308 hunting ammo/rounds

[lamrith]

Working on a 308 for a second hunting rifle. 
I am a reloader and plan long term to reload all my ammo, but it would be great to hear what any of you have had success with.  Will be using it for big game, Deer/Elk.

For those of you hunting with 308 what are your "go to" ammunition and, or bullets if you are a reloader?  Do you take the one size fits all, or do you change bullet weight/model based on intended game?

Thanks all!

[300rum]

I find out what my rifle likes and use that.  For the most part, all the hunting type bullets available nowadays will bring down a deer/elk satisfactorily if placed correctly.  Matching a bullet type to a hunt is the tail wagging the dog, Accuracy is final.     

[Stein]

I agree you are going to need to spend some money buying various bullets until you find the magic one.  I shoot a 30-06, but the answer is about the same.  I decided on the Barnes TSX and was hoping the 180s would work but the 168s just shoot much better.

I worked up a load that I use for deer, elk, pronghorn and whatever else.  I would shoot anything short of a coastal grizzly with that load.  It is really nice only having to load and stock one bullet because of the cost as well as only having to build one dope chart.

[DRobnsn]

While I agree with what has been said. I do have one question, where and how far are you planning on shooting? To me it would depend on  the max distance I would think I may be shooting. Once that is narrowed down then I would start figuring which bullet would work best and start working on loads.

If you only plan on shooting 300 or less yards then bullet choice is darn near endless for a 308. However if you think you may be getting out past the 400 mark I would be much more anal when it comes to terminal performance and accuracy. Obviously accuracy is crutial no matter the situation but distance changes things drastically.

[WAnoob]

I too agree on all the above answers.  You need to essentially try out a few loads to see what your rifle likes.  Although I do shoot a 30-06 I have used 150 Barnes TSX bullets that shot really well.  I have taken a black bear and moose with 180 gr Nosler partitions.  I wish I would have used 200 gr partition on the moose since the bullet went all the way to the other side but did not penetrate  the second hide.  I have no regrets using the 180 gr since they did a number on the heart but I would have preferred more penetration when I was hunting up near the Koyukuk, River.  My Dad and I religiously use the partitions in various grains since they always have a perfect mushroom and great weight retention. 

Essentially find a good load data, and go a little bit below that.  I have spoken with numerous shooters who swear by lets say 165 gr for a .308, but then there are the random people who cannot get that exact load to shoot in their rifle no matter what they do.  I have been itching to try out the Nosler accubonds as I have heard great things, but I have so many partitions loaded up now I don't have a reason to.

As you can tell I am a Nosler fan boy.  The Barnes TSX will treat you well, I have not heard great things about the Berger bullets, a lot of people buy them based purely on accuracy but the bullet is designed to break apart essentially on impact and you are left with a lot of fragments and in my mind, not great penetration.  They would be a good choice for target shooting, but I wouldn't recommend them for hunting.

Try a few out and see what ya think!   

[coachcw]

168s accubond or sst  even the ttsx works really well in some light wieghts . lrab and vld would perform well on game due to the low velocity required for expansion .

[lamrith]

Thanks guys keep em coming!

I also have my ar-grendel which will be my primary deer gun.  This is going to be a backup gun, heavier hitter, simpler rig(bolt action).  I just ordered the gun, Savage Axis SR, down the line it will get a Boyds stock, Timney trigger and still working on glass.

This rifle will see some dual use hunting and range.  My range is only 140 on one range and 200 on the other.  They open for 600yrds a few days a year.  Shots on game..  I could be reaching to 300+ depending on what the hunt/terrain dictates but would rather not obviously, preference to keep it under 200 for all the reason people stated above.

[2labs]

Two good choices. Pretty much my .308 go to.

[lamrith]

SO follow up question... 
Favorite powders?
I hear Varget thrown around allot, any other powders you all like to use? H335, H4895? RL17? etc etc??
I grabbed 1# of Varget on the way home since they had it, just seemed a touch more expensive than others..

[Blacklab]

My bnl has a howa 308. He's been spitting 155 to 168 horns sst. I believe not sure of the sst. He really likes 168  When I shot it, I liked the 155. lots of good pr on both. He wants to reload for it some day just needs dies.

[jaymark6655]

180 grain SST and Interbond, they both have the same bc, SST for light skin stuff like deer and Interbond for thick like elk. Varget, it seems to be the least affected by temperature.  For cheap practice round I use 168 grain boattail with H335, but I think I am going to switch to the 178 grain. 

[GrainfedMuley]

There was another thread a while back about this same thing. When I was in the reserves, I use to shoot a lot of competition shoots. We were able to get some LC, Lake City, match grade ammo for the competitions. Well, we took one apart and did some research and found out they were Sierra 168 gr. boat tail hollow point bullets. My deer rifle is .308 and I used the same ammo for hunting. I have since ran out of the military match ammo but I found some factory ammo using the very same bullet. They shoot very similar. I have my rifle zeroed at 200 yards and can put 6 rounds in a 6" circle. That ammo and bullet have harvested 8 of my 9 deer I have on the wall.

[klikboom]

I chose the 130gr TSX for my .308. With this round you will push essentially 300 mag velocities (3000+). I've taken 3 animals with it in my 308 and everyone dies right there. The TSX don't leave great blood trails but in my 5 animals taken with TSX They do massive internal damage. I killed an elk and bear with my 300wsm and a 180gr TSX. The -30gr TSX shoots amazing on paper through my remmy 700, the only downside is they don't feed right out of my detachable Mag so check that before you hunt.

[DJ_Mack]

My hunting load is a 165 gr. Hornady SST. with 41 grains of Hodgon benchmark powder.  Accurate combination for myself and gun.  I reload 168gr A-Max bullets for just shooting.  I keep my scope sighted in on the 165 grain and when I shoot the 168 it is barely noticeable at 100yds.

[whitey]

Best combo out of my Ruger Varmit m77 308 Bull Barrel is 168 hpbt with Varget pushing it.
Very good round.