Practical hunting with 308 Win

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BigBraz15

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I've never had a 308 for hunting before and some how I've had 2 end up in my safe...

Just wondering how far out I can stretch the 308 with reliable kills. I have hunted with 30-06 and 300 win mag lots, but 308 seems a lot slower in all the reloading manuals.

I've made clean kills out to 600 with the 300 win and out to 500 with the 06.

Just wanted to check the experience with the 308 and any reccomended bullets for on game performance.

Most likely use will be deer, antelope, sheep etc. Possible use on moose/elk if the opprotunity comes up.
 
Three hundred yards/meters would be plenty, depending on bullets size.
Some can stretch that distance, but wondering how much begets a wee bit oh luck
on killing them bigger kritters like elk.
 
i would think any thing deer size down would be good out to 600 yards
moose and elk 400 yard but that just a educated guess all the moose I have shot 99% wear under 75 yards or less so im no expert on long range shooting and I still need to go get a elk
crazy in status indian an can hunt when i like up in alberta but when i'm going to work or coming home it's always to hot or a bad time of year to hunting them each time going past Hinton i keep thinking i'm nutz just driving by those Elk there making me crazy haahaa
 
There is little practical difference between .30/06 and .308... a shot you would take with one, you would take with the other... and a shot you would NOT take with one, you would NOT take with the other. If you want to stretch it out, 180 class bullets loaded at max, carry plenty of energy on deer sized game @ 500 yards. I personally don't shoot on game that far... I just use my sneakers a little more.
 
If you're happy with the .300 to 600, then you should be good to 400 with the .308 because that's about how the energies match up. The .308 is 2/3s the cartridge or the .300 is half again more if you view it that way. Taken to extremes such as military use the .308 is usually considered to have an effective range of 800 yards and the .300 1200. The ratio stays the same. I'm not going to run every possible scenario, but in a general way with common loading the .300 will give you half again the energy at a given distance. If the .308 hits with a ton,(200 yards) the .300 has a ton and half. The ratio stays intact.

In practice I lose interest in a .308 at or around 350-400 yards.
 
kamlooky said:
Three hundred yards/meters would be plenty, depending on bullets size.
Some can stretch that distance, but wondering how much begets a wee bit oh luck
on killing them bigger kritters like elk.
Click to expand...

About the same for most calibers, given the ability of the average guy. :) Past that distance, divining the trajectory becomes a dicy game.

Grizz
 
hoytcanon said:
There is little practical difference between .30/06 and .308... a shot you would take with one, you would take with the other... and a shot you would NOT take with one, you would NOT take with the other. If you want to stretch it out, 180 class bullets loaded at max, carry plenty of energy on deer sized game @ 500 yards. I personally don't shoot on game that far... I just use my sneakers a little more.
Click to expand...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this

Getting closer is half the fun IMO.
 
I was not into the .308w for many years because it seemed like everyone had one and they seemed boring.. until not long ago and I wanted light weight and went a T3, traded a 300wsm on it (.308) and never looked back.


become quite a fan of the Cartridge now, 150gr premium bonded projies, reasonable speed, reasonable recoil excellent performance, on the big deer down under. I use mine for out to 300m and personally wouldn't poke one much further as lack of practise with the cal, I use an practise with a 270w for an average range of 200-400max.
with practise and better set up rifle (scope) I don't see why one couldn't put a placed shot on an animal out too 400m with a 308w..allowing the projectile, (which would be chosen to perform at the lower velocitys) to do its job at the other end.


WL
 
Love my .308, have shot one elk and one moose with it but mostly used it on deer. I find best accuracy with 165 gr bullets. My CZ550 does'nt seem to like 180gr as well. Great cartridge, easy to load for and accurate. Will do pretty much anything your 06 will do up to 3-400 yds.
 
i load 165gamekings in dads 308 with 42.5gr benchmark getting approx 2700 over the chrony.. out to 300 is as far as i seen a deer drop to this load.. DRT. and the bullet was almost full pass threw. I just picked up a 30-06 and am using the same bullet overtop of a stiff charge of varget and am getting 2800fps.. Though I have never killed an animal with this rifle i can say that on Ballistics Gel they act the exact same and in only cm's of difference in penetration.

Now this all being said i would not limit the effectiveness on how far it can take your quarry but how far you are comfortable shooting your rifle based on recoil and other factors..
just my 2 cents
Josh
 
As per Nosler #7 manual, in 24" 308 Win, a 165 Partition with muzzle velocity of 2800 or a 180 partition with muzzle velocity of 2600 - both drop to 1800 fps at 500 yards, which is the lower limit Nosler recommends for these bullets.
 
There was a time when 600yd shots with an '06 were common for me, now, I figure 400 is my limit, I can usually move within that. I would not skimp on the 400 if I were using a .308, still a doable shot with no drama attached. Why shorten my range? Heck, I gotta go get that animal, 400yds is enough of a drag.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm just contemplating what to do with the Weatherby Ultralight I have in 308, use it as is or build it into a 30-06 or something else.. 284 win, etc. It is a long action that could be opened up for full travel, but I'm not comfortable to build a magnum on the 6 lug action. Nice light rifle that fits me perfect and handles great. If I can get comfortable with it to 500 that would be good. I don't think I would stretch it out that far for an elk or moose, but perhaps 400.
 
Potashminer said:
As per Nosler #7 manual, in 24" 308 Win, a 165 Partition with muzzle velocity of 2800 or a 180 partition with muzzle velocity of 2600 - both drop to 1800 fps at 500 yards, which is the lower limit Nosler recommends for these bullets.
Click to expand...

I use the Accubond 150gr, I figure if you were shooting out to 500y, the Accubond would be a better choice than the partition due to proberly being a little 'softer' in the tuff bullet ranks?

ive never used partitions on game, shot like poop in a 270 factory loading years ago.

not nit picking or trying to argue, just curious! an oi im packed loaded ready to go on a 10+ day alpine hunt, its raining here an due too for next 4 days so im not rushing in but mate am I keen to just gooo!!!

WL
 
WhelanLad said:
I use the Accubond 150gr, I figure if you were shooting out to 500y, the Accubond would be a better choice than the partition due to proberly being a little 'softer' in the tuff bullet ranks?

ive never used partitions on game, shot like poop in a 270 factory loading years ago.

not nit picking or trying to argue, just curious! an oi im packed loaded ready to go on a 10+ day alpine hunt, its raining here an due too for next 4 days so im not rushing in but mate am I keen to just gooo!!!

WL
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly the partition is rated to open up at lower speeds than the AB. In my experience this has been the case. Other than the mashed tips on the partitions I prefer all of their character over the accubonds.

I hope it quits raining so you can get out on your trip! It soulds like fun!
 
Get plain vanilla Winchester Power Points or older Silvertips, or Remington Core Lokts. For antelope and deer, all in 150 gr weight. And top out with 165 gr Hornady Interlock inclusive for the bigger stuff. Don't go to a bullet weight higher then this for hooved critters with the 308 Win.
 
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Personally I am not a fan of the 308 or 30-06 and never have been, The 308 was a popular silhouette rifle for a quite a few years until a young feller named Jim Carmichael and a few others discovered that that the 308 necked down to 7mm knocked those rams over with greater consistency w than the parent case and if you took it down to 6.5 mm it was even better and didn't beat the shooter up so much. Further checks revealed that it delivered more energy at those ranges. Now these rounds are being used as f class rounds and are considered to have not enough energy for a hunting round. If I had the long action I would seriously look at a 6.5 06. You can easily reach 3000fps with 140 gr bullets. Just plug that velocity into into a program with these accubonds and see what kind of energies you come up with. The good old 270 will also push these 140 out at 300 plus and work very well.

I gues I was fortunate in that I started reloading at an early age and there were lots of 'safe' loads listed giving 160 partitions and 160 speeds 3100 fps. I used that data for years When A new manual came out I didn't dump all my charges to empty 3 or 4 hrs of powder of the case.
 
My hunting partner - a better shot than I am - took out a fat whitetail doe a couple of years ago with an Accubond at a measured 350 yards - the bullet went right through and took down the almost-mature fawn behind her. No joke. The doe dropped on the spot and the fawn was down for the count when we got there.

Figures on paper are nice, but they don't put food on the table. The .308 ain't fancy amd it's easy to sneer at Mr Stubby, but there's lots of meat taken each year with it. That's all the proof I need.
 
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