Is the .308 Win 7.62 X 51 still a Long Range Hunting Cartridge?

[liber]

How we went from .308 Win being the Sniper Round at 1000 yards to bows and arrows at 80 yards astounds me?

I thought we're shooting hot dogs?

I think how it happened was 308 for deer, to 30-30 lobbing at deer, to me saying how lobbing arrows kinda shun'd me away...

Carry on.

 

[cajun]

The problem the 30 cal has is the high bc bullets needed for long range are heavy for caliber and the 308 case doesn't hold enough powder to push them fast enough.

 

[Lee Goodwin]

How we went from .308 Win being the Sniper Round at 1000 yards to bows and arrows at 80 yards astounds me?

Rocks at 10 yards are next.

 

[h_1ag]

The problem the 30 cal has is the high bc bullets needed for long range are heavy for caliber and the 308 case doesn't hold enough powder to push them fast enough.

Further: In terms of long range, .308 may not even be among the top three cartridges that use that case. 7mm-08, .260Rem and .243 are all able to send more aerodynamic (higher BC) bullets disproportionally faster without doing anything special with throats and super high pressure hand loads.

 

[William W.]

Further: In terms of long range, .308 may not even be among the top three cartridges that use that case. 7mm-08, .260Rem and .243 are all able to send more aerodynamic (higher BC) bullets disproportionally faster without doing anything special with throats and super high pressure hand loads.

With respect to "high BC bullets", I am partial to Nosler seconds of 180-grain Boat Tail and Accubond in my 308. This deer was taken at about 65/70-yards with an utterly steady bone-on-bone supported high-shoulder aim, which an intervening invisible twig turned into a low stomach shot and still a mercifully quick bleed-out thanks to the built-in bullet expansion and its bulk having been resistant to further deflection. How many "long range" shots are twig-free? Without trying to be a deliberate jerk, I am a long-range target fan, but wonder how many long-range shots on game animals such as elk and mountain sheep/goats turn out to be un-talked-about woundings of quarry that are never found after a few blood splatters. With my pathetic public land local deer hunts that run a thousand dollars or more for my hunting buddy and me, I fully understand the pressure to take a chancy long shot when just the license fee costs more than our complete hunt. I have never done long range hunting, and after age dimmed my dreams of Africa, it would seem that after I had enjoyed the SPORT of the stalk, and I had achieved a good shot opportunity, I would want the dead-nuts certainty of a clean DRT EXECUTION-style kill with a round using over 60-grains of powder and a bullet weight of 190-grains or so.

 

[h_1ag]

With respect to "high BC bullets", I am partial to Nosler seconds of 180-grain Boat Tail and Accubond in my 308. This deer was taken at about 65/70-yards with an utterly steady bone-on-bone supported high-shoulder aim, which an intervening invisible twig turned into a low stomach shot and still a mercifully quick bleed-out thanks to the built-in bullet expansion and its bulk having been resistant to further deflection. How many "long range" shots are twig-free? Without trying to be a deliberate jerk, I am a long-range target fan, but wonder how many long-range shots on game animals such as elk and mountain sheep/goats turn out to be un-talked-about woundings of quarry that are never found after a few blood splatters. With my pathetic public land local deer hunts that run a thousand dollars or more for my hunting buddy and me, I fully understand the pressure to take a chancy long shot when just the license fee costs more than our complete hunt. I have never done long range hunting, and after age dimmed my dreams of Africa, it would seem that after I had enjoyed the SPORT of the stalk, and I had achieved a good shot opportunity, I would want the dead-nuts certainty of a clean DRT EXECUTION-style kill with a round using over 60-grains of powder and a bullet weight of 190-grains or so.

Well (also not trying to be a jerk)… this is a forum called "long range hunting." It's certainly got unique challenges and it's not for everyone. I spend more time behind my bow than my rifle, but I can still respect the skill and get fulfillment from hunting at long range, where available. If you don't feel confident in your equipment or skills it's best not to take the shot and maybe train on varmints.
I'm sure a 180gr Accubond is devasting in whitetails at sub-100 yards. I've taken enough with a .308 to know what it's capable of. And what it's not. For shooting beyond 500 there are many other cartridges that offer better external and terminal ballistics.

 

[William W.]

Well (also not trying to be a jerk)… this is a forum called "long range hunting." It's certainly got unique challenges and it's not for everyone. I spend more time behind my bow than my rifle, but I can still respect the skill and get fulfillment from hunting at long range, where available. If you don't feel confident in your equipment or skills it's best not to take the shot and maybe train on varmints.
I'm sure a 180gr Accubond is devasting in whitetails at sub-100 yards. I've taken enough with a .308 to know what it's capable of. And what it's not. For shooting beyond 500 there are many other cartridges that offer better external and terminal ballistics.

Thank you for confirming my point (respectfully directed at the post preceding it) which optimistically talked about the high BC's of bullets from a 7-08, a 260 and even a 243 in lieu of a 308, which is confirmed by your post about "many other cartridges which offer better external and terminal ballistics". FYI, as far as long range is considered, I have shot the 1,000-yard matches with a 308 with iron sights at Camp Perry and "know what it is capable of". Oh, and if I wanted a flat-shooting 30 caliber rifle for prairie dogs, I would use one of my 300 Norma Magnum's!

 

[Turpentine21]

There was a time when I would only hunt with a longbow or recurve. An accident put a serious damper on that. I don't climb anymore. I'm more of a whitetail and hog shooter/hunter with a unique situation. We have a deer and hog problem and I do depredation for both on roughly 4000 acres of farmland for farmers. Most of this is done with thermal using 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 CM and 7.62 x51 gas guns but I limit shots with thermal to 450-500 yards. It can be difficult to get an accurate range at night. My next thermal will have LRF capability. Grendel, CM or x51 works very well for this as long as I have the correct range but the CM is a hair more forgiving at the longer distances.
For daytime. I get a lot of shot opportunities on animals at up to 900 yards and use 308 and 6.5-06 bolt guns set up for long range. I set up on the larger fields much like a varmint hunter would with shooting table, rangefinder, front rest and rear squeeze bag. I can't do prone because of my accident. In some situations I'll use a Bog Pod Death grip tripod. It works well to more moderate distances for me. For shots out to 650-700 I will use the 308 with 168 eldm (BC .523) running 2740. It does the job just fine as long as I have the right range. Having that right range is the critical factor. A 110 pound deer, much like an antelope I would think, does not have a large vertical window to get the bullet into the vitals. Lately, I find myself reaching more often for the 6.5-06. Especially where shot opportunities are likely to be at 500 and above or out to 900. It shoots a 147 eldm with a BC of .696 or thereabouts at 2936 fps. It's not that the 308 won't do the job. It will. But the 6.5-06 with that velocity and slick bullet sure make the job a whole lot easier. There are a whole lot of calibers, new and old, that would be more forgiving than the 308. But the 308 is capable.

If elk were involved, and I'm sure they never will be for me, bullet choice for the 308 would become more critical and max distance would come down. I know my 6.5-06 or 270 could do the the job at fairly long ranges. But I know me all to well. I'd likely lean toward the 7mm REM Mag or more likely the 300WM with honorable mention going to 300WSM.