Best 308 load

[wilsongideon]

175 Berger VLD. Past 500 is beyond the 308's effective hunting range for big game unless you shoot alot, like 3000-4000 rounds a year., have the ability to keep all your shots near  MOA all the time at those distances. Have a  quality range finder, a great drop chart, high end optics, etc.
Even at a measly 600 yards going to 625 yards with the 175 VLD you lose 10".

I personally do not feel like 3000 shots a year is a qualifying number. I dont wanna wear out my hunting rifle and thats alot of shooting and cleaning dang. 8 shots per day. 250 shots per month wow. where did you get your data?  I am not going to even embarasse myself and tell you how many times I shot my .308 this last year but I doubt it even has a 1000 rounds through it. in its 30 plus year life Maybe proper training on shooting technique is more valueable and can be traded for more shots?

[Jim the Plumber]

If one wants to be good enough to make a clean kill at 800 yards WITH a 308 win. You need the trigger trigger time. Education goes hand in hand with that.

[Mike450r]

If one wants to be good enough to make a clean kill at 800 yards WITH a 308 win. You need the trigger trigger time. Education goes hand in hand with that.

I am not as big on trigger time in the sense of being able to shoot as I am on trigger time for the education factor.  If you can shoot steady at one distance you should be able to shoot steady at any other.  Trigger time for me is mostly so you know your particular ammo and what it does every hundred yards along with learning to read the wind and compensating for drift plays the biggest role when you get out to 800-1000 yards.

800-1000 yards is so darn far that I will shoot it at steel but I don't carry the optics with me to 1. feel good about making a kill shot and 2. be able to judge the animal to know if it is even shootable.  I can get closer nearly every time or I just look for something else.  I don't judge those that do but I do question whether or not they should look for the possibility of shaving a few hundred yards off the distance before putting down the bipod and taking the shot.

[coachcw]

With today technology T don't think the 3k trigger time is needed , I'd be willing to bet that within a few shots and a couple dry pulls I could put 90% of guys that are a decent shot on target at 800 yards with my 6.5x284 . a good 308 with the right charts is doible .

[mrolen]

If one wants to be good enough to make a clean kill at 800 yards WITH a 308 win. You need the trigger trigger time. Education goes hand in hand with that.

True this expecially with a 308. my range card calls for 25 min of elevation for 800 yards at 850 it calls for 27.9 min of elevation, that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for a good shot especially if you have not put 3k rounds down range and really know what that bullet will do out of that rifle.

[LEN]

I'm in total agreement on the trigger time, although I feel it does not have to be all high power. I shoot over the 4000 per year but the majority is with rimfire at varmints. Same shooting just no recoil to build bad habits. And with the rimfires one does do a lot of drop table work. I also agree at those ranges one needs a guality range finder and an drop table confirmed. I feel more than just drop tables one needs to read wind rather well. Set 1 gallon jugs of water out at 500 yards that's what you must hit every time, now shoot in a cross wind. This will be a real eye opener. Shoot from a bench then from a hunting rest an other eye opener. "EVEN with the best of optics and the best of weapons a moose can look like a mouse at 9x and 350-400 yards" JMO

LEN

[Fuzzy]

Good fundamentals and lots of trigger time for clean kills at that distance with a .308
Wind for a 6.5x284 is a completely different animal than a .308!!

[Ice Cap]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the substantial decrease in bullet energy at longer distances with a .308. Can you really make a humane kill on a deer with energy dropping below 1200 or so?

[Bill W]

My load "killed" lots of paper out to 600 yards shooting NMC Highpower.   It was the 168 grain HP by either Nosler or Sierra (I used both) and 40.5 grains of AA2520 with a Win LR primer.   It's not a hunting load as it's about 2500 fps.   

[coachcw]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the substantial decrease in bullet energy at longer distances with a .308. Can you really make a humane kill on a deer with energy dropping below 1200 or so?

with the right bullet a vld take 800 lbs to perform at minimums ,

Good fundamentals and lots of trigger time for clean kills at that distance with a .308
Wind for a 6.5x284 is a completely different animal than a .308!!

I agree but with the proper scope it makes it possible my many . sure wind angle and distance are critical but much of that is easily calculated no days .

[Jonathan_S]

Best .308 load?  Take the bullet and put it into a 300 WSM cartridge   

[Fuzzy]

Yes you can calculate for wind and shooting angle, but you need more than just a few rounds downrange to know exactly what the bullet will do. A 175 berger going 2650 will drift roughly 12" with just a 2mph change in the wind. That is easly possible at 800yds. Is it possible to cleanly kill a deer at that distance? With the right bullet and skill I say yes, but that skill comes with many rounds downrange. Not one box of ammo to practice with and lots of dry firing. 

[wilsongideon]

I think having all the proper tools and knowing how to use them is critical in shooting long range no doubt about it. Obviously the wind "out there" can be different then wind at the muzzle. But the tools are out there to take the guess work out of everthing except the wind factor. I am just a beginner in long range shooting but I agree with coachcw only because thats how I learned how to shoot long range. a couple dry fires and how to make the crosshairs stop bouncing around and stay 100 percent still during the shot. We werent shooting off the bench but it was just as steady. Its pretty amazing lobbing then in feet above the target but shooting right at it with the crosshairs.