Help choosing bullets for .308

[Redmt]

Power to kill is pretty much determined by placement!

I've said that for years and years. Reference David and Goliath for scientific support.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I generally keep things to myself, but I'm going to go ahead and say that I find it a little irritated how practically every discussion about bullets and their performance winds up with dismissive comments about "shot placement is everything", etc. Nobody denies that shot placement is the most important aspect of putting down a game animal, but most of us have also seen a deer run a quarter mile before going down and leave very little blood because the bullet that went through both lungs just pencilled through, ie. no expansion. Or the opposite, have a shoulder blown out with lead and copper fragments all in the remaining meat. When you get down to it, finding that balance and one's preference within that spectrum is what conversations like this are really about.

So, yes, shot placement is the most important thing, as has been established 1000 times, but what a bullet does or doesn't do on the receiving end is also worth discussing.

 

[22swiftmg]

Excellent bullet. I’ve Been reloading 150 TTSX for my 3006 Going on 10 years now. Tried other bullet manufacturers because other hunters swore by them. Now they are swearing by the TTSX.

Hi there, I have a Howa .308, and I'm looking for recommendations for bullets that are good for deer and elk. I've hunted a lot, but I have to admit that I've understood very little about the differences in available cartridges and brands. I want to change from what I have used and try something new this year.

Until now, I've used Hornady Superformance 168 grain ELD Match bullets. I've taken a lot of deer with them, but I've noticed that the bullets fragment badly, and sometimes they don't pass through the animal even at very close range. They just make a huge hole and a mess. On one deer, the first bullet didn't kill it. I made a second shot at the back of the neck from 30 yards, and it literally ricocheted off and the bones and didn't even pass through at that close range.

Anyway, I'd like recommendations for something else. I'm open to any and all educational tips you can give me. I'm also interested in possibly going for non-toxic/non-lead bullets. Given that it's kind of hard to find ammunition, I want to start looking for some soon.View attachment 213091

I use the Hornady 165gr super performance

 

[Red-Team 98]

I haven't had a chance to get there yet,,,
My son-in-law has been working on long range precision loads for his 6.5.. His goal is 3" target at 1000yds so I've been his talking research manual.

Well I loaded up a box of 165 CX for my 308 Win
44.0 of Varget
CCI BR2 primers
WW Brass
2.750”

 

[Redmt]

Well I loaded up a box of 165 CX for my 308 Win
44.0 of Varget
CCI BR2 primers
WW Brass
2.750”

Is that a development load or something out of the book? It looks like a decent recipe.

 

[Red-Team 98]

Is that a development load or something out of the book? It looks like a decent recipe.

It’s a combination of what I used from the past with Varget in 308win. The 44.0 is from Hornady Manual. It’s a long bullet the CX. The 45.0 of Varget with 165/168/175 has long been my load with Sierra and Nosler. The 2.750” is from Hornady Manual.
I have used 44.1 with 180gr GS so I think the Hornady suggested load is about 1 grain conservative.

 

[Red-Team 98]

This is my experience as well in 308 with TTSX. I load 160s and they are the most accurate bullet out of my 308. Very effective on deer and elk. The landowner where I hunt likes eagles and asks me to shoot copper. I see no reason to switch back to lead.

They don’t make 160’s

 

[bpeay4]

It appears that just about every 30 cal. bullet has been listed in this thread and each commentator claims that there's is the best for reasons XYZ.

Find a bullet that groups well with your gun and go from there. It is kind of hard to test the lethality of a bullet but most of the mid+ grade bullets will do the trick. Lots of videos on YouTube reviewing bullets and explaining bullet construction and their purposes; neat stuff.

 

[Redmt]

They don’t make 160’s

I'm going to take a guess he's referring to the 160 class of bullet. 165-168 etc.

 

[Nicoli7153]

Consistent hits on a 3 inch target at 1000 is world record territory I think. Good luck with that. mtmuley

137 Hammer as fast as you can push it. mtmuley

Sent you A pm RE: rl25

 

[-dirt-]

Just picked up a .308. this thread is very helpful -- thanks!

 

[Steve O]

Just picked up a .308. this thread is very helpful -- thanks!

Same. I’m interested to hear more about the 125g BT.

 

[Rickt300]

I used a 308 for a lot of hunting. Amazingly I used 180 grain bullets both reloads and factory and never had anything to complain about as far as performance was concerned. In more open country I used 150's for deer and antelope again no problems. I really liked the Hotcor 150 and 180 grain bullets, favorite factory load was the 180 gr. Winchester Power Point. no need to over think it.

 

[RobertD]

I shoot factory ammo. My .308 likes the Nosler Trophy Grade accubonds in 150 grain. I have a few boxes of 165 grain of the same now and am going to play around with them a bit and see if I can tell a difference.