Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Bullets for .308 Winchester

When the reloading components' scare was just starting to abate, I think it was Powder Valley where I found a couple of boxes of 150 SGKs. I grabbed them and just got done loading some over W748 for a retired buddy's 308 BLR. He's not a loony, so I'm sure he'll be unquestionably happy with them for both paper and the muleys roaming the hills behind his house.

Me too.

The Hornady 165 Interlock is a good choice too.

I usually started and ended with the Hornady 150, but if they were not accurate the 165 was substituted. The 165 seemed to always be accurate.

Pretty much any decent 165-ish cup/core is a good choice in a 308win. They seem to knock good-sized holes in things with lots of leaking.

Couldn't agree more!

My son used my .308 Sako on this black bear.

130 grain TTSX through the right side of the neck at an angle and out below the left armpit. Obviously the bear dropped in its tracks and never moved.

Those 130's are wicked at 3000ish fps.






Edit: I like them because they over penetrate.

Nice looking bear, congrats.

I've used a lot of 180gr Horandy SPs in my 308 with no problems.

Here's the vote so far:

General Nosler Partition 4
165 Hornady Interlock 3
155 Lapua Scenar 3
165 Nosler Partition 3
165/168 Nosler Ballistic Tip 2

The following have one vote:
130 Barnes TTSX
150 Barnes TTSX
168 Berger Hunting VLD
168 Hornady BTHP
168 Hornady A-Max
180 Hornady Interlock
General Sierra
165 Sierra HP GameKing

Most votes don't give any reason for the choice except "no problems," though some don't give any at all, especially the three voters for the 155 Scenar. Since no reason is given, some people are curious about why it's the best choice for shooting deer and elk with a .308 out to 300 yards.

One comment for G46: There are also no worries about "bullet blow-up" with the present version of the 180-grain Ballistic Tip in almost any .30 caliber cartridge, since 2/3 of the bullet's weight is jacket.

Sooo.....

Close your eyes, spin around three times and grab what ever your hand touches on the shelf, then?

OK, I'm down for the 150 gr Barnes TTSX. Took all of three load attempts to find the right combination of Varget, Barnes 150 gr TTSX and Hornady brass. One of those that is really too easy.

Anybody used the Federal Trophy - either 165 or 180's?

Really like that international stock.

Mule deer, are you trying to keep this thread on track?

Nah, gave up on that years ago. Just kinda curious. Have seen Scenars in action, both on targets and game, and so far they have worked fine. Just wondered why they would be superior to any of the other bullets suggested, for the specific use outlined by the original post.

My first post outlined my experience with the .308, which is that just about any bullet works pretty well on big game due to the moderate muzzle velocity. In fact have yet to see a bullet from a .308 "fail" on big game, and have seen a bunch of animals of at least dozen species up to 700-800 pounds killed with it in North America and Africa.

Ok I did that, now I have a box of .338 250gr bullets, wtf am I supposed to do with that?

Actually I did manage to acquire a box of 150gr BT's, as that was literally the only thing they had in stock at the local shop. It'll let me see if this gun will shoot decent,as its the one thats been giving me fits for some time. I tried 130gr Hornady's and they shot good so I am hopeful. Provided all goes well, I will try to acquire one or more of the suggested bullets.

I'm intrigued by the 130 and 150 TTSX as well. I have only had one experience with a TSX, and that was a 150 flat hollowpoint in a .307 on a whitetail doe. Results were very disappointing but so many people have had good luck with them that I really want to give it another chance. Either way, sounds like lots of good choices available which is nice. Thanks for all the suggestions.

130 TTSX

Bullets I've used in various .308 rifles for deer- 150 gr Speer hot core, 150 gr ballistic tip (older "soft" ones), Hornady 165 gr btsp, 168 gr ballistic tip.
My least favorite was the Speer, as I had a deer go farther than I thought it should, but shot placement was probably a factor there.
I've had good results with 150 bt. Deer don't go far. The 165 btsp works OK, and is often the easiest to get to shoot accurately. Lately, I'm using the 168 bt, and have only taken one deer with it. That deer did not go very far.
So, lots of good choices. I often find 165-168 bullets are more accurate in more different rifles than 150 gr.
Your mileage may vary.....

No superiority over other options. Would simply be my first choice until on game performance proved otherwise.

Exactly.