308win load for 15 yr girl

[Nomad]

My niece is 15 and has an elk tag. Have a 308 Win that she will be using.
The 180 gr and 165 gr are the bullets that are local Speer, Sierra and Hornady
to reload for the hunt. Longest shots should be with in 250yds.
Most of the powders are can be found.
What would you load for her to shoot her elk?

[Michael Eichele]

If all you can get is Horn, speer and sierra, I would look at the hornaday interbond. the 165 will recoil a bit less than the 180's.

If you have access to 150 ACCUBONDS and Hodgdon BENCHMARK I would highly recomend that load assuming you keep the range to what you mentioned. I have seen 1st hand what the 150 AB will do to a bull moose which is bigger than an elk. The velocity was only 2800 FPS to boot. The recoil was very very mild. The accuracy was fantastic. All things concidered, (mild recoil, accuracy, and terminal performance of the bullet) it would make a suitable load for elk for a young female hunter at the ranges in question. Sure there are 'better' loads for elk but all things concidered such as the hunter and ranges used, the 150 AB is a hard load to beat. This is the load I will be using for my wife to harvest a caribou next year for the same reasons. The shots will be close and she is sensitive to firing a rifle and the load is extremely effective.

[Nomad]

Thanks for the information went with a 165gr Accubond.......

[beretzs]

What load did you end up using. I load Varget under a 150gr SST for my wife for black bear and deer. Her rifle spits them out at 2750 and is pretty consistent. It is a great combo for her. I also have another load of a 125gr Sierra Pro Hunter and Varget, that load recoils even less and really hits deer hard. That is her practice load and her whitetail load. I would like to get her an Interbond/Accubond load for elk. Thanks again for the info, good luck to you and your niece. Scotty

[Nomad]

Loaded 44.5 Varget, 210m, win cases, and 165gr AB bullets did a search
on he answer others information is a try...Had good groups with 168gr loads as well
Loaded 125 gr blistic bullet at 42gr varget to practice with........