Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .308 125 B/T at 2800 fps for new shooter

Would anyone have actual experience with the 125 grain Ballistic Tip in .308 downloaded to 2800 fps for a new female shooter to be used on deer and hogs mainly? Thank you.

Why 2800 fps in particular?

Hell you can go clear to 2500 and still have it be a killing sumbitch. And I would do exactly that with a new shooter. 2800 is likely a shock to the system for a brand new shooter with a 125.

Not to mention muzzle blast.

Absolutely, I'm loading the 125 BT right at 2800 for a friend and myself in 300 Savage (although I've just punched paper). His is for his 12-year old daughter. I first loaded about 2630fps when she started hunting with it. She shot two deer with that loading. The next year worked up 2780-2790 fps which was the next accuracy node I guess. She's killed two more deer sense and when she shoots at the range, that loading doesn't seem to bother her at all. I would assume there would be very little difference with your 308 since that's a rather reduced load for it. As for bullet performance, you could reduce the velocity 200fps and still have a potent round at least to 300 yards.

I can drop it down, just wasn't sure how the 125 Nosler Ballistic Tips perform at lower velocities on deer (or hogs).

Which powder are you using?

H4895

Agreed. I’m assuming fairly moderate ranges being a new shooter.

Another alternative if hunting deer within a hundred yards or so typical eastern whitetail deer ranges would be to load 150 grain 30-30 type bullets to around 2200 fps typical real world velocities in a 20” carbine. It’ll hit like a hammer on close range deer.

I'll probably start her off with the 125 ProHunter at around 2400 fps and then move to the 125 Ballistic Tip at around 2600 and settle on 2800 fps after a while with the Ballistic Tip. Thanks for all the valuable contributions.

Nosler claims 1800fps as a "safe minimum impact velocity"

Solid plan. I would do the same. And if the 2,400 fps loads went hunting, they’d be just fine inside 150yds or so. My daughter had good results with such loads when she was 9-10 years old. 2,800 fps came later, but didn’t actually seem to kill that much differently on a broadside deer. A lot of stuff is killed with 150gr 30-30 loads each year at 100-200yds. Not that much difference in impact speed or bullet weight when compared to those 2,400fps reduced loads.

Most women do not like recoil....at all.

I would stick with 2400fps if you can find an accurate load and never change for a while.

Key, spend a lot of time at the rifle range, cut the stock for HER length of pull, and trigger pull according to the strength in her fingers, not yours.

We started our small nephews off with 30/30 reduced loads, they never had a problem.

243 Win would have been a LOT better choice, but I believe you can make the 125g work, and she will let you know. I have killed some big bucks with those 125g Pro hunters and ballistic tips.

Yes - loaded them for a friend’s kids to use in 308 Winchester BLR with carbine length barrel while deer hunting here in SW Mississippi. For that matter also loaded them for another guy to use in 14” 30-30 Contender pistol. In both cases they were very effective. Even though not the bullet I’d have picked for shooting pigs the guy with 30-30 Contender also killed a few pigs with them, no problem. I’m sure if properly placed the 125 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip will surprise you at how effective it is.

You can load them at 2200 to 2500 and have a really nice recoiling round for her (or you). Place your shots and you’re gonna eat well. Accubonds work equally well at those speeds if you can’t find BT’s.
Good luck and have fun! Tom

Not to hijack the thread. But does anyone have any experience with the 125 BTip loaded at 3000+ from a 30'06 on deer?

Do you have any 4198 hanging around?

Daughter's played softball, I used that to set the tone.

Plugged the ears, muffs.
Don't make a big deal of it, do it to start, shooting a 22.

Brought out the "big" gun.
Held it one handed, shot a round so they could see it didnt kill me.
Told them it would bump them, but it's not a big deal.

"Hurts less than a palm caught ball,
less than a stinging hit.
Wayyy less than even a mild hit by a ball."

They soon understood recoil was only slightly uncomfortable.
Less so than other things that routinely happen, largely unnoticed.

But they trust me, never lied to them about anything like that.
"Its going to hurt, it won't be anything you can't easy handle."







Repetition. That isn't explainable and needs to be avoided.
Too much even mild recoil can get ugly.

Ever see a shotgun shooter with bad flinched?
Used to shoot with a guy who couldn't pull the trigger.
Half his mind said shoot, the other half said "F' you!".
His finger would refuse to move.


Not an answer to the OP.
But something to consider for the teaching.
If anybastard tries to give her a kicker, or starts talking kick,
kick their ass!

Good deal with the muffs. I think noise is about as hard to deal with for new shooters as recoil.

I really like 125’s at 3K fps. They don’t kick that much and hit like a magnum on WT sized critters.

DF

Load to 2500, will kill them just fine using a ballistic tip. I’d load some at minimum to begin with for practice. My subsonic 308’s are 150 GameKings at 1100. They will go through a pig at 50 yards.

May try them subsonic in my suppressed .300 BO. Do you get any expansion at 1100 fps?

DF