accurate long range .308 cal hunting bullet?

[steve_77]

hello all, ive been looking for a nice well balenced meduim to long range bullet for my 308, im used to the accuracy of the SMK 168's, and the berger 175vld's -- but am having trouble finding quality hunting ammo that shoots well at ling distances -- i've mostly been experimenting with barnes X (168 hpbt), and thei XLC line -- waswondering what do you all use and what works -- tired of all this trial and error stuff -- any suggestions?

 

[Ian M]

Steve,
I have shot the 165 Swift Sciroccos out to 700 quite a lot with excellent accuracy. Kills made just over 500 with complete pass-throughs on mule deer and caribou.
We also have very good accuracy with the 168 Barnes XLC, have tested it out to 1000. Killing accuracy to 600 in our rifles, several kills that went well.
Hornady is also just introducing a 165 with a pointed plastic nose and boat-tail, I have been shooting early production bullets and getting sub 1/2 minute groups at 100 yards with 43 gr. Varget. This is a very nice looking bullet, hope to shoot it long soon.
Flip a coin, these are very reliable long range bullets and there are probably a few more, like the 165-SST's, Ballistic Tips etc.

 

[steve_77]

Hmmm, well i was trying to stay away from the moly coated bullets like the XLC, plus i have noticed problems with the XLC bullets in my tight redding cometition dies. --- this swift company -- do they have an on -line catalog or something -- would be interested in checking those out -- - i went to www.swiftbullets.com but the site is down or something - do you know anyplace where i can get more info on them? are they moly coated?

PS. what loads do you using for your barnes x (165/168)? what about the swift? - thanks - steve

[ 03-11-2003: Message edited by: steve_77 ]

 

[Ian M]

Swift bullets are not moly coated. They are very nice, high BC hunting bullets. Seems that the manufacturers are narrowing the gap that used to exist between factory match and hunting grade bullets. That website has been under construction for a long time, not sure if it has ever been active.
Don't forget that we do not really need premium bullets for killing deer, SST's, Gamekings etc. will do an excellent job. Some of the lighter jacketed bullets standard hunting bullets should perform very well at longer range, hopefully less core separation and fragmentation.
Looking for a really good hunting load is part of the fun, but I agree with you that it can be frustrating with so many options.
If you want a bonded spitzer (with plastic tip and boat-tail) then the Sciroccos would be the most proven so far. No doubt the new Hornadys and Noslers will prove to be great hunting bullets but they have just been introduced.
We load 43-47 grains of Varget, depending on the rifle. Brass is usually Winchester or Black Hills Ammo match and our preferred primers are Winchester (availability). O.L. that works in our mags and shoots very well is 2.830", I don't mess with O.L. for hunting ammo, just go with one length.
Good luck.

 

[Guest]

The Berger 185 and Varget are hard to beat in a .308, H 4350 works awsome in cases with larger than average volume.

 

[*WyoWhisper*]

Steve,

Your looking way to hard. You already have the hunting bullet.. just ask anyone here.. fill the case with varget and stuff the 168 SMK in it!! Then go hunting!!!
Mine likes 44.5 gr of varget and the 168 SMK or the Nosler J4 both are real killers to 750 yards. Nosler J4 actually mushroomed perfectly on a 150 lb whitetail at 60 yards.

 

[Mysticplayer]

My picks for the 308 are:

Hornady SST 165gr, 155gr Amax
Nosler BT 165gr
Nosler J4 168 and 155gr
Sierra MK 168 and 155gr.

The two HP match bullets are very similar in construction.

I have found the SST to be one of the flattest shooting bullets in its weight class. Also, an excellent hunting bullet design.

The 155gr amax gives you an alternative in case your rifle doesn't like the SST or the mag is too short. The 165gr SST are a very long bullet. These amax's fly flatter then the Sierra and Nosler HP match bullets in 168gr, 168gr Amax and Nosler BT 165gr.

The Swifts are also a good bullet but for the money, I am going with the Hornady's.

Hope this helps...

Jerry

 

[steve_77]

just wanted to say thank you to everyone here for all your assistance you've definately gave me a few new ideas to toy with - steve