.308 Bullet Weights?

Crazy.kayaker

Crazy.kayaker

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Hello everyone I'm seeking some help with some information about what grain weight I should use when I get my rifle. I should receive my M88 .308 either tomorrow or Friday and plan on starting my practicing immediately afterwards as I need to get good enough to go hunting this fall.

From what I've seen the .308 goes from 150 up to 180 grain. I was thinking of using either the 150 or the 165 grain ammo. Which one would be best to use?

I'm planning on hunting deer this year and might go bear hunting if I can find someone who will take me with them. I want to practice with the same cartridge as I'd use when I go hunting so I'm familiar with the cartridge when it comes time to take my shot. I know the grain weight required by law when hunting deer and bear. I'm looking for people who have practical experience with the .308 and what cartridge actually works best. I know it's more about placement then bullet weight but I want a round that will help drop the animal humanly.

I plan on doing some reloading but I'm not sure if I'll be doing it by the time the hunting season starts.

Thanks for your help.

C.K
 
Most .308s seem to like the 165s and 180s although you won't know until you shoot it but the 165 would be a good starting point. The 150s can be a bit finicky in some 308s but in those that will shoot them, they are well suited to deer and bear.
 
another vote for the Hornady Interlock for a lower cost hunting load in the 308 Winchester. I would go with 165 grain and load it over enough suitable powder to get 2600-2700 fps and call it good. If you're shooting factory ammo, I would take a good look at the Federal Fusion 165 gr. Should shoot well. I hunted with a M88 in 308 once and used 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips over IMR 4895. Took a black wolf on a caribou hunt with that rifle and it performed excellent!
 
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My Ruger likes a 165gr. My dad's old Model 88 likes either the Federal 150 or 180 - whatever is on the store shelf when he goes to buy ammo.;) That's the cheap Federal 'blue box'.

Good luck and have fun.

James
 
Your choice of bullet should be based on the game you are hunting, the range you anticipate, and how well your particular rifle shoots a particular bullet. You don't say if you handload, so I will assume you do not.

A great advantage the .308 has is that it does not need expensive bullets to achieve consistent bullet performance. Normal lead core and copper cup bullets work just fine on all game in bullet weights from 150-180 grs.

For most of us 300 yards is way out there, and few of us have any business shooting beyond that limit. In the .308, any spitzer bullet from 150-180 grs will shoot flat enough to make hitting fairly easy with a minimum amount of hold over. If your hunting area is one that will make a longish shot likely, you should sight in so that you can hold dead on out to about 250 yards. This will mean that your bullet will rise to strike a 100 yard target about 3" high and continues to rise another inch or so to strike 4" high at 150, then begins to drop hitting a 300 yard target 5" low. Regardless of bullet weight, .308 factory ammunition with pointed bullets will follow a similar trajectory, give or take an inch at 300.

For deer hunting, .30 caliber, 150 gr bullets, has been pretty much the standard over many years. In the last 30 years or so the 165 has become very popular and many hunters choose this one bullet weight regardless of the game being hunted.

If I was hunting heavier game with a .308 I would opt for the 180 gr bullet. Given the country that bear and moose are often found in, I would also choose a round nose bullet. This bullet sighted in for 150 yards will be 3" low at 200 yards and 9" low at 250. The round nose bullet is often a better game bullet than the pointed bullet. The reason is that the round nose bullet makes a larger entry wound which bleeds freely and allows cold air to enter the body cavity which quickens the onset of shock. The spitzer tends to make a small entry wound which easily closes up, and must wait until there is enough resistance from tissue or fluid to open up. Should a follow up be necessary, and the bullet does not exit, the blood trail will disappear quickly if the entry wound closes up. If a bear is fat, the entry wound may close quickly in any case, but at least there is the chance of a blood trail.

A quick word about how a bullet kills a game animal might be in order here. The bullet strikes the animal at supersonic velocity, and within a couple of inches of penetration begins to open up; the style, construction, and velocity of the bullet will determine how quickly this occurs. From this point on the wound cavity expands rapidly, the width is determined by the expanded frontal area of the bullet and the velocity. Because the frontal area is so large, the bullet slows down quickly, and probably will come to a stop within 12" to 24", depending on just what it hits when penetrating. While it travels at supersonic speed a shock-wave moves ahead and around the bullet pushing fluid and soft tissue aside resulting in a wide permanent wound channel, but once the velocity slows to subsonic, fluid and tissue creates friction and resistance to forward motion, the wound channel narrows to the width of the expanded frontal area of the bullet, and the bullet quickly comes to a stop. By now the ability or the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels to supply oxygenated blood to the brain has been severely compromised, and the animal can no longer sustain life.

I'm glad that you intend to practice prior to going afield. Try to shoot to the limit of the range that you will in the field so that you will understand the trajectory and wind drift of your particular bullet. Having said that, don't limit your practice to long range, close range shooting is far more difficult than most people give it credit for. Practice with the same ammo you will hunt with. Shoot from all field positions so that the choice of what position is best for what conditions becomes automatic.
 
Thanks everyone

Thanks for the advice everyone please keep it coming.

WOW thats is some detail I knew most of what you just told me BOOMER I didn't realize the part about how shock happens or how the bullet actually causes all the damage when it's still in super sonic velocities. I've always thought it was the impact and the channel the bullet created that caused the shock. I did mention hand loading right at the end, I just don't know if I'll be doing it by hunting season with rounds I'd trust to hunt with.

Well so it would seem the 165 is the most favored bullet weight. I'll be trying it in my M88 .308 once it arrives. I plan on experimenting with brands to see which works best but federal and Hornady Interlock will be the first two types I'll try for sure. Any other good bullets I should try just tell me.

I did forget to ask what's the best distance to sight in on. I live in forested mountains and rolling grass lands. I plan on hunting in grass lands and along clear cuts for the most part and was thinking of sighting in around 200 yards then try shooting out to 300 yards and down to 25 yards to learn how high or low the bullet will be and different distances and learn to compensate for it. I know I'll be putting lots of boxes of ammo through the rifle before I'm a good shot so I'll be getting lots of practice. My M88 comes with a pre-mounted scope from way back in 1997 which the seller inherited from his father.

Thanks again and keep the advice coming

C.K
 
I used 180 Partitions for moose last year in Newfoundland. I had trouble getting them to group well until I realised I was trying to push them too fast.
I had only ever used 150 (mostly interlock) and 130(too fast and soft for deer).
I was given a box of 165 partitions by mistake, but when I tried them I found the rifle loved them.
I"m loading 150 interlocks(cos I have them!) today for whitetail in New Brunswick this season, and I am confident that they will do anything I need.
180 might be heavy for the 308, maybe better in an "06 or winmag.
150 or 165 is great. Whatever you choose, have a great season.
 
Well I went shooting and used the Winchester SuperX 150 grain as they are the cheapest. Pretty good shot considering I only ever shot .177 air guns and sucked when I used the rifles. Once I know how to shoot better I'll get some nice 165 and maybe some 180's to see which I find better. I do need a zooming scope as I couldn't use the fixed 4x at 100 yards accurately but the wind didn't help.
 
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I used 150's for deer, black bear and moose never had a reason to switch to 165's. All shots were under 300 yds in terain exactly like you suggested. Try a few of each in your rifle and shoot what ever one seems the most accurate
 
The round nose bullet is often a better game bullet than the pointed bullet. The reason is that the round nose bullet makes a larger entry wound which bleeds freely and allows cold air to enter the body cavity which quickens the onset of shock.
Click to expand...

Just curious why you think a round-nose bullet makes a larger entry wound?
 
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