308 Winchester Caliber Opinions...

[curtism1234]

I would like to use the 180 gr Remington round nose but they don't group very well. If you can find those, you might give them a chance. They are a favorite among those in the northern US who both deer and bear hunt. Supposed to hit hard and leave big holes.

 

[Fastrig]

So far I’ve shot a few dozen heads of game with this projectile (Red, Fallow and Roe deer and European Boar and feral pigs in OZ). Every single one was a one shot kill (lung shots) and about half ran around 50m. Often with very little blood trail. Like you said the entry/exit wounds seem to almost seal. This does not include Roe, they always went down instantly. On Boar shot at short distances (under 30m) core and jacket often seperate but this is after lungs are already damaged.

I’ve actually swapped to the new 165gr Sierra TGK now. I’ve only shot a few Roe with it so far and am yet to recover a bullet. 308 is an overkill on Roe so with my limited experience I haven’t noticed any performance difference as yet but reports from other users seem to indicate it is a tougher projectile. Info from Sierra indicates they tested it up to Weatherby magnum velocities.

Give the Norma Bondstrikes a go....really like this round.

https://www.norma-ammunition.com/en...-bondstrike-extreme-308-winchester---20176412

 

[sestoppelman]

Well a day late! UPS didn't show till late yesterday, so snagged it today. Rifle looks really good inside and out. Most probably have no idea how hard it is to find this particular rifle in .308 with 22" barrel in this vintage. Took me 5 years to snag one after a couple of failed attempts. I would rate it at about 90 percent which for a 1967 rifle is really good.
Snapped this today.
View attachment 333927

Sure wish we could leave the pics as posted instead of turning it longwise up. Cant see the whole picture without scrolling.

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

Yes sir

It is a highly regarded bullet and weight so I bought about 10 boxes.

They will perfectly mushroom with almost 100% weight retention and get lodged on the opposite side. If they do make it through, the exit hole is about 1/2" but it seems to almost seal itself up and it's hard to see. Internal damage seems to be about an inch in diameter

On one hand, it is textbook perfect. On the other hand,

Other 308 bullets I have hunted with are the 150 and 180 grain coreloct spire points. I shot a whitetail doe in the shoulder with the 180's before. She took off running about 50 yards spewing blood everywhere. Surprised me she ran

As I said, there seems to something about the 308 that causes some animals to run when you would think they would be floored. Could be the 150's are better

Hi man! Sorry, I be offlline a lot of time!
I use my 308 with any bullet I can buy or take, and mostly the 150 bulelts hace a bigger speed then cause a lot of hydroshock and veins capilars tissular.... etc etc rupture. Because that, the game you shot falls down because the shock...
A heavier bullet are "not than able" to catch the speed of a ligther one, that´s the matter...
A 150 round flights at 2800 fps or more, depends on the charge and barrel lenght... a 180 one, near the 2400 fps! Here are the difference and the lighter the game is, than the lessions are smallers! The bullet rarelly work and take an expansion to make the effects of a lighter one
If you wants "instant down" in soft-skinned and not heavier animals, you better use a 150 round!
Although, some times the bullet shape and characteristics makes the deal!
Look at this, 150 meters shot, a very big boar 145 kg weight... Shot in the neck, the bullet pass away, a great tissular damage, hydroshock, big blood everywhere!
150 gn Hornady RN at 2850 fps

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

Several months ago, I start to use cast bullest in my 308
13 big boars fall down with this bullets, distances between 40 and 170 meters away
I use a lymann mold, 195 gn bullets, gascheck and an Argentinian powder called "A19", similar to r22 in the burn rate... duplex charge, wit 2 gn of "a2" also argentinian, similar than the bullseye or another american pistol power
An accurate, powerfull shot to the wildboars!

 

[Bonk]

There's reason all light/medium rifle caliber wars eventually end up comparing something against the venerable 30-06. It is THE standard by which all others are judged and for good reason. I will always own a 30-06 rifle.

BTW, absolutely nothing wrong with 308 at all. Terrific caliber and well suited for hunting almost anything. In North America generations of hunters have killed plenty of moose, bear and grizzlies with a good old 30-30. It wasn't that long ago the 30-30 was considered a big game rifle in this part of the world and a 308 is significantly more effective than a 30-30.

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

There's reason all light/medium rifle caliber wars eventually end up comparing something against the venerable 30-06. It is THE standard by which all others are judged and for good reason. I will always own a 30-06 rifle.

BTW, absolutely nothing wrong with 308 at all. Terrific caliber and well suited for hunting almost anything. In North America generations of hunters have killed plenty of moose, bear and grizzlies with a good old 30-30. It wasn't that long ago the 30-30 was considered a big game rifle in this part of the world and a 308 is significantly more effective than a 30-30.

That´s right! I own a 3030 rifle, handmade, by myself, with a Remington Rolling Block action and a barrel of 22" long
Great shot the 3030! He´s almost used by my two sons

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

RayB said he prefers less length, why his wife waits for the milkman! LOL. Gotcha Ray!

Hahahahaha!!! LOL... you are very sharp! hahaha

 

[RayAtkinson]

The .308 with any given bullet weight is a 100 FPS give or take slower than the 30-06, what higher praise could it get...Ive seen the 308 autos used to cull elephant and they did an excellent job of that.I use larger calibers on elk up, but if Im hunting horseback I take my Sav. 99F in .308 as its flat and rides easy under my leg in the saddle scabbard..If Im walking I use a .338 or 375 and sometimes a 30-06, they all work and in my younger years as a cowboy on the family ranch, I shot elk with a 30-30 WCF and at 100 to 150 yards it worked extremely well as did the 25-35 Win at 100 yards...knowing your abilities and the capabilities is the key.

 

[Vashper]

This is my "Vepr"("boar") in 308. It looks quite ugly, like all Akmoids, especially for an unaccustomed eye, and heavy as a crowbar - but it is reliable and allows you to "add" when the beast crosses the clearing on the fly. The main hunts we have, urban hunters - collective, round-up, or from the tower. So heavy weight doesn't really matter.
I use the cartridges "Centaur". Barnaul factory produced them a few years ago, the Factory does everything in this military style (steel casings, etc.), but there were Hornadi bullets of 180 grains. Unfortunately, they were sanctioned (apparently, they were going to bring Putin to his knees in this way), the supply of American bullets to Russia is prohibited, and the factory no longer produces these successful cartridges; but I still have a couple of packs left. Ordinary Barnaul bullets are a primitive SP, and, most importantly, they are light-140-150 grains.

 

[Fastrig]

The .308 with any given bullet weight is a 100 FPS give or take slower than the 30-06, what higher praise could it get...Ive seen the 308 autos used to cull elephant and they did an excellent job of that.I use larger calibers on elk up, but if Im hunting horseback I take my Sav. 99F in .308 as its flat and rides easy under my leg in the saddle scabbard..If Im walking I use a .338 or 375 and sometimes a 30-06, they all work and in my younger years as a cowboy on the family ranch, I shot elk with a 30-30 WCF and at 100 to 150 yards it worked extremely well as did the 25-35 Win at 100 yards...knowing your abilities and the capabilities is the key.

For what I hunted for years, non-Alaska game of all types, the180 grain 308 rounds never failed me, so long as I did my part. 22” barrel, compact, light rifle that doesn’t kick your shoulder much, i.e. damn near perfect IMO and definitely perfect for a saddle carry. I don’t normally go out past a couple hundred yards so a 308 with 180 grain quality ammo will drop anything we have running around the contiguous 48 at those ranges.

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

View attachment 374858This is my "Vepr"("boar") in 308. It looks quite ugly, like all Akmoids, especially for an unaccustomed eye, and heavy as a crowbar - but it is reliable and allows you to "add" when the beast crosses the clearing on the fly. The main hunts we have, urban hunters - collective, round-up, or from the tower. So heavy weight doesn't really matter.
I use the cartridges "Centaur". Barnaul factory produced them a few years ago, the Factory does everything in this military style (steel casings, etc.), but there were Hornadi bullets of 180 grains. Unfortunately, they were sanctioned (apparently, they were going to bring Putin to his knees in this way), the supply of American bullets to Russia is prohibited, and the factory no longer produces these successful cartridges; but I still have a couple of packs left. Ordinary Barnaul bullets are a primitive SP, and, most importantly, they are light-140-150 grains.

Hi, my russian friend, you better find the way to handmade your own ammunition!...
The prices and sort of ammo Here in my country are the things because a lot of hunters become handloaders.
You never regret thath!
Don´t call "ugly" your hunter partner, I looks him very fine rifle!
Congratulations!

 

[Zambezi]

Isn't the .308 just the kids / ladies version of a 30.06...?

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

Isn't the .308 just the kids / ladies version of a 30.06...?

No, absultely not...
In fact, the 30-06 are for insecure hunters!!!
hahahaha
I don´t know how can I put the emotes!.... Are very funny!

 

[Forrest Halley]

The .308 is a good handgun round. I like the .30-06 in a rifle a bit better.

 

[Professor Mawla]

It is quite an efficient .30 calibre . However , I personally prefer the original .30-06 Springfield due to the increased case capacity and the ability to use 220 grain bullets ( without suffering from too much loss of velocity ) .

 

[Vashper]

Hi, my russian friend, you better find the way to handmade your own ammunition!...
The prices and sort of ammo Here in my country are the things because a lot of hunters become handloaders.
You never regret thath!
Don´t call "ugly" your hunter partner, I looks him very fine rifle!
Congratulations!

Hola, amigo. I agree with this, about handmade. As the Omaha Indians say, " a true warrior must make his own arrows." But we have some specifics, reload of rifle cartridges was allowed only recently, last year, and I was not going to do it. Your recipe for cartridges with heavy cast bullets is interesting, I will need to try it.
And I agree with the opinion of Fastrig - a heavy 180-gr bullet is what you need. 308 caliber is sufficient for ungulates of temperate latitudes. This week I returned from moose hunting - the guy used 1 cartridge 308, 180 grains, S&B, even did not have to finish. A couple of weeks ago, a hunter from our team shot at the same mass moose 6 times - from a 338 caliber. 1 cartridge Norma costs $ 12, by the way. And the reason for this incident is that he was aiming with his left eye, because there is a retinal detachment in his right eye. Well, how can we prove that heavy calibers are no longer for him? He's old and quite stubborn.
By the way, I recently reviewed "bondiana" in connection with the sad event-the death of Sean Connory. And with getting along, I discovered the source of inspiration for the manufacturers of my carbine (not me in the photo).

This type of stock is called "Tallinn-Arsenal". It is more suitable for sports and self-loading rifles, but for classic bolts, in my opinion, it is not very convenient.

 

[Fastrig]

View attachment 374858This is my "Vepr"("boar") in 308. It looks quite ugly, like all Akmoids, especially for an unaccustomed eye, and heavy as a crowbar - but it is reliable and allows you to "add" when the beast crosses the clearing on the fly. The main hunts we have, urban hunters - collective, round-up, or from the tower. So heavy weight doesn't really matter.
I use the cartridges "Centaur". Barnaul factory produced them a few years ago, the Factory does everything in this military style (steel casings, etc.), but there were Hornadi bullets of 180 grains. Unfortunately, they were sanctioned (apparently, they were going to bring Putin to his knees in this way), the supply of American bullets to Russia is prohibited, and the factory no longer produces these successful cartridges; but I still have a couple of packs left. Ordinary Barnaul bullets are a primitive SP, and, most importantly, they are light-140-150 grains.

Beauty is the eye of the beholder, but I think that rifle is sweet looking. How does she shoot?

 

[Marcos Rodriguez]

A moose ran with six bullets of a 338?
Well.... the magic does not exist!... The best caliber is the shot well placed

 

[Foxi]

By far my favorite caliber, it's hard to find a .308 that won't shoot.

Here in the states I shoot deer/pigs/coyotes with 168gr AMAX but for our SA hunt I loaded up 168 TTSX and my wife and I had outstanding results with those!

since boar invasion ,most common caliber in Germany
and cheap to train in a shooting cinema with cine -shots ammunition.
No "Big Game" cartridge ist so cheap to get for training.
1 cartridge 1.- € here in G. for cinema shooting.
And we using the better bullets for the game.
@Ross Reamy -
how was the meat quality when you shot deer with the A MAX in .308 ?
( love the precision of that bullet)