Bullet selection - advise please

[Tiny Tim]

When i ran the numbers, the 165 class had little to offer. Drops and drifts were close to the 180. 150 had better drops due to velocity. Use a bonded bullet or try a momo metal.if your concerned about penetration.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Shane what is the twist rate on your rifle. Mine is 1:10

It was a 10.25.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

I definitely want at least 165 gr. I'm skeptical about the 308 for hunting even though I know its a darn good cartridge. I had a big black bear get away on me years ago when using a Rem 760 with 150 gr bullets and I know the shots were good, well 3 of 5. It had rained hard the night before and as I crested the hill he burst out of the cover running right to left. My firs shot hit him a bit far back as I watched the water splash off him. I pumped in another round and swung ahead but he didn't show. I looked over the scope and he was coming straight at me his enormus head almost filling the 4x scope. When his head cam up I sent one into his chest at about 35 yds, pumped in another and did the same thing at 25 yds. I don't believe he was charging me but that he didn't know where the shots were coming from. Now inside of 20 yds he turned to the right and I was swinging on him as if I was hunting rabbits. My 4th shot smacked a small maple sapling and I saw the wood fly out the back side. My 5th and final shot him him right behind the shoulder as he dove into the laurel.
After gathering my wits and calming down a bit I put another mag in the 760 and started following the scant blood trail at times crawling through the laurel on hands and knees! I heard a couple shots ahead of me about 200-300 yards away, maybe more. I continued following the blood but after about 3 painfully slow hours of searching, crawling and creeping through the laurel I finally got out of the laurel and into open woods and followed the blood trail right to a gut pile and a drag trail!
I was really frustrated and disgusted. Ever since that day I never hunted with the 308 again. Now with better designed bullets I'm going to give it another go around.

Don't worry about drops with a 308, it shoots like an artillery piece. The wind is your enemy with it. Use a super fast bullet that bucks it well to about 300 yards or a heavy bullet that bucks it as far as you want to shoot.


If starting from scratch, I would load light and fast.
I had several loads with Hammers in this rifle. Easiest load development I have done ever! This has been the case in several rifles of variaous caliber/cartridges.

20" barrel
166 Hammer Hunter 2694 FPS
152 (no longer made) 2815 FPS
135 Power Hammer 3123 FPS

At the ranges of a 308 effectiveness, these were fine. If a plinker for long range and for hunting with one load...go heavy, as heavy as your barrel will allow. A 180/185/190 Berger if your mag allows it. Only mentioned the ones you had on your list.

 

[K.E.C. Darkside]

As mentioned the 185 Berger Juggernaut
Has been proven in hunting and target.
Put a Terminator T2 orT3 muzzle brake on it and you will be able to see your shots.

The next bullets I would recommend is
Swift Scirocco 2 in 165gr or 180 but swifts like speed.

 

[AZ82New]

I ordered a Savage Axis XP in 308 and it should be arriving on Monday. I'm putting a 4-16X Viridian scope on it and I'm planning on using it for whitetail and black bear out to 300-400 yards. Having several Axis rifles I know that it should be more than capable accuracy wise.
First thing I'm doing is installing a Mcarbo Pro Trigger Kit which give the Savage an excellent 2# trigger.
My question is what bullet should I be using to meet my goal. I have some Berger 175 VLDs and Sierra 180 BTSP loaded up (waiting to get the rifle to determine the correct seating depth) to try. I also have a few hundred Hornady 150 gr Interlock BTs loaded that I shoot in my M1A. I'd prefer the 175-180 weight because of the better BC.
What do you think?

Berger 205

208 ELDM

212 ELDX

Yes, you can definitely use heavy bullets in a 308 and you should. I use Alpha small primer brass with CCI BR-2's and I get 2,500 fps with the 212 eldx using varget. It's very accurate and in fact ideal for 1,000 yard shots because the ES is like 7 fps.

I have run the 208 AMAX to 2,640 fps using Reloader 15.5.

A sleeper bullet is the 168 Cavity Back Bullet. I did some testing with it and Varget and was getting 2,777 fps out of that 20 inch barrel. I recovered a few from the berm and they expanded massively. Apparently, they are good to go down to something like 1,600 fps. Judging by what I saw, I don't doubt it.

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

Berger 205

208 ELDM

212 ELDX

Yes, you can definitely use heavy bullets in a 308 and you should. I use Alpha small primer brass with CCI BR-2's and I get 2,500 fps with the 212 eldx using varget. It's very accurate and in fact ideal for 1,000 yard shots because the ES is like 7 fps.

I have run the 208 AMAX to 2,640 fps using Reloader 15.5.

A sleeper bullet is the 168 Cavity Back Bullet. I did some testing with it and Varget and was getting 2,777 fps out of that 20 inch barrel. I recovered a few from the berm and they expanded massively. Apparently, they are good to go down to something like 1,600 fps. Judging by what I saw, I don't doubt it.

WOW, getting those speeds with that heavy a bullet seems pretty hot. I think I'd approach them with caution.

 

[AZ82New]

WOW, getting those speeds with that heavy a bullet seems pretty hot. I think I'd approach them with cautio

There is quite a bit of info on Ultimate Reloader about Alpha brass compiled by the guy from BAT machine and Gavin the host.

It's all real.

Quite a bit of info on this forum too.

 

[GuroChris]

I have had good success with 165gr sierra gamechangers with a MV of 2650 in a 10 twist barrel.
nothing special about the velocity or BC but I seem to put em right where i want em and havent had to do any tracking in a couple of years ( knock wood).

 

[Shane Lindsey]

215 Bergers with H4350 in one rifle at 2490 ish and this 20" barrel with RL16 at 2493 FPS. It is doable.

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

I haven't settled on a bullet yet as i should be receiving my rifle today. But I believe I'm going to be trying H335 as my initial powder. I can get the same velocity as other powders with a lot less pressure. I'm leaning toward something in the 180-200 gr range. Depending on the magazine length I may go with the Hammers.

 

[98s1lightning]

Gut pile and drag trail from that someone elses shots that you had heard; bagging your bear???

My other thought was another bear ate your dead bear.

What were you shooting for ammo, Remington Core-Lokt yellow and green box???
I just had a budding shot a deer w 165gr 30-06 core-lokt and he said he was surprised to find bullet mangled, shed core, and looked as it ricocheted inside this smaller buck
I told him that's typical of cup and core bullets to come apart, they do the job, and dropped deer was DRT, but what about the days you need them to NOT come apart.

There has been bears killed at camp for years and years 220gr Core-Lokt.
I never saw a recovered bullet. Or wound. But I know that's what they used and bagged the bears with them. Maybe the 220 is going slow enough not to blow apart.

Either way I can't stress bullet construction enough. I'm no pro, and have not shot a bear with anything but cup and core, go figure....

But I don't head in the woods w cup and core bullets unless I'm shooting Rabbits and Coyotes.

If my next opportunity arrives to put a bear or big old buck on the game pole; Im taking my chances on a Barnes XFN or a Nosler Partition to perform w excellence, but only the results will tell me.

I shot a yote w Speer 165BTSP, @ 308 velocities
DRT, big exit hole, but pieces of copper found. So I agree with other statements, even though the Speers are bonded, they are soft and come apart some. They are a nice affordable option, just beware.

 

[98s1lightning]

If you look hard, and aren't shooting far, maybe find some 30-30 bullets they will have WFN in comparison to what's offered for the bolt action. Crimp groove wrong location though.

 

[med358-boise]

168s in a quality bullet with a BC in the low to mid .4s will just do fine. No reason to be skeptical of 308s killing capability.

A 308 Win is a 30-06 is a 300 Win Mag it is just a matter of distance. If you are comfortable with killing capability of a 300 Win Mag at ~600 yards then you are comfortable with the killing capability of 308 Win at ~400 yards because the bullets are travelling at the same velocity. It's just physics. The animal knows nothing about how the bullet arrived at the destination and neither does the bullet. They simply know they met to each other when the bullet was travelling X velocity.

 

[98s1lightning]

I would probly limit to 180's

200 grains a lot of bullet for that sized case/powder charge IMO