.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?

 

[CatShooter]

[ QUOTE ]
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??

[/ QUOTE ]

"Is it like a .223? or a .17 HMR??"

Much more "mess"!!

.

 

[hvy barrel]

[ QUOTE ]
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?

[/ QUOTE ]
Barnes makes the bullets, I have never tried them but if I were going after Elk it would be one of my picks. Maybe HSM could load some for you.

 

[mtmuley]

Try the Federal loads with Accubonds. I have taken elk at 40 yards to 560 yards. The bullet works and works well. As long as it produces acceptable accuracy, the Accubond can't be beat. mtmuley

 

[land308]

I have a 308win that I have used for many things also. For elk go with 165 to 180 grain bulet weights. I have personally seen many elk fall to 180 remington corelokts and winchester power points but you might as well go with an accubond or interbond if your reloading. Most of the elk I have seen killed with a 308 win have been under 300 yrds. As for p dogs, I use 125 tnt hollowpoints by speer but the 110 v max should be better if you want to see chunks. Its all about a light bullet going fast for that purpose.

 

[tikboy]

Thanks guys, please let me know if any of you guys get to shoot real life PD's with 110 Vmax's. I'm really curios how it performs. pics would be great hehehehe

 

[Stormrider]

I haven't done it for a while, but the 110 Vmax is a great bullet for short ranges. I couldn't get it to group better than 1 moa so long range was difficult to hit with. Blew pd's into little bitty pieces. I was using a 308 Win.

 

[johnalan]

Hi there,i use 165gn Hornady SSTs with great success.I have purchased some 110gn V-Max tips but was told by a friend that they "May not stabilize".Have not had chance to test yet,this may be relavent as to why other shooters have said they do not group very tightly?.Sorry for answering a question with another possible question.