.308 Best Rounds

[CNY Yote Hunter]

Had great luck with Hornady American Whitetail, 150 grains for factory loads! Never had one run with one in the boiler room

 

[greenejc]

What are some of the best performing .308 rounds? Whitetail hunting specifically. Shooting a tikka T3x Superlite .308

Remington CoreLokt 165 or 180 grain bullets, Nosler ballistic tips in the 165 to 180 weight, Speer and Hornaday 165 to 180 grain bullets, and Sierra Gameking or Prohunter bullets in 165 to 180 grain are all very effective Whitetail bullets for ranges out to about 350 yards. Differences between trajectories at that distance are negligible and velocities are still similar depending on weight. All of them have enough mass and weight to get pass throughs out to at least 350yds and are extremely effective on thin skinned game like Whitetails and Mulies. Just experiment to find the brand and weight that shoots accurately in your rifle and go hunting.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

FWIW, I have a Drahthaar that I track deer with, and roughly 70% of the deer I track and dont find/find and are still alive, are shot with BTs. I know lots of people have great luck with them, and I shot 165s out of my RUM for quite awhile and had good luck. I have since switched to 215 Berger's, but in a 308, I think any 165 cup/core would work, or a bonded 150. I understand it's ALOT to do with shot placement, but if I were to recommend a BT, it would be the heaviest for caliber they make.

Maybe you should rethink your shot placement (or if someone else is shooting their placement) if you need a Drahthaar to find the deer/animal and they are still alive. I know bullet performance has a lot to do with ethically killing an animal, but shot placement is more important. BT bullets performance has a lot to do with type/make/composition of BT, velocity of the bullet (on impact), and the animal's hide thickness.

 

[Carl McCants]

Remington CoreLokt 165 or 180 grain bullets, Nosler ballistic tips in the 165 to 180 weight, Speer and Hornaday 165 to 180 grain bullets, and Sierra Gameking or Prohunter bullets in 165 to 180 grain are all very effective Whitetail bullets for ranges out to about 350 yards. Differences between trajectories at that distance are negligible and velocities are still similar depending on weight. All of them have enough mass and weight to get pass throughs out to at least 350yds and are extremely effective on thin skinned game like Whitetails and Mulies. Just experiment to find the brand and weight that shoots accurately in your rifle and go hunting.

Agree - I had great kill ratio with the REMINGTON CORE-LOKT- deadly bullet. THEN - I fell into the Berger rabbit hole, of trying to get all the bullets into one hole. Those Bergers are very accurate indeed, AND I have killed many deer with them. I either dropped them within 10 yards of where I shot them, or never found them (with the exception of one that was 20 yards in the thick stuff, that took a while to find without any blood trail). But when it comes to meat on the table or horns on the wall, I would rather shoot a 1.5 MOA bullet that has better knock down than a 1/4 MOA bullet that pencils one deer, denigrates on the shoulder of another deer........ Correct me if I am wrong, but This thread was about what bullet worked best on killing white tails, not being able to shooting the tick off of the *** of a white tail. Really, not being a smart #$$ here, just seems that these threads always go to back to how accurate x bullet is. Don't get me wrong, I am more than guilty about getting into the "I need to shave another 1/8 MOA off of my pattern". But In the reality of hunting, MINUTE OF DEER has worked for over a century.

 

[JMW67]

Agree - I had great kill ratio with the REMINGTON CORE-LOKT- deadly bullet. THEN - I fell into the Berger rabbit hole, of trying to get all the bullets into one hole. Those Bergers are very accurate indeed, AND I have killed many deer with them. I either dropped them within 10 yards of where I shot them, or never found them (with the exception of one that was 20 yards in the thick stuff, that took a while to find without any blood trail). But when it comes to meat on the table or horns on the wall, I would rather shoot a 1.5 MOA bullet that has better knock down than a 1/4 MOA bullet that pencils one deer, denigrates on the shoulder of another deer........ Correct me if I am wrong, but This thread was about what bullet worked best on killing white tails, not being able to shooting the tick off of the *** of a white tail. Really, not being a smart #$$ here, just seems that these threads always go to back to how accurate x bullet is. Don't get me wrong, I am more than guilty about getting into the "I need to shave another 1/8 MOA off of my pattern". But In the reality of hunting, MINUTE OF DEER has worked for over a century.

you are correct and I would bet the old green box core lokt bullet has accounted for more game animals than any other

 

[albritt]

Old green box Rems were accurate & deadly in the past now they are marginally accurate & deadly.
I have been using Hornady Amax match ammo 155gr .308 and now since the 8069PM was discontinued I use Hornady ELD-M 155 gr .308 match. Deadly accurate and have NEVER had a whitetail up to 250LBS run more than 40yds with most dying where they stood. All were pass throughs no matter whether entry was point of shoulder, rib cage or scapula. "Ballistic" tipped bullet consruction has come a long way obviously.

 

[TC0802]

For factory ammo I'll put a vote in for the Hornady Superformance w/ 165 SSTs in .308. No scientific data here, LOL! Just my experience using them on mule deer. They've been very accurate out of my sons Savage 110. The last muley he killed was just over 300 yards. Ran down hill about 30-40 yards and piled up.

 

[greenejc]

Agree - I had great kill ratio with the REMINGTON CORE-LOKT- deadly bullet. THEN - I fell into the Berger rabbit hole, of trying to get all the bullets into one hole. Those Bergers are very accurate indeed, AND I have killed many deer with them. I either dropped them within 10 yards of where I shot them, or never found them (with the exception of one that was 20 yards in the thick stuff, that took a while to find without any blood trail). But when it comes to meat on the table or horns on the wall, I would rather shoot a 1.5 MOA bullet that has better knock down than a 1/4 MOA bullet that pencils one deer, denigrates on the shoulder of another deer........ Correct me if I am wrong, but This thread was about what bullet worked best on killing white tails, not being able to shooting the tick off of the *** of a white tail. Really, not being a smart #$$ here, just seems that these threads always go to back to how accurate x bullet is. Don't get me wrong, I am more than guilty about getting into the "I need to shave another 1/8 MOA off of my pattern". But In the reality of hunting, MINUTE OF DEER has worked for over a century.

You are entirely correct. And I only need a 1 moa group or maybe a 1.5 moa group to put a Whitetail down at 350 yards. I can get that with any of the bullets I mentioned. With the Sierras and the Noslers, I can get inside 1 moa pretty easily with my 30-06's and very easily with the varmint weight barrel on my .308. I could probably refine the groups more, but that's good enough for anything I'm going to shoot inside 600 yards. With the rifles I can afford, I'll never achieve perfection, but perfection is the enemy of good enough. If I can group inside 6 inches at 600 yards, that's in the kill zone. I've used CoreLokt bullets in all my .308 bore rifles, from the 300 winmags to the 308 Win. They've never been the most accurate, but they've always been within 1.25" at 100 yards when I was careful at reloading them, and when I started using them(on a budget) they were about 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of everyone else's bullets. I could afford a lot of them, which gave me a lot of practice. I once hit a doe at 138 lazed yards right between the eyes with a 180 grain CoreLokt fired from a Ruger M77MKII in 30-06. That was a cold bore shot. Most of the cold bore shots with this bullet tended to be within 1" at 100 yards. I patterned them over several days.

 

[albritt]

You are entirely correct. And I only need a 1 moa group or maybe a 1.5 moa group to put a Whitetail down at 350 yards. I can get that with any of the bullets I mentioned. With the Sierras and th

For factory ammo I'll put a vote in for the Hornady Superformance w/ 165 SSTs in .308. No scientific data here, LOL! Just my experience using them on mule deer. They've been very accurate out of my sons Savage 110. The last muley he killed was just over 300 yards. Ran down hill about 30-40 yards and piled up.

Also good ammo
e Noslers, I can get inside 1 moa pretty easily with my 30-06's and very easily with the varmint weight barrel on my .308. I could probably refine the groups more, but that's good enough for anything I'm going to shoot inside 600 yards. With the rifles I can afford, I'll never achieve perfection, but perfection is the enemy of good enough. If I can group inside 6 inches at 600 yards, that's in the kill zone. I've used CoreLokt bullets in all my .308 bore rifles, from the 300 winmags to the 308 Win. They've never been the most accurate, but they've always been within 1.25" at 100 yards when I was careful at reloading them, and when I started using them(on a budget) they were about 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of everyone else's bullets. I could afford a lot of them, which gave me a lot of practice. I once hit a doe at 138 lazed yards right between the eyes with a 180 grain CoreLokt fired from a Ruger M77MKII in 30-06. That was a cold bore shot. Most of the cold bore shots with this bullet tended to be within 1" at 100 yards. I patterned them over several days.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

Sorry this isn't 308, but same case. I received several boxes of Rem Core Lokt back in the early 2000s. Had 7mm08n in 140gr Core Lokt & Accu Tip and .243 win in 100gr Core Lokt. These bullets performed flawlessly. Killed several deer and hogs with them dropping within a few yards or going 25 at the most. I shot a 250lb hog quartering away with .243 100gr CoreLokt, it went in through the left side and blew off the other side right shoulder and front leg. CoreLokt bullets are tried and true for many years. "Come on its just shooting deer". I can shoot and kill a deer with a 65gr SGK .223 no problem. Unless you are shooting at great distance for giant Mulies, which physically their hide is almost he same, just twice as big as a South Eastern White Tail. Well even a .308 with 150gr CoreLokt factory loads or hand loads with 165gr SGK or 180gr SGK will knock them down. If you are going past 500+ try looking at your 300 win mags or similar cartridges in 30 caliber. Not to say the basic .308 won't get out at distance. I read some good previously posts and agree whole heartily. We are shooting deer not shooting "F" class. You don't need a 1/4" bug hole to kill a deer. It would be nice to have that accurate rifle. Put more emphasis on the what bullet does rather than this bullet shoots 3/8" MOA but isn't good as far as expansion/retention of weight as the 3/4"MOA that has good expansion/retention of weight.

 

[greenejc]

Had great luck with Hornady American Whitetail, 150 grains for factory loads! Never had one run with one in the boiler room

If we're talking about factory loads, the Remington, Federal and Hornaday factory loads with bullet weights of 150 up to 180 grains in .308 Win are all more than accurate enough/effective enough for Whitetails or Mule Deer out to around 300 yards. I'd want to use the 165 to 180 grain weight past 300 yards, though. That's just my preference. Also, with the .308 or the 30-06, you don't really need the designer bullets. The standard Speer, Sierra, Remington or Hornaday economy bullets will do the job just fine at impacts ranging from 15 yards(he didn't see me under the Juniper and really was that close) out to 400 yards provided the bullet has enough weight/retained velocity to penetrate and open up. The last batch of Winchester .308's in 180 grain powerpoint patterned like a shotgun, so I'd stay away from them, though.

 

[greenejc]

Thank for all the info guys. To be more specific, primary will be whitetail hunting with my Tikka t3x .308 (1:11 inch twist). Shooting capabilities are anywhere from 10-400 yards where I'm hunting.

A 1 in 11 twist should stabilize any standard bullet up to 180 grain. It probably won't stabilize the 180 grain and above long for caliber bullets like the Burger or Barnes x bullets. It shouldn't have any trouble with any cup and core bullet with a weight up to 180 grains. If you are going to have to shoot to 400 yards, stay with 165 grain to 180 grain bullets for the mass and penetration at distance. If you're shooting a 22 inch barrel, you should be able to get around 2700-2750fps from a 165 grain bullet and around 2575 to 2625fps from a 180 grain bullet such as the Speer HotCor or the Sierra Gameking or Prohunter. If the Remington CorLokt bullets were still easily available and cheap, I'd use them, too. Hornaday is both accurate enough and effective. But at distances past 300 yards with a .308 you want more weight for better penetration if your shot isn't the perfect broadside that we all desire. With the 1 in 11 twist rate, you will probably need to stay away from the heavier mono bullets, though.

 

[drdool]

We use the same Tikka .308 T3 in lite and CTR on multiple Tx whitetails and an Axis. Had excellent results with Hornady Superformance 150 SST factory loads. There are more accurate loads but these are 3/4-1" moa and worked great out to 200 yds.

 

[albritt]

A 1 in 11 twist should stabilize any standard bullet up to 180 grain. It probably won't stabilize the 180 grain and above long for caliber bullets like the Burger or Barnes x bullets. It shouldn't have any trouble with any cup and core bullet with a weight up to 180 grains. If you are going to have to shoot to 400 yards, stay with 165 grain to 180 grain bullets for the mass and penetration at distance. If you're shooting a 22 inch barrel, you should be able to get around 2700-2750fps from a 165 grain bullet and around 2575 to 2625fps from a 180 grain bullet such as the Speer HotCor or the Sierra Gameking or Prohunter. If the Remington CorLokt bullets were still easily available and cheap, I'd use them, too. Hornaday is both accurate enough and effective. But at distances past 300 yards with a .308 you want more weight for better penetration if your shot isn't the perfect broadside that we all desire. With the 1 in 11 twist rate, you will probably need to stay away from the heavier mono bullets, though.

Hornady .308 ELD-M is plenty accurate enough. 5 shot group @ 100yds REMAGE with Criterion 4 groove match light varmint contour barrel.