What is the maximum effective range for a .308 for whitetail and coyote, say a 150 or 165gr bullet.
Effective range for .308?
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Re: Effective range for .308?
depends on speed you are running. I would say a bullet is effective on coyotes as long as it is super-sonic (at long range) and whitetail the old saying is at least a 1,000 pounds of energy.
a 155gr amax at 3000fps is at 1000 ft/lbs of energy at 675 and is still supersonic at 1000 yards.
depends on speed you are running. I would say a bullet is effective on coyotes as long as it is super-sonic (at long range) and whitetail the old saying is at least a 1,000 pounds of energy.
a 155gr amax at 3000fps is at 1000 ft/lbs of energy at 675 and is still supersonic at 1000 yards.
Re: Effective range for .308?
I say max effective range is the distance you can fire your rifle and load accurately. Just because your rifle can do it at 700yds that does not mean you can. If you can only consistently hit at 400 then that should be your limit.
That 1,000 foot pounds of energy has been stated for a long time. That is a good rule of thumb. If you can put them where you want them then it takes much less than 1,000f/lbs.
Personally on coyotes I will shoot however far I think I can get a hit. On coyotes I just go for combat accuracy. A hit is a hit.
I say max effective range is the distance you can fire your rifle and load accurately. Just because your rifle can do it at 700yds that does not mean you can. If you can only consistently hit at 400 then that should be your limit.
That 1,000 foot pounds of energy has been stated for a long time. That is a good rule of thumb. If you can put them where you want them then it takes much less than 1,000f/lbs.
Personally on coyotes I will shoot however far I think I can get a hit. On coyotes I just go for combat accuracy. A hit is a hit.
Re: Effective range for .308?
My hunting 308 is running a stock 26" varmint barrel. I load 165 Sierra Game Kings over 44.9gn of Varget in LC brass with either CCI or Win primers and I get about 2700fps. With my loads my rifle will print consistently at about 0.5 to 0.75 MOA at 200 yds. In Lake city brass I am about 0.1gn from crunching when I seat. I seat my bullets 2.815, they still fit in the internal mag and keep the jump to a minimum.
At 200 that's about a 1 to 1.5 inch group. Extrapolate that to 400 and you have a 2-3, except that in the real world most people can't shoot as tight at 400 as they do at 200 so you are probably looking at a 4" group at least, and at 600 I'd say you would be really pushing things to get clean kills.
The biggest problem will be wind it is moving you 1.5" per MPH of full value wind at 400, 2.4" at 500 and 3.7" at 600.
Miss your wind call by 3 MPH, which is barely moving, and you are a foot off from your POA. That's a miss, or a shot in the ass. depending on which way it's blowing.
I'd say you could reliably get hits at 400 maybe further depending on conditions. With a stock gun that groups at over .5 I think you'd be pushing the ethical limits at 500.
This 165 load will go subsonic at about 900 yds.
With a stock barrel I could never get 150SGKs to shoot for crap. The throat is to long, it's imposible to reach the lands and still have the bullet in the case, so for a seated bullet the jump is huge.
My hunting 308 is running a stock 26" varmint barrel. I load 165 Sierra Game Kings over 44.9gn of Varget in LC brass with either CCI or Win primers and I get about 2700fps. With my loads my rifle will print consistently at about 0.5 to 0.75 MOA at 200 yds. In Lake city brass I am about 0.1gn from crunching when I seat. I seat my bullets 2.815, they still fit in the internal mag and keep the jump to a minimum.
At 200 that's about a 1 to 1.5 inch group. Extrapolate that to 400 and you have a 2-3, except that in the real world most people can't shoot as tight at 400 as they do at 200 so you are probably looking at a 4" group at least, and at 600 I'd say you would be really pushing things to get clean kills.
The biggest problem will be wind it is moving you 1.5" per MPH of full value wind at 400, 2.4" at 500 and 3.7" at 600.
Miss your wind call by 3 MPH, which is barely moving, and you are a foot off from your POA. That's a miss, or a shot in the ass. depending on which way it's blowing.
I'd say you could reliably get hits at 400 maybe further depending on conditions. With a stock gun that groups at over .5 I think you'd be pushing the ethical limits at 500.
This 165 load will go subsonic at about 900 yds.
With a stock barrel I could never get 150SGKs to shoot for crap. The throat is to long, it's imposible to reach the lands and still have the bullet in the case, so for a seated bullet the jump is huge.
Re: Effective range for .308?
If you can reliably hit it, it's in range.
Thats 10 shots @ 600. 10 ring is 5"
A 175smk smokes a deer at 675, I can tell you that for sure.
A 150-200gr projectile will destroy a soft target even at 500fps, so the true limit to effective range comes down to weapon system accuracy (including shooter) and trans-sonic stability of the bullet. I say 1200 yards is the limit with 308 and 175smk.
If you can reliably hit it, it's in range.
Thats 10 shots @ 600. 10 ring is 5"
A 175smk smokes a deer at 675, I can tell you that for sure.
A 150-200gr projectile will destroy a soft target even at 500fps, so the true limit to effective range comes down to weapon system accuracy (including shooter) and trans-sonic stability of the bullet. I say 1200 yards is the limit with 308 and 175smk.
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