Hunting bullet recommendation for short barreled 308

[drdool]

With the hope that my tax stamp will come in before hunting season I have set up a short barreled 308 to hunt with this year. I figured that a 16" 308 would be more manageable with the 9" of suppressor on the end.

The rifle is all together and shooting well with several match type bullets but I need to work up a load for hunting. I tried some 178 ELD-X in the precision hunter ammo by hornady today. It shot great but I didn't get a chance to run it over the chrony. It should above 2400fps at the muzzle even with the stumpy tube. That will keep me in expanding velocities out to 500 yards, not planning on shooting any farther anyway. My range finder has a hard time getting consistent hits on game out past 350-400, definitely need a better one.

My thinking is I'm going to be limited in velocity any way I shake it and the extra bullet weight will help it hit a little harder across the spectrum.

The 178 ELD-X was shooting pretty well but I don't have much experience with it on game. Other bullets I have considered are 165-168 ballistic tip or accubond, 165 Sierra gameking, 168 VLD berger, 165 swift scirocco, 150-165 CEB match/hunting, I'm sure there are others I'm missing.

Any of you running a short 308 for hunting.
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Used the Hornady 150 SST Superformance last year out of a 20" CTR with excellent terminal results in South Texas. One buck was DRT, other took less than 5 steps. Seems like when I ran it over a chrono the numbers were surprisingly close to advertised 200 fps faster. They also make the same ammo in a 165 that worked well on targets, no experience on game yet.

 

[Thebear_78]

The 168gr Berger worked out pretty well. At 311 yards took this cow. Bullet entered center of the chest and exited out off side elbow. Found one small piece of the bullet in the elbow

 

[roadhunter]

I'm running 180gr Nosler hunting BT's over 44 grains of Varget with Fed 210GM's. This load is going 2544fps out of a 18" barreled Ruger American Predator with Silencerco Omega. Consistently shoots 5/8" groups at 100 yards with very little recoil. I set this rifle up for my kids to use on youth cow elk hunts the last couple years. They've dropped two cows with this load one at 110 yards and the other at 120. Both were one shot kills and took about 5-10 steps before piling up. The first punched clean through the ribs behind the front shoulder with a 1 inch exit hole. The other completely shattered the near side shoulder bone and we found the perfectly mushroomed bullet resting under the skin on the far side shoulder weighing 107.5 grains. Makes me wonder why I've been shooting big magnums for so long......Good luck.

Doug

 

[KiwiIan]

They're good velocities you're getting out of your rifle. I'm running a Tikka T3x 308 with a Hardy over barrel suppressor.

 

[captrjc]

In a 20" 1:11 barrel with Varget and lapua brass I'm getting 2576 FPS with 168 hrs Nosler bonded performance. So far many pigs and two deer haven't taken a step. I only use this gun when long range stuff is unlikely. The bonded bullets are protected point but they tune easy and leave room for more powder. Midway has them on sale now at a great price.

 

[Savage 12BVSS]

Running a 20" bbl so a little different but RL15 and BR-2"s and lapua with 150gr and 165gr accubonds will serve you well. Very accurate and tough construction, tip stays good in magazines compared to paritions which I used for over 20 years until AB's showed up. 165gr a better choice for moose IMHO, mine dropped to one shot facing me and went to the rear hindquarter. Good Shooting.

 

[YZ-80]

So far, I'm getting really good shooting out of the Delta 5 20" bbl., with 42 grains of Varget @ 2,550 FPS. This is with a 168 ELD-M. I'm told that this bullet is devastating on game, so I'm inclined to try it. I am also a fan of the Accubond and shoot the 130 in 2 out of 3 of my 6.5s with good results. I may try that too.

 

[Don A Parsons]

And don't under estimate those 180,,, 190 gr semi pointed bullets,,, full release of energy on impact at 87 feet to 200 ++ yards...

Some of us old school 308 dudes still enjoy solid game impacts on furry critters... The sound of the big Pa-Pack Sound is Awesome... Wack Down at its finest...

Yes,,, they aren't the long range bullets that the new generation likes,,, what they lack in distance they make up for in the up close and personal,,, planting the thick skins where they stand is ok in my books...

 

[moa_shooter]

i use 150gr SST with 45.5gr of Tac and get 2885 fps

 

[roadhunter]

For the 180's!

 

[Rick Richard]

168 grainers and 308s are a 'match made in heaven'. I like the AMAX.

 

[KiwiIan]

I'm running 130 TTSX 3,000 fps behind H335. This is out of a 16" barrel (suppressed T3X)

 

[Montana'eer]

I've been playing with a new .308 20" Rem 5-R. Call me old school but I like the 150gr Nosler partitions. If it'll print at 300yds- that would be my ideal mule deer back-up.

I shoot a 7mm mag using 160 partitions and they just never fail me. Maybe not ideal for super long ranges, but honestly I've just not needed anything else. It just flat out works.

 

[byrddog]

I am running a proof 18" 308 suppressed for the same reasons you are. While I have bigger and "better" cartridges to choose from for hunting, I just can't seem to leave that rifle at home. I have run a couple different bullets out of it, some for hunting and some for just shooting. For hunting, I have killed several critters with the 168 Berger Classic Hunter. This bullets has taken 5 Barbary sheep, couple of deer and 2 cow elk. The accuracy is great out of this rifle and a 24" 308 I have. I am not sure if it is bullet design or lower velocities, but I get pass through's like you experienced. All animals have been one shot kills and the furthest that bullet has killed anything for me is 2 ewe barbary sheep at 425 yards. I felt like it should be getting more (faster) expansion, so after this years hunts, I used a meplat trimming tool that also opens the hollow point up a bit to see if I can get the bullet to expand a little faster. I bought it years ago from Montour County rifles for an f class rifle but never really used it. If all works out well, I will draw some tags and test them out this fall. My load is 43.5 grains of Varget in lapua brass at 2630 fps. This load holds around half MOA out to 600 yards. My self imposed limit for this combination hunting is 500 yards.

I have shot the 152 Hammer hunter bullet but only at paper. I like the way it looks, hear good things about it, but have not shot any animals with them yet. I could get them to 2900 fps out of the 18" barrel but hovered around 3/4 moa. I hear seating depth doesn't really matter, but I think it would be worthy of a seating depth test to see if I could tighten up the group. This bullet shot better groups for me around 2800-2830 fps. I may explore this bullet more in the future.