On a prairie dog hunt lately my partner brought along a borrowed Ruger M77 MkII VT in 308. It wore a Leupold 4-12 and he was using 110 grain factory ammo. One day there was a hay stack and fence line measured 520 yards away and we saw a dog right under the fence. The rifle was zeroed dead on at 300 yards and estimated 14" low at 400 and 3' low at 500 yards. I told him to hold the top strand of wire and he did for a one shot kill. Had I not witnessed it I would be very skeptical! The 308 is not my choice for varminting - too much recoil and expense - but it sure did the job.

Palma matches are contested with the 308. At 1000 yds.

A huge amount of luck undoubtably played into this shot.

a .30 cal 110 gr projectile has lousy long range performance. .30 cal bullets with good ballistic coeficients are not approprieate for small varmits. They start at about 165 gr.

Good story, but file under "blind hog finds acorn"

In general, in calibers over .25, bullets either have good ballistic coeficient for long range shooting or proper construction/weight for small varmits, but not both.

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A huge amount of luck undoubtably played into this shot.

True enough. But, any PD hit at 500 yards includes a lot of luck, perhaps less so with the .308 than smaller rounds.

No matter how good someone may be a guessing windage they can't guess what they can't see. No one can "see" the wind over such long distances so a high BC bullet is a great advantage. As said, there are some really fine bullets are made in .30 caliber. And a .30 cal bullet has no need to expand on something as small as a p'dog.

308's are accurate.
When I started Centerfire Benchrest Shooting Competitively in 1970, there were guys on the circuit shooting 308's, all because they are/were accurate. That was prior to the 6PPC coming on line. The PPC killed off all competing cartridges in one heart beat, the 222, 222 Mag, the 6x47, and the 308. Too bad, 'cause I liked shooting different chambering's, and still do.
But, no denying it, the PPC RULES the game.

Don

While luck was undoubtedly with us on the shot, we DID have it doped out perfectly. The laser gave the range very precisely, the wind was dead calm just then, and the fence gave us an excellent reference for hold-over. The rifle was of known accuracy with the load being used and my partner squeezed of a good one.

Brazos Jack, the Palma bullets are 155 gr.

"But, no denying it, PPC rules."
Don, only in group shooting and that may not be for long. The 30BR has been dominating score shooting for several years and the 200-300 group nationals were won by the 30BR a couple of years ago.

I vary rarely varmit shoot, but other than a 22 hornet, its my next choice/ smallest chambering. I suppose I could use my 300 ultra mag. Wonder how fast a 110 grainer would go out of it?

Buckeyeshooter, I've wondered the same thing out of my 300RUM. I know mine doesn't like anything under 165 gr. That's all I've ever shot out of my 308, also. Sagebrush, if you plan on getting a 308 now because of this, I would go with something heavier than 110. Those bullets do not have a high enough BC to consistently shoot at long range, especially with any wind. My .02

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While luck was undoubtedly with us on the shot, we DID have it doped out perfectly.

Don't misunderstand, I take NOTHING from your great shot. My point is that while you felt calm air around you, and perhaps even saw calm grass at the 'dog, that's a long way and you had to have very good luck that no short wind gust existed between you and the target!

Watch the surface of a lake on moderately calm days and you will see what I mean. You will often see scattered small spots with strong ripples that twist and swirl. Ditto the winds over any long shot!

I shoot groundhogs sometimes with an FN SPR in 308. Managed one just under and one just over 500 yards last year. Target knobs are fun if you know how to use them.

The accuracy is certainly there, but there just are so few good varmint style bulelts for it. I would probably use a 125grNBT, good vel. decent BC & soft enough to maybe expand on larger varmints.

Loading for a friends 308 on a Savage action, and my 7/08 on a Savage Action... I'll take the 7/08 six ways to Sunday over the 308...

more flexible, even better bullet availability, and less recoil...

for long range varminting tho, there are a zillion better choices, smaller than a 308 bore...

despite its accuracy, I have never warmed to a 308.. everything designed on the same case, does a better job....

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Originally posted by seafire2:
Loading for a friends 308 on a Savage action, and my 7/08 on a Savage Action... I'll take the 7/08 six ways to Sunday over the 308...

more flexible, even better bullet availability, and less recoil...

for long range varminting tho, there are a zillion better choices, smaller than a 308 bore...

despite its accuracy, I have never warmed to a 308.. everything designed on the same case, does a better job....

I agree, that's why I had my M700 rebarreled to 260ai. With 95grVmax @ 3400fps, it's a pretty good varminter. It will still deliver 142grSMK into 1/2MOA out to beyond 400yds furthest I have shot).

Sounds like a real good day.

It was!

Great shot! I prefer a smaller caliber for 110 grain bullets however.

Sage-B,

Color me Wrong!

Every time we've gone P-D Shooting (isn't much hunting involved IMO) we've takem a .308 Win.; a stubby barreled Savage Tactical, and that rifle will shoot! Usually loading 125 gr. Nosler BT's.

Making a long-g-g poke is always a Hoot!