new hunter needs advise with .308

[dzander]

I have a savage model 10 .308 with 24" heavy barrel and a 3x9 Bushnell scope is on it. I picked it up for $300. Was Hardly shot. The scope is probably junk for what I will use it for.
I will be going to Montana with a friend that goes every year for mule deer and antelope. My friend tells me I need to learn to shoot accurately out to about 500 yards. I'm sure .308 isn't the best for the hunt but it is what i got. I will either buy another scope or more likely swap a Zeiss 4.5-16 Conquest from a AR15 to the .308 and buy a lesser scope for the AR. I also have a zeiss range finder and a chronograph. I reload and loaded some 168G sierra match kings just to shoot some paper.

So If I put the Zeiss on the Savage should I get a base that has some built in elevation?

What Bullets should I try for hunting Mule deer and Antelope?

I have TAC powder and some Varget powder, any others recommended?

What range should I sight in at ? I was thinking maybe 2" high at 200 yards?

Should I have a custom turret made for the Conquest that i could just Dial?

There is a range a hour from me that has 600 yards so I can practice from 600 and in.

Appreciate any help

Dave

 

[SavageShtr]

The 308 is very capable of harvesting game at 500 yards. It's more of is the shooter able to make that shot. AR-Comp would be a good powder to try. My cousin uses it in his 308 with very good accuracy. I would look at the 185gr Berger Hybrid for a bullet. It has a good BC and should be able get decent velocity to harvest game at 500 yards. As far as the scope I wouldn't think you would need a canter base to reach 500 unless your scope doesn't have enough adjustment to get there. I would make several trips to the range after you find a bullet you like and works well in your rifle, and make sure you have confermed your drops out to at least 500 yards maybe even a little farther just in case. I'm not a big fan of custom turrets but there are those that are, I would rather just range and dial the moa needed for the shot. Hope this helps. Happy and safe shooting. gun)

 

[HARPERC]

The .308 cartridge is fine. Pick a bullet that your rifle shoots well. and go from there. Someplace between 150 grains, and 215 grains are a lot of useable 500 yard antelope bullets.

Scopes being junk can be a fact of life, but let the rifle system tell you what it's capable of, and use it in those parameters. The system includes you. I would have more confidence in the Zeiss, but it still has to be proven to work.

Try to shoot the archery style picture targets of antelope, throughout your practice. I think that helps more than anything in determining what your capable of.

Antelope is about as much fun as it gets.Good Luck!

 

[FEENIX]

Dave,

Welcome to LRH and enjoy!

Shoot the heaviest bullet with the highest BC (Berger 215 would be my choice) that your rifle will shoot accurately. IIRC, Bigngreen have taken game up 1000 yards with it, so in the right hands and set-up the possibility is there.

IIWY, I'd zero at 100 or 200 but know your actual drops (also learn to dial your scope as required) and go ahead and put a 20 MOA base, you don't need it for your upcoming hunt but you'll be set up for longer ranges if the need arises; and ...

Even though the scope adjustment range may be large enough to get to 1,000 yds, you should use a 20 moa base. That's because off-axis optical aberrations that degrade resolution increase with incidence angle. You should set up your rifle so that the incidence angle is minimized for long distance shots (where resolution matters most).

Assume the base is within +/-10 moa of alignment with the rifle bore. Let's also assume your bullet drops no more than 30 moa at 1,000 yds, and you like to zero your rifle at 100 yds. With a standard base, you would need up to -40 moa of adjustment to get to 1,000 yds. That means you need a total 80 moa of adjustment.

With a 20 moa base you would need up to -20 moa to get to 1,000 yds, but up to 26 moa to get to a 100 yd zero (worse case boresight alignment in each case). That means you need a total 52 moa of adjustment. With a 20 moa base, however, the incidence angle at 1,000 yds is 20 moa less, so the image will have less blur.

Antelope is one of my favorite game to hunt. I am not sure if this is your first antelope or Montana hunt but one thing that will post a challenge for most hunters is the openness of the Big Sky Country and the notorious winds you might encounter while hunting in Montana.

Below is one of my MT antelope hunts last year that you might ran into ...

[ame]https://youtu.be/0g8VvpqdtkQ?t=5[/ame]

Practice, practice, practice. Good luck and happy safe shooting/hunting.

Cheers!

Ed

 

[roninflag]

once you get a load you like, get a label for your turret. I would use 155 scenars, 168 bergers or 168 ballistic silver tips, varget, Br-2 primers, lapua brass.

 

[mobenzowner]

I would start by knowing the twist of my rifle barrel which should give you a decent idea of what bullet weights your gun will stabilize. There are always exceptions to this rule, but generally is pretty reliable. I would definitely go with a 10 or 20 moa base, which should not cause any problems at close range. Test several bullets with good ballistic coefficients ( I like the 168 bergers, the 178 a-max, even heavier if gun will stabilize them). Varget is a very good powder which you have, IMR4064 works very well for me with bullets in the 178 grain range.

After you have a good accurate round practice and record drops out to the 600 yd max of your range. Keep good notes and you have zero need for a custom turret.

 

[dzander]

I think my rifle Savage model 10 is 1 in 10 twist. its 24" heavy

any brand of 20 moa base would you guys recommend?

If I have a 1 in 10 how heavy a bullet do you think I could go?

Or do i have to just experiment?

If I can get a bullet/load to group say 1.5" at 200 yards in theory at 400 yards could I expect about a 3" group or is that not necessarily the case?

 

[roninflag]

out to 500 or 600 yards faster is flatter. a 155/167/168 scenar/berger; or a 150 or 168 ballistic silver tip.

 

[mobenzowner]

I think my rifle Savage model 10 is 1 in 10 twist. its 24" heavy

any brand of 20 moa base would you guys recommend?

If I have a 1 in 10 how heavy a bullet do you think I could go?

Or do i have to just experiment?

If I can get a bullet/load to group say 1.5" at 200 yards in theory at 400 yards could I expect about a 3" group or is that not necessarily the case?

With a 1:10 twist barrel you s/b be able to use many of the heavy for caliber rounds. I think Feenix suggested the 215 Berger. That's probably a great choice. I think any hunting bullets in the 165 grain to 215 grain should work well for you. In regards to groupings at distance, I have seen some guns shoot particular loads into smaller groups at 200 yds than they did at 100 yds so that doesnt always extrapolate. Short answer is yes, in most cases,from my experience, a 1.5" group at 200 should make you pretty darn lethal at 500.

 

[Zen Archery]

I've hunted with 168 Berber VLD's with great success. I have near same specs (you didn't mention twist) but 168 should stabilize even with slower twist barrel. When hunting I dial my scope up to 200 yards and then aim up and down. In some cases you won't have time to dial up and down for precision shooting. I have 3 different App's and I am amazed with the Sterlock. Especially for quick ranging purpose.

Good luck, get behind the gun and start having fun.

 

[MudRunner2005]

In these days of the monster bores that burn triple-digits worth of powder, the .308 has been passed-over by many for larger cartridges/calibers. It is still a VERY capable round when used with modern bullets, modern powders, brass, primers, etc... It's also one of my personal favorites.

Practice, practice, practice...

I would suggest a 20MOA base, just to be on the safe-side to ensure you have enough elevation, since I don't think the Zeiss has a lot of travel. Also, the Zeiss Conquest scopes are excellent optics, the glass and lens coatings are excellent. I have several of them.

Another couple of good priced scopes to look at are the SWFA SS 3-15x42 and Vortex Viper HS-T. Always buy good bases and rings. You don't have to spend Nightforce money, but I also wouldn't buy Weaver or anything cheap like that either (just my opinion).

As for bases, I use EGW HD bases, and Seekins Precision rings. But TPS TSR Picatinny style aluminum rings work just as well. I also have several rifles with those.

As for bullets, I use Berger. Even if you have a 1:12 twist, you should have no problem stabilizing up to a Berger 185 VLD. I would suggest the 168 VLD, 175 VLD, or the 185 VLD.

 

[barefooter56]

dzander,
Try our Berger 168 or 185 CLASSIC HUNTER BULLETS. These are a hybrid design bullet that incorporates both the secant (VLD) and tangent ( standard) ogives that make them very tolerant of jump and a SAMMI length nose dimension so they are made to be loaded to standard magazine lengths. In most cases all you have to do for load testing is find your velocity accuracy node. Also you lose nothing from the VLD HUNTING bullets in accuracy, distance and performance on game.