Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .308 Win. Terminal performance on game?

Hey Dude,

My turn to buy lunch.

I didn't know how much I was going to appreciate a compact & lightweight hunting rifle until I bought a Featherweight in .308 Win.


Take care,

Tom

Nannie killin' fool I am...

In the past 50 years I've used rifles chambered in 308 Win to shoot and kill many animals in 4 continents. I've killed many deer, antelope, elk, caribou, black bear, all the European species of deer and hogs, African Kudu, Zebra, Gemsbock, blue wildebeest, wart hog, waterbuck, bushbuck, jackels, coyotes, feral donkeys and wild cattle as well as wild boar. Five deer so far this year (2013) with two different 308s.

I'm taking a Sako A7 in 308 win to RSA in Jun as my lite rifle for the third time. In the field you will not know the difference between a 308 win and a 30-06. If you reload Varget and a good 165 c&c will be your friend.

Slightly to the left there is a tiny picture of dead deer. It was taken with the .308 also in the picture. The deer is laying in its tracks when hit with a 150 gr Sierra Game King at 304 yards. The buck the year before was taken with one shot at 286 yards. These are the only 2 animals I have taken with my .308 that I have hunted 3 seasons.

I believe you will like it just fine.

KC

In my younger days I shot about 35 Texas whitetail deer with a 308 Remington 600 Mohawk with 150 gr Remington Coreloks. With only two exceptions, all were DRT with large exit holes. The other two didn't go far. Most shots were less than 100 yards. I have since used many other calibers with good success and still use the 308. The 308 is an ample and efficient cartridge.

I have also shot two bull elk wih a 308 at 300-plus yards. I made follow up shots on both of them; one after great shot placement, the other with poor shot placement. Neither were going anywhere but I didnt want to take any chances on losing them. The 308 is ample for elk and the shots, while long, were pretty destructive. It hammers whitetails.

I shot a few whitetails with mine and I never had a problem killing everything that I shot with it, a 165 accubond at 2850 would probably kill anything without a problem in our country

Own 2 .308's. A Browning X-Bolt, shoots my handloaded Hornady 150g BTSP into 1" No critters have even got outa sight after being shot with it. Also own a Ruger M77 Mk. II RSI (LOVE THIS RIFLE) shoots handloaded 165g NBT's into +/- 1" and SLAMS deer and pigs. Farthest anything has gone after being hit by this combo is about 20 yds.

Got it. Take away 50-75 yards of what you are comfortable with in using a .30-06 and you have a .308. Exception may be the 200grain offerings. Even then it will probably work if aimed well. The bullet doesn't know if it left a .30-06 or .308.

A fast .308 is a slow .30-06.

Not even 50-75 yards.
There's only 4 inches of drop difference at 500 yds using the exact same bullet in each.
I shoot 165 in my 308 and 180s in my 30-06.
The 06 has some weight advantage, so it may hit a little harder BUT they shoot almost EXACTLY the same trajectory wise.
Pick one you can shoot accurately and go hunt.. There's no appreciable difference.

'Terminal' is a good way to describe the .308's performance on game. Not many by some standards, but I've killed well over 20 deer with it, of all sizes, and only once needed a second shot. I've used 150's, 165's and 180's, and all worked very well, and I've never recovered a bullet. I've currently settled on the 165 partition as my 'go-to' bullet. while my longest shot at a deer with a .308 is about 85 yards, I would have no issue using it out to 200, my self imposed limit on shots. Were I a better shooter on game, or if I had chances to shoot longer, I would trust the round out to 350 or so. Also, I wouldn't hesitate to hunt Elk with my current load.

digger44,

I couldn't agree more. When I wanted a lightweight rifle, I damned near went with an '06. It has a bigger case. It shoots a heavier bullet (220 grain). And only Marilyn Monroe was more widely known.

I hunt in western states. I have yet to run across an '06 hunter who has used a bullet weighing more than 180 grains. When you examine ballistic tables for comparison, at 300 yards or so, where bullets intersect with big game, there's no difference between the two cartridges.

After carefully analyzing all important criteria, I came to the conclusion that the .308 Win was actually superior to the '06 for hunting western big game. And if you were to check, you'd find a lot of western big game hunters hunting with a .308 Win. Whereas three decades ago other cartridges were all the rage. Seems as though the 7MM Rem Mag was the magnum of choice, & the .270 Win and '06 were the standard cartridges of choice.

When I was younger, I had no problem carrying a heavy rifle up & down the Rocky Mountains. Too many shoulder surgeries caused me to look for a lightweight rifle. One of my more bright moves was buying a Featherweight in .308 Win. However, I would have been just as happy with a 7MM-08 Rem.

One of the best Teachers I ever had was a HS economics teacher named Charlie Jeffers. Not only was he a great teacher but a hunter as well and lectured our class on the value of a good 308 rifle. Never forgot those lectures

I seem to see a pattern in your posts LOL

Mo better .... keep your 30-06, pretend its a .308Win AND use the $$$'s saved on MORE hunting! (or split the savings with the MRS essentially buying you more hunting time).

Teddy Roosevelt used a Springfield .30 Gov't extensively in his trek thru Africa. IIRC he stated satisfaction with the standard military ball on critters up to cow elephants; both he and his son using this tool to pierce their thick, grey hide. For the heavy bulls he preferred his double. At the time the .30 Gov't was essentially a .308 Long.

What's left of a deer's heart after a 180 Partition from a .308 Win. went through it. It's lethal.

I have killed some really nice 200+ lb bucks with 125g Sierra's loaded to the tilt with Win 748 at 3100-3200 fps and a goodly number of does.

Keith,

How fast does a 125 grain .308 bullet shed velocity? I have always used 165 grain bullets because supposedly they retain velocity. But maybe I'm wrong.


Thx,

L