Hunting Ammo Questions

[kporebski]

Hi guys,

I've jumped down the hunting rabbit hole helping my father get setup and I have a few questions.
They are rather open ended questions but advice for .308 specifically would be greatly appreciated.
There is a LOT of options for .308 so it left me rather confused so I am looking for some guidance.

What should I be looking for when purchasing ammo for hunting?
Is there something specific you look for when hunting whitetail vs elk as in bullet weight / type and why ?
Is there any .308 cartridges you would recommend?

Thank you!

 

[John_B]

I'd find the best grouping 150 grain bullet for Whitetails. No need for premium bullets but it wouldn't hurt. I've never hunted Elk but from what I know from other hunting, I'd pick a premium 180 grain bullet to make sure it held together well if the shot was less than ideal. Whatever grouped the best from the rifle.

 

[kporebski]

I'd find the best grouping 150 grain bullet for Whitetails. No need for premium bullets but it wouldn't hurt. I've never hunted Elk but from what I know from other hunting, I'd pick a premium 180 grain bullet to make sure it held together well if the shot was less than ideal. Whatever grouped the best from the rifle.

So it's more so about getting good accuracy from the ammo in combination with your firearm? And when stepping up to bigger game, possibly look for heavier bullets? I mean makes sense, if you cant land good shot placement then it probably isn't a good choice..

 

[John_B]

Yes, relatively lighter for smaller game and heavier for larger (will penetrate better and have better sectional density). Differences in bullet construction can offset this somewhat. Deer are not particularly big or tough so most bullets from 150 grains and up will work in .308 for them. All things equal, I'd use the bullet that my rifle shoots the best - many bullets will be acceptable so might as well shoot the one that is the most accurate in your rifle.

 

[Potashminer]

If you have never killed a big game animal before, maybe learn to track. Not real likely that the thing will fall down right where it was when you shot at it, although it might - even heart shot or neck shot animals can go 10 or 20 leaps - usually downhill into the thickest crap around - to make it harder for you to get the carcass out of there or to position it to field dress. You can simply walk out to the area that you plan to hunt - pick up a track and try to follow it - no doubt you will lose it in two of your paces, the first time - but you will learn, if you practice.

 

[brownbear53]

In most cases narrow down the selection to certain bullets and/or weights that you think would work the best from research etc. like others have said.

Once you have a few options, buy a box of each and group them, without changing anything (including optic zero between grouping tests)
3 or 5 round shots, same distance and conditions. See what shoots the best and tightest in your rifle, Let someone else do the exact same test with your rifle to take out human error.
Once you find an ammo that works the best buy 80-100 rounds of it, ideally from the same manufacturing lot number, store it well, and you shouldn't have to worry about finding it or buying it again for the rest of your life, just check zero prior to season, this way lack of availability or if the ammo is discontinued, it wont affect you.

In the future if you change weights for wanting to hunt something else in the same caliber, perform the same with tests with the heavier/lighter bullets, and remember which type of ammo is for which game.
Hope it helps. Good luck.

 

[kporebski]

If you have never killed a big game animal before, maybe learn to track. Not real likely that the thing will fall down right where it was when you shot at it, although it might - even heart shot or neck shot animals can go 10 or 20 leaps - usually downhill into the thickest crap around - to make it harder for you to get the carcass out of there or to position it to field dress. You can simply walk out to the area that you plan to hunt - pick up a track and try to follow it - no doubt you will lose it in two of your paces, the first time - but you will learn, if you practice.

For sure, not looking to start with big game anyways, starting small and working up while learning as much as possible.

In most cases narrow down the selection to certain bullets and/or weights that you think would work the best from research etc. like others have said.

Once you have a few options, buy a box of each and group them, without changing anything (including optic zero between grouping tests)
3 or 5 round shots, same distance and conditions. See what shoots the best and tightest in your rifle, Let someone else do the exact same test with your rifle to take out human error.
Once you find an ammo that works the best buy 80-100 rounds of it, ideally from the same manufacturing lot number, store it well, and you shouldn't have to worry about finding it or buying it again for the rest of your life, just check zero prior to season, this way lack of availability or if the ammo is discontinued, it wont affect you.

In the future if you change weights for wanting to hunt something else in the same caliber, perform the same with tests with the heavier/lighter bullets, and remember which type of ammo is for which game.
Hope it helps. Good luck.

That sounds like a pretty good process, I like the idea of throwing someone else behind the gun to verify.
As long as the optic holds zero well, then it would just turn into a set and forget situation. I'm still undecided on an optic, but been reading horror stories of multiple moa shifts just from a car ride, even on scopes from "reliable" manufacturers like Leupold..

 

[kamlooky]

In recent discussions it has been concluded that buy the ammo that has a picture of yer game species on the bawx.
Can’t go too terribly wrong this way.

 

[Jahnj0584]

been reading horror stories of multiple moa shifts just from a car ride, even on scopes from "reliable" manufacturers like Leupold..

a bunch of fuddlore. They probably had their caps slip or something way more traumatic then normal travel stories. The internals are good in 2024. We aren't using 1980's optics anymore.

You can drop a gun from 6' and still have it hit on target. I've never had a rifle lose zero IF: Caps are on secretly, all bolts torqued properly, no one was messing with it, ammo stays the same.

I'd use my 180gr S+B rounds on anything with 4 legs in North America. They shoot sub moa on my ruger at 100y. Thats meat in the freeer, and two exploded hearts last season.

 

[Joel]

Testing on the Rokslide from guys like Form have documented the issues very well. It aint Fuddlore if you're proving it.

That said for guys who are shooting deer at 100 yards tops, a 2 moa shift aint that big a deal. Often the sight confirmation is a 3 shot group thats "good enough".

Considering what 36" drops have been shown to do, I really want to see a 6 foot drop and gun still zeroed.

In recent discussions it has been concluded that buy the ammo that has a picture of yer game species on the bawx.
Can’t go too terribly wrong this way.

That was hilarious hahaha.


OP, anything that doesn't say "varmint" on it should do you just fine. My personal fav is starting to become 130gr TTSX but its pretty hard to go wrong with 308 Win

 

[Potashminer]

In recent discussions it has been concluded that buy the ammo that has a picture of yer game species on the bawx.
Can’t go too terribly wrong this way.

I was just rooting through storage here - 22 Magnum ammo - the 50 grain Federal Game Shok has picture of a squirrel - the 40 grain Super-X has picture of both a "gopher" and a bushy tail. Must be what those are for. The 30 grain Federal Premium does not have any picture; neither does the 40 grain Super-X Full Metal Jacket - must not be good for anything. The CCI Maxi-Mag boxes have a picture of Troy Landry - he is not likely the intended target - so sometimes relying on "pictures" can get confusing ...

 

[kamlooky]

No game photos means tuh proseed at yer own risk.

 

[kporebski]

Testing on the Rokslide from guys like Form have documented the issues very well. It aint Fuddlore if you're proving it.

That said for guys who are shooting deer at 100 yards tops, a 2 moa shift aint that big a deal. Often the sight confirmation is a 3 shot group thats "good enough".

Considering what 36" drops have been shown to do, I really want to see a 6 foot drop and gun still zeroed.

Yeah I was looking at Rokslide too, those guys really but those scopes through some tough love. I can appreciate that, I treat my rifles with way more care than what my father will be doing (he is the current target of the next optic purchase). If I tell him I spent $1k~ on an optic I think he would expect it to be bulletproof...

 

[brownbear53]

I totally agree with Jahnj0584 on his comment about other factors affecting the Point of impact. A properly installed scope with a properly done zero should not be affected, we have had rifles bounce around in the back of the truck, getting tossed all over the place in just a soft case, sometimes no case in the back of the vehicle on the floor, and never seen zero shift.

A perfect example was when a coworker and myself went to the woods to shoot, he claimed his old 308 needed to be zeroed again as it keeps shifting, I tried it prior to him touching the zero, 3 rounds of 308 through the same hole at 110 yards. He didn't say anything after but didn't attempt to zero it either. Sometimes people just find it convenient to blame the rifle and not themselves for lack of accuracy, this was using a VX Freedom 3-9x40 that I sold him, which was heavily used and abused on my model 70 for almost 4 years. And by abused I mean it, caseless transport off road at mach bejesus speeds, accidental drops, used in rain/snow, carrying the rifle by the scope etc.

 

[SigWig]

One to try in different weights to see what the gun likes, federal fusion when on sale

 

[kjohn]

Jeez. About 40 years ago, I had Ken McLeod of K&M Shooting Shop near Moosomin, SK, drill and tap an old Mauser 98. I asked if he had a scope that was not a big price. He rooted around under the counter, came up with a scope, banged it on the counter, looked through it, and said, “This one ought to be okay”. $10 later, he mounted it, sighted it in. When I went back to pick it up, he handed me a box of 8x57 ammo with 3 or 4 rounds fired. I’ve never touched that scope since. It was my main whitetail rifle for a good many years. The scope had no turret caps when I bought it and still doesn’t. It is a Fisher-Dietz 4x. I smoked a few deer with it. It is now an 8mm-06.

 

[LawrenceN]

OK, my 2 cents worth. I've been shooting for near on 56 yrs. both as a soldier and a civilian. I admit to being very picky about accuracy, my attitude being that if the rifle and the ammo produce good to excellent groups, a missed game animal is purely my fault. I don't get "buck fever" in the classic sense but the adrenaline rush when you do a perfect shot is intoxicating. I have Ruger American with the 18" barrel and muzzle brake and it shoots phenomenal groups with my 165 gr. Speer soft point. I've loaded a bunch of Hornady 150 gr. (both #3031 & #3033) to see if I can't get equally good groups as a deer load. I also have a Howa in 7.62X39 and personal experience has shown that little 123 gr. bullet is deadly on deer at 100 yd. and under. What the other gentlemen say on this thread is very good advice. Try several brands and bullet weights to see what your rifle likes most and stock up on that. if you're fortunate, you may find some guys with whom you can trade ammo or sell your unused part boxes on this site or at a gun show. On the pictured reactive target, you'll note the 5 rnd. groups on the left. Ignoring the flyer in each, either one is excellent for this year's deer hunt (the squares are 1") and this was shot at 100 yds. Where I hunt, you normally have line of sight under 100 yds. except in about 3 places. Good luck to you in finding your "sweet" load.