Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Loads for "Managed-Recoil" Type Ammunition in 308 Win.

Looking for suggestions on a light load for a 308W for reduced recoil, but still have enough zap to take out a white tail at fairly close range(likely less than 100 yards). I'd go with the factory load, but at $20/box practice won't be cheap.

Soon to be 13 year-old son is geeked up about doing MI's youth hunt this fall with "grandpa" and his Savage 99 in 308. Steel buttplate on this one in case you '99 loonys didn't already know that.

boy is chunky enough, but he's a bit short and has arms to match. He can't get a proper grip on his youth sized 22 (he has to slip the butt under his arm) so I'm sure it'll just be worse with a full sized '99, so I'd like load something he could use on a small deer (probably a doe) that won't dislocate his jaw.

Been thinking about one of the 130gr.-.308 bullets from anyone with a reduced charge of H4895, probably someting in the way of a 30-30 loading. Concerned about letality of the load though.

Particulary interested in experiences you may have had.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

I load either a 125 gr Sierra SP or Hornady 130 gr spire point over H-4895 to anywhere from 2400 to 2700 FPS, and works fine with broadside shots - avoid the "Texas heartshot" or a quartering away, paunch shot. Bullets will exit on rib shots under 100 yards, at least on smaller Calif. deer - I'm not sure on 250 lb Northern whitetail! This type of load is what my son will be shooting in a couple of years from a Rem 660.

When dad started my brother and I with the .308 Winchester he had the same goal. He used 125 gr. Nosler Ballistic tip over 47.1 gr. of 4831. This load never failed on a properly placed shot, and I'm apparently the gun nut of the two of us, I've moved onto bigger and "better" things, but he still hunts with this load and kills lots of deer with it. I have never checked velocity on it, but it should be somewhere in the 26-2700 fps range.
Selmer

My father killed a few deer with these fired from a 30 Herrett handgun.

http://www.sierrabullets.com/index....e=bc&stock_num=7350&bullettype=0

They worked well with muzzle velocity in the low two thousands.

Rem uses IMR 4198 in their Managed Recoil loads...and in 30 caliber that is with a 125 grain bullet for the 308 and 30/06...
You'll find them more accurate than H 4895 is....accuracy is hit or miss with H4895 depending on what your charge is..

I do a lot of reduced loading for kids and other recoil shy shooters or those of us that just don't need a 500 yd load when hunting in the woods where 100 yds is a long shot..

Plenty of bullets out there that will do the job in that lower velocity range...

I'd look at powders in the following catagories.. (less powder, less recoil)..

4198, either one..
4759
RL 7
2400
4227 ( either one)

for practicing and familiarization with the firearm.. Trail Boss...

an 11 yr old, whom was son of one of the secretaries at my son's middle school, took a deer with a load I made up for him for the 30/30 he had been handed down... it was a load of Trail Boss ( like 9 grains of so, bulky powder, and a 150 grain FN Speer.. took a blacktail buck at 75 yds... bang/flop according to dad...

Seafire, how do you find the time to do all of this load development!?!?! I'm an addict too, and it sounds like you have kids as well. Mine are 3 and 5, help me at the bench and the 5 year old is on a .22 RF, but I just can't find much time to do as much development as I'd like. Maybe being a full-time seminary student has something to do with it... Maybe my internship year will be better!
Selmer

Selmer, It is I who am envious of you...being in a seminary and preparing to do God's work in life...

If I could back up life, I'd take the path, that I always wanted to, and didn't have the opportunity to do.. and that was to be a Doctor...

not for the potential to make money.. I'd have been a financially poor doctor.. I'dhave been in it to help my fellow human beings at their time of poor health...I was involved in Cardiac Surgery for quite a few years.. but would have loved to do it as a doctor.. I went and became a paramedic and nurse, as well as a combat medic when I was in the army after college..

I spent many years working as a sales rep for several cardiology companies selling their products back in the Midwest..I loved it.. use to scrub into 5 to 10 cases a week at hospitals in 7 different states...

No, your being in a seminary.. I am both envious and proud of you..

Joe - more important than the load itself is the fit of the rifle. I found when starting off my youngest son, that using a short "youth" model stock, with a good recoil pad, made a huge difference in his ability to handle the rifle and to shoot well.

Although I didn't load max level stuff for him right off the bat, it was really the fit of the rifle that allowed him to competently nail a mulie doe on his first hunt. He quickly graduated to full power hunting ammo, but kept the short stock until he outgrew it.

FWIW, Guy

Thanks Seafire, it's sometimes difficult to see that "forest" when you're looking at the number of "trees" that I am. (aka, hoops I have to jump through because of decades of clergy abuse in the Church) It's good to be reminded of it, sometimes it seems like the road to ordination and full-time ministry is endless!
Peace,
Selmer

As a follower of the Seafire loading technique, I might suggest you follow his method as a tertiary project.

First would be to find a rough 99 stock to cut down to fit the shooter.

Second is to be sure he ALWAYS wears good hearing protection. . . NOISE is always worse that recoil for causing problems with new shooters.

Third is to do some research to pick up Seafire's reduced recoil loads. I used his method to create loads for 06 and 7.7X58 for me as well as 30-30. The 30-30 method may well work for you also as it was done to help a VERY recoil shy shooter.

I used a load of Blue Dot under a 110 Remington RNSP carbine boolit in the hunting load, which was adequate for a small TN buck.

Once you get him shooting using the carbine bullets or some low weight cast boolits then he will never notice a little more recoil and noise in the hunting scene

I'm loading 150gr SST's right now with 44.5gr. Varget, for a reduced load for my wife. Around 2600fps.

Thanks to all of you who responded with suggestions. I picked up a 'jug' of IMR 4198 yesterday, and ordered "boolits", dies and cases this afternoon. Even got the Redding profile crimp die for my .44 that I've been wanting. Let you know the range results ASAP, hunting season isn't until September, so stay tuned. . . .

Hodgdon lists some
http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Youth%20Loads.pdf