.308 Win light recoil hunting loads

Pathfinder

Pathfinder

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I will be brewing a load for my Wife's .308 (Stevens 200) this winter I was brainstorming for ideas on a deer load. She's 5'4, 110lbs soak and wet so Id like to keep this nice and mild so nothing heavier than a 150 gr bullet and jacketed only, maybe a 125 or 130 would be better. Id like to stick to the medium burning powders I already have. (Imr 4320, 4064 and BLC-(2) ).

Ideas appreciated.
 
I suggest she practice with reduced power loads if you feel it necessary, but for the one or two shots in the field, why bother with anything reduced for the actual hunt. You can always sight it in for her with the correct zero for the full power load and let her practice with lighter loads to get her skills up. She won't feel a thing when she pulls the trigger on a deer. You never do because you mind is focused on everything else.
 
Pathfinder said:
I will be brewing a load for my Wife's .308 (Stevens 200) this winter I was brainstorming for ideas on a deer load. She's 5'4, 110lbs soak and wet so Id like to keep this nice and mild so nothing heavier than a 150 gr bullet and jacketed only, maybe a 125 or 130 would be better. Id like to stick to the medium burning powders I already have. (Imr 4320, 4064 and BLC-(2) ).

Ideas appreciated.
Click to expand...

43.5 gr reloader 15, 165 grain sierra gameking. 1 inch pachmayr pad , and confirm length of pull at install.
Point to note, and I have seen this, you can practice aloth and still get scope eye when a deer is in the sights, reason is, the effort to aim can make a person forget about recoil to a point of a loose hold , and the gun will recoil back into your face. remember this when she is out hunting, hold the gun firm , supported or not, and squeeze the trigger.
 
Thanks and Keep em' coming guys !

- I want the load she practices with as the hunting load

- 150 is max in this case as heavier is not needed for this application and only increases recoil from my experience, I will likely pull off the R3 recoil pad from a cast off sps stock and install on this stock when I figured out if Im shortening it . (rifle is on the way)

- Im fairly well versed on shooting in the field and on the bench...we will start with the basics with a .22 lr and work from there.

- I already have some 150 gr. Cup and core bullets (hornady and winchester)and slightly leaning that way......130 gr. Barnes would be cool though. I might be worried on what a 125 B-Tip would do if the shoulder is hit by accident...probably more of an expert bullet for Deer.
 
Easy use .300 Sav data except no reduced loads with Win 760 other than the min .308 win loads.............Harold
 
I know its not a powder you mentioned but I put some
150 E-tips on top of 44.5 grains of Varget and was getting sub
Moa groups with very mild recoil.The bullet is very similar to the
Barnes.Might be worth a try.
 
.308 light loads

try these
4064 30 to 35gr
4320 30 to 35gr
sorry no info on blc2 these loads are from lyman manual.
hodgdon says 4895 can be reduced to 60% of maximum I have used lots of this for reduced loads with jctd and cast
 
Longshot said:
I know its not a powder you mentioned but I put some
150 E-tips on top of 44.5 grains of Varget and was getting sub
Moa groups with very mild recoil.The bullet is very similar to the
Barnes.Might be worth a try.
Click to expand...

I've loaded 44.5gr Varget as well, with SST's and Accubonds for a mild load...
 
Imr 4895 39gr with 165gr very accurate load, was a go to load for Hunterclass shooters with 168gr Sierra MK,try working around 150gr bullet will be less again in recoil.
manitou
 
I used this year Hornady 150gr interbond over 44.5gr of H4895. Dropped a 9pt buck cold at 85 yards. Hit him just above the left sholder and traveled through him shattering his right shoulder. Messed him up good between those two points.
 
Tonnes of deer are shot every year with the .243 which is just a necked down .308 shooting 100 gr bullets or less.

I would load as light a bullet in the .308 as you can find. You don't need a .30 cal 165gr bullet to cleanly kill a 160lb animal.
 
"...Stevens 200..." How well does it fit her? A well fitting stock will help absorb the felt recoil.
Her size means nothing. Had a female Cadet smaller than her who could out shoot most of the 6 foot plus guys with a C1A1 or a No. 4 Rifle.
"...You can always sight it in for her..." No you can't.
"...4064 30 to 35gr...4320 30 to 35gr..." Both are way below minimum for any .308 jacketed bullet.
 
As far as the stock, Ill probably have to get the lop adjusted (I will only know in a week or so). The R3 Recoil pad I want to install should make any recoil history as I found it pretty good with full house 7mm STW loads.

4064 is pretty close to 4895, Ill probably test in the 40-45 range for the 150's. Still have some manuals to go through.

I was reading about the 125 gr. reduced recoil loads and might try to get my hands one on some sierra's or noslers to test .

Heck I have a whole year to work this one up might as well try a few bullet weights !
 
Did just that for a young lady ....

125 gr. Sierra Spitzers # 2120 ...

43-44 gr. BL-C(2) , 40-41 gr. H335, 41-42 gr. IMR 4895

Shoot for 2600 - 2650 fps. Good medium velocity, low recoil effective deer loads.
 
Just received the gun today. The recoil pad is aftermarket and should help a lot but the stock will have to be cut. Im going to load some and start shooting before its -40 out here.
 
Depends on whether the deer in your area have built up an immunity to 30-30 power bullets.

If they have not, load your 150 gr bullets to 30-30 velocity - say 2200 fps. 38gr of BLC2 (H335) would be about right; or 35 gr 3031.

Don't forget to use 30-30 bullets, so they will expand well.

For a lighter bullet, I have used the Speer 130 gr HP. According to them, the HP has better penetration than the 125 SP. I used 38gr of 3031 for my 10 year old to shoot. No real recoil. It would be a good place for your wife to start shooting a 308.
 
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