First deer hunt! Ammo suggestions

[cheb]

I second the Federal blue box also, in either 150 or 180 grains, whatever shoots best from the intended rifle. Federal Fusion is also another good choice, but a bit more expensive than the former one...

 

[jona710]

Did you contact Winchester?

Yes they requested I ship them the rifle and the ammo on my own dime so I had a gunsmith replace the ejector parts and check my gun instead for likely less than the shipping would’ve been. Other than that they said cabelas would replace the box of ammo for me but for the $30 it cost I gave the remaining rounds to the gunsmith to pull apart as I don’t reload

 

[inthehizzy]

I've never had more issues with ammo, brass and reloading components than I've had with Winchester brand.


Never again. Not centerfire, not rimfire, not shotshells, not powder, not primers, not brass or bullets. None!

I've never had any issues with Federal or Hornady for centerfire factory ammunition.

 

[zackstab]

I wouldnt take the advice of the bolded part above (not trying to be a ####)

The point is to make a clean, ethical kill. A cheap bullet that might fragment a lot and not penetrate deep may not be what you are looking for.

2.5 MOA is a bit too much variance but if you can find a well constructed bullet that shoots 2 MOA or less, id take that over a sub-MOA round with a crappy bullet at the distances you specified.

165 or 168gr Barnes TTSX, Nosler Accubond or Partition is what I would use, if they shoot alright.

The 165 TTSX is very accurate in my Tikka .308, but YMMV.

No offence taken just dont agree. "Crappy bullet" referring to any bullet in a factory ammo selection you can buy today in store. Any of the "budget" box ammo in 308 will kill a deer very easily with proper shot placement.

 

[Masterful_J]

+1 for Federal Blue box.

 

[mildot]

Federal 168gr bonded tip

 

[SuperCub]

Yes they requested I ship them the rifle and the ammo on my own dime so I had a gunsmith replace the ejector parts and check my gun instead for likely less than the shipping would’ve been. Other than that they said cabelas would replace the box of ammo for me but for the $30 it cost I gave the remaining rounds to the gunsmith to pull apart as I don’t reload

Good old customer service or lack thereof.

 

[Dogleg]

Blue box Federal 150s, Remington core-locks. Standard cup and core flat base bullets are standard for
a reason. They make most often the people happy most of the time.

Or ask what the guy who she is going to be hunting with uses. Human nature being what it is, if anything goes wrong or less than perfect it'll be your fault. No good deed goes unpunished.