grnorthcutt
Member
I have not looked into the Hornady Superformance yet. Interesting option but why would you choose the SST over GMAX?
308 ammo for elk (barrel length)
- Thread starter grnorthcutt
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zb338
Well-Known Member
I was in the same position you are at when I first started out. After a hunt in Wyoming that didn't
really make me happy I decided to get one big game rifle that would do it all so I turned to the
.338 Win. Mag.. I'm not saying that it's right for everyone, but if I were to get one rifle it would at
least be a .300 magnum of one kind or another. It's your responsibility to kill game cleanly.
Zeke
really make me happy I decided to get one big game rifle that would do it all so I turned to the
.338 Win. Mag.. I'm not saying that it's right for everyone, but if I were to get one rifle it would at
least be a .300 magnum of one kind or another. It's your responsibility to kill game cleanly.
Zeke
rustyshackleford
Well-Known Member
GMX and other monolithic bullets require more velocity to expand compared to their cup and core counterparts
Agree with your statement. Slow impact speed is a mono's worst enemy. And with a short barrel they are out of the equation.
I dont know if you have used the SST, before but it performs great on game, it penetrates and turns vitals to jello. In the 308 both he 150gr and 165gr hold together well up close and at longer ranges.
The Superformance ammo did not shoot good at all in any of my rifles, but I do reload the 139gr SST in my 7mm-08 and the 162gr in my 7mm Rem Mag. I have not been able to recover one, complete pass throughs.
tnek13
Well-Known Member
SST or GMAX depends on what shoots best in your gun - I like a traditional cup and core bullet. BC and core density appear to be the same on the 150s, personally I hand load and tend to like 165 Sierra Game Kings and 165 Berger Classic Hunters, but that is what shoots best for me in 308.
grnorthcutt
Member
Sounds like i need to throw out the Hornady Precision Hunter ammo as well. I was thinking the 178 grain ELD-x would perform better with the lower velocities out of the 16inch barrel. But if im tracking right, the Hornady superperformce 165 grain sst would do the best? with the 165 grain accubond being second?
rustyshackleford
Well-Known Member
If I were you I'd look around for reported velocities of the 165 SST from 16 inch barrels. Find that and run those numbers through something like JBM trajectory simplified in the conditions you anticipate. You can also compare it to the 178 ELD-X with an estimated velocity. If you can, get G7 values for the bullets from Bryan Litz testing. You can either start the bullet faster or push a sleeker bullet. Running these simulations will tell you how they should stack up.
I would put the 178gr ELD-X high on my list, if its accurate heavy is always better for elk.
QSYB1
Active Member
Your math seems a bit low to me, if you meant '.308'. Even a 150gr Corelokt (.314), launched at 2600, would be making nearly 1900 fps/ 1200 ft/lbs at 300 yards. Factory rated at 2820 fps from their test barrel (probably 24"). What bullet are you shooting and what is your MV?
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
I run 215 Bergers out of my 308, longer barrel but will ream an elk at 500, actually much farther but I feel not many are prepared for that kind of information, if I were starting over developing an elk load for a 308 I'd grab a box of Berger 200.20X or the newer 205 EOL and not worry about anything other than packing dead elk out.
Hornady has some excellent of the shelf options, I'd not look at anything bonded or mono, soft and heavy as possible since you don't have magnum velocities.
Hornady has some excellent of the shelf options, I'd not look at anything bonded or mono, soft and heavy as possible since you don't have magnum velocities.
That is from a 308 yes a miss type. This is with a 150gr sierra game king. The MV is about 2300 and the numbers I mentioned were for reference and not exact values.
These are from one particular rifle so everyone may not experience the same results.
These are from one particular rifle so everyone may not experience the same results.
OP is shooting factory ammo from a 16" barrel.
bigngreen
Well-Known Member
Yep!
rammac
Well-Known Member
While everybody seems to be an expert but very few have even hunted with a 16" .308, I'll post what I know to be true using both my 16" barreled .308 rifles (M1A SOCOM and Springfield Saint Victor) that I've used to take both deer and elk.
If you want to use good hunting ammo then I'd recommend 168gr Barnes VOR-TX cartridges. I handload and I usually use 180 grain TTSX bullets and my short barrels provide me with the ability to take elk out 500 yards without a problem.
According to their advertisement, the 168 grain VOR-TX ammo produces about 2700 fps, they don't say what barrel length that is but I'd assume a 26 inch barrel. In a 16 inch barrel that will drop the muzzle velocity down to around 2400 to 2450 fps, depending on your chamber.
Assuming that you only get 2400 fps then your 300 yard numbers will be about 1950 fps and 1418 ftlbs.
The 500 yard numbers will be around 1680 fps and 1050 ftlbs.
As far as I'm concerned that's good performance at 300 yards and reasonable performance at 500 yards. In either case the more accurately you place the bullet the better your results.
