.308 for prairie dogs and elk

[tikboy]

Hi,

I only have one rifle in the Denver, it is a custom KMW .308 rifle with a 24 inch 1 in 11 twist Krieger barrel. I have used it to shoot prairie dogs using 168 gr SMK by Federal, however, the PD's do not EXPLODE like the ones in Prairie Dogs Begone.

I contacted Hunting Shack if they can load me rounds for my rifle using 110gr Vmax heads. And they said that they could. Will this make a better impression on the prairie dogs? Can I use this on my rifle? What bullet loading would you suggest. pwder, velocity, etc. I know that the .308 is not really a varmint load but I would like to make the most out of what I have. I would appreciate any help that you can give me.

Also, I would like to use this rifle to hunt elk. I was told by my gunmaker that it will do the job below 300 meters. Can elk be approached to as near as 300 meters? What ammo do you recommend? I do not have access to reloading so i will need it to be either commmercial ammo or semi custom like HSM.

Thank you.

[CatShooter]

The 110 V-Max will do fine on PDs, and will lift them in the air for you.

A good load would be 44 gr of H-322, it is not a max load and will give about 3200 fps.

[mtmuley]

I agree, the V-Max will give impressive results on p-dogs. I use them in my .222 and .243. You can get way closer than 300 meters (about 300 yards?) to an elk. My closest shot at one is about 40 yards. Out to 300 yards or so, your .308 is fine. Buy some boxes of factory ammo loaded with quality bullets, and hunt with the one that produces the greatest accuracy. Good luck, mtmuley

[tikboy]

Thank you for the replies guys.

CatShooter, I will have HSM load me some 110gr Vmax with your recipe. To what caliber/heads can you compare the "explosiveness" of the 110 gr Vmax's? Is it like a .223? or a .17 HMR?

mtmuley, Should I go heavy heads? What brand and bullet weights/design should I use?

[7mmAI]

For elk with a 308 at less than 300 yards it would be hard to beat 165 grain barnes triple shock bullets. 180 grain would be ok also although that is a pretty large bullet for the 308 case size. Nosler partions in 165-180 gr would be ok also. Good luck,

[linksmechanic]

With proper bullet placement I wouldn't hesitate to take and elk at up to 500 yards w/ that gun.

[tikboy]

who makes 180 or 165 gr Barnes X triple shock bullets? I went into outdoor superstore and saw winchesters and 150 gr Federal. Which brand do you recommend?