From all the people I have talked to the .308 Winchester seems to be the go-to round. Its fairly priced, if not cheap to run. Extremely effective on the game that is in Australia and can hold a neat group at up to 1000m. is there anyone on here that can object to that, if so why?
Whats the ideal Caliber for hunting medium to large game?
- Thread starter ZKersh
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trebark
Well-Known Member
I agree that the 308 is a great round for all the reasons you enumerate. Although when the distances get long (read: beyond 600) there are plenty of cartridges that easily outperform the 308. For instance, using the 308 as a base cartridge, the 260rem is absolutely fantastic and it way outperforms the 308.
Okay thanks for that.
Well most of the shooting I do is within the 400m range but i do like to do a bit further stuff as well. I can agree with what you said about there being better guns for shooting distance, but as far as price of ammunition goes the .308 seams the better option?
Well most of the shooting I do is within the 400m range but i do like to do a bit further stuff as well. I can agree with what you said about there being better guns for shooting distance, but as far as price of ammunition goes the .308 seams the better option?
trebark
Well-Known Member
If you're gong to be shooting factory ammunition then 308 has an edge in terms of cost and variety. If you're reloading though....that levels the field.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that?
trebark
Well-Known Member
It means that if you're shooting factory ammo the 308 is likely the most economical round to shoot and there are lots of choices in terms of bullets you can shoot.
You have to understand too that if you stay on the 'economical' side of factory ammo for a 308, the accuracy potential is not great (unless you're lucky).
Although if you reload for the 308 and the 260, the economics are virtually the same and bullet choices are similar (level playing field) but.....the 260 will easily out perform the 308.
COBrad
Well-Known Member
Well that's an easy question; the 7 Rem mag. All the killing power of a .300 Winny without all the recoil... but if we're talking a max of 400 yards there is no need for a magnum of any kind. At that point the .308 may well be your best choice. There is a good variety of true match grade ammo available for that caliber, if you don't want to reload.
hornady offers a lot of quality ammo for a decent price for the creedmoor you then could sell the brass to offset the cost even more. I see nosler is starting to load for it also. going from a .308 to the creed I would never go back
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
These are my main two .308 Win loads...
Left: Nosler 168 Custom Competition, Varget, Fed 210 primer, Lapua brass. Around 2,775 fps.
Right: Berger 210 VLD, Varget, Fed 210 primer, Lapua brass. Around 2,400 fps.
You could actually shoot the one on the right in a long action as a repeater. It won't even think about clearing the magazine on my 5R short action. It's pretty much single-shot only. LOL
Left: Nosler 168 Custom Competition, Varget, Fed 210 primer, Lapua brass. Around 2,775 fps.
Right: Berger 210 VLD, Varget, Fed 210 primer, Lapua brass. Around 2,400 fps.
You could actually shoot the one on the right in a long action as a repeater. It won't even think about clearing the magazine on my 5R short action. It's pretty much single-shot only. LOL
coy long range 338lapua
Member
300 win mag with a good barrel, Berger Bullets 180-230 gr. Read Brian Litz book, you can take a deer up to 1200 yds +you have a lot of foot pounds. The 338 win mag is very good. Also, you only get out what you put into it. If you want to save money get into short range and small calibers. But then you have to sit and wonder for a little while if you will be able to find or did I hit that deer. -46 yrs experience
99% 308 win 130-165 gr projectile
99.5 % 30-06 165-200 gr projectile
300 win mag 99.5% 165-220 gr projectile same as 30-06 just more range
338 win mag 99.9% 180-275 gr load up or down depending on game shoots a 250 gr nearly as fast as a 30-06 180 gr load similar trajectory with a lot of down range power a definite jump over the 30 cals power wise
375H&H 270-300 gr 100% if your shooting buff on foot
Personally a 30-06 over normal game distances is more than enough including sambar
338 win mag is a very versatile and effective cartridge as well.
99.5 % 30-06 165-200 gr projectile
300 win mag 99.5% 165-220 gr projectile same as 30-06 just more range
338 win mag 99.9% 180-275 gr load up or down depending on game shoots a 250 gr nearly as fast as a 30-06 180 gr load similar trajectory with a lot of down range power a definite jump over the 30 cals power wise
375H&H 270-300 gr 100% if your shooting buff on foot
Personally a 30-06 over normal game distances is more than enough including sambar
338 win mag is a very versatile and effective cartridge as well.
coy long range 338lapua
Member
300 mag all around check it out--coy
coy long range 338lapua
Member
Now if you won't the top of the line -- 338 Lapua-300 gr Berger bullet 92 grs H-1000 at 1200 yds. 2000 pounds of energy-a elk will go down in his tracks --- recoil less than a 308 with elite iron muzzle brake.
