Best Bullet Weight?

[ZSloboda]

So I just purchased a Sako A7 in 308 and I'm trying to decide what the best bullet weight would be for the type of hunting I'm getting into.
At this point, I'm mostly after deer within 300 yards (maximum), although I do want to go after elk when I have more experience dealing with the animal.

From what I've seen, 150 grain seems more than adequate for deer, but if I eventually want to pursue larger game, should I get used to using 180 grain?
I've read that 180 grain is overkill for deer and there's a danger of it not fully expanding too. Some say you can split the difference and use 168 grain.

So, what's the best grain of 308 bullet for deer and for larger game?

 

[hometownhero]

165 for medium and 180 for elk and moose. See it work many times. Also seen 180's work many times on rabbits to moose.

 

[hoytcanon]

One meeeellion pounds...

 

[PEKS]

Have used near all weights in 308 bullets, from 150gr to 180gr.
165gr will cover most food groups..
Train and hone your skills for deer hunting, when you progress and seek larger game, you can always dial in some 180's if needed..

 

[cosmic]

Your rifle will preferentially tune to a specific bullet weight, as far as accuracy goes. So get out and buy a box of various weights, and give it a go...

 

[Dogleg]

150s. Light, fast and soft; just like deer.

 

[FLHTCUI]

One meeeellion pounds...

errr grains maybe??

The question is best weight of bullet and some consensus is a 168 grn bullet.
But,is the 168 grn bullet come in as the best hunting application for Deer, Moose and Wapiti ?
So many bullets so little time.
A guy can be chasing the perfect combo for a very long time and forget about the actual thrill of the chase.
Tight Groups,
Rob

 

[stubblejumper]

Bullet construction is even more important than bullet weight. There is absolutely no need to ever use a bullet heavier than 165gr in a 308win for hunting big game, and a well constructed 150gr bullet will do just fine.

 

[kamlooky]

I'm agree with Stubbies thoughts.

Hoyt's, owwz's the nappy coming along?

 

[Longwalker]

I long ago standardized with 165-168 gr bullets in all my .308 rifles, 180s in my 30-06 rifles. Same speed, practically the same trajectory. I vary bullet construction for the game hunted. Quick opening plastic tips for deer, bonded bullets or monometals for elk and moose. As far a "absolutely no need to ever use a bullet heavier than 150gr in a 308win" I respectfully disagree. I like the better penetration, somewhat better preservation of meat, and better long range power of the various 165 gr bullets. But everyone has an opinion, that's why the market has so many choices.

 

[galamb]

Match the bullet style/type to the distance you are shooting and try a couple different weights to see if they shoot accurately at the desired distance.

The question about "which bullet" is more complex now because you have hundreds of options that didn't exist even 20 years ago.

Cup/Core work great for deer. And contrary to what marketing dudes would have you believe, they worked fine on moose, elk and bears for decades.

But when you are talking specifically about weight, the "what type" comes even more into play. A mono (TSX, TTSX, GMX etc) retains over 95% of their weight. So a 150 grain GMX will actually retain more weight than a Core-Lokt 180 grain. So in that comparison there is no benefit to the 180 grain which will be slower, have a worse trajectory (over distance) etc.

For deer I shoot cup/core. For anything bigger I usually shoot an A-Frame or a Partition. I have never really bought into the mono's which do require "velocity" to mushroom properly, and usually magnum velocity, which I don't shoot...