wvbuckbuster
Handloader
- Nov 5, 2015
- 2,683
- 2,403
What is your favorite .308win loads for deer and target-paper punching? Haven't had one in years and bought a Savage 10 fpc to play with. Thanks, Dan.
Favorite .308WIN loads
- Thread starter wvbuckbuster
- Start date
TackDriver284
Handloader
- Feb 13, 2016
- 2,559
- 2,137
165 gr. Ballistic Tips , 44.7 grains of Varget, Lapua brass, Fed. 210M
168 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips, 44.4 grains of Varget, Lapua brass, Fed. 210M
178 gr. ELD-X, 43.1 grains of Varget, Lapua brass, Fed. 210M
Those are best loads after load developments, all shot .25 MOA to .3 MOA @ 300 yards
Start low and work up.
168 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips, 44.4 grains of Varget, Lapua brass, Fed. 210M
178 gr. ELD-X, 43.1 grains of Varget, Lapua brass, Fed. 210M
Those are best loads after load developments, all shot .25 MOA to .3 MOA @ 300 yards
Start low and work up.
leadchucker
Beginner
- Sep 19, 2012
- 214
- 41
varget, fed 210 primers, and 150gr scirrocco II' in my tikka t3.
Gunner46
Handloader
- Jan 12, 2015
- 483
- 4
125 Ballistic Tip, 48.0 gr Varget, Win Std primer. It's a Deer Hammer! Easy to shoot as well.
RL338
Handloader
- Mar 23, 2017
- 3,366
- 5,487
Remington 7400
Hornady 150gr SP 3.170” ogive 43.3gr Varget mix brass
Weatherby S2
Berger 210VLD Hunting 3.121” ogive 42gr BL-C2 Fed. brass
Hornady 208 Amax 3.261” ogive 47gr RL-17 Win. brass
Nosler CC 190 HPBT 3.193” ogive 43.5gr BL-C2 Rem. brass
All with Fed. 210 primers.
Hornady 150gr SP 3.170” ogive 43.3gr Varget mix brass
Weatherby S2
Berger 210VLD Hunting 3.121” ogive 42gr BL-C2 Fed. brass
Hornady 208 Amax 3.261” ogive 47gr RL-17 Win. brass
Nosler CC 190 HPBT 3.193” ogive 43.5gr BL-C2 Rem. brass
All with Fed. 210 primers.
Charlie-NY
Handloader
- Mar 11, 2005
- 1,432
- 887
I've been shooting a custom .308 (hunting) rifle for quite some time. I have fooled around with most new bullets as they came out. Light bullets, heavy bullets, fragile bullets, controlled expansion bullets, you name it. I just enjoy trying new bullets and the .308 is a great platform to do it.
Recently, I decided to try the Barnes 130gr TTSX. Many shooters seem to rave about this bullet in the .308 & 30-06. While it defies the virtues of the high BC craze, I grabbed a couple of boxes and gave them a try. First few loads were less then stellar and I just about lost faith in the bullet until my very last test.
I used a heavy load of Benchmark in a Lapua case with a Fed 210M primer. Velocity was 3,140 ft/sec (not bad for a .308), and they grouped amazingly well at 200yds. I moved over to the 400yd line and fired 2- 3shot groups. Both groups came in at under 1.5" @ 400yds!!
That was all I needed to see. I loaded up a box and went deer hunting. A large bodied 8 point buck came out of a thicket and was walking directly towards me. I took one shot and he folded up so fast that he looked like he was slammed to the ground. I have never seen such a dramatic kill in all the years I've been hunting.
Barnes 130gr TTSX - give it a try, you'll be glad that you did.
Recently, I decided to try the Barnes 130gr TTSX. Many shooters seem to rave about this bullet in the .308 & 30-06. While it defies the virtues of the high BC craze, I grabbed a couple of boxes and gave them a try. First few loads were less then stellar and I just about lost faith in the bullet until my very last test.
I used a heavy load of Benchmark in a Lapua case with a Fed 210M primer. Velocity was 3,140 ft/sec (not bad for a .308), and they grouped amazingly well at 200yds. I moved over to the 400yd line and fired 2- 3shot groups. Both groups came in at under 1.5" @ 400yds!!
That was all I needed to see. I loaded up a box and went deer hunting. A large bodied 8 point buck came out of a thicket and was walking directly towards me. I took one shot and he folded up so fast that he looked like he was slammed to the ground. I have never seen such a dramatic kill in all the years I've been hunting.
Barnes 130gr TTSX - give it a try, you'll be glad that you did.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,789
- 6,036
Very cool Charlie! 
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,789
- 6,036
Here's a link to an excellent article on loading the 308 for precision, including some hunting loads: http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html
I did well in some matches, won a few, and did poorly in some matches, with a near-max load of Varget and either the Nosler or Sierra 168 gr HPBT match bullet. Both bullets were X-ring capable at 600 yards, no problem. When I did poorly, it was NOT the fault of the rifle or ammo. The losses were all mine.
Favorite combo was Lapua brass (though prepped Winchester brass was very good, as was brass from Federal Gold Medal match ammo)
A Federal large rifle match primer
Either 168
And 45 grains of Varget. That's a max load according to Hodgdon. It shot 2.5" groups at 600 yards. I was pleased.
For a hunting version, I simply substituted either the 165 gr Nosler Partition or the 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip and found the accuracy to be nearly as good. This pleased me.
Guy
I did well in some matches, won a few, and did poorly in some matches, with a near-max load of Varget and either the Nosler or Sierra 168 gr HPBT match bullet. Both bullets were X-ring capable at 600 yards, no problem. When I did poorly, it was NOT the fault of the rifle or ammo. The losses were all mine.
Favorite combo was Lapua brass (though prepped Winchester brass was very good, as was brass from Federal Gold Medal match ammo)
A Federal large rifle match primer
Either 168
And 45 grains of Varget. That's a max load according to Hodgdon. It shot 2.5" groups at 600 yards. I was pleased.
For a hunting version, I simply substituted either the 165 gr Nosler Partition or the 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip and found the accuracy to be nearly as good. This pleased me.
Guy
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,789
- 6,036
To go along with Charlie's recommendation of a lighter bullet...
In order to reduce recoil for a friend, I built 308 Win hunting ammo with the 125 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip.
50 grains of Varget yielded a bit over 3100 fps and superb accuracy. It too flattened a whitetail buck at about 120 yards or so. Recovered the bullet from the off-side hide after it had gone through both shoulder blades of the fat buck!
Guy
In order to reduce recoil for a friend, I built 308 Win hunting ammo with the 125 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip.
50 grains of Varget yielded a bit over 3100 fps and superb accuracy. It too flattened a whitetail buck at about 120 yards or so. Recovered the bullet from the off-side hide after it had gone through both shoulder blades of the fat buck!
Guy
Thebear_78
Handloader
- Sep 30, 2004
- 3,096
- 859
That 130 TTSX is a great, stout little bullet. I loaded it for my sons 308 for blackbear, bou, and moose. I have a buddy who loaded them in his 300 RUM @ 3800+ fps. He used it to flatten white tails. He filled a lot of crop damage permits with that load. Worked great.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Deer load, 125 Nosler Ballistic tip, Win case, CCI BR2, 46 grs IMR 4895 from my 21 1/2" barrel does right at 3000 fps which is the MAX impact velocity with BTs for use on deer from lots of experience. The 125 BT us a game bullet not a varmint bullet. It is my main 30 cal bullet I use in all my deer harvester rifles and 30-30AI Contender pistol.
150 Sierra PH or GK or Nosler BT, Hornady Interlock or SST with 43 to 44 grs IMR 4895 also works.
150 Sierra PH or GK or Nosler BT, Hornady Interlock or SST with 43 to 44 grs IMR 4895 also works.
Charlie-NY
Handloader
- Mar 11, 2005
- 1,432
- 887
Let's face it; whitetails are just not that hard to kill. There is really no reason to use anything heavier than 125-130gr bullet from a .308 for taking them under 400yds. If you're shooting at 500+ then a high BC bullet does make sense but how many of us are really killing deer that far?
For a combination target/hunting bullet, the Bergers would be a hard bullet to beat.
For a combination target/hunting bullet, the Bergers would be a hard bullet to beat.
Wyo7200
Handloader
- Aug 20, 2014
- 565
- 1
26” rem 700 SPS did really well with 44.5gr w748, 150gr btip, 2.860.
Chopped the barrel to 22”
And now it’s 43.3gr w748, 150gr btip, ill check on the oal.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Chopped the barrel to 22”
And now it’s 43.3gr w748, 150gr btip, ill check on the oal.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wincheringen
Handloader
- Jan 10, 2012
- 931
- 1
165 AB or 168 Custom Competition with 48 grains of Ramshot Big Game. My 308s are AR10s with 16" barrels.
- Thread starter
- #17
wvbuckbuster
Handloader
- Nov 5, 2015
- 2,683
- 2,403
Thanks everyone for your info. Tried the Sierra 168 mk with varget and rl15 both shot well for me giving 3/8 in group if I did my part. Only put 40 rounds thru this gun so far but I like it. Looking forward to trying out some of your loads. I'm using Laupa brass and Federal 210 GM primers. Thanks for sharing, Dan.
- Thread starter
- #18
wvbuckbuster
Handloader
- Nov 5, 2015
- 2,683
- 2,403
Has anyone tried the 125 gr AccuBond? Reading the details you've given about the 125 BT makes me wonder how this bullet will perform. Should be a deer thumper I'd think. Dan.
Gunner46
Handloader
- Jan 12, 2015
- 483
- 4
My arm chair quarterback opinion is that you will probably find they will work pretty much the same on Deer/Lopes & similar sized game, but you'll just be spending more money for no good reason. I have a good supply of AB's on hand, but I don't normally use them as my 1st choice. No need to. They're great to have for my few 'special' occasions, but I don't hunt Elk, Boars, nor Bear every season.
AB's seem to be a bit more finicky about seating depth also, so that's more range time.
A season, or 2, with the BT's would be a frugal investment......
AB's seem to be a bit more finicky about seating depth also, so that's more range time.
A season, or 2, with the BT's would be a frugal investment......
- Thread starter
- #20
wvbuckbuster
Handloader
- Nov 5, 2015
- 2,683
- 2,403
Haven't seen the 155 gr. bullet listed by anyone. What's your take on it? Dan.
