.308 Bullet Selection

[bleedinblu05]

Hello guys,
I'm an occasional reader and felt this would be the right forum for this question.
I whitetail hunt with a .308. I live in the western part of Kentucky so it is a combination of hardwoods and fields. My longest shot selctions range from 15-325 yards (325 just because that is about as far as I'm comfortable with).
For the last few years I have been shooting 165 grain accubonds (I do not reload) and have taken several decent sized deer with them. However I feel as if the kills could be a little better and that the 165 grain accubond might be just a little to tough of a bullet at .308 velocities.
I do like how the Noslers shoot out of my gun however, so I have decided to try one of the two following options; I'm either going to drop down and try the 150 grain accubonds with the thinking that the smaller bullet will expand a little bit easier, OR go with a 165 grain ballistic tip with the thinking that the ballistic tip will obviously open up better but at 165 grains and .308 velocities I will not get the horror story violent expansion you hear about from folks shooting them out of magnum cartridges.
Please help me decide between the two options. Thanks!

 

[25-5]

Many years ago I started reloading the 165gr Nosler ballistic tip. Never looked back. In the woods of TN I don't remember anything more than 150yds. I'm not against something different. It's just working so well with what I've got.

 

[Corn-Picker]

The only study I've seen on the subject (http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/deer/articlegad.html) had the following highlights:

1) A deer shot in the shoulder traveled an average of three yards, lung shot deer traveled an average of fifty yards.

2) Deer shot with softer bullets traveled an average of 27 yards, and deer shot with harder bullets traveled an average of 43 yards.

My suggestion, shoot them in the shoulder with an all copper bullet if you don't want them to travel far. The 150 grain Barnes TTSX out of my 308 produced a really nasty exit wound on a doe I shot this past Tuesday. I didn't hit any bone, only flesh, and the bullet produced plenty of internal trauma.

 

[stiab]

Not sure I can help much, but I also used the .308 for whitetail hunting under similar conditions to yours. I use the 165 grain Core Lokt, and try to always make the high shoulder shot. It costs a little more meat than a lung shot, but if you hit it they are DRT 100% of the time, no tracking.

 

[jmr40]

You're on the right track. The Accubonds are a harder bullet designed more for larger game where better penetration is needed. If I were going to only use one 308 bullet for everything from whitetails, bear, and elk the 165 Accubond would probably be it. As you have noted it works. But something that expands quicker will tend to drop game faster.

I'd go with 150 gr Ballistic tips strictly for whitetails. The 165 and 180 gr Ballistic tips made within the last 10 years or so have a thicker jacket on them and behave very much like Accubonds. Going that route probably wouldn't make much difference.

The only downside is poor bullet penetration from bad angles. As long as you put one in the lungs it'll work great. If you want to shoot from any angle and still get adequate penetration you may want to stay with what you've been using. After all it ain't broke.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

The ballistic tip is a great bullet for deer. Either the 150 or the 165 will work very well for your purposes.

 

[Gtscotty]

I use 165gr Gamekings in my 30-06 load for deer. I push them pretty fast, but kills are generally spectacular and I usually get full penetration. The .308 won't push them quite as fast, but I think they are soft enough that you would still get quick kills. The 165gr SST would also be a good option. I've had a few not penetrate completely out of another '06, but by god, the deer went down like I had dropped a load of bricks on them. At .308 velocities you would probably get a bit better penetration.

 

[VoodooMountain]

Here's some good info
http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.308+Winchester+7.62+NATO.html

Gamekings, Speer btsp, sst, pro hunter, or ballistic tips would all be good for deer. I use gamekings and the Speer btsp in this Caliber, both 150 gr. I only push them to about 2600 fps which work well for these bullets.

 

[Swampman]

You might want to take a look at the 150 grain Nosler Partition.

It'll open up quicker than an Accubond, but will still give an exit wound almost every time on whitetails.

The only negatives would be a slightly lower ballistic coefficient and possibly increased cost.

The Accubond may also be slightly more accurate, but neither that nor the difference in BC would be enough to make any real difference at 325 yards, particularly under field conditions.

 

[browningman32294]

the bullet ive had the best experience with is the combined technologies ballistic silver tip. never had a problem even at farther distances. had mixed results with the ballistic tip, had a couple (in 7mm mag) that didnt expand at closer ranges, good shot placement and all but punched through like a lazer. may have been the higher velocities though.

 

[Bobson]

I think dropping from the 165 Accubond to the 150 would only decrease the expansion. I mean, it's a .30 cal bullet either way, so your surface area at impact isn't going to change, but the energy of the bullet itself will, and not necessarily in your favor. To increase expansion, you need to increase energy at impact.

The bullet's energy when it contacts the target is a combination of two variables - (1) bullet weight, and (2) bullet velocity. As you increase either of these variables, the bullet's energy increases, and expansion will increase.

Since you don't reload, you're at the mercy of the manufacturer. You can plug in numbers at this link (http://www.shooterscalculator.com/bullet-kinetic-energy.php) and figure out which combo gives the most energy. Find the velocity at a given range for the load you're using, and go off that.

As a point of reference, a 165 gr bullet at 2600 FPS has the same amount of energy as a 150 gr bullet at 2727 FPS.

Probably easier to just use the Ballistic Tip. Still, sometimes it's fun to look at this stuff at a bit of a deeper level.

 

[critter]

My Ruger compact in .308 LOVES 150 gr BT's. Kills deer DEAD.

 

[T.R.]

150 grain FEDERAL ammo is accurate and hits hard at all distances.

TR

 

[Andy M]

I am a big fan of Hornady SST bullets

 

[ford8nr]

I shot NOSLER 150gr BALLISTIC TIPS one season, then burnt the rest up at the range. Son shot BIG 8ptr 3 times, acted like it never got hit. Dropped over dead 50yds later. Lungs were shredded, recovered 3 jackets and various pieces of lead throughout the body. I shot nice doe broad side, no pass through and one large chunk of lead ended up in HER NECK. Contacted Nosler and they said the BT's were low weight retention bullet designs, if I wanted retention move to the partition design. Switched to Sierra GAME KINGS for both my .308's and 30-06 and never looked back. Most shots are pass throughs and the ones that aren't the bullets I recover have over 80% weight retention.

And you can get Game Kings in factory loaded ammo

 

[Vern Humphrey]

It's been my experience that for deer, the bullet isn't all that important -- they all kill nicely. The one thing I would avoid is a boat tail -- for various reasons, they tend to shed their jackets. The only deer I ever had to shoot more than once was shot with a Sierra boat tail.

 

[X-Rap]

BT's, Gamekings, CoreLokt are all very adequate for WT deer in weights from 150-165. One that I didn't see mentioned that is as economical as it gets but perform well is the Hornady Interlock. I've found them to be very accurate and have held together well on elk in 30 and 7mm at medium ranges.

 

[Casefull]

I kill elk and deer with 150 ttsx. They work well at all ranges. I come from larger magnums and do not care for the extra bullet drop in the 308 with heavier bullets if you anticipate 300 yds shots. If I shot a lot of white tail deer I would use something that does not expand, as all one does is blow up a lot of shoulder meat with high speed expanding bullets.

 

[Nature Boy]

I'm shooting Nosler BTs for the first time this year based on their inherent accuracy and their reported terminal performance. I'm reloading mine but Federal sells them complete.

 

[DocUSMCRetired]

I hunted with a lot of Nosler bullets. I have since moved to the Berger 185 Juggernaut. It is a great hunting round, with plenty of KE, and good expansion up close or at distance. If you don't want to reload it, you can get it from AB Ammo. http://www.buyabmammo.com/308-winchester-hunt-ready.html

 

[The Big D]

I hunted with a lot of Nosler bullets. I have since moved to the Berger 185 Juggernaut. It is a great hunting round, with plenty of KE, and good expansion up close or at distance. If you don't want to reload it, you can get it from AB Ammo. http://www.buyabmammo.com/308-winchester-hunt-ready.html

That's listed as a OTM tactical bullet. Is there documentation on performance in game?

Also, the twist rate requirement for that bullets seems like it would be faster than most hunting rifles.

Personally I'd stick with the Accubond if I were the OP. It doesn't really sound like you have a problem.

 

[bleedinblu05]

Thanks for all the replies! What I gather here is that everyone has their own bread and butter that they like and use and most all are effective! I really enjoy the conversation though, it's all part of the fun and enjoyment of hunting. I'm still undecided what I should do. I probably cannot go wrong either way it's just a matter of which is better. Haha I do have one question though for Bobson. I completely follow your logic and tend to agree. What led me to think that the 150 would expand a slight bit better at the same velocities is something that I read on chuck Hawks. It said that the internal design of each weight of accubond bullets is specifically designed for its intended use. http://www.chuckhawks.com/nosler_hunting_bullets.htm. That led to me thinking that the 150 would have a thinner jacket than the 165. Am I wrong in thinking that?

 

[The Big D]

You're probably correct, but I don't know the actual thicknesses.

 

[BigBore45]

I use 165gr Gamekings in my 30-06 load for deer. I push them pretty fast, but kills are generally spectacular and I usually get full penetration. The .308 won't push them quite as fast, but I think they are soft enough that you would still get quick kills. The 165gr SST would also be a good option. I've had a few not penetrate completely out of another '06, but by god, the deer went down like I had dropped a load of bricks on them. At .308 velocities you would probably get a bit better penetration.

i tried sierra game kings and have not looked back. run them in a .308, 30-06, my dad does in .270. they are the best bullet by far. YMMV

 

[Delmar]

If they stock it in your area or will order it for you, try some Hornady Custom loads-I especially like their 165 grain bullets. The ammo is cheap, reliable and accurate in every rifle I have tried it in. I like the bullet so well that I started handloading the 165 grain boat tail interlock. Never had a failure to expand or to shed a jacket.

I believe the 165 grain bullets are pretty much the same thickness as the 150s, but because they start out slower, don't expand quite as violently. Good enough to anchor Texas white tails, which aren't huge as white tails go.

I've never seen a real need to use a premium expensive bullet on white tailed deer. They go down quickly with any decently placed shot with most any standard cup and core bullet.

I save the premium stuff for big critters and those who bite back.