Getting ready to start reloading and I am wondering what everyones opinon is on the best Bullet weight in .308 for Whitetail. I have read a lot of good things about the 150 grain SBT but my uncle swears by 125 grain. He has killed many many deer in his day so I don't weant to dismiss his opinon but wanted to get some of yours as well.

125 grain Nosler ballistic tip drops them in their tracks - literally!

Terry

The 150's are probably the most popular. If you are looking for "best", good luck with your search....

I understand that "best" is subjective. Just looking for opinions.

I agree on the 150.. deer are easy and anything between 125-165 is a no brainer.

150 I'd say

Heck......it's what I run out of my -06

Whatever bullet proves to be most accurate in your rifle. There aren't very many unreliable ones available to handloaders these days. Just make sure that the manufacturer includes deer in their recommended use. I tend to avoid bullet weights at the extremes of those available, but the monometals such as TTSXs and E-Tips have changed the game a bit.

The mid-range bullet weights such as the 150-grain .308s will usually work over a broader range of conditions, such as the whitetail swamps back east or the prairies and foothills out west. However, if your uncle has a proven load for the .308, you might want to try that first in your rifle and see if it works for you.

I'd throw my vote for the 150, so long as my .308 shot them accurately. That being said, I can't imagine that a .308 wouldn't shoot them accurately.

I guess it depends on what kind of performance/school of thought you are looking for, and how that performance fits your notion of "best".

So first determine what it is that you want the bullet to do, then determine how bullet construction, weight, velocity, and even accuracy fits within your notion of best.

Think about this within the realm of humerus versus scapula versus rib shooter. Do you demand exit wounds at the expense of longer trailing jobs? Common distances for your type of hunting, etc, etc, etc....

For my type of hunting and in my girlfriend's .308, I've gone with 165 Accubonds because I don't want to change bullets in her gun when going from elk, to deer to antelope. I get a little bit of everything at that weight and construction.

In my .308, which is more of a duty/culling/put down wounded stuff rifle than hunting rifle I have 150 grain Sierras right now, but when forced to switch to factory loads I'll go with 150 Fusions or basic blue box Federal 150s for a variety of reasons that fit my usage with this rifle.

I killed quite a few deer with the old Norma130 gr BT.They sure worked and probably about like the 125's . I do prefer something in the 165 gr class.They retain more energy down range than the lighter bullets, hold together better, penetrate deeper and generally limt meat damage more than the lighter ones. They have proven to be more accurate in a 1:10 twist rifle. A 165 gr bullet of proper design will be good for about any game in North America except maybe big bears.
I'm no fan of the barnes bullets of any ilk. However if you are exceeding 2800-2900 fps ,you ought to consider a tougher bullet. Not really needed for a deer size class of game though.

150 Hornady Spire Point Interlock

The few that i've killed with a .308 fell to a 150g Corelokt. Seem to work good enough that when i bought my 30-06 the 150g Corelokt got the knod again...and i shot a good amount of deer with that 150g Corelokt in the 30-06.

That's the one I always reach for and it works great on mulies as well...

150 or 180 accubond

The 308 is easy to load for and tough to find a bullet that does not work. Not that it is needed but always liked a 165 in the 308 and 30-06.

I'm a handloader...for the most part. So, please excuse my bias. I would strongly caution you, that whatever you do....DO NOT use Remington factory Core-Lokt's in 150 gr. .308's in a Browning BLR 81 lever gun. To do so will result in a HUGE amount of work in skinning, butchering and bragging.....

These are a few of the Whitetail's, Mulies and elk that have fallen to that poor excuse of a .308 load in the last few years....courtesy of two of my son's poor shooting and stalking...

Most of these kills were from 75 yards to 300 yards. With the average being around 200.

I think I'm the only one who hasn't hunted with it and I may just go do that later this afternoon.













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You want to be damn careful what you point a .308 at. It can ruin your whole day if you were planning on watching alot of football....

anything from a 308 is enough for a deer except a FMJ. Go lighter not heavier, the 125BT is a good thought buy some Rem corelocs there fine as well.

Whitetails aren't really hard to kill. Shoot what your rifle likes best. One of mine prefers 165 Game Kings, the other, 208 A-max. Both kill deer really, really dead when you pop both lungs.

I have just about used up a 10 box purchase of cheap Federal 150s. Since they have the same parent company, I suspect they use Speer. They have been scary accurate and have killed deer from a few to just over 500 yards. The bullets are inexpensive and they work. Jack

Yep, been loading them in the 300 Savage for years and now load them in my son's 30-06. Can't see why they wouldn't work in the 308.

Dale

In 308, I've used the following to kill deer

130 ttsx at 3050
150 accubond at 2850
165 nosler BT
165 accubond
150 sst
150 interbond

I can't tell a difference

My current flavor is 130 ttsx driven as fast as accurate

Well I have a large sample of two kills with the 308. One a 110 lb doe and the other a 190-200lb buck. On the smaller I used a 165 gr hornady btsp and on the buck a 150gr ww power point that I bought in the classifieds here on the fire. Both died pretty quick and both were pass throughs so it would seem a toss up to me. I will probably stick with the 150's since I have a supply. If I wanted one bullet for both deer and elk and I didn't have a supply of the 150's I would probably go with the 165 and call it good though I have no doubt the 150's would do fine in that dual roll.

YEP!!

They work, near/far, fast/slow. I've used them in 30-06 & 308, from 2850-3000fps.

Some others don't like vel above 2900 fps. As in they won't hold together as well.

Good Luck

At 308 velocities awful hard to beat 150 Horn sp or the 150 gr Rem Corelokt day in day out they get the job done. Magnum Man

Best is subjective.

My favorite bolt gun in 308 has seen only 185s in it for years now. They have been doing about all I've ever wanted so far, so I keep running em. ANd plenty of steam out there past 500 so far too.

I've shot deer with the 125, 150, and 180 grain bullets in the .30-06. 150's have definitely given me the best results but I commonly use 180's because our deer season opens right after our bear season and I don't want to resight in during the few days in between.

The 150 gr Hornady SP or BTSP out of a 308 is about as ugly as life can get for deer chest cavities.
jmho
Tim

A good 180 gr will never let you down

I've killed two now out of my 308 with 150gr Hornady SPs. Both dropped right there (bigger bodied deer by WV standards), one at 40 yards, one at 100. Very happy with terminal performance. I've seen another half dozen killed with the same bullet out of a 30-06 at a mild load that chrony'd 2800fps. Same results.

180gr here as well, though now my only 30cal is a 300wsm. still like to hit'em hard, and watch them fall. nothin closes the coffin on deer quite the same as a 180gr e-tip.

I standardized on Hornady 165 gr SST's in my 1:11 twist Tikka. I like the added mass and the 2 deer I've taken with it (a large doe and smallish buck both around 100 lbs) dropped where the stood and barely twitched. Less than 100 yards each.

That being said it probably doesn't really matter....whatever your rifle and wallet like.

I would say try any nosler BT in the weight that you like. If it don't shoot like you want it to move to next closest weight. I will shoot one of them I'm shure.
I shoot nbt or AB in most all my rifles. Tried about all the bullets but have had none do better, some as good. If it works why change. JMO

150 grain Remington Corelock. DRT

Adonis3333,

While I have never killed a whitetail, I have shot a fair share of mule deer. I used 165 grain Hornadys when I used my .308 Win, which seems to have become my primary rifle. I have yet to shoot an elk with it, but on my next elk trip I will use this same load. I have yet to have to use more than a single bullet on mule deer. I suspect a single bullet ought to produce the same results on elk.

Core-Lokt bullets are beyond excellent. I believe they're now available in 165 grain bullets. When I run out of Hornady, which might take a while if deer keep dying with one bullet, I might go 165 grain Core-Lokt.

BTW, I use 165 grain bullets for everything because I figured sighting my rifle for one bullet that will work on deer & elk will simplify my life. And they shoot about .5".

I've been using the Hornady 165 gr. interlocked for many years with total satisfaction. Put one on top of 46gr of Varget and every deer will die promptly. Total pass through on over 40 deer on the past 22 years. Two deer on the 2nd went DRT.

always thought the name corelokt was funny. I've seen more dang core seperations in them than maybe any other bullet other than a BT possibly over the years. Just can't seem to hold onto the core for some reason. Which isn't all that bad a thing for typical deer shots and wanted results for most folks.

180 gr. round nose core lokt.

IMO the 150 core- lok is hard to beat. I figure I have put them through over one hundred whitetail or more and have yet to be dissatisfied with the result when I did my part. They are inexpensive and my 700 will shoot sub moa with them all day long.

I don't call them Core-loss for nothing. Miserable bullet, except in a 35 Remington and maybe a 30/30.

I agree that the .30-30 and .35 Rem Core-Lokt are good bullets simply because both are designed for very narrow velocity windows. Before I began handloading I shot several deer and a black bear with 170 grainers in .30-30 all one shot kills.

Lately I�ve been loading for several friends at .30-06 velocities and have been using rather rapidly expanding bullets such as Hornady SST and Nosler BTs, but because of dense woods the shots are always under 100 yards and often closer to 50 yards I�ve loaded 165 grains for penetration in case bone is encountered. For .308 velocities, especially when shots will be at least 100 yards I�d drop down to 150 grains or lighter depending on construction.

The 150gr Nosler Ballistic Tips shot great and killed lots of deer out of 2 different stainless 700 Mountain Guide rifles I owned.

Nosler has the .30 cal Ballistic Tips in 125gr, 150gr, 165gr, 168gr, & 180gr to choose from.

The 125gr NBT's kill deer very effectively out to 200 yards in a reduced recoil load using H4895.

Been using this load for the past couple years with my 13 y/o in his 700 .308 rifle and they just plain work without beating up the young/small stature shooter that may be slightly recoil sensitive.

The BT's are relatively inexpensive, perform well, most .308's shoot them very accurately, what's not to like?

Seems to me that just about any bullet will work on deer. I've killed 'em expensive bullets & I've killed 'em with less expensive bullets. They all ended up dead.

I'm using 165 grain accubonds