Anybody use 200 grain bullets in a 308? I tried some 200 Sierra boattails and they shot fantastic. Velocity 2570 with RL 15 and no signs of high pressure...I did work up to this. I'm thinking this will be a great hunting load inside of 350 yards.

Any other experiences with the 308 and 200 grain bullets?

I understand the heavier Sierra bullets, those of 180 grs., are designed for higher impact speeds. I suspect you wouldn't get much bullet expansion beyond 200 yds. The 150-165 gr. bullets from Sierra work very well in that round. I suggest you hunt with those, not the 200 gr. BT's. E

As long as you hit where you should you'll be pleased with the results. However the terminal performance of the 200 grain bullet in the .308 Win may leave much to be desired. You may be getting good initial velocity, but you will not be getting the rotational velocity of the big magnums. This is an important factor I believe in terminal performance. Besides they kick too much Ha Ha

2570 is plenty fast enough for expansion with a 200 grain bullet. A lot of '06 loads are no faster than this. I used to think I was doing good to get 2400 out of a 200 grainer ... I also used 220-grain roundnoses with 48 grains of MRP for 2250. It was one helluva killer on big whitetails inside 100 yards....

[ 04-29-2003, 00:52: Message edited by: eldeguello ]

I have been considering the 200 for a short range moose load. Not much data on it. Unsure of bullet selection too.
Then, if you look at the velocity of a magnum out a 150 yards or so, when it's lost it's lustre, the 308/200gr doesn't look so bad. Don't know if I'd be going to shoot 300 yards though. What kind of velocity is left at that range?

What do you actually gain by using a 200gr bullet in .308? Nothing,any premium in 180 grs will do anything that the .308 is capable of doing and the 165gr failsafes and barnes x's have higher velocity and penetrate as well as a 200gr partition or non premium.

According to the Sierra mannual at 300 yards I'd have approx 2100 fps or just a little higher (I'm going from memory right now). I figure bullet expansion should be good to 2000 fps or so from what I've read.

I've tried a few premium bullets, 168 Barnes XLC (shot like S%*t) and 180 Nosler Partitions and 180 Hornady Interlocks (inconsistent groups). Both these 180 grainers were flat base so I may try a boattail to see if my gun just prefers boattails...165 Sierras also shoot real well. I don't think the 200 grain bullets have a real advantage over 180, they just shot so well so I thought about forgetting the 180 grainers and have a 165 load and 200 load.

If your gun shoots long bullets well, it may shoot the Barnes X 180 grain well. Some guns won't shoot it accurately, yours sounds like it might.

That is a VERY similar load to the standard 196 grn 8X57 load from a 23.5" bbl which is a time tested thumper. The only thing I would suggest is maybe trying something in a spire point for more reliable expansion, and do some long range practice to get a feel for the amount of bullet drop. The excellent SD of that bullet should allow real good weight retention and penetration.

The 200 gr. in the .308 is popular in Africa for bushveld hunting as it doesn't bruise meat as badly as the faster rounds...

I have used the 200 gr, Woodleigh in a .308 to shoot quite a few animals as that is my PH's favorite rifle/load for plainsgame..It sure does work at 2500 FPS and has showed expansion out to about 250 or 300 yards...

I shoot 200 gr. bullets in my 300 H&H almost exclusively and also in my 30-06 along with some 220 gr. bullets.

I just would not shoot the long 200 gr. target bullets on game..better the soft points like Woodleigh or Nosler, they will expand well at long range or at least up to 300 yds. in a 308 I suspect.