Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .308 Factory Load Advice - Brush Gun

After getting access to private land, I bought a little M70 Compact Featherweight with an 20 inch barrel in .308. For the foreseeable future, it will be used almost exclusively in the Eastern woods on Deer.

1) I can't imagine taking a shot of over 150 yards. (If I do expect to take a long shot, I have different rifles available).

2) I expect that a typical shot will be 50-75 yard range.

3) Given the population density of my hunting area, I DO NOT want a round with extra carry. While there will be lots of trees to backstop any shot, if I miss, I want the projectile to run out of steam ASAP. Thus, a poor ballistic coefficient bullet would actually be desirable and I don't need a round loaded for maximum velocity.

Ideas for testing:??

4) I don't reload so Factory loads are a must.

Great rifle you've got there. Try a few brands of 165's & 180's and see what she likes. Plain vanilla Federal, Win and Rem are a good place to start. Then you'll need a sharp knife and some freezer paper.

I really have NO idea what you are attempting to convey in #3.

That said




or

Any load is great for shooting brush.

OP, Sounds like you are a candidate for the basic Remington Core Lokt ammo with 150 gr bullet. Perhaps consider their reduced recoil offering as well.

A 30/30 is a good low vel 308.....

12 or 20 gauge w Buckshot will meet #3 better yet

The classic eastern woods ammo for the 308 and 30-06 is a 180 grain round nose bullet, usually coming in a green box.

The list of .308 factory loads that won't kill deer would be shorter.

Number 3 on your list doesn't make sense to me. No matter what load you use, especially in a populated area, you need to be sure of your backstop.

I would try Federal factory ammo with the Barnes 150gr TSX. Perfect for any brush type activity and low BC been shooting them for years in my 18.5" Ruger 77 RSI they just plain work.

Good luck and shoot straight

Bob

I was in a similar pickle around my house. Lots of deer, lots of houses, lots of rocks 4 richochet. Bought a 45 70.

Probably the King of ricochet rounds!

Like somebody said, any .308 load is going to "carry". Pick your shots to avoid trouble. Hunting from a tree stand or elevated position on the ground helps keep your boolits out of trouble too.

Also, try not to miss.

Very funny but also true. Brush don't tend to run far when you hit it. Very easy to track.

To the OP, any factory 308 hunting ammo will work. Brush busters are a myth. You need a clear shot to the vitals.

Have you spent time in one of those shotgun states?

I would say it`s going to be up to the hunter, not the load, that determins if the shot is going to be safe to take. Keep your head in the game..no pun intended.

Yeah, it's like they're rooted to one spot, even.........

I have used Federal Premium 165 gr boattail soft points for about the last 25 years in a Ruger 20 inch Ultralight. I have shot scores of deer under 60 yards with this load and most did not exit, which it sounds like what you are looking for. Area hunted is thick brush, so shots were taken in openings in the brush with shoulder shots. Almost all were bang flops, but none went more than 50 feet.

Was also most accurate factory load in this rifle.

You are WAAAAY over thinking #3. The best BC bullets vs the worst won't make a bit of difference here. The bullet dropping 2-3" less at 400 yards won't be any safer.

Any bullet designed to work at 400 yards works just as well at 4 yards, but not the reverse. The secret to shooting through brush is a rifle accurate enough to hit the deer and miss the brush. Bullet nor caliber matter. Most any factory load will work for your purposes.

The last 10 or 12 deer I have killed with a rifle have been at ranges between 20 and 60 yards. All with a .308 and 150 gr Remington Core Lokt factory rounds. All very dead and very quickly. I shoot from a tree stand so the carry part is a non issue.

True about the backstop. Although the extra risk of a round optimized for long range shots would be marginal (I'll be shooting from a tree stand most of the time), I don't see any reason not to avoid that risk.

Plus, I figure there must be .308 loads optimized for shorter range work.

If you can find them, 180 grain round nose core-lokts is what you want. They will crush a whitetail. They expand quick like a 150 but do not blow apart on close range shots....sort of acts like a premium bullet....but are priced only a couple of bucks a box higher than the regular stuff. Obviously, anything will work but these used to be my preference when I had a tight place to hunt and before I bought a 30-30.

Shoot them from a treestand and you won't have anything to worry about.