Understanding the 308 win

[Seymour]

I just traded back for a Remington varmint special chambered in 308. I actually purchased this gun 11 to 12 years ago it was to be my first 308. A friend traded me out of it before it ever fired it. Standing rule was if you get rid of it I want first shot at it, so long story short a decade later I have it back. So now I want to understand what this round is capable of. I don't care if it can kill elk at 1000 yards I just wanna now how other shooters enjoy theirs, like I said this is my first experience with this cartridge and I want to know what it's capable of.

I'm a reloader don't plane on running factor ammo. Basically trying to figure out is the 308 worth any effort or rebarrel to something else.

Thanks for any input as fair as use goes Texas white tails and hogs at what ever distances it's capable of shooting for that type of game.

 

[MudRunner2005]

First, that's the right attitude to have towards a cartridge. Most folks go into a cartridge expecting this or that, or something they once read on the internet. Second, barrel life will be nearly infinite. Third, you will enjoy the .308 Win, as long as you have a good barrel in that rifle.

It gets underestimated these days with all the CreedWhore craze, but it's still the original LR target badass.

Get a box of Lapua brass. Get a box of Berger 180 Elite Hunter bullets. Get some Varget powder, and Federal 210M or CCI BR2 primers. Start around 40gr of powder and work up your load to pressure. Nearing the top-end of the pressure spectrum, you should find a very accurate load. This will be a good starting point.

 

[Hand Skills]

Witnessed skunks do acrobatics like a P.dog a couple of times. 180gr bullet At 15-20yrds. Spectacular!

 

[Seymour]

Wow!! Y'all are running 180 gr bullets in this cartridge? That's awesome kinda fits in to what I enjoy heavy for caliber bullets. Thanks for the info!

 

[Bucklowery]

My 20" sps tactical loves the 168 a max and I use it for whatever shows up. Mostly deer and hogs in Florida. White tails in Kansas a couple times. I am around 2525 FPS with varget 43.5. I am sub .5 at 100 yards. This is a factory barrel. The bullet performs well out past 600. It has been a great caliber and lots of fun. Tons of data on it and wind data. You can reload the 110 -220gr pills for anything you want to tackle

Thanks

Buck

 

[Tangent]

I shoot cheap factory 175 smk ammo from my 20" 308 out to 1,000 yards. I've never hunted with mine but recently have been thinking "why not".

 

[Mustang72]

Great all around round for hunting and target shooting. I like the 165-180 grain in mine. Killed a ton of pigs with 150 and up. I like it enough that I have 3 of them!

 

[Holycity73]

All joking aside, the 308 is the only true do-all imho.
I have several 6.5, 7mm, .25 etc, but here are 3 of my 308 rifles. Ain't much they can't do.

 

[Holycity73]

I've taken deer, hogs and coyotes with them. Shot steel out to 1k with ease.
I was a 308. Shooter well before I ever heard of a creedmoor. You've got a great rifle for anything nature can throw at you.
Have fun with it and remember, without constant training, all you have is a rifle.

 

[Frog4aday]

The .308 Win is such a great cartridge. Tolerable recoil. Tons of bullet options. Tons of factory ammo options. Seemingly unlimited reloading components available. Can load light bullets for varmints, middle weights for deer/antelope/hogs, and heavy for elk/moose. Then there are the target (high BC) bullets for when you want to try hitting something at 1000 yards, just for giggles. Very versatile.

I've used the .308 Win for hogs, deer, and a buffalo and it worked fine in all cases. It is a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. That works for me. Glad you got "your" rifle back after all this time. Give us a shooting report once you get it out to sight in.

 

[Dosh]

All good to hear about how great the.308 is. I just won a Remington Varmint in .308 and was wondering if I sell it or shoot it. For a $20 ticket think I'll shoot it. Bought 100 pieces of Lapua brass today and looking at Mudrunner's Bergers to load.

 

[Recon$$]

175 smks will do work out to 1000.

 

[Seymour]

Thank y'all for all the info. Im gonna run with the advice given and try it out. I'm sure at some point I'll be asking more questions about it. Again thank y'all for the info.

 

[Code4]

Took my CZ550 .308W to Africa. 42.6 grains of Varget under a 165 Woodleigh took everything up to Zebra and Wildebeast in size. A union made in heaven IMHO. Youtube