The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Medium Bore Rifles 180gr North Forks in .308 Winchester with 1:11" TwistGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I recently bought a Tikka T3 in .308 Winchester for my 14 year old son. The rifle has a 1:11" twist rate. In two trips to the range I've got a solid BT and North Fork Bonded Core loads, both in 165 grain bullet weights. I'm hoping to take him to Africa next year and intend to keep his shots to 200 yards or less. Largest animals to be taken would be Gemsbok and Kudu. So the questions are: 1. Would 180gr NF's work well in this twist rate? 2. If so, would the slower velocity actually make the 180gr loads less effective due to lesser expansion? Thanks for taking time to read this and for your replies. By the way the 165gr NF load is as follows: Remington Brass CCI BR-2 Primer 44.5gr of RL15 Averaging 0.6 to 0.75 inch groups. I ran this bullet as high as 46gr of RL15 with no pressure signs. But as always, please start low and work up in your rifle. | ||
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1:11 is fine for a 180 .308 The lower velocity is not a problem...you should be able to get right about 2600 fps. Even with only a 5 inch window max PBR will be about 245 yards Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Yes. In Finland, approx. 75% of the moose hunters shoot a .308, the by far most popular brand being Tikka, followed by Sako which is made within the same group. I know of no-one, but no-one, who shoots anything but 180grs bullets. THe accuracy is always stellar (unless you come across a bullet that for some reason is unfit for your gun). -Lars/Finland A.k.a. Bwana One-Shot | |||
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i think the 180 NF might be constructed to stoutley for 308 vel, better off with a 180 Nosler in this case | |||
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Why not drop North Fork a line and ask if their bullets will expand at this sort of speed? I always had a feeling that they were designed for top magnum speeds and so would be concerned about performance on the game at 308 speeds. A quick run with the JBM ballistics calculator shows that a 180 grain Partition (they didn't list the North Fork but there shouldn't be too much difference) launched at 2600 should be doing about 2228fps at 200 yards. That will give you some idea of your speed on impact. | |||
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I don't use a .30 cal. anything but I do use Northforks in my .338 and .270 WSM. Haven't taken anything with the WSM - yet, but the .225 NF in .338 is deadly on moose. I've found NF's to be slightly more accurate than a Partition as well. My suggestion is to drop Franz @ NF an e-mail & ask him. It might be a day or so before you get a reply but he will get back to you. Super choice on the NF, IMHO. Good luck. Bear in Fairbanks Unless you're the lead dog, the scenery never changes. I never thought that I'd live to see a President worse than Jimmy Carter. Well, I have. Gun control means using two hands. | |||
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I wouldn't be too worried about those 180gr Northforks:  Yes, the images are from the company website, but I haven't heard any field reports that would suggest they would perform otherwise. | |||
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Or....just keep using the 165's that work so well. I have 165's on elk several times, and they didn't complain one bit, seeing as they were dead and couldn't complain. And at those ranges, there should be zero issue with gemsbok or kudu, they aren't bullet proof. My buddy nailed a gemsbok at 347 yards with a 140gr from a 7mm-08, so a 165 from a 308 will be more then enough gun. Remember weight alone should not be the deciding factor in choosing a bullet, construction goes a LONG ways these days. And that NF is plenty strong. If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter! | |||
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Just an alternative idea. The Woodliegh Weld-core in 180gr has been fantastic for me. They seem to expand very uniformaly. They seem to mushroom without the "petals" breaking off. Have not used Northforks but the pictures look like the "petals" are thin and would shear leaving a core section that would penetrate but leave a narrower would channel. | |||
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My wife used a 308 in Zimbabwe. She shot 2 kudu with the Federal factory 180gr Barnes MRX, worked great. She shot zebra, wildebest, impala, and I shot a big heyena, and a nice bushbuck with the Federal factory old style 165gr Trophy Bonded Bearclaw bullet. They all worked great. The North Fork are some of the best bullets on the planet. I would not hesitate at all to use the 165 North Fork bullets on the game he will shoot. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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Hi Phil and all, Our bullets have always been designed more to worry about the low end velocity ranges rather than the high. In fact, I would state, we were one for the first manufacturers to worry about this. Since we have not been able to create failure of our bullets at the high end, the low end is always more of a challenge. Due to our use of pure copper and pure lead (that is fully annealed in the manufacturing process), the materials are dead soft and thus we have the largest expansion window of any bullet on the market. This is expansion in soft material (gel, muscle, fat, etc.) Expansion is increased dramatically when bone is hit even at this speeds. For our spitzer bullets the lower limit is about 1600fps where the tip will expand to caliber. The bonded flat points designed for the lever guns are lower at 1100fps. Our bullets are very tough but very soft at the same time. It is due to the selection of materials, and our manufacturing process. If we were to switch to a gilded metal (copper alloys of current rage), it would be much easier for us to produce, but the limitation of expansion on the lower speeds would be adversely affected. BigNate - Becarefull in your assumptions. Your statement is definately wrong. The jacket thickens as the mushroom grows, but since we only have so much lead in the nose, the faster one pushes the bullet, the more the mushroom moves down the shank of the bullet. The mushroom will not shear off nor will the petals. Weight is lost during expansion when the lead is wiped away from the mushroom due to hard contact i.e. bone. In fact, we get many bullets back from customers with bone embedded into the bullet. Very cool. Regards, John www.northforkbullets.com | |||
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Thanks for chiming in, John! While I realize that one needs to advertise his products, I think this addresses my pondering whther the 200grs .30 bullet would suit the .30-06. - Lars/Finland A.k.a. Bwana One-Shot | |||
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Thanks everyone for your responses. I think what this is coming down to is shoot the one that proves most accurate. To me the 165gr NF in the .308 Win is at least on par to shooting a 180gr Partition in a .30-06. But if the 180's shoot well then why not? So dang, an excuse to do more load development! Expect another order John!  Gonna need some 180's. | |||
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I've had a variety of 308's with 1-10" and 1-12" twists... both handle 180's just fine. In your position I'd definitely go 180.  | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Medium Bore Rifles 180gr North Forks in .308 Winchester with 1:11" Twist
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