First deer hunt! Ammo suggestions

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jona710

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Hey my sister wants to use one of my .308s for deer hunting looking for an ammo suggestion for her.

I know they’re probably all the same etc but I only shoot targets with fmj so looking to see what the best is don’t want to cheap out.

NO Winchester please. Their overpressured ammo broke my gun and their helpfulness broke my trust in their products.


Edit: she asked me to zero it at 200 for her so I would guess 100-300 yard shooting
 
Any regular soft point ammo 150gr to 180gr will work fine for deer. CT or WalMart would be where I would look first. Deer are not hard to kill, but if you think you need Nosler Partitions or Barnes TSX go for those too. $$$

BTW ........ It's highly doubtful that WW brand was the cause for your over pressure troubles.
 
SuperCub said:
Any regular soft point ammo 150gr to 180gr will work fine for deer. CT or WalMart would be where I would look first. Deer are not hard to kill, but if you think you need Nosler Partitions or Barnes TSX go for those too. $$$

BTW ........ It's highly doubtful that WW brand was the cause for your over pressure troubles.
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Blew 6 primers before I noticed. All cases had ejector hole marks. My rifle was checked afterwards by a qualified gunsmithand (inspected and headspace etc etc) found to be perfect (was brand new). The ammo broke my ejector and bent the spring which had to be replaced. Gave the rest of the box to my gunsmith dunno if he ever pulled it down. :(

Since ejector replacement have shot federal American eagle, federal GMM, norinco surplus, hirtenberger surplus, no issues checked every case for the first few times out.
 
Hornady InterLock, Federal Fusion (my personal favorite), Remington Core-lokt etc.. will all put meat in the freezer if the hunter does their part (bullet placement).
 
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^^^^^^^^^^^ Agreed!
Winchester ammo is anything but over powered, it's lawyer friendly, same as all the other major brands.

My preference is for 165 grain, and I use it for Moose, deer, and black bear. I handload, have not bought factory stuff in more than 40 years. Not that there is anything wrong with factory stuff, I just prefer my own.
 
Just because ammo is more expensive doesnt guaranty accuracy. Id rather a crappy bullet with sub moa accuracy than a great bullet that is 2.5moa. Buy 3-4 boxes of the cheapest stuff and see which shoots the best. Whatever is accurate, use that. Also you get to shoot a lot doing your "research" which is fun in itself lol. And make sure she knows where to shoot on a deer! Shot placement is everything.

For bullet weight... If its a windy area go heavier so your bullet doesnt get moved around as much and hits harder (keep in mind, at 300y or less, wind will barely effect 308 regardless of weight). If not stay lighter so there is less bullet drop. Granted out to 300 there isnt that much to begin with.

If its her first hunt I wouldnt recommend shooting more than 200y unless she is already a decent shooter. Nothing worse than injuring a deer because of a misplaced shot and losing track of it. Then it dies an uncomfortable death over the next couple of days or maybe weeks with an infection.

Cheers
 
zackstab said:
Just because ammo is more expensive doesnt guaranty accuracy. Id rather a crappy bullet with sub moa accuracy than a great bullet that is 2.5moa. Buy 3-4 boxes of the cheapest stuff and see which shoots the best. Whatever is accurate, use that. Also you get to shoot a lot doing your "research" which is fun in itself lol. And make sure she knows where to shoot on a deer! Shot placement is everything.

For bullet weight... If its a windy area go heavier so your bullet doesnt get moved around as much and hits harder (keep in mind, at 300y or less, wind will barely effect 308 regardless of weight). If not stay lighter so there is less bullet drop. Granted out to 300 there isnt that much to begin with.

If its her first hunt I wouldnt recommend shooting more than 200y unless she is already a decent shooter. Nothing worse than injuring a deer because of a misplaced shot and losing track of it. Then it dies an uncomfortable death over the next couple of days or maybe weeks with an infection.

Cheers
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She is a decent shooter. Gonna get her out to the range for some practice I reset my scope turrets so she can zero it and feel out that rifle a bit. I was thinking I’d go with something 150 grain the deer aren’t huge here and I’ve been told that less meat will be spoiled.

I know nothing of hunting but she is going to be taken out with a friend who is experienced I’m just trying to set her up with my gun and some ammo (she doesn’t have lots of extra cash to buy her own setup or to spend on ammo).

Thanks everyone for the tips. I’ll likely grab a couple different boxes and shoot them myself to gauge accuracy. I’ve always had luck with federal ammunition so fusion is going to be my first try
 
Hornady White Tail has always done well out of my gun. Prices are going up on them though, so I'm sure you can find a cheaper load that is just as effective.
 
RatFink said:
Hornady White Tail has always done well out of my gun. Prices are going up on them though, so I'm sure you can find a cheaper load that is just as effective.
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I saw one of those exact rounds shrapnell into pieces .... lots of pieces on a simply perfect heart lung shot on a standing broadside deer. The butcher gave me the base of the bullet , which consisted of the perfectly round cup about 2mm deep with shredded copper protruding all around. 70% of the bullet was missing and the core was no where to be found, the cup remaining of the base was empty. Animal was shot from 30 yards..... maybe 40. Tikka T3 , hornady white tail extreme.... 150gr? Was my buddy shooting so not sure. Extremely accurate ammo in that rifle during sighting in prior to the hunt but performance on a 150pound black tail deer was terminal but the shrapnel did wayyyy to much unacceptable damage to the edibles for our tastes.

Most reliable deer killer I have shot in the .308 rifles from semi's to bolt guns is Federal Power shok , 150gr or 180gr and always the 180gr for close range stuff. Federal Vital Shok would be my next choice.... or anything with the Nosler Partition or Accubond.
 
zackstab said:
Just because ammo is more expensive doesnt guaranty accuracy. Id rather a crappy bullet with sub moa accuracy than a great bullet that is 2.5moa. Buy 3-4 boxes of the cheapest stuff and see which shoots the best. Whatever is accurate, use that. Also you get to shoot a lot doing your "research" which is fun in itself lol. And make sure she knows where to shoot on a deer! Shot placement is everything.

For bullet weight... If its a windy area go heavier so your bullet doesnt get moved around as much and hits harder (keep in mind, at 300y or less, wind will barely effect 308 regardless of weight). If not stay lighter so there is less bullet drop. Granted out to 300 there isnt that much to begin with.

If its her first hunt I wouldnt recommend shooting more than 200y unless she is already a decent shooter. Nothing worse than injuring a deer because of a misplaced shot and losing track of it. Then it dies an uncomfortable death over the next couple of days or maybe weeks with an infection.

Cheers
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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.
 
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Unless she is doing some kind of tactical shooting events, where she is running and such then she likely isn’t prepared for a hunting shot. Her heart rate will be high from seeing the deer, she may be tired from walking or climbing, she might be in an awkward shooting position or poor footing, or any other situation that is different from the normal shooting situation she is in. Plus, the emotional factor of killing a deer for the first time. ***More so if she doesn’t get a clean kill. But that isn’t an issue with the first shot.

I say all this because she probably shouldn’t be taking a shot over 200 yards. Nor should she worry about the amount of meat saved by one bullet vs another. Her/your only consideration should be the bullet that is able to put don’t the deer as fast as possible. There is way more experienced and knowledgeable people here than me that could tell you the best bullet for this.

Also, don’t go cheap. Why run the risk to save a few dollars? A hunting round isn’t like range/target ammo where you’re going to go through a ton. Especially, in your case. Plus, if she decides to stick with hunting then she can make her own decision on what she wants to shoot.
 
DiabeticKripple said:
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.
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Guess again ........

A standard cup & core bullet of suitable weight will kill ANY deer ANY time esp when fired from a 308. If you think you're getting a "clean, ethical kill" because you're spendy on ammo, fill'yer boots, but you're only kidding yourself.
 
jona710 said:
Blew 6 primers before I noticed. All cases had ejector hole marks. My rifle was checked afterwards by a qualified gunsmithand (inspected and headspace etc etc) found to be perfect (was brand new). The ammo broke my ejector and bent the spring which had to be replaced. Gave the rest of the box to my gunsmith dunno if he ever pulled it down. :(

Since ejector replacement have shot federal American eagle, federal GMM, norinco surplus, hirtenberger surplus, no issues checked every case for the first few times out.
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Did you contact Winchester?
 
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