about the "best" gun for a solo, working, impoverished wilderness worker/backpacker/"meat" hunter and came to the conclusion that a GOOD .308 with 180 NPs at close on 2700 fps-mv IS about as good as it can get......many, many guns and mountain stints later, I still think this is the simple factual "truth".

Get a Kimber M ontana and "tune" it and go ye forth and fill thy Ark!

 

[Daniel_M]

I have no first hand experience with a 308, however many Alaskan game animals have met there fate against .28-.30cal, non-magnum chambers.

As I recall, Steve, Luke and Becca have all taken sheep with 280 or 308.

 

[Vids]

I don't see why it wouldn't work on sheep and caribou. I still use my grandpa's Winchester .308 lever action for everything in Colorado, the .308 is a great multi game rifle and I haven't seen a need to buy anything else yet. I've taken elk, mountain goat and pronghorn with it. It definitely doesn't shoot as flat as a .270 could, but it's just a few more inches of drop. I shot my mountain goat at 325 yards. One recommendation would be to get a high powered scope, I wouldn't shoot to 300 yards if I only had the standard 3-9x scope on it. (Mine's a 6-24x)

 

[crzy_cntryby]

.308 win. Can it done if you can. Trigger time and getting close will cover any worries you have.

 

[ericfamilee]

Though I haven't personally witnessed the .308 kill a sheep, I have no doubt that it would be a great sheep hunting cartridge. I've witnessed 20 sheep kills taken with a broad range of calibers and it is my experience that sheep are not hard to kill. This year I saw a sheep fall over dead after a single shot from a .243.

 

[mtnclimber]

Sheep are one of the easiest animals to kill. Ive killed sheep with my .308 kimber montana but i now take my 7mm rem mag because of the much improved ballistics. Distance is usually the biggest challenge with sheep, not necessarily "killing power"

 

[hodgeman]

In the past I've done a great deal of hunting with the .308WIN. For a lightweight sheep and caribou rifle there is nothing at all wrong with that choice. I've taken my largest caribou with one and it worked just fine. Effective range will be somewhat reduced from some of the hotter/flatter shooting cartridges but that is largely a "ballistic chart" issue rather than a practical one unless you're a specialist. The .308 has enough "oomph" to tip over a sheep or caribou farther than most folks can hit one. As a bowhunter, you're comfortable working in close...you should have no issues getting in range.

One thing to keep in mind- the modern .308 loads are identical to the ballistics that made the reputation of the '06 from 1906- through the 1980s...the animals are no tougher and no more wary now than then.

 

[luke moffat]

Like stated above I think sheep are about the easiest big game animals to kill in Alaska (other than finding a legal one ). Doesn't take much to kill one in my experience of course there are exceptions to every rule and I admit I am still very much a newb to hunting them, but in the 8 I have seen killed they all died easily.

I love the 308 as I grew up shooting one since I started big game hunting. And the more I learn about reloading the more I like it now. A 155 scenar loaded to 2900 fps is still giving you 1000 ft/lbs of energy out to 750 yards. But at the same token you can have 180 or 200 partitions and a frames loaded up for grizzly
bears you might encounter on your hunt as well.

Out of the 8 sheep I have seen taken 2 were with a 7 mag, one with a 30-06, 2 with a 25-06, 1 with a 30-06, and 3 with a .308. All work obviously, just a matter of how much powder you wanna burn to do it

I am less and less enamored with magnums rifles all the time though so I am biased.

 

[waterrat]

While I haven't killed a sheep with it yet,my current sheep rifle is a Kimber Montana in 308. 46grs of Varget under a 150gr Nosler Partition shoots MOA. In the past I've taken 2 very nice rams with a 243 along with 2 moose and ??? caribou. My comfort shooting range is 300yds stretching to 400 but the shot would have to be ideal. My observations on long shots is that everything is not perfect ai,, rest, wind,good profile,angle, know "exactly" where your bullet will hit,, it's best to try to close the distance!

 

[Bambistew]

Ideal? Not really sure there is such a thing. If there was, we would only need one caliber/cartridge. I think I've been in on 9 sheep kills? Average distance was about 200 yards, with a minimum of about 30 yards, and maximum of about 350. My current "sheep" rifle for the last couple years has been a 308 Kimber Montana.

 

[luke moffat]

Not gonna lie, I like the style of the last two people that posted in their choice in rifle..... Just sayin. Been liking carrrying my Kimber Montana 308 since 2010 and haven't looked back!

 

[jherald]

I've taken most Alaskan big game with my .308. Yeah, it will do the job. Know your rifle, know your capabilities. I'm comfortable and confident with my .308.

 

[325 wsm]

Ive taken sheep or seen sheep taken with everything from a 6mm remington to a 338 win mag. A 308 is definitely suitable for sheep. One thing to remember when hunting in the north for sheep is that you are always in bear country. While there may be times you wish you had a larger caliber there will never be times you wish you had a smaller caliber. After years and years of guiding I finally came to the conclusion that the 325 wsm is my do all cartridge based on muzzle energy, trajectory and short action design for lighter weight. Ive guided a lot of hunters with long range set ups (long action, 26 inch barrel, 4 to 24 power scope etc.) but am not impressed with the long guns due to them being a pain in the ass to carry around. The 308 in a short and light gun with a well constructed 165 to 180 gr bullet is a pretty good choice.

 

[luke moffat]

Agreed 325! The 325 is a great alrounder for alaska and Canada no doubt.

Here is mine 325 wsm with an 18" barrel and scoped for only 5.8 pounds. Handy little powerhouse for sure!

 

[325 wsm]

What make and model etc., looks great. I have a plane jane SS browning a-bolt. Do you get enough velocity with that short of a barrel.

 

[luke moffat]

What make and model etc., looks great. I have a plane jane SS browning a-bolt. Do you get enough velocity with that short of a barrel.

Depends on what you feel is "enough velocity". 200 grainers at 2800 fps is what I used to kill grizz, caribou, sheep, black bear, moose, caribou and mountain goats with a 200 partition.

That said I get 4+1 and a lighter rifle in my Kimber montana 338-06 doing 210 swift scirocco at 2760 and have the option for 250s at roughly 2550 from its 21" barrel. That and I don't like the browning as much as my Kimber so the 325 won't see nearly as much use.

Lighter and bringing more heat and holds 4+1 instead of 3+1 and controlled round feed and a better overall made rifle will favor the 338-06 everytime. The 325 wsm is great just feel it's given up to my 338-06 in a few areas that matter to me so it may go down the road.

But both the 325 and 338-06 are overkill for sheep.

 

[AXEL]

Yeah, I sure hate it when I kill a nice animal TOO dead, eh!!!!













Sorry, Luke, I just couldn't resist!

 

[luke moffat]

Haha!!! Not at all!!! It's a free country we all get to still choose what we wanna hunt with!