Any 308 fans? What load?

[180ls1]

Dad picked up a light weight 20" 308. It'll be used for western hunting, deer and elk mostly. 90%+ of the shots will be inside 400 yards.

I am liking the 168 Hornady Eld-M, the factory load has great numbers. The Hammer 138/154HHT looks nice also.

What say you?

 

[TRICER]

Both my boys shoot it. 168g TTSX great round to 400.

 

[HATCHET1]

Not a fan..but..I don't kill anything anyways...that being said..aim high put it in the hole.. KAPOOW!! Good night nurse

 

[punkur67]

My dad's Tikka absolutely hated the TTSX bullets. We switched to cheap ass remington Core-lokt. His gun shot these the best

 

[ilovesprig]

Shot my 1st deer with this Savage Mod.99 in .308 (1959)...Tried and true...Loved the old Core-Loks too

ps...My cousin in Nevada still has it and her son has killed a bunch with it as well.

,

 

[Aeon]

what twist is it?

 

[180ls1]

what twist is it?

1:10

 

[Aeon]

with that twist you can shoot some pretty heavy projectiles. 200ish gr hybrids and VLD's , 180gr hammers will max out the twist you have. Do some math on how much freebore you have and see what will fit. heavy is good flat shooting is over rated

 

[punkur67]

185 berger juggernauts are solid too

 

[180ls1]

with that twist you can shoot some pretty heavy projectiles. 200ish gr hybrids and VLD's , 180gr hammers will max out the twist you have. Do some math on how much freebore you have and see what will fit. heavy is good flat shooting is over rated

There’s the controversy I was looking for. Let’s see what the light bullet fairy boys come up with for a defense

 

[180ls1]

185 berger juggernauts are solid too

Powder? My dad is no PRS guy so ES doesn’t mean much.

 

[punkur67]

The go to powder for 308 is usually varget

 

[JakeSCH]

The 168 ELD-M or TMK (serria tipped matchking) will be your best overall for out of state.

I've shot their old 152 HH out of my 308 for a while with good results, I'm sure the 154 HHT will be similar. I would even be tempted to look at the 124 HH to see what speeds you can get.

 

[180ls1]

Both my boys shoot it. 168g TTSX great round to 400.

Are you running Varget also? What fps and barrel length if you don't mind?

 

[180ls1]

The 168 ELD-M or TMK (serria tipped matchking) will be your best overall for out of state.

I've shot their old 152 HH out of my 308 for a while with good results, I'm sure the 154 HHT will be similar. I would even be tempted to look at the 124 HH to see what speeds you can get.

I was hoping you would chime in. It's probably safe to assume *any* hammer 154/138/124 will shoot well? I would be a little worried about the 124 on heavier animals, would you run them on out-of-state deer/elk? I am also worried about recoil with the heavy pills, the gun will be about 5lb 8oz scoped (Howa superlite).

 

[TRICER]

Are you running Varget also? What fps and barrel length if you don't mind?

I will get you the load when I get home. 22" barrel around 2700FPS I believe.

 

[JakeSCH]

I was hoping you would chime in. It's probably safe to assume *any* hammer 154/138/124 will shoot well? I would be a little worried about the 124 on heavier animals, would you run them on out-of-state deer/elk? I am also worried about recoil with the heavy pills, the gun will be about 5lb 8oz scoped (Howa superlite).

Do you have a brake on it?

I have zero concern with the 124 gr pills even on elk. A "field tester" of hammer bullets has killed several buffalo with them out of a 300 RUM. My biggest concern is BC and wind drift.

For the hammers, I haven't messed with the HHT but the other pills have shot well out of my 308.

For powders,

Varget
AR-COMP
CFE 223 (max speed but temp sensitive)
IMR 4166 (IMR version of varget that is no longer in production - I actually have a ton if you want some)

In my tikka (22" barrel), I swapped out the bolt stop and magazine for long action ones and could seat the 175 LRX out further and shot it at 2750 over 47 gr of CFE 223. The 168 TTSX is great too, can't go wrong with either.

 

[180ls1]

Do you have a brake on it?

I have zero concern with the 124 gr pills even on elk. A "field tester" of hammer bullets has killed several buffalo with them out of a 300 RUM. My biggest concern is BC and wind drift.

For the hammers, I haven't messed with the HHT but the other pills have shot well out of my 308.

For powders,

Varget
AR-COMP
CFE 223 (max speed but temp sensitive)
IMR 4166 (IMR version of varget that is no longer in production - I actually have a ton if you want some)

In my tikka (22" barrel), I swapped out the bolt stop and magazine for long action ones and could seat the 175 LRX out further and shot it at 2750 over 47 gr of CFE 223. The 168 TTSX is great too, can't go wrong with either.

No brake and no plans for one but it certainly could be added. His 300 has one.

I am not sure how far a rifle that light can be shot accurately but there is a 90% chance it's inside 400 (probably 100-250) and another 50% I'll be with him with the better-suited PRC for him to use should distances get extended.

I think Howa's dimensions regarding the action/chamber are between a mini and short action or something like that. I am not sure how much that affects options here but I appreciate the offer and knowledge.

I guess the other part is trying to quantify how much the heavier lead pills will make a difference and if it's worth the hassle. They may even be a negative in a short light gun. He will want to use the gun everywhere so a lead-free load would make that simple. If he had to switch between heavy lead out of state and copper in-state the POI shift and keeping track of different ammo, substantially different drops and so on wouldn't be worth the squeeze. That said he could use a different rifle for CA that is lead-free only and leave the 308 with the heavy lead pills *if* the difference is that substantial.

 

[Aeon]

a lot of rifles do not have the free bore to deal with the long pills seated at the correct depth inside the case. It's a big problem with copper and longer heavy for caliber bullets.
use the wheeler method to find your lands

Videos | wheeleraccuracy

www.wheeleraccuracy.com

grab a case and for most necks .2" or 200 thousandths bearing surface on the body of the bullet in the neck is about right for most cases. use the dimensions off their website for the bullets.
this will give you a distance from base to ogive on your new round with out even loading one.
now compare that to your distance to the lands and you will know if its a good idea to even try that weight projectile, if you have to stuff the bullet way down in the case its not throated right for bullets you want to use. a lighter bullet will be required !!!!
if the action is a mini or short its probably going to want small pills

 

[Ofdscooby]

168’s are awesome for the .308. Look it up they were designed for the Olympic shooting team by Sierra. I would find something similar in size not weight if looking for a mono. watch those bullet lengths. Here is a 140 from McGuire a Berger 168 and a Berger 180 hybrid. The McGuire has the most bearing surface and will need the most spin but is the lightest.