Novice: 308W to 600 yds...

[WildRose]

I'll try the SST first.....

But how is this bullet on deer 100 +/- yds....will it hold up?

Do folks make 2 loads one for inside 300 and one outside up to 600 yds in my scenario?

I've shot many pounds of hornady bullets and I've always had good performance from them.

I have always had fantastic luck with the interbond, interlock, and the few SST's I've used.

On very think skinned game at long range they won't expand much, but then things like rabbits, coyotes, and bobcats don't require that much.

The problem comes with heavy bodied, heavy boned game where good expansion is essential and they have done very well for me there even on hogs.

One thing Nosler does on their site that I wish hornady did is to show the expansion at various velocities for all of their bullets.

The biggest problem I see with the VLD HP's is that at sub 500yd ranges where velocities can easily still be 1,500 fps or higher those bullets will shell out when they hit something hard/thick.

That's not an issue though with the .308 with most loads beyond 350yds.

 

[WildRose]

I appreciate this info..

I'll try the 165gr SST first with Varget, then IMR 4064 and see what kind of results I'm getting... I like the price @ Midway USA

If the results are less than stellar,...I'll try the 168gr NBT next.

Looks like I'll be having some fun real soon working up loads...Thank you everybody and I'll report back with my findings!

I really appreciate the help and easy-going attitudes here... Because of you all...I'm calling it home...thanks again! I'm stoked!!!

If you are going to try the Nosler ballistic tips get the "Hunting Ballistic Tip". The regular BT's are essentially a thin skinned varmint bullet that is intended to shell out on impact.

 

[bajaaa]

BTW...

I have several 30-06 rifles needing a good 30 cal bullet... wouldn't this 165gr SST be awesome as well?....I got 8 lbs. of IMR 4350 for the -06...

I was going to load Win 150gr PP but it seems the Hornady SST is a good bullet in terms of quality-control...

 

[WildRose]

BTW...

I have several 30-06 rifles needing a good 30 cal bullet... wouldn't this 165gr SST be awesome as well?....I got 8 lbs. of IMR 4350 for the -06...

I was going to load Win 150gr PP but it seems the Hornady SST is a good bullet in terms of quality-control...

Unless you are planning on hunting a big bear, I'd stick with the 165-180's and lean towards the 180's.

There are some phenomenal bullets like the scirrocco 180gr that would be great in your 06.

 

[bajaaa]

I've shot many pounds of hornady bullets and I've always had good performance from them.

I have always had fantastic luck with the interbond, interlock, and the few SST's I've used.

On very think skinned game at long range they won't expand much, but then things like rabbits, coyotes, and bobcats don't require that much.

The problem comes with heavy bodied, heavy boned game where good expansion is essential and they have done very well for me there even on hogs.

One thing Nosler does on their site that I wish hornady did is to show the expansion at various velocities for all of their bullets.

The biggest problem I see with the VLD HP's is that at sub 500yd ranges where velocities can easily still be 1,500 fps or higher those bullets will shell out when they hit something hard/thick.

That's not an issue though with the .308 with most loads beyond 350yds.

This is very reassuring thanks!!!!

If you are going to try the Nosler ballistic tips get the "Hunting Ballistic Tip". The regular BT's are essentially a thin skinned varmint bullet that is intended to shell out on impact.

Okay but I'm hoping I can get the Hornadys to shoot in my rifle...if not I'll try the 168gr Hunting Ballistic-Tip!!! Right-on!!!gun)

 

[bajaaa]

Unless you are planning on hunting a big bear, I'd stick with the 165-180's and lean towards the 180's.

There are some phenomenal bullets like the scirrocco 180gr that would be great in your 06.

Only hunting deer...no bears in Hawaii yet my friend

 

[WildRose]

This is very reassuring thanks!!!!









Okay but I'm hoping I can get the Hornadys to shoot in my rifle...if not I'll try the 168gr Hunting Ballistic-Tip!!! Right-on!!!gun)

I shot a boatload of BT's BEFORE I went to the hornady's. I found so many of the NBT's blown apart retained inside the body cavity I quit but, that was before they came out with the hunting BT's.

The Interlock and Interbond however never let me down and I'm starting to really like the SST's as well but I haven't had as much experience with them.

I plan to shoot a couple of hundred of them out of my .260 this year and I'll let you know how they do.

If you compare bullet to bullet weight to weight though the scirocco's pretty much demolish the rest by .50-.100 on the BC's.

 

[WildRose]

Only hunting deer...no bears in Hawaii yet my friend

You also have some really good pig hunting there as well and for them you really want a bullet with a heavier construction than the NBT's.

Even pushing 140gr BT's at over 3000fps (7mm mag) at 400yds on big hogs sometimes they barely got into the body cavity before blowing up and I had a few run a very long way with a perfect shot to the heart/lung area as a result.

I had several of them at longer range on deer that penetrated one shoulder, through the cavity and buried up in the opposite shoulder.

If they fall flat dead that's ok, but if they run, and many will, they don't bleed much and can really be difficult to track.

 

[bajaaa]

The Interlock and Interbond however never let me down and I'm starting to really like the SST's as well but I haven't had as much experience with them.

I plan to shoot a couple of hundred of them out of my .260 this year and I'll let you know how they do.

If you compare bullet to bullet weight to weight though the scirocco's pretty much demolish the rest by .50-.100 on the BC's.

+1 on the Hornadys...I knew a guy while back that liked them a lot for pigs and deer...

I'm more than willing to give them a try...price is right!

You also have some really good pig hunting there as well and for them you really want a bullet with a heavier construction than the NBT's.

Yep, really good pig hunting.... and in my 30-06's I've always used Winchester 150gr PP factory ammo with fantastic results inside of 300 yds and up close!

In fact, I'm a firm believer of that round for type of hunting I do with the 30-06 for deer and pigs... but they just don't look as PRETTY as the Hornady SST,,,,hehehehe

But I'm willing to see how the Hornady 165gr SST measures up in BOTH calibers...

Between the two of us we should get some interesting results over time!

I'll keep you posted as well...gun)

 

[WildRose]

+1 on the Hornadys...I knew a guy while back that liked them a lot for pigs and deer...

I'm more than willing to give them a try...price is right!









Yep, really good pig hunting.... and in my 30-06's I've always used Winchester 150gr PP factory ammo with fantastic results inside of 300 yds and up close!

In fact, I'm a firm believer of that round for type of hunting I do with the 30-06 for deer and pigs... but they just don't look as PRETTY as the Hornady SST,,,,hehehehe

But I'm willing to see how the Hornady 165gr SST measures up in BOTH calibers...

Between the two of us we should get some interesting results over time!

I'll keep you posted as well...gun)

Well I bought several boxes of factory ammo to tryin the .260 because it's accuracy gurantee is based on .5moa or less with factory loads.

WHen I find the one it likes I'll do like you and try to duplicate it.

From everything I've read though along with personal experiences of others I expect it's going to give me the best of all worlds with the 130gr scirroccos.

If they do I'll start with a couple of hundred of them custom loaded by Mark Hostettler at Precision Firearms in MD since he's doing some custom 6.8's for me with the 100gr accubond.

WHen I burn through those I'll start tinkering with reloading because by then I'll have around 300 once fired brass. He uses all Lapua Brass too so it's a hell of a deal at about 1.00 pr/rd.

 

[bajaaa]

Good luck!!!

And dang that's a good buy

 

[diriel]

-- HITS calculator - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

-- Look at the recommended minimum velocity. For the 165gr SST at an average velocity of 2650 hornady would actually be recommending this round for no more than 300 yards based on the minimum velocity. I am not saying that they do not work well at 1800 fps, just pointing out what Hornady themselves reccomend.

-- Ballistic Tip - Nosler - Bullets, Ammunition, Rifles, Brass, Reloading Data, Hunting, Shooting, Reloading, Load Data

-- now look at the 168gr hunting ballistic tip and what nosler says about this series of bullets. By the "Books" you now have a 500 yard round at the same starting velocity.

-- The velocity / energy / range data is from JBM. I could continue on, but what it amounts to is research is your friend. I personally like the 130gr TTSX and 150gr TTSX in .308 from barnes using IMR8208XBR powder, Win LR primers, Win Cases. For me these have been a truly great duo of .308 loads. Of course I live in California where I MUST use all copper bullets... but I must admit they have performed excellently!

Have a good one,
Gary

 

[WildRose]

-- HITS calculator - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

-- Look at the recommended minimum velocity. For the 165gr SST at an average velocity of 2650 hornady would actually be recommending this round for no more than 300 yards based on the minimum velocity. I am not saying that they do not work well at 1800 fps, just pointing out what Hornady themselves reccomend.

-- Ballistic Tip - Nosler - Bullets, Ammunition, Rifles, Brass, Reloading Data, Hunting, Shooting, Reloading, Load Data

-- now look at the 168gr hunting ballistic tip and what nosler says about this series of bullets. By the "Books" you now have a 500 yard round at the same starting velocity.

-- The velocity / energy / range data is from JBM. I could continue on, but what it amounts to is research is your friend. I personally like the 130gr TTSX and 150gr TTSX in .308 from barnes using IMR8208XBR powder, Win LR primers, Win Cases. For me these have been a truly great duo of .308 loads. Of course I live in California where I MUST use all copper bullets... but I must admit they have performed excellently!

Have a good one,
Gary

You might want to read that again. That speed recommendation is for maximum expansion at the terminal end.

With things we eat we are not wanting maximum expansion, we are wanting controlled expansion and through and through one shot kills vs bullets that break up on impact.

I've seen far too many of the NBT's break up on impact messing up a hell of a lot of meat, not exiting the body, and animals then running off a good long ways to die with hits that should have planted them like turnips.

I've never had the same problem from the Interlock or Interbonds.

 

[diriel]

@WildRose,

Do not get me wrong sir, I completely quit using Nosler products a few years back. What I meant was that solid research would be a good idea. Now days I use Sierra, Hornady, Barnes, Lapua, Speer, and Berger bullets. For primers I use either Winchester or Tula / Wolf - Russian primers. Brass wise I use mostly Winchester if I can. For powder Alliant, IMR, and Hodgdon are my go-to.

-- JBM - Calculations
JBM is a great research tool.

-- http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp
Hodgdons online Reloading information is also real nice.

The nice thing about a 308 is that it is so very easy to find a real good shooting load.

For economy I would probably use either the Hornady that WR has mentioned, or the Speer DeepCurl, Win brass, Win LR primers, and Either IMR8208XBR, or ARComp powder.

Then again, with a 308 there are a heck of a lot of real good combinations that will absolutely get the job done.

Good Shooting,
Gary