.308 Starting load

[Raudy707]

Short barrel, I'd try the 155 Scenar for deer. Varget in the 44 to 46 grain range.

 

[Recon$$]

RL15 if you can find it. Got stupid velocity out of a 20" bull barrel and 168s.

 

[Ken61]

and some ear protection

 

[Bang4theBuck]

I would consider loading a lighter projectile in that barrel length. It is a better match to.faster powder as well. The 135 or 138 grain Hammer bullets would be a lot of fun in that package. Fun in thos case defined as 'very accurate, reduced muzzle flash with proper powder charge, reduced recoil, and excellent velocity for terminal performance'.

 

[VTbluegrass]

For short distance where BC and bullet drop are not a consideration, I will just throw it out there sometimes you may find a flat base bullet gives the best group at 100 yards. A lot cheaper to load so you can practice more getting shots off in tight windows in the woods.

 

[Rick Richard]

I was looking at that reloading data from Lee. Comparing IMR 4064 and Varget, they darn near look the same when comparing charges and velocity? Just an observation.

And they shoot almost the same too…at least in the 308 I had. You can't go wrong with either choice.

 

[JAYgs8163]

308 Winchester Load Data

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[Chokoloskee Joe]

4064 will work just fine. I use H335 with 150 grain bullets for my short barrel rifle on deer and it works great, but many powders will also work fine. No one mentioned Ramshot TAC, but it shoots well in all my .308 rifles with 165-168 grain bullets. IMHO, bullet selection is more important for a hunting rifle. Nosler AccuBonds have been my go-to bullets for deer hunting.

 

[Seabeeken]

The Barnes 130 gr TSX or TTSX can be driven to 3100 fps and is very accurate in 308 and deadly on whitetails. There is also a 110 gr Barnes which will easily hand whitetails also

 

[MarkInPA]

The Barnes 130 gr TSX or TTSX can be driven to 3100 fps and is very accurate in 308 and deadly on whitetails. There is also a 110 gr Barnes which will easily hand whitetails also

Thanks, I've been mulling the all copper bullets around in my mind. I'm not real familiar with them but I have heard where you can drive lighter all copper bullets faster and deliver them with similar energy to slower, traditional lead and copper bullets. I might have to look into this more seriously and get it figured out for myself. Thanks for suggesting the 130 grain TSX and TTSX. A good place to start.

I understand that there can be some issues with fouled barrels too. If you have been shooting lead and copper bullets, you need to scrub the barrel down to steel before shooting the all copper bullets. Otherwise they won't shoot well. Not sure why. The vice versa is true too. If you make the switch from all copper bullets to lead and copper bullets, you got to scrub the bore again. Wish I knew the reason. Different copper alloys maybe? I heard Ron Spomer mention this on his pod-cast. I don't think he could explain why either but, it was his observation.

I think it was also on Ron's pod-cast that I heard him mentioned the idea of using light all copper bullets driven at faster velocities to the same down range energies.

 

[Brathany]

Varget gets higher velocity with 165gr + than H4895 burn rate equivalents. I say equivalents because H4895 fell off the planet.

I've found Lee & Hodgdon max listed charges way too hot. Primer pockets be gone in two loadings. Hornady data has always been more realistic. If anything it's more conservative, but better to feel out the max using their data than starting at max to find max. lol

ETA: Your stated hit range of under 200, and mainly 100yds…no point knocking the fillings out your teeth! You can go with a modest load, kill great, and lighter recoil.

 

[ByronP]

My son & nephew both have Christenson Arms Ridgeline in 18" barrel length this is what I load for them IMR4064 38.0gr LRM primer Berger 168gr Classic Hunter Peterson brass 2.810COAL both shoot lights out

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

Yes, I am hunting timber. Pennsylvania hunting. Lots of thick mountain laurel but it does open up to longer shooting, 100 yards or maybe slightly more in ravines and the lower elevations on the ridges. This is a good point too because this is where this little carbine comes in handy. Getting in and around the thick cover.

I think if I remember correctly from reading, this is what Remington was marketing for back in the 60's when they first introduced the 600. At the time the Winchester 94 and the Marlin 336 were popular as a whitetail, "woods" rifles and they came in at a cheaper price point than the bolt action rifles of the time. Remington wanted in on this market so they introduced the model 600 to compete with these lever action woods rifles even though the 600 is a bolt action. I'm not sure about the earlier versions but, the Mohawk did have some cost cutting features to keep the cost down. A beech stock and plastic trigger guard. They went through 3 iterations of the model 600. First was the model 600 with, of all things, a ventilated rib. Don't ask me. I think it was a gimmick. Then they came out with the 660 which lengthened the barrel to I believe 20 1/2" and they dropped the ventilated rib. Then came the model Mohawk 600. They went back to the 18" barrel and still kept the ventilated rib off of it. I hope I got all that right. Feel free to correct me if I got any of that wrong or you want to add to it.

From what I understand, these little guys are starting to become collector's items.

You can buy a replacement trigger guard assembly made of aluminum or metal from Heritage Arms Inc. If interested. Mine was warped. I just bought one for a Rem 222 and the quality was well worth the price. A lot nicer than the plastic bulging out.

 

[jglenn]

Being from middle Ga, my typical hunting is like yours. 100 yds is about the limit you'll ever get. My family hunts more old model 7s in 308 than anything for years. The 18" models. They all shoot the same load. 150 nosler BT with 42.5 of imr4895. This load has been extremely accurate in every 308 we have tried it in.
Several friends run the same thing after we gave them a few rounds. The BT is a deer killing machine. Look for accuracy as noted.