Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 220gr 308 win

Is the 220 to heavy for the 308 for short range elk and bear hunting?

46gr of W760 yielded 2420 fps from my 20.5" bbl with Hornady 220gr RN. QL calc'd pressure at 61K lbs-psi. I didn't ladder it up.

Saddlesore shoots a lot of elk with them.

Imo, no!

But also imo, a 200 grainer (which will have a much better BC than the slower moving round-nosed 220 grainers), moving from the mid 2400s to the mid 2500s, will be equally as effective for the short ranges and of course would be better should your shooting distances be greater than expected.

For elk and bear, I don`t see what a 220 grainer could do for you that a 200 grainer could not do or even a good 190 for that matter.

In my over 40 years of hunting using the 30 caliber, I`ve never used a 220 gr bullet.

Better versatility with a 200.

No its not to heavy. I just dont understand why you would want to go that heavy off a bullet in a 308. you truthfully dont gain anything from using a 220 grain. You wont see any difference in how quick the elk or bear go down. IMHO you would be better off going with a 150 grain Barnes TTSX and if you wanted to go up the 165gr or 168gr. I just dont see any Point of using that heavy of a bullet when you will proble see better results using a premium lighter bullet. But its your rifle and when it comes down it ultimatly comes down to what YOU want. But no a 220 grain is not to heavy for short range elk and bear. it will work fine.

If you're going to go heavy, the 220 RN is probably the best of the 190-220 range, at least in a magazined rifle. The 190s and 200s tend to be so long that they'll actually take up more space inside the case than will the 220s. There are better all-purpose bullets for the 308 for sure, but I can understand where there may be legitimate uses for the 220 as a short distance load. (Heck, I sometimes load the 280 Swift or 310 Weldcore in my 358. )

Well you can say that, because you admit to never using a 220 grain bullet..

having used both, I can tell you that many 200 grain 30 cal bullets are very very hard, so they are better served in a magnum... in a slower velocity rig such as a 308, they will not open up very well at all...

however a 220 grain RN will open up right down to around 1400 fps.. and its high sectional density will allow it to penetrate like no tomorrow..

as I understand, the 308 with a 220 grain RN is used quite frequently in Africa for herd control on Elephants by Fish and Game Depts..head shots yeah... but that 220 grain RN will sure penetrate...

He's good at that, typical California bullshitt. Ask him anything about Alaska, he's a wealth of knowledge there, especially bear charges.


Humm, a 220gr Nosler in a 308 for bear protection whilst out tramping around or fishing. Wonder if that might work, Bigsquish?

I have never tried the Nosler Partition 220gr in a .308, but from my .30-06 20" tube it rings the steel with more authority than the 150gr NP's do. I'd think that will translate to a pretty hard hit on game.
It's my load for moose, if I can draw a permit!

I have a hard time calling the NP 220gr a "round nose" bullet.
With a BC of .351 and a SD of .331, it ain't a slouch.

Seafire,
You're using logic and experience to counter speculation and inexperience. Doesn't seem fair.

It's a great short range load for elk,black bear and hogs as well as deer. Under 100yds I'D say

Yeah, I get accused of that often.. I have to cut that sort of crap out..

Not to contradict the gentleman who mentioned the Nosler Partition... although not as hard as many of the 200 grain bullets, it is harder than the standard 220 grain RNs..

I'd do some testing with it just to get an idea of where my functional point blank range is at, to be able to penetrate the game I am going after...

Its design is called a Semi Pointed... most of the original Partitions were of that design, but folks wanted longer range capabilities, so the partitions were changed to a straight SP...

My favorite two partition bullets are the 220 grain 30 cal, and the 160 grain 270 cal... the only two partitions left in that original SMP design..

Sierra and Speer also had some of those design, but they keep getting dropped due to lack of sales...of course they were some of my favorite also...
like the Speer 275 grain SMP in 338 bore... or the 100 grain SMP Sierra in 6mm/243 bore... luckily I have a small stash..enough to last me most of my hunting life..

in 22 cal, Speer still has the 70 grain SMP, while Sierra has the 50, 55 and 63 grain SMP..which are at the top of my favorite varmint bullet list...

a local guy who has since passed on, was wanting to take a "big bear" as he was putting it, that was raiding his getaway cabin. All he ever hunted with for a rifle was a 30/30... he was asking me about what would I use, claimed to have shot it with a factory 170 grain load and it just pissed the bear off more as he put it..

since I play with that sort of 'what if?" scenarios, he paid for the components for me to experiment with... so I picked up some 220 grain RN Sierra's, and some W 748 powder....

I seated them down so they would cycle thru his model 94, adding a light crimp...it still was a stiff load, but tested it out in my rifle particularly for brass life, ( read pressure limits)... I reloaded the case 5 times and at time 6th, the primer pockets were still tight.

The rank was going to be less than 50 yds, a shot being from inside his cabin, when the bear came around again...the load worked... one shot with the 220 grain RN Sierra, dropped the bear...I was not able to observe the results of shot placement of the 220 grain load and the factory 170 grain load that "just pissed him off"....

however one shot from the 220 grainer finished off a bear that weighed a hair over 500 lbs...out of a 30/30..

granted it was a 'stout' load, hence why I don't give out the load except in a private PM.... but the 220 grain RN as usual, managed to do its job quite nicely...

and if anyone is asking, in testing, I can tell you that if your velocity is going to be low, the Sierra is a better choice than the Hornady 220 RN..

the Hornady is not slouch, it is just the Sierra seems to open up at a lower velocity still than the Hornady..just passing that on... out of an 06 or bigger, then are pretty interchangable...accurate and effective..

Seafire, that 220 should work good in that 308 win. What kind of speed would i get out of a 23.5 pipe? Thanks

Ain't like the 220 hasn't worked for years in both the 308 and 06.... Can't argue with that. well I guess idiots could.

I'd pick something else too personally, but it wouldn't be light either.

...........Ya know what Steelhead? You are quite the big im-mature azzhole!!! Get your butt down here and open up your mouth right in front of my face! It will be re-arranged for you before you`ll even know it!!!...Guttless clown!!!

Schitt guys....how bout we all just keep the name calling and personal stuff in pm's and keep discussing the OP's question. Id say the 220gr would be fine in the 308 if you know your loads limits and adhere to it or close to it. Seriously, If you wanna shoot 220's, load up some test loads, try them out and see how they work. Everyone is going to have their own opinion and idea of what the phrase "will it work" means.

Not one to bring my butt to some dude from California asking for it. Have fun in San Fran this weekend cupcake.

.........Like I say, you`re guttless and im-mature! I`m 400+ miles south FROM San Fran. Your geography among many other things, also needs to be improved.

C`mon down! You`ll be "pleasantly" surprised. A cupcake like you`ve never had before!

I taught "arts" for 22+ years. Ya know,,,those arts!! My ex partner and I (still friends btw) owned 4 "arts" studios from `81 to `03. Let`s see now. We taught fingerpainting, air brushing, and all kinds of "arts."

As our students progressed, they recieved "belts" of different colors!!!

So c`mon down Steelhead!!........You`ll go back home with a new respect for,,,,,,a Calif cupcake!

I've personally never tried a 220 gr in the .308 Win (and it's been a long time since I owned a .308). I am a big fan of the 220 gr round nose in the .30-06, FWIW.

Seems to me that the .30-40 Krag with 220 gr bullets and the .303 British with 215 gr bullets (both at around 2000-2100 fps muzzle velocity) had pretty good reputations back in the day for being reliable game getters.

Winchester used to a load a 200 gr in the .308 Win with a stated muzzle velocity of 2450 fps (24" barrel). I'd bet a 308 Win could easily push a 220 gr bullet to around 2250-2300 fps.

Just my musings....
-Bob F.

I use a load which drives 220's at 2335 in my 30/40 (not a Krag rifle). The elk I shot with this hit the ground so hard he bounced! I think 220's are a good choice if one likes the reliable performance of heavy round nose bullets. Just like 160's in a 6.5, they expand reliably and penetrate well.
Starting out at 2300-2400 fps, they shoot flat enough to make 300 yard shots possible if necessary but they are best at 200 and under. GD

You would be absolutely right. I have one of the earlier Loadbooks for the .308 win. that gices a fair amount of data for 220 gr. bullets in the .308. Later editions no longer have that dats which I feel is a mistake.
Of all the data shown, most suitable powders will give loads in the 2250 FPS range, give of take a few FPS. The one standout was W-760 so I decided to play a little with it, more out of curiosity than anything else.
First the data. The powder is W-760. Starting load is 42.0 gr. for 2244 FPS at 42,000 PSI. The maximum load is 44.0 gr. for 2295 FPS at 46,900 PSI. Note the low pressure figures.
I worked up to the max load with the Sierra 220 gr. RN and the Hornady 220 gr. RN. Early on the Sierra was proving to be the more accurate bullet.
Final chronographed velocity figure from two rifles, a Ruger RSI tang safety with 18.5" barrel and a Winchester M70 push feed with 22" barrel. The Ruger averaged 2250 FPS with both bullets with accuracy barely usable. To be fair, that rifle has ben srictly a one trick pony, only shooting 165 gr. Speer Hot-cores with any decency. Te Winchester on the other hand gave an average velocity of 2310 FPS and one inch groups with the Hornady bullet and .375" with the Sierras. Amzing as supposedly, the .308 is no good with the heavier bullets and two, 1 in 12" twist .30 caliber barrels are not supposed to be able to handle 220 gr. bullets. Maybe tht might be true with spitzer and spitzer boat tail bullets but it sure did put those Sierras into a nicely crowded group. So much for some of the BS found in some gun rags.
That's the results I got in my experimentation with those bullets. Considering how low the pressure is reputed to be, based on the book, I've often wondered just much farther I could push it? I'd probably not use th Ruger the next time and concentrate on what that Winchester will do.
Paul B.