Bullet for med range preformance

Big JD-From the hills

Big JD-From the hills

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Saskatchewan.
Im wondering if anyone has had experience with bullets that preform(expand) at 300,400 and 500 yards(on deer) wile fired from a .308? Im thinking of trying sst's and maybe balistic tips, but has anyone tryed either or maybe even other bullets? I would only take these shots if conditions were perfect, and if the bullet will preform. Guess I could do my own gelitan testing... or just shoot at coyotes lol.
 
Any soft nose bullets designed to be shot out of the .30 caliber single shot Pistols will still mushroom at 1500 fps.....as will any bullet specifically made for 30/30's ,however as you know most of these are rnd nose they will drop more at long range due to bullet configuration..

Have shot reduced loads at 1500 fps in 308 (at 10 yards) with these bullets and shot them into a pile of phone books to note decent expansion...

Have not shot any deer (regular .308 starting at 2750 fps) beyond 250 yds myself so can't verify results at longer ranges with any bullet type..
 
I worked up loads for the first time last year for a Ruger in .308 with deer in mind. Unfortunately no penetration information to report yet. :redface: I'd actually call 3 to 500 yds long range especially for a .308 :eek: Anyways this is what I learned.

The tsx bullets are supposed to open up at velocities down into the low teens in fps. I got a load with 165 gr tsxs shooting well at 2650. My personal limit for this rifle would be around 350 yds and on a trip to the interior last year that was a strong possibility. I wasn't quite happy with the tragectory of the tsxs at only 2650 so also brought some 165gr Hornady interlock loads along which for some reason I easily achieved 2750+ ft/s and a nicer tragectory. A whisker under 2" high at 100 they printed nicely at 1 1/2" low a 200 yds and 8" low at 300 yds. I felt that the latter (and probably even the former) load here was a reasonable propposition to 350 yds for whitetail.

Yesterday however I was down island and bought a box of 150 tsxs. I hope like hell these shoot well and velocities prove out where they should be in my rifle and I figure this would be an excellent bet for longer shots. I agree the ssts and other rapid expanding bullets would work well at longer range but I always worry (for good reason and because of experience :rolleyes: ) about the mess that happens when mr. buck shows at only 50 yds! :slap:
 
Well a normal bullet at 50yards has the opertunity to mess up allot anyway if the shot is misplaced. I have been practicing on milk jugs off the bipod(2liter) full of water out to 400 yards and seem to have no troulbe with that on a clam day, and thats the only day I would do it out that far on deer.

If its a standing target at I shoot for behind the sholders, I havn't hit a sholder for 5 years now(and atleast 25 deer on the cronic wasting tags)

I have never tryed the TSX bullets, and probably never will if Im just going for deer.
 
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Any good 165 or 168 grain hunting bullet with IMR4064 will do nicely. The .308 loves that bullet weight and powder.
Mind you, 400 plus yards is too far for a hunting shot. The velocity has dropped to about 1800fps and the energy to about 1200 ft-lbs at 500. Just under 2,000fps and about 1450 ft-lbs at 400. That's marginal. Plus the bullet will drop 2 feet at 400, 4 feet at 500 with a 200 yard zero.
 
Just wondering about 300, 400, & 500 yards called "medium" range? Seems kinda long, for big game hunting shots. For me medium range is 75-200 yards, or thereabouts. What do you call long range?
 
You are required to cut out the antlers on the larger ones(takes up to much space). They had a 4point and under tag also last year, those you had to leave on for proof of. Another thing is they are only open to residents... and allot of guys have been posting there property due to the increased trafic and damage to there feilds/pasures.

But I have 3 siblings that also hunt deer and they often do better than me. We butcherd a @#$ load of deer last year, the dogs also ate well!

I would call long range past 600 yards+... Im not into long range shooting.

Ok realisticly I probably won't shoot past 400 yards unless I feel realy realy confident that it will be a one shot kill. If I don't have the shot Im not going to take it. No pot shots!
 
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Id think a 165 grain Accubond or Ballistic Tip (or SST if you prefer) should expand at 500 yards on deer, if they're launched around 2700 fps muzzle velocity. 1800-1900 fps impact should open these up
 
have used tsx 130's,150's for 3 years worked fine on mullies3-400yrds
work awesome in close for running shots .almost Too good!
use 120's,140's tsx's in the other 1/2's 7mm08 mullies die easy out to 400yrds. we use silloettes actual size with 8"kill zone gong at different ranges
works good to get your limits established.
 
I have had hunting weight ballistic tips and accubonds from a .270 expand quite nicely on coyotes at 400 yards.
I would suggest some wet newspaper testing at those ranges with your .308... that would make an interesting thread.
 
and the easiest way to duplicate that is handloading with SR4759 or similar reduced load powder, getting 1900 fps muzzle velocity, and shooting newspaper or whatever at 25 yards :)
 
The 308 has been used to effectively harvest deer at 700+yds by hunters I trust on a deer cull in Sask.

The muzzle velocity is never high enough to grenade modern poly tipped bullets even on a major bone impact (ie shoulder). Broadside is a no brainer.

You will get a large exit wound. Most of mine are in the 2" to 3" range. That can bruise alot of meat so aim for parts you don't plan on eating.

As long as impact velocity is above 1500fps, the SST and new BT will work their magic.

As for impact test, I remember the issues Win had when they were coming up with the Failsafe. They did short range reduced velocity testing as this was very easy to set up.

Apparently, when those bullets were used in the field, they didn't work. The issue had to do with rotational velocity and impact velocity at distance which was different enough from a SR reduced velocity load to give incorrect data.

I just throw that out for trivial info. Have no way to confirm.

Personally, I have shot through steel plate at 385yds so can't see a deer offering more resistance.

Jerry
 
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