Deer Hunting with a .308 win?

[Charlie-NY]

Geez, if the 308Win is not enough for deer, someone ought to tell all the deer I've killed with my 30-30Win that they aren't really dead! It's amazing how much tougher whitetails have evolved over the past 50-60yrs. It's really a great example of time compressed evolution. Used to be that a whitetail could be killed by a 243, 257, 30-30, and even some really slow stuff, like the 38-40 and 44-40. But now, it takes nearly a howitzer to get them down

I hope you guys realize that I was just joking about the 30-378 and 75yds shots on rhino-tough whitetails. :roll:

Actually, I'm in the process of having a new "go to" rifle built. Guess what it is being chamber in; yup - that anemic .308 Win which I mentioned in my previous post.

I own several sonic booming magnums and have decided that its time to get back to shooting a few of the less intense cartridges that have been doing the job for decades.

 

[TScottW99]

Sorry, looking through old posts and found this.

I have been using a .308Win for about four years now. Zero problems with deer. The furthest ran 40 yards.

Before I picked up the .308Win I killed dozens of deer with a 30-30Win and a good many with a .303British. Those must be really lame :wink:

Some people need the word magnum to think it can actually perform. I have heard numerous people at gun shops and ranges talk down on anything without a belt. I also watch a good many of the same guys flinch bigger then all get out :lol: at the range.

To each their own.

 

[Black-tailed bandit]

Circa 1930.s out here in Oregon according to the old timers 30-30 for deer and 300 Savage for elk, that '06 was way too much gun. As far as "Magnums" go I own one shoots 1 5/8 groups at 200 yards, oh yeah its a 350 RM! "perfect" round for deer 7mm Mauser or 7mm08, Works good on elk too jut ask my sister, she got a nice cow @300+ yards, two shot, just inches apart, but was dead on the first. If you need a long range "wiz-bang" get closer, its HUNTING not SHOOTING!
BTW the old '06 is my go to gun my self.
BT

 

[tjen]

What a lot of people forget is no cartridge kills game its the bullet that does. For instance a 180gr 308 cal bullet hitting a deer at 2000 fps will kill a deer regaurdless if it was shoot for a 30-30, 300sav, 308 win, or any 300 mag. The effective distance or maximum range will change but not its killing power.

Thats why a 600 lb black bear hit with a 150gr 7mm bullet going 2000 fps will be just as dead no matter if it was shot from a 7mm08 or a 7mm rem mag. So I just laugh when someone askes "for shoots under 200 yards will my 308win work" and the answers come like no you need a 300mag for that game animal.

What will help most new hunters who won't be shooting over 100 yards let alone 200 yards is a better handling rifle (lighter, quicker, shorter) for med to close range not a long heavy rilfe with a 24-26" barrel named MAGNIUM.

 

[gldprimr]

I'm regularly asked by folks new to the deer hunting game here in MS what I'd recommend and I always say 308 to those who don't reload.

It's accurate, recoil isn't bad and you can get ammo everywhere here for it....and let's face it, a deer isn't that hard to kill !!!

 

[Guest]

I started out hunting and killing Deer when i was 14 with my 30-30....never had any problems!.....Then i picked up a 7mm Rem. Mag. I use 150 Gr. Nosler Ball. Tips......Very accurate in that rifle........Shot and killed many deer......Leaves a mess if i take shoulder shots.....Lot of power for deer sized game at Wisconsin Whitetail ranges........Ended up downsizing.......Guess what cartridge i picked ......yes the so called wimpy .308.......Deadly accurate.....I use a 168 Gr. Hornady A-max......2746 ft./sec. fast enough and enough knock down power for any Deer!

 

[FOTIS]

Guess those hundred or so deer my son and I killed with a 7BR Rem and a 308x1.5 Barnes weren't as dead as we thought they were. Didn't seem to mind being skinned and gutted though.Rick.

Nope they were not dead! :lol:

 

[Txhntr]

I think it comes down to what we in Texas call the “Bubba factor” If your pistol is not a 44mag and your deer rifle is not a 300 win mag, well its just too small. The sad fact is I know people who really believe “Hit’em with a Win Mag and they are going down” they just have no concept of shot placement, because of the false sense that if it can kill a moose, a white tail has no chance

Lets fact it, while our deer here in Texas have some nice racks, they just aint that big compared to you northern boys. My kids from about the age 6 to 12 use a .223 ……Gasp!!!! Never once have we lost a deer. Part of the reason is the virtually no recoil on the .223. They can concentrate on aiming, not worrying about the recoil. Do I let them take 300yd shots, no, we go out to the range before season, what ever distance they can consistently put 5 shots in a 6 inch circle, is the distance they can shoot that year. After 12 I move them up to a .243 with 95g BST loads, by this time they have had hundred if not thousands of rounds down range and into fur from the .223.

I personally use a .270 and I will admit for our deer it is overkill, but is just my favorite. My dad has killed more deer that I could ever count with his .243 and many at ranges up to 400 yds. In our part of the state, you rarely find spot where you can shoot that far. 100 to 200 is the average.

I am doing a antelope hunt in west Texas in 08, and as much as I love my 270, the 308 will be my weapon of choice, the main reason is I know where that gun will shoot at any range out to 1000 yds. I have shot it out to 1000 yds, with OK success but have set 600 as my limit. If the 5 shot group rule applies for my kids it should apply to me, and I cant do it under hunting conditions ( Bipod and small sand bag ) much past that, and I don’t think I will be hunting from a bench :grin:

 

[Guy Miner]

Txhntr - I like your attitude and thoughts. Best of luck on your upcoming hunt!

I've got to get down to Texas some day for some of that famous whitetail hunting...

Regards, Guy

 

[FOTIS]

...... I shot this 3/4" thick - 8"X16" gong at 525 yards with 155 grain Lapua Scenar .

As long as you do not use that bullet fpr hunting then you're good. Many make that mistake. Because they can hit, they think the bullet will perform. You need a quick expanding accurate bullet out there, especially with the 308's limted velocity potential.

 

[Guest]

That bullet performed well on my Whitetail Buck this year....Small entry and exit hole but did it's job inside ....Just behind the shoulder....Animal only ran 60 yards after being hit.

 

[RemmyTim]

Somebody should tell these guys that they were shot from a .308 and should get back up on thier hooves and run away :grin:

And everybody said I needed a 338 or bigger to kill a Goat :wink:

Tim

 

[Sharpsman]

Hmmmmm.....I believe you heard comments from those that know absolutely squat about marksmanship or how to load!!

Not unusual this day and time....because most young folks feel like one needs to be shooting nothing less than a bullet that goes at the speed of light!!

If more people shot .308 Wins and learned marksmanship....they'd be a helluva lot more game taken!!

 

[FOTIS]

Somebody should tell these guys that they were shot from a .308 and should get back up on thier hooves and run away :grin:

And everybody said I needed a 338 or bigger to kill a Goat :wink:



Tim

The problem is these guys are not dead enough! :twisted: :lol:

 

[SakoSteve270wsm]

Well there is dead and then there is dead,the 308 just doesn't make then dead ENOUGH

 

[longwinters]

Ah, the 308 thread rises again like the Phoenix from the ashes :lol: . This is one of those calibers that will never die. Glad I have one that shoots as good as it looks. But I don't have any animals of the caliber shown in those pics.

Long

 

[Sharpsman]

Here's a bull that didn't know whether he was hit with a .308 Win or from a .45/110! I poped him slightly behind the right front shoulder with a 150 gr. Nosler BT backed with 47 grs. Varget and he took two steps and hit on his nose!! Damn little pipsqueak cartridge! Guess I'll have to opt for something bigger in the future!!
:?

NOTE:

In my initial posting I typed the WRONG BULLET!! I had tried a different brand but they didn't shoot up to my expectation so I went back to the bullet of 'old'; the Nosler BT!!

 

[Guy Miner]

Sharpsman - you know you can't kill an elk with a little old 150 grainer out of a mere .308 Winchester! :grin: Now you just quit funnin' us and show us the buffalo gun you really used! :wink:

 

[Sharpsman]

I can't count...the bucks I've killed over 56 years of hunting whitetails and mule deer using the 'pipsqueak cartidge'! I started out using the ole worn out 30/06....and then after the advent of the .308 Win....I caught fire on it! With the right bullet and the right marksmanship....it'll do everything the ole '06 will do!

That's my opinion....and I'm stickin to it!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YA!!

 

[JD338]

Sharpsman and RemmyTim,

Nice trophies, congratulations.

JD338