I'm waiting on my new ruger compact laminate in .308. Don't know what bullet weight to choose. Most hunting will be eastern whitetails (75yds and closer) and if I'm luck black bear. This rifle has a 16.5 in barrel and I would like to get the most out of the bullet. My old 30-30 win with a 150g flatnose does just fine. Should I go with a 150g or a 165g. I guess the question I'm asking is which gran bullet is inherently more accurate in a rifle chambered in 308. I know all rifles like their own bullet sometimes but just wondering if anyone has experience with this setup before I load um up. Thanks

Knowing what the twist rate is would be handy in working out a load for your rifle.

Most 308s are good from 130 to 180 grains, but like Bob asked - Knowing the barrel twist rate will help.

twist rate is 1 in 10.
I been looking at old posts and the general concensus is 150 or 165 whichever shoots better, would you agree?
Just wanted to get a jump start before it comes in, I have 150g, 165g and 180g in .308 on hand used in 30-30 and 30.06 and 300 wthby mag. I justed wanted to try a bullet weight others use successfully without loading up 3 or 4 different weights.

I like 150 grainers in all my .30 cals. I used 150's in my 06 for moose and results were great. Many told me too light, some telling me that were using .270's with 130 grainers????

i too have killed many many deer and have also shot black bear and hogs with the 06 and 308 using standard cup and core 150s and never found them lacking in any way.

I likes 165'ers for 308 cart

I prefer 165 to 175gr bullets in the 308 mainly because that's the most common weight in match bullets and I've shot a ton of them.

I figured it was a good idea for my hunting and target rifles to have the same trajectory......................DJ

After considering your limited range of less than 100 yards why not go with more bullet? Ballistically you do not require flatter trajectory so why not trump the pot by going with a 180 grainer? I 180 nosler ballistic tips are incredible performers and will always punch out the back side.

Good point made by Capt F.
If they will shoot well in your rifle, the old reliable Rem Core Lokts have always performed well for me. I daresay that there are more deer killed each year with Core Lokt bullets than any others. I have one '06 that has never had anything other than 165gr Core Lokkts shot thru it.

I cannot disagree with anyone on the corelocts, they have always been deadly for me.
I move to the Hornady interlocks for a couple more bucks and improved accuracy at the range with no compromise in the end result, they may even be better than the corelocts.
I was just checking my inventory and I have some Hornady SST's in 150g, I think I'm going to try them along with the Hornady 150 flat or round which ever you choose to call them.
The Hornady 150g flat nose shoot better in all 3 of my 30-30's than Sierra's.
I happen to love the Hornady product line in all bullets except for the .224 and .338 where I use the Sierras.
FYI I worked up a load on the Savage 243 model 99 with Hornady 100g and when I couldn't find them I went to corelocts in a pinch and was vey dissappointed in the drop off in accuracy, about 1 MOA @ 100yds different.
When hunting deer size game at 100yds and in, the corelocts are great and perform excellent terminally, but I really like the Horandy procuct.

thirty .....

I really enjoy 150 grainers in a .308 Win.; although any .308" normal weight range 150-180 grainers will get the job done handily.

For the parameters you've suggested above I'd buy a box of Nosler 150 gr. Ballistic Tips. I usually try them first in a new rifle as they are normally superbly accurate.

Not that Hornady makes a sub-caliber product; I shoot lots of their bullets and my .30/06 Sprg. dotes on Hornady 165 gr. SPBT's & 180 gr. RN's.

Have fun w/your new Boomer.

There's a ton of small points which may tip your decision one way or another.

At the distance you specify, for the game you'll be hunting, just about ANY weight rifle bullet from 150gr. to 200 gr. should perform just fine and adequately stabilize when launched from your 1-in-10"twist barrel.

Also, I'd suggest that cup & core bullets would likely do just as well as premiums at that distance, if "dead-right-there" is your primary concern. Certainly, you will be close enough to put the bullet in the right place.

If, on the other hand you ever have occasion to hunt where lead-cored bullets are verbotten, it would be nice not to have to change loads both for accuracy and re-sighting reasons. In that instance, a good, dependable, mono-metal bullet might be just the ticket for actual hunting, even if you use something else for shooting practice and/or plinking.

For hunting mostly bears, which tend to have heavier bones and thicker skins, fat & hair than deer, I'd think about something a tad heavier than 150s. But for deer, the rapid expansion of cup 'n core 150's will kill like a lightning bolt (Thor's hammer) if placed in the chest cavity.

I guess if it was MY gun, I'd probably work up koads for, and use, two different bullets. One would possibly be a Hornady or Nosler 150 SP cup 'n core. The other would be a proven 165 gr. mono-metal.

(If I might ever get to hunt grizzlies, I'd make that a 180 mono-metal if I HAD to use a .308. Probably for grizzly-possible hunts though, I'd just take my .376 Steyr.)

Anyway, sounds like a fun dilemna to "rassle" with. Have a good time.

AC

Thanks Alberta, black bears here are small.
If I was hunting in grizzly area and for them I would use the 338 or 300 wthby mag.
I've shot 350 lb deer in Manitoba with 180 Hornady interlocks and they drop right in their tracks.
I would like to work 1 round for all game here in the East woods.

I use 150 grain Nosler Partitons or Accubonds for .308

For target 155 Sierra Palma bullets or Sierra 168 Matchkings. I am also fond of Nosler Custom Competition 168 grain bullets

My .308 likes 150 grain NBT's but I would not use them for even PA black bear. I loaded 140 grain Barnes X bullets for that. No luck on bear this year but they worked fine on a big doe at 250 yards this year.

I'd use 180 Hornady RN.........

quote:

Most hunting will be eastern whitetails (75yds and closer) and if I'm luck black bear. This rifle has a 16.5 in barrel

In that case, I'd give consider loading the 170 flat nose designed for the .30-30.....load it to about 2500 FPS.....it's still within the window of performance and has a very long history of whitetail performance.

I bought my son the exact same rifle when he was 10. I've since rebarred with a 22".

150 gr is all you'll ever need. At 16.5", you can get by with a C&C bullet like the Speer, Hornady or Sierra, esp if all you're after is deer.

You could drop down to 130 if you used a TSX.

I've been using the 150 Gr. Hornady Spire point in my .308 for over 30 years. Works great on whitetails. I used it to take a large black bear quite a few years ago and it worked well in that one case. Now if I was loading just for bear I'd use a premiun bullet like the Nosler partition. I never saw the need to use anything more than a cup and core bullet for whitetails.

I use 165 gr rem cor loks in my 308 with out any trouble.

For years I used 130 grain Hornady spire points on the rifle range for 200 yard off hand and rapid fire sitting. They proved to be accurate and dependable, as well as reducing barrel time (an important factor in off hand shooting).

Just out of curiosity, I decided to try the load in the hunting field. I shot a six point buck through the shoulders at about 75 yards, and was surprised to see him rear up on his hind legs and take off across the field about 50 yards into thick undergrowth. When found, about 100 yards from where he was shot, he turned out to have both shoulders broken and his front legs dangling.

On the other hand, I have had heavier bullets penetrate all the way through without expanding significantly. Lighter bullets should not be summarily written off, in my opinion.

I've always liked 150 to 168 in 308 but use 180gr with very goos results -- accuracy wise. 180 and up I usually like to go with the 06.

quote:

In that case, I'd give consider loading the 170 flat nose designed for the .30-30.....load it to about 2500 FPS.....it's still within the window of performance and has a very long history of whitetail performance.

I was thinking sling shot myself !. 20 gauge shotgun slug ,IMO would have been a much better choice of weapon given the distances .

75 yd an under I'd agree with VapoDog 30/30 is Gun plenty for 150 yd an down !. If you're insistent on using .308 I'd be dam sure using a soft nose quick expanding bullet and stay on the low power side if hand loading , not something designed for down range trajectory !.

I killed a lot of White Tails with standard 150 grain bullets in a 308. Remington, Winchester and Federal. Also shot a couple with 180 Hornadys.
My dad shot a lot with 130 Speers. They all worked well. I liked the 150's best. 165s should be good also.

I like the 165 gr. Speer Hot-Core in my Ruger M77 RSI. I use it in a Winchester M70 as well along with the 220 gr. Sierra on occasion although that does require resighting in the rifle. The 165 gr. load only does 2550 FPS from the 18.5" barrel of the RSI but every deer I've shot at with it hs died on the spot or within a few feet. The same load from a 22" barreled Winchester M70 does 2610 FPS. The 220 gr. load was originally an experiment that gave a surprising 2310 FPS from the M70 and 2250 FPS from the RSI. Might be a good load for big feral hogs.
But for a do it all oe load type of deal, my choice would be whatever 165 gr. bullet your rifle likes best and go with that.
Paul B.