Try some Hawk bullets. 150 gr pointed. They will perform. But you could save some and get the Hornady 150 gr Interlok. Be Well, Packy.

The load I used over many years was 130 grain Speer Hollow point and 52 grain 748. Did right on 2950. Shot heaps and heaps of pigs, goats nd big red kangaroos with chest shots. I think for culling everyting the gov't still use 308 with 130 grain hollow points but not the Speers. I think they are made by the same place that makes the Australian powders which Americans buy as H4350, Varget etc. From all accounts the bullet is the same as the 130 grain Speer.

A interesting with that 130 grain Speer and the 308 and 30/06. The 308s I have mainly used were the old Sako Forresters nd 1 in 12 twist. One year I took a Sako in 30/06 loaded with 130 Speers and from the same boxes of bullets as the 308. The 30/06 was of course a 1 in 10 twist. Velocity was 3250 f/s compared to the 2950 f/s in the 308.

Spotlight shooting and chest shots on big red roos and the 308 did its normal thing and dropped them on the spot. With the 30/06 heaps of them would hop off for 20 yards to a 100 yards or so.

Your friend that stated Accubonds as being to hard is just wrong! I suspect he was using 180 or 200 gr. bullets ment for elk, but last year I culled a large number of does, using the 200 gr. Accubonds in my 30-06 and they killed well with about a 20 yard run and good blood trails and didn't run much meat..Iv also used that load on all African Plainsgame both large and small..

As to cup and core bullets, Ive found the Hornady interlock, WW Power Points, Rem corelokts, all work fine on deer and elk, but in every case if your looking for DRT the 150s are best in the 308 for deer, the 165s are handy for deer and elk in the Nosler partition. I use them when hunting for deer and elk in locations where the seasons combine..Strictly for elk alone the 165 or 180s seem best in the 308 or 30-06..match the bullet weight to the animal hunted and be trouble free..Bullet failure today is almost unheard off, and those complaints usually are the result of misinterpreted observation IMO..

I agree with Ray and a few others....the accubond is not "too hard". That comment is somewhat laughable. I have killed/culled over 200 big game animals with either a partition or an accubond, and IME they offer almost identical performance on game.....they shed about 35% of their weight and excellent penetration. I only "catch" one of these about 25% of the time as the rest have exited. Same experience in Africa with 7mm 160 AB's that performed the same. I'm assuming your wife is not a long range shooter (I could be wrong), so BC's and such are irrlelvent in your case. The ballistic tips were toughened up several years ago and they are deer and hog killing machines.

We are not long range shooters. We practice out to 350 yards. I was starting to go back to 400 yards when the shutdown happened.

I love the Accubond. The 308 not so much. The velocity is mild. So, I did not know. I got to go turkey hunting. I can’t complain. I do want Covid19 lockdowns to end, but will respect the need.

I like cup-and-core 150s and 165s over 45-47 grains Varget in the 308, with RL-15 and IMR 4064 as runners up. The Hornady 165 BT groups a bit better than 150 Sierras thus far.


Okie John

I shoot a lot of TTSX and Nosler GMX 150s in my 300 and 308.

They fly well and hit hard. I killed that Aoudad with one shot from the 300 at 408 yards.

Hell of a bullet.

Saying that I prefer lead bullets. The Hornady ELD-X and in the 308 is a good shooter.

I quit buying ammo in stores and have been using www.ammoseek.com to find deals. I can generally get the 308 ELD-X for $23 a box for 308 if I look hard enough. Not every day deals are out there.

Over the last few years I have been buyin my hunting bullets from the Nosler blem shop..They work like a charm, and $19.00 to $25.00 a box for partitions and accubonds depending on caliber and the number of overruns or blems...

quote:

Originally posted by Karoo:

quote:

Originally posted by Palladin8:
I have settled on the 165gr Sierra Game Changer. It's their hybrid bullet that is a cross between the match king and their game king. They are very accurate out of my rifles and they do well on game. At 308 velocities I would think they would retain plenty of their weight.

Please explain. Does this mean that the game changers will be softer than Game Kings? Already a relatively soft bullet, not so?
A friend is looking for suggestions for his 308, so I am following this thread closely.

Karoo,

Sorry for the late reply. I forgot about this thread.
From what I have read and what I have seen, they have basically redesigned the game king to have a higher BC and added a poly tip.
They shoot like their Match King cousins and perform as well as the Game King.

So far my uncle has killed 3 whitetail with them, my buddy used them last year on a mule deer hunt, and I was told by another friend that one was used on a cow elk hunt last year that he helped out on.

My Uncle shot the two whitetail deer at approx. 75yds and said the deer dropped at the shot and had exits on both deer.
My buddy said his mule deer ran a short distance but tipped over in sight. He said he estimated the deer to be 200-250yds away when shot. He also had an exit.
I'm not sure on the Cow Elk if the bullet exited or not.

I believe this bullet to be built with the 30-06 / .308 velocities in mind and therefore will work well at said velocities. Not sure how they would perform at Magnum velocities. I would imagine they would perform like other cup and core bullets that were pushed harder than their design.

The trend today and its a suckers game is that all bulllets have to make pretty little mushrooms...Fact is the Sierras and other soft bullets kill deer size animals better as they impart more damage where it counts, the downside is they leave a lot of blood jelly in the meat and that's a minus..

One reason I like the lighter Nosler partitions on deer is they expand quickly but go on out the other side as well..I have found this to be true of the accubonds..I can't tell much difference if any between Accubonds and partitions, and I love them both..because of this Ive had good luck with 200 gr. Accubonds and partitions on small whitetail, both Coues and Texas Hill contry whitetail, Mule deer and elk with one bullet, the 200 gr. Accubond in my 30-06...A 100 yard run is of little consequence where I hunt and those bullets leave good blood trails..Other hunters are not in my scenario, they do not exist where I hunt as a rule. In the East I suspect DRT is a must, and that's a tall order..

no matter what bullet I use; cast 173 or copper 150 corelok; my Remington 788 will shoot about 3&1/2 '' high @ 50 yards. have the iron sight adjusted to the max, but no results.... any suggestions, anybody?


cheers

Higher front sight

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
In the East I suspect DRT is a must, and that's a tall order..

It sure can be, Ray. Partly small lot hunting around houses, as in not wanting one to die in a neighbor's swimming pool - no I'm not kidding. Part of it is micro-topography, those ubiquitous root ball divots. Few time west was surprised by how blowdowns don't create divots as is the case here. Striking really, and I'd post pics except you can't appreciate it from them. Walk my place and you'll get it in a few minutes. A deer will get into one of these little depressions and you can walk just 6' from it and not find it. Locals (well, Mainahs) know what I mean. People from "away" understandably find this hard to believe.

I gravitated to .300s long ago for deer without a single regret. Used the .375R on the last two, and may never use anything else. Will definitely never again use a .243 or .224 CF on deer out back. Not killing power, it's about blood trail and smack-down. There is a difference.

I use a SAvage 99F in .308 for elk and deer when Im hunting horseback and that's always if the area allows it, its worked just fine on elk and deer with 165 and 180 gr. Nosler partitions..

If Im walking I take my old pre64 mod. 70 fwt. loaded with 200 gr. Accubonds, and its killed a number of elk with that combo..

Was there any difference in the two? Not that I could tell..Both got good expansion and penetration was mostly exit holes and massive internal damage..Maybe, just maybe, it seemed to me that the 200 gr. Accubond in the06 put them down a bit faster but would not swear to it and I don't mind a run of 50 or 60 yards, that happens with ANY caliber, and almost always with a big bore on light game.