Hunting & Fishing White tail round=to many options ugh

[rooster2/16]

I'll be hunting this year with my .308 and there are toooooooo many options for ammo out there. I'll be shooting no farther than 200 yards and the rifle really likes 168 grain but I have only killed paper with it so far. Any advise will be helpful. Thanks

 

[Fuzzy Bunny]

I shoot Nosler accubonds or partitions, as I want a bullet that gives me an exit wound. Everybody has an opinion on this. Pick any of the premium hunting bullets and you will be fine.

 

[Jrb572]

I've shot two white tails with a 175gr SMK. It's all about shot placement. This subject has been brought up many times. If you have a load worked up. Use it.

 

[Ledzep]

I'd shoot it with whatever shoots best. Avoid FMJ, and target bullets may not be the best (they may work just fine, too).

If I was looking for something deer-specific, I'd be looking at 150gr soft/ballistic points. Within 200 on whitetail, just about anything will rock them if you hit the heart/lungs.

 

[jroberts]

im a huge fan of amax's our of a 308. 155-168-178 doesn't matter it rocks them. DRT.. all of our shots are 400 and closer

 

[Mark williams]

Shoot em with what your gun likes. It's all about shot placement as stated above.

 

[sierracharlie338]

The 150 interlock from hornady has been my standby for many years now. Hard to beat IMO for a hunting round.

 

[565fitter]

The 168gr will do the job just fine. I used to think target hollow points would not work well on deer, until I got to hunt camp and packed my match ammo instead of the soft tip hunting rounds. The 8 point I shot a few days later went down like a sack of potatoes with an smk. I don't even bother loading anything up but Berger vlds now and I haven't had a deer run more than 30yds since

 

[roggom]

Many guys use SMK's and the sort and that is not an issue for a dual purpose rifle. For a dedicated hunting rifle and you have not spent the time working up Amax or SMK's, just find some factory box hunting ammo.

At those ranges you can use anything from Remington Greenbox, up to Nosler Trophy.

I agree with FB, just pick up a box of premium ammo and hunt. Even if it cost $30 you only shoot three - five for sighting and then will have 15 rounds for your hunt.

Nosler Trophy Grade gives you the option of a ballistic tip, accubond or partition and is damn good ammo

If cost is an issue check out SPS every day. They get blems (only cosmetic with a smudge here an there). Inventory changes every day or so as it goes fast. They have not updated since its the long weekend but should.

Factory Blemished (2nds) - Nosler Products


If all else fails grab a box of Hornady American Whitetail and fill the freezer.

 

[rooster2/16]

Thanks for all the info guys. Picked up some remington Core-lokt 180 grain. Used this brand in my 270(it was stolen) and they worked pretty good. I've just started reloading so over the next summer I'll work up an A MAX round. I have read allot about the A MAX and like what I see so……

Again thanks for all the input

 

[Guest]

Shot placement is key.
I "know a guy" who used to live in town in a semi-wooded neighborhood, where the deer were absolute pests.
Constant vehicle damages, and total destruction of all thornless ornamentals.
Of course, hunting was banned within the town limits, so creative measures were in order.

According to "this guy", who I have no way of knowing what his real name would be, they dropped like stones with a single properly placed subsonic 22 LR round.
The trick, according to "this guy I know" was timing the shots between heavy neighborhood foot traffic, vehicle traffic, and police patrols.
Late nights and snowstorms were best. Ambient lighting from parking lots and street lights were sufficient.

Most shots were purposely placed for gut and liver, which meant they'd typically wander off and lie down in a woodlot or creek bottom, where the buzzards would quickly remove the evidence within a day or two.
Poor bastard did accidentally miss the mark one night during a near blizzard, and dropped one in its tracks damned near on the front lawn of the Post Office.
Nothing like a 2 AM deer drag to get the juices flowing.... allegedly.

 

[d762nato]

Thanks for all the info guys. Picked up some remington Core-lokt 180 grain. Used this brand in my 270(it was stolen) and they worked pretty good. I've just started reloading so over the next summer I'll work up an A MAX round. I have read allot about the A MAX and like what I see so……

Again thanks for all the input

Nothing wrong with core locks they've been killing deer for probably 50 yrs. I've killed a bunch of deer with them myself, like has been mentioned put the bullet in the right place and you've got a dead deer.

 

[Jig Stick]

for in close work like 200yds you dont need anything fancy. Any of the following will work very well. Any variation of the Barnes Triple Shock, Hornady Interlock / Interbond, Nosler Partition or Accubond, Sierra Prohunter or Gameking. I have shot deer with the AMAX...it works...but ruins a lot of meat. I have shot deer with the Berger VLD's...they work...but are very sensitive to seating depth. I personally wouldnt bother with any of the "vld" style bullets for hunting, especially at 200yds.

I use them in this order, if I can find them.

Hornady Interbond
Nosler Partition
Sierra Gameking
Barnes Triple Shock

 

[prairieshooter]

I used to think caliber/ bullet choice was really important . The fact is it's just about shot placement. You can wound one with a 338 as well as a 223. I've shot deer with 223 up to 300wm. My current deer rifle is a 243 with a 100 gr interlock and I think it's great inside 300 yards. About anything out of a 308 will do the trick

 

[MLC]

The first deer I shot was with Federal loaded 150 Nosler Ballistic Tips.
I didn't know what deer lungs looked like til my second deer.
Positively wicked on the internals with a good shot.

 

[rooster2/16]

Thanks for the input guys. I've hunted for years but this is the first with the 308. Really loved my 270 and it was all I ever needed for hunting but like I said someone wanted it more than me.

 

[dk17hmr]

I have skinned and butchered a lot of animals that were killed with .224 bullets. Stay away from FMJ's and place your shot well, you will have no issues with the 308. I have been growing very fond of the 125gr Nosler Ballistic tip in all my 30 calibers for antelope/deer sized game. The last antelope I shot with one was with my 30-06 pushing them just under 3400fps the shot was between 250 and 260 yards....the bullet exited the ribs, left about a 50 cent sized hole and ruined almost no meat.

 

[Rhys]

Just about anything your rifle throws reasonably well will do just fine. With the low velocities of the 308 and as soft of a target as deer and antelope are it really doesn't make a difference. Anything outside of a FMJ will be just fine.

 

[jim_k]

I have skinned and butchered a lot of animals that were killed with .224 bullets. Stay away from FMJ's and place your shot well, you will have no issues with the 308. I have been growing very fond of the 125gr Nosler Ballistic tip in all my 30 calibers for antelope/deer sized game. The last antelope I shot with one was with my 30-06 pushing them just under 3400fps the shot was between 250 and 260 yards....the bullet exited the ribs, left about a 50 cent sized hole and ruined almost no meat.

Yup. 125 grain Sierra or Speer flat-based soft-points out to 200 yards are easy on wallet, shoulder, barrel, and will kill deer They have thinner jackets, designed to expand more quickly than the 165-180 grain bullets. The heavier bullets may not open as much, but they will do the job just fine. A 150 grain bullet (flat-base or boattail soft-point) is probably the best all-around compromise, and is good out to 500 yards without any problem. That's far enough! The Nosler Ballistic Tips in those weights are outstanding; they just cost more than the Sierra or Speer comparables. CoreLokt is excellent as well, as is Federal tipped factory load.
Jim

 

[Elite_KG]

Barnes 168 gr Vor-tx TTSX or the ASYM 168 gr loaded either the Barnes in Lapua brass. I find they shoot a lot like the FGMM 168 gr.
I would know more bit they are expensive to shoot. I started with the factory Barnes, but they got scarce, so I found that ASYM loaded precision ammo for military and police with 168 gr Barnes. You can get it direct from ASYM or Midway carries it. It's great stuff!

 

[Hairball]

One thing that I would add that is not often discussed is what might be the average size of the deer you will be harvesting? The reason I say this is because I grew up in Wyoming and we would go elk and deer hunting so when I joined the Navy I had the opportunity to go hunting for deer in north Florida. Hell, I have owned dogs bigger than some of the deer these guys took and I was way over gunned with my 308 and the CWO3 that was with us was using a 338 win mag.

 

[HOOFER]

Shoot the bullet you been shooting. Smks bergers, accubonds. Ssts. Amaxs. Put one in the CNS or boiler and it don't make much difference.

 

[judgedelta]

A sierra 165 Gameking will load like a 168 Matchking. At 200 yds. you can't tell the difference in trajectory. Will leave an exit wound and a blood trail Ray Charles could follow...

 

[Rumlover]

With good shot placement, just about any bullet will do. However, nature happens. I've used Hornady AMAX's, SST's, round nose soft points, and GMX; Sierra SMK's and Game Kings; Nosler Accubonds, soft points, and BT's; Speer soft points; and probably some other brands/designs. After over 520 deer dropped (we're on nuisance animal permits), I've settled on Barnes TTSX's and use them exclusively on trophy hunts. With a 308, I've had complete pass through's on mule deer, elk, bear and northern whitetails. Best of all, when either nature or I jack up a shot, I can count on the TTSX plowing through anything it hits and exiting the body cavity.

 

[Bullet Pusher]

308

A sierra 165 Gameking will load like a 168 Matchking. At 200 yds. you can't tell the difference in trajectory. Will leave an exit wound and a blood trail Ray Charles could follow...

^^^^^The 165 GK will get it done,atleast they have for me.

 

[roggom]

My problem is I have so many caliber and round options and not enough tags to try them all out.

 

[jonthomps]

As a couple others have said, the 168 amax is wicked medicine for whitetails!

 

[jayd4wg]

The 150 interlock from hornady has been my standby for many years now. Hard to beat IMO for a hunting round.

I use these too, seated on winny brass with 44.5 gr varget and cci primers in my deer getter. Marlin XS7308 w/boyd's stock (bedded now) and on a well placed heart lung shot, the deer are planted firm within a step or two. Twice now, i've had them drop in their tracks on the spot with this load as well. I've only recovered a single bullet and it was as deformed as one would expect.

This year, because of a coupon, i grabbed a box of Hornady American Whitetail 150 gr interlocks. One trip to the range and i have a viable alternative for my handloads with same POI at 100 yds. Store bought ammo i can use so far with no scope adjustment necessary for the 300yard point blank setting i'm using are federal blue box 150's, winchester gray box 150's and now the hornady stuff. my rifle REALLY likes the federal stuff putting a 3/4" group at 100, 1" for the winchester, and now the hornady stuff matching the winchester with a 1" group. My handloads are still tighter at 1/2" but really, we are talking minute of deer here, out to 200 max for me in most cases. I've taken deer with all but the hornady, and i'll be taking a poke with them this year too just to see how they do...i'm sure they will do just fine.

 

[UCChris]

Disclaimer: I did not read the entire thread, nor do I have any actual experience with .308.

However, in my recent thread about .308 handloads, due to the fact that I just obtained my first .308 rifle, I was recommended 168 gain Hornady Amax as a hunting load. Hornady recommends that you don't use Amax's as a hunting round, but I have heard otherwise.

 

[Jrb572]

They say don't use an SMK for hunting also. But they work.