Improving the 308 Win performance

[Mark37082]

There are better tools for the long range speed junkies than the old stand by 308win, but many 308 shooters enjoy squeezing good performance out of their rifle. It is still an absolute pleasure to shoot and will put a whitetail down with adequate authority at most any ranges I encounter in the southeast. It is near the top of the list for me when just going to the range for some economical practice and fun shooting. Maybe the 6.5CM would be just as practical, but if you have a large supply of components for the 308, why change to another boringly practical rifle. Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[h_1ag]

It's called first world problems...Highly doubt 97% of the folks on here are doing any of this type of thing as a sole means to provide for their families for real...If they were, ammo/components would be greatly reserved and doubt "long range" would be the way it was harvested. Instead most would make "long movements" to ensure they were going to put meat in da pot with every shot.

I didn't choose my words very carefully there- sub "empty their bank account" for "choose to invest your hobby budget in."

 

[xsn10s]

The title of the thread "Improving the 308 Win performance". We're talking about changing one component, the bullet, to increase the cartridge component. Not buying a new rifle, ammunition components, dies, ete to increase performance. Big difference in cost there.

 

[DoneNOut]

The 308 is my warm & fuzzy familiar cartridge. I have a good time lobbing 168Amax on an IPSC plate at 600-800yds. 2650fps 20" rig. I can see the trace or bullet glint in the scope most times. It's a riot. I could also put a bullet through a hogs eye at 300yds.

I have a backyard Hilljacks FTR ish rig I built with 30" barrel. 200.20X 2600-2650 should be awesome!

I wouldn't delude myself nor do a stupid thing like take a 308 to do 900yd elk shots. 300WM for that. In fact, I've often times contemplated just running a 24" 300WM for do all rifle. Shooting a 166-180gr Hammer bullet I could do anything with it!

 

[xsn10s]

A good time to compare BC's.

 

[JAYgs8163]

I guess people can't just rap their head around that many of us just like shooting the 308 and how affordable it is to shoot. It has a following and this thread again is dedicated to improving the performance of the 308 Winchester. If you don't want to contribute to what the thread is about then just move on and stop trying to start a argument. Jeeezus people read the title of the thread.

 

[nralifer]

You can't compare a handloaded .308 to .30-06 factory pudloads. It's irrelevant. Ive seen a few different factory .300 WM loads barely scrap by 06 levels with 150's. Actually comparing apples to apples, the .308 is still going to be more limited compared to its bigger brothers. You can't change that simple fact. My only point with the drag of the bullet is that a you would reach better efficiency if you chose a necked down counterpart that would have less drag and better ballistics which would translate to better down range numbers. I should've been a bit more clear on that.

Ok, but when you neck down a case you've changed the caliber so it's no longer a 308. The 308 Win is inherently more efficient at imparting more energy per grain of powder. All of this arguing is irrelevant to the point of the thread. We are here to improve the performance of the 308Win per se. Not arguing what cartridge is better or worse. The fact is that the 308Win performance can be improved considerably from SAAMI especially with SRP brass and use of longer intermediate length actions. If you don't like the 308Win then ignore this thread. If you have one then there is information that will significantly improve its performance. That's it. The '06 performance can be improved in similar ways as well.

 

[VinceMule]

I have multiple customs 308s in various twists, when I want to improve on them, I drop down to a 6.5 or 7mm caliber where G1=BCs are in the medium to high .600s and even into the .720s!

I stick with the 308 due to how easy it is on barrel life with dot size group accuracy with the 169g Sierra MK, and hunting with the 168g Nosler LRAB.

This platform has 6 barrels in 4 calibers, three of which are 308s in 10"-14" twists.

It is all too obvious that a crappy BC kills impact velocity, and .120 additional BC is a heck of a thing to actually witness on the effect of steel plates hung by a single pivot at the top. I suspect that impact velocity has a direct correlation to the terminal effect or the size of a temporary wound channel created by the bullet.

Playing with different calibers on the same rifle by just switching barrels makes shooting much more affordable, and easy also right at the rifle range with a barrel vise and C Clamps used on the shooting bench.

I shoot often, so having a quantity of affordable bullets of the same lot # is a must-have.

We hunt fields, clear cuts, gas lines, and power lines usually sitting attached to a tree, but my longest shot has been 550 yards. If deer run 200 yards, they may be lost, especially late in the afternoon because deer often walk in circles and meander prior to them falling over. Better make that first shot a good hit or do not pull the trigger. The family has found that the 155g Berger VLD Hunting, 168g VLD Hunting, and the 168g Nosler long range accubond bullets put great terminal effect on deer, and we want to see some damage.

So, when I think of improving a 308 Winchester, I think of bullets that put animals on the ground RIGHT NOW with some BC that will improve terminal effect at the outer range of the limits we shoot.

My 308 switch barrel platform includes 3-308s, 1-7/08, 1-260 Rem, and 1-6.5x47 Lapua.
At 800 yards, the 7/08 with a 162 ELDM(R#19) hits like a mack truck, and I can not emphasize this enough! I put a Wyatt's mag box in the Rem short action that added .125 OAL, cheap upgrade.

 

[Ernie]

I'm mostly just confused at this strange intersection of fuddery and ballistic science where guys are building very expensive custom rifles with +30" barrels, finely tuned hand loads, etc…. And then chambering it in a weak/small fudd cartridge when there are a dozen+ options that are all better for any given task, with the exception being cheap mil surplus ammo you can mag dump through an m14 or ar10.

Your fuddery is probably due to your ignorance of not knowing the shooting disciplines (F-TR).
Not talking about hunting here...Most guys who are mentioning a 30" 308 are probably using it for F-Class comps.
F-TR only allows 2 cartridges to be used...223 Remington and the 308 Winchester. For 600 and under the 223 is used quite often for obvious reasons. Most use the 308 for 6-1K though.
They are heavy rifles, but they cannot weigh much over 18 pounds, including the Bi-Pod. You cannot use a front rest.

 

[xsn10s]

why would anyone even want a 308 or 30-06? Well during tough times you'll have the highest probability finding ammo for it. Example? the recent pandemic lol.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I built a custom rig in .308Win because I wanted a rifle that shot well day in and day out. You know - one that is boringly accurate. I also wanted a rifle that I could shoot OFTEN without the barrel going into the crapper in 1,000 rounds. My .308 meet that goal.

2,000 rounds later and the rifle shoots slightly better than when it was new.

 

[Ernie]

One of my Fuddery 3-O-Wait's
Since you were not pleased with 30 inch 308 Winchester's, here's my sub 16 inch.
Last spring while I was doing drop confirmations. The steel on the left is 10 inch, and yes that's my first shot at 500 yards.
Impact velocity is 1764 ft./s at 500 yards. That makes this little, specialty pistol (Remington XP-100) capable to kill cleanly with the bullet I am using just shy of 500 yards. Not bad for a 3-O-Late

Dan was doing some load development, getting ready for the Southwest nationals a few years ago. Sebastian was going to be shooting and we were changing bullets. This is a five shot group at 600 yards. Those are 1 inch squares. On one of the shots, Dan called that he made a bad touch on the trigger at the shot.

This is what foolhardy fuddery looks like at 600 yards. Four shots right at an inch at 600 yards, then the pulled shot, still makes it a fairly decent group. Add to that, it was 14° below zero not counting the windchill when he was doing this, so this is what foolhardy fuddery looks like at 600 yards. Four shots right at an inch at 600 yards, then with the pulled shot, still makes it a fairly decent group. Add to that, it was 14° below zero not counting the windchill, when he was doing this, so I might be willing to give Dan a break for not having a perfect trigger squeeze each time.
Dan even dressed up for the occasion

 

[Tac-O]

Most interesting part of this is the use of leverevolution powder

 

[QuietTexan]

Most interesting part of this is the use of leverevolution powder

It's good stuff. There's load data for the 308 Marlin Express, with is basically a semi-rimmed 307 Win, which is basically a rimmed 308 Win.



Side note, I called the troll a stooge and everyone got mad at me I'm gonna go hang out with the Creediots again, they're nicer to my feelers.

Waa sha sha... Pajama Boy!