Going to load up fairly mild 308 rounds for whitetail hunting. Where we hunt the vast majority of shots are under 100 yds and most are within 50 yards. Probably load them to 2500-2600fps. Two bullets that are available are the Speer 165 BTSP and the Hornady 165 BTSP Interlock. At that velocity and distance it probably doesn’t matter which bullet I use but does anyone have experience with both? Any reason to go with the slightly more expensive interlock? Any others I should consider (factoring in availability)?

I have a bunch of 165 Accubonds but seems like a waste to use them. However I would if there were significant benefits over the others I listed. If not I’ll save those for the 30-06 and 300 WSM.

Thanks

It’s really just a 300 Savage at that point so nope, I’d not worry a bit about either bullet mentioned. I can’t see either bullet giving you a lick of trouble under those conditions you laid out.

A lot of 16" .308 semiautos are only making 2450-2550 with factory 165 softpoints and you rarely hear folks complaining about a lack of performance on game at reasonable ranges. I'd have no worries shooting either of those bullets for deer-sized stuff. The Speer will likely expand a bit more at that speed, as it's know to be fairly soft.

Years ago I loaded up quite a few 165's with 4064, at those speeds. Hornadys , Speers and Sierra GK's , deer never knew the difference.The Sierras proved the most accurate, so I ended up sticking with them'

Don't overlook the 165 Speer Hotcor.

That would’ve been high on the list but I can’t find them anywhere.

I'll second that vote. That's the bullet I run in a Ruger M77 RSI, the Mannlicher stocked version with 18.5" barrel. I run the Speer bullet with a max load of W760 for a velocity of 2550 FPS. That same load does 2610 FPS from a 22" Winchester M70. I've taken deer from 6 feet to 250 yards with that load. Only one bullet ever recovered and that was from the 250 yard deer. I've shot the M70 on paper but never at game.
Accuracy from the RSI is 1.25 to 1.50" and .75" from the M70.

Bullet: 165 gr. Speer Hot Core
Powder: W760 49.0 gr. (MAX load) Was safe in both my rifles but work up.
Brass: Winchester
Prime: Winchester WLR
Pressure: 50,000 C.U.P.

PJ

W760 IIRC.

Pretty hard to beat a Hornady Interlock! memtb

Sure is. Both the sp and btsp are exceptional. That hotcore has nothing on the interlock. I'd also rather shoot a WW powerpoint than a speer anything..

If you can get some 170 HDY flat points (usually a 30/30 bullet) that would be my choice. In the older HDY manuals they were recommended in 300 Savage .308 and 30/40 Krag. They will work well at 2400-2500 fps.

I load 170-grain Speer flat points over 36.5 grains of H4895 in the 308. I get 2,200 fps from a 22" barrel, which should be perfect for the OP's conditions. Recoil is non-existent.


Okie John

Hard to beat the Hornady-at whatever speed.

Years ago I wanted to work up a low recoil .308 load for my wife and then young nephews.

Settled on the Barnes TTSX 130 grain with 45.5 gr of Varget and a F210.

It is pleasant as punch to shoot and so effective that it has become my go to deer and pig load of choice.

Fwiw - our bucks run 200 - 220, occasionally more, and pigs go up to 250.

"W760 IIRC."

Thanks, I fixed it.
PJ

I know you specified 165 grain bullets but, for years, we've loaded 150 grain Sierra gamekings over a modest load of 4064 and it worked wonders on eastern whitetails at typical woods ranges.

+1 on Sierra Game King 165gr., been shooting them in my .30-06 with IMR 4350 for several years now. Very accurate and deadly on whitetails, my preferred .30 cal. bullet for whitetails.

Thanks all. Picked up 165 BTSP Interlocks today.

What brass and powder do you think you'll use?

Remington brass, Fed 210 primers and either IMR4064, Varget or Big Game for powder. Would appreciate suggestions on the best powder keeping in mind that I’m looking for somewhere around 2600 fps

Try 44 grains of Varget. I use 46 grains with the Hornady 165 flat base loaded to SAAMI spec length in a W-W case, and get 2600 fps from an 18" barrel, a Ruger American compact. Not knowing your barrel length, 44 should get you in the ballpark with the Remington case. Varget is temperature insensitive with the best of such powders, and will give good accuracy.

Regards,
Manny

Forget Big Game for this application.

The other two should get you where you want to go.

I could spare some if you need them.

My go-to Rifle Opener weapon is a Savage 99 in 308 WIN. For whatever reason, I could not get 150 grainers to group, so I tried 165 grain Hornady IL SPs and have been hunting with them for 20 years. I use a load of H4895 that is well off MAX. They chrono about 2650 fps or so. Performance on deer has been quite good.

Going to use Varget. For my own information, why is Big Game not good for this application?

Be hard to kill a deer deader than a 30 cal.150 grain bullet will.

What would be wrong with a round nose soft point bullet at 100 yard ranges.

No difference at all. Both will work fine, as will about any 150-165 soft point. One will probably shoot better in your gun, though that doesn't matter much at your ranges. I doubt the cost will be much different either.

Great bullet, and usually delivers excellent accuracy in the 308 Win.

Here's a bull I took with the 308 Win/165 Hdy BTSP. Should work on smaller deer too

IMO it is on the slow side for the 308, and ball powders often are not the best for less than full throttle loads.

Unless there's a medical condition or child involved I've never understood the desire for a light load in a hunting round. In those two circumstances a cartridge change would be a better solution.

A 308 shooting a 165 at 2500-2600 would actually be more of a "middle of the road" load. Why on Earth would that not be a good choice for deer at woods ranges? I'd be hard pressed to name a better one for this use.

You are still running about the same as other rounds.
300 Savage, 308 Marlin Express, 30-40 Krag.
I am looking into a BLR in 308 and while I prefer the 150 I have a good supply of 165 that I shoot in my Garand. I would go with what shoots best in your gun.

What if you like a given rifle and don't need all of its performance capability and also don't want to put up with unnecessary recoil/blast? If you can effectively turn a 35 Whelen into a .358Win, or a 338WinMag into a .338-06, simply by altering the load, I feel that is yet another nod in favor of the value of handloading. Some rifles still perform well at 80-90% throttle, while being able to go back to 100% if you want. Now if a rifle doesn't like the lighter-load concept, then I'd agree that your only route is to move down to a smaller round to get to the desired level of performance or recoil. Also, some of the larger chamberings may only be present in physically large platforms, so if your goal is to have that moderate level of performance in a perfectly-scaled rifle (smaller package), then downloading a big/heavy rifle may not be applicable in that scenario either.

Agreed.

I've shot thousands of 308 loads that mimic Lake City Match, and a couple of thousand of the real thing. It isn't full throttle for a 308, but a 165/168 at the 2500/2600 fps level isn't what I'd characterize as a light load.

It's also one of the load levels where groups come together.