Hunting with a .308

[deerhunt01]

The .308 is just about ideal for deer hunting and most big game at 400 yards and below

 

[L Smith]

I built myself a 308 'brush' rifle, 20" barrel, open sights only just for 100ish or less yards. Using Hornady 180 gr RN's at 2586 fps. It has been completely effective on any of the critters that have been hit with it. I know the 180 gr may be considered a bit heavy, but I have but I get decent expansion at the closer ranges. Just practice with it as much as possible. I almost always shoot off-hand, not too many opportunities for bench resting in heavy thicket. and most shots are snap, gotta sight and pull quick.

 

[xsn10s]

"it will kill"

 

[KiwiIan]

I ran with a 165 roundnose Speer Hotcore in my first 308 (Mk1 Ruger). I cut the barrel back from 22 to 19.5". This load/rifle combination accounted for a number of deer- each animal either dropped where it was hit or only traveled a few steps.
I never recovered a single bullet always a nice uniform exit!

 

[XTR]

A 308 with a 150 to 165gr hunting bullets and go fill tags. I only quit using one as my primary hunting rifle because I built a 7-08.

 

[mfk]

I just recently started using an old .308, I have 150gr and 180gr ammo for it. I hunt NY where the furthest shot I have is MAYBE 125 yards. What would you guys recommend and how do you like this caliber for deer?

308 is a great all around cartridge for hunting, including whitetail! A few of us have hunted whitetail with 308 and have killed deer with 150 grain soft points (corelokt), 165 grain nosler ballistic tips, and 178 grain eld-x polymer tip, controlled expansion. All of those quickly drops the deer. Where we hunt whitetail in NY our shots are between 50-250 yards. In terms of your 180 grain bullet, I am not sure what mv you are getting in your rifle with that 180 grain bullet, and I don't know what kind of bullet you are shooting to answer, but if it expands well between 1800-2600 fps your 308 will be more than adequate your intended hunting ranges and beyond. Just make sure the bullet is not too tough for thin skinned whitetail. Some people questioned whether or not the 178 grain eldX for my 308 was too heavy for deer, but I found it is just fine on whitetail with good expansion. I use the 178 grain eld-x because is pretty accurate and I shoot it long range a little so I know my drops with the bullet and am confident in its accuracy and range. I will say that 150-165 is most common for white tail with 308 among my friends.

 

[RevJim]

What action type/stock did you build it on pard? I have a hunting buddy out here that has been using his 308 BLR since 1970! He has killed everything out here including bison!

 

[crazyhorse02]

The 308 will take down any north american big game.

 

[Ward Thurman]

That's true, but I would like to have something a bit more powerful than a 308 for elk, moose and most certainly a grizzly bear.

 

[Don A Parsons]

Yuppers,,, my 2 favorite cartridges over the years are the 308 & 30/06,,, of course I enjoyed my magnums when I had them on the go,,, but I scaled back to the simple for my shooting & hunting needs...

Every shooting range across the Americas offers free brass,,, odals of boolitz to choose from,,, the 08 is easy on powder,,, and my shoulder dosen't get pound-ed that hard now that I use a extra think Gel pad...

I just rapped up the Rocky Mountain Eastern Slope shoot this weekend with the Ought-6 & Oh-8,,, 200 ish medium/ hot loads with 180gr boolitz... I launched 40 hot 30/06 boolitz down range to remember what its like to feel the kick,,, Yuppers... I won't be doing that again. Ha...

All of my hunting needs are with in distance these days,,, 40 feet to 150 ish meters,,, sometimes 220,,, rarely anything past the 350/ 400 mark on the thick skins... Loaded hot will reach out there further then that...

The trick is to load hot for cold temps so long as you find a accurate load for your rifle,,, that way the distance thing is covered,,, Punch-Junk sure helps slow down the critter tracking thing,,, Ha... Kinda nice to see the critter hunch up from a well placed shot...

That's another thing that most of us like about the medium size cartridges,,, the lesser of recoil allows us to incress our odds of staying on target along with follow up shots if needed,,, and no MB for me since I'm not keen on loud sound feed back when I'm hunting...

Ain't no way I'm wearing ear plugs when hunting...

Off season shooting sports is a added bouns since we build lots of pet loads for the kids and the Gal so they can join in...

125's / 130's with a powder drop,,, and they can join in on some of the deer hunts along with predator control,,, the close range stuff fore sure...

There are lots of folks that can't stand either of those cartradges, nothing wrong with that since they get to pick what works for them...

Like the old guy said... """The old school cartridges have bagged more game over the years then most,,, some with greater success,,, not so much at times if the shooter isn't paying attention to the well placed take down...

Forward of center mass always put them down. Ha...

Kind of mess gutting them out,,, but its still a Grin from ear to ear knowing the freezer will be topped off for the loooooong winter...

That's what its all about isn't it.

 

[L Smith]

RevJim, I built on a short action Mauser, Schilen bbl 1/10 twist, Boyd thumbhole stock, TruGlo front sight and Rem 700 rear sight with a touch of white fingernail polish to bring back the little triangle, and changed the safety to Buehler low profile but left the bolt original. I'm comtemplating having it Cerakoted, done that to a couple of my others and really like it.

 

[RevJim]

Sounds sweet. I've had several hard use rifles my gunsmith painted with Duracoat and Armorhide. Both were very rugged, but seems to me Cerakote is too. Good luck to you.

 

[Sdupontjr]

I've been a 7 mag guy since around mid 1990's but with the recent shots my sons have made with their 700 .308's, I picked one up last year. Way less kick and the deer still don't take a step. I've been in tower with him and watch him drop whitetail at 300 with simple 150 corelocks. I used 165's in my 700 with Shilen barrel, but my buddy put me on these 125gr Nosler BT (green tips). Said for 100-150 yard shots, the velocities of this round is deadly as well as they just about bug hole in my rifle. Well see, but since then, the ole Queen Browning A-bolt II Medallion 7 mag has been kept in the safe.

 

[el Pollero]

165g SST and they are DRT

My son shoots the factory Hornady reduced recoil loads , taken several medium sized deer and never tracked more than 50 yards