168 gr 308 Win Bullet Comparison

[BoomFlop]

I would like to know the pro's and con's for the following bullets on deer.

168 Hornday ELD M
168 Berger Classic Hunter
165 Hornady SST
165 Sierra Game King
165 Nosler Ballistic Tip

These are ones I am looking at out of my 20" barrel Remington LTR for whitetail. Looking for expansion and on game performance. Not really concerned with BC at the distances I plan on using this rifle.

Thank you,
Steve

 

[MudRunner2005]

While it's not a "hunting" bullet, the Hornady Match 168 BTHP has worked well on lung shots on deer inside of 500 yards for me, in the past, from a custom Model 7 20" .308 Win.

Not recommending it...Just saying.

 

[WyoHunter1]

Sounds like any of your choices would be fine but I would stay away from match bullets like the Hornady match and the ELDM. I know some will hunt with these but I would prefer a tougher hunting bullet.

 

[RevJim]

I have only used 2 bullets in .308. I used the 150 corlokts in the 20" bbl rifle I had and the early made 165NBT for the 22" rifle. Of your list, I too would avoid the match bullets ( just because "I" don't have any faith in them) I also have no experience with the Berger, but it seems soft enough to work in a 20" bbl. Myself, I would start with the Berger just for that reason. I would follow it with the SST, Sierra and Nosler, in that order. It would be great if you could shoot some test medium with each.

If the deer are smaller in your area, I'd drop down to the 125 NBT. I loaded them for a friends 30-06 to 3100fps and it was perfect on Washington st mule deer/black tail at 300yds. The 308 in a 20" is probably just as fast at 250! With TAC or 2000MR or similar you can get around 3200 or more from a 20"!