Hi, I have just had a 308 win built using a rem 700 action, a lothar walther barrel(1/10 twist) and a McMillan stock. I was wondering if any guys out there had any suggestions regarding who makes a good quality 160gr and above factory load?
I had the rifle built for Mountain hunting and wanted the heavier bullet weight so I could take anything up to and including Kudu size animals.

Just for kicks try the hornady 165gr.in there factory loaded rounds,the match ammo and the light magnum,both strick matches in my 308 rifles.I have had great success with the 165 gr.hornady with game as well.Lots of one shot kills.

Thanks blackbearhunter, what kind of muzzel velocity do you get with them and what size game have you taken?

I know you are wanting advice on 160 gr.+ bullets, but you really should try the 150 gr. Winchester Failsafe. It has performed very well for me on several deer and wild hogs. What it did to a spine shot hog at 75 yards (complete penetration, complete division of spine) sold me on the load.

Hi Redlander, thanks for this but I thought with a 1/10 twist I had to use a heavier bullet. Is this not the case? What is the twist on your rifle?

I have shot deer and hogs from 150#-250# with the hornady and flatten them on the spot,just like turning out a light switch.I also have shot with very good results the sierria 165 and the nosler 180.One thing that allways works for me and accurate factory loads is try the federal premiums and the hornady match ammo,also PMC has been very accurate with anything/caliber i have tried.I have had great results with the speer grandslam nitrex ammo also, .but dont know if they still make it or not,also the remington safari-swift ammo has been great in some of my rifles.I recommend all these brands for factory ammo and would recommend you try several and see which one your rifle likes the best,Rifles can be funny and really shoot one better over the other,i always go with the one the rifle picks,because they all are really well made bullets.One thing for sure to try, the remington core-loks shoot tight groups sometimes and they are resonably priced and have taken truckloads of game thru the years!

Try the Federal Premium ammunition in the 165 grain load. I was given a box that was loaded with the 165 grain Hornady btsp and it impressed the crap out of me.
I shot the whole box, three shots at a time while working on load development on a couple of other guns. At the end of the day I had put all 20 rounds into a 1 1/4" tall by 1" wide group without really trying. That 165 grain Hornady btsp has shot well in every 308 I've ever tried it in.

Federal 165 grain TBBC or Remington 165 grain Premier Scirocco. Either load will take care of anything short of big bears. Both are pricey but the results justify the cost.

I would try the Federal 165 Trophy Bonded Bearclaw or the 180 Nosler Partition. Both loads are available in regular and High Energy. Use the one that shoots the best in your rifle.
I have killed game with all of them. Another load that shoots well for lighter big game is the Winchester 168 Ballistic Silvertip. It is also very accurate in several 308 rifles. My wife and I have used it on deer, pigs, and I recently killed a javilina with it at 412 yards out of a 19 3/4" bbled Blaser R 93.

I've been pleasantly suprised by Remington 180 gr rn factory fodder when shooting it through a Ruger M-77 MKII UL. From the 20" tube, I get 2600 fps even, and 5/8" groups. 165 gr factory loads only clock 2700 fps.

Thanks guys, all inputs much appreciated.

Here's another 165gr. load you may want to try.
I've had good experience with Black Hills ammo.
It's available from MidwayUSA too.

Links:
http://www.black-hills.com/

http://www.midwayusa.com/

About twist, my 308 Win is 1 in 10 twist and I have no problem running 110 grain through 168 grain bullets at reasonable velocities. My normal 308 loads are 130 grain hollow points, 125 softpoints, and 165 grainers. As far as factory ammo I could not comment. I reload all my 308 and haven't shot factory ammo in 30 years. Sorry.

What is the point of a custom rifle when you intend to use factory ammo?

I've got a couple friends that I reload for that have custom rifles that shoot premium ammo so well that they don't want me to bother trying to load for those guns. AND sometimes you can buy premium ammo like Trophy Bonded at the same cost of reloading if you bought the components. I don't mind reloading for friends that have finicky guns but I always worry--what if they have a problem on an expensive hunt and miss out on an animal. I guess what I'm saying is if they are happy using factory ammo that's great but, I will come to their aid if they can't get a shooting combo. (only very good friends)

For those of you who knew SA Hunter, please see this link.

I just got my first .308 Win and I have had really good accuracy with the Federal Premium 165 grain TSX bullets. This bullet proved itself to me in RSA last year with 5 one shot kills out of my .300 Win Mag using the 180 grain TSX bullet. I bought the .308 win as a light weight carrying rifle for my upcoming AK blacktail deer hunt.
Federal is also loading, but not available yet, the Barnes MRX bullet in 180 grains for the .308 win. I'm really impressed with the versatility and performance of this round,

I'm no accuracy guru but the PMC Barnes XLC 165 grain is a good hunting bullet and accurate enough for my low standards, plus the cheapest premium bullet load I could locate.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerard:
For those of you who knew SA Hunter, please see this link.

Now that's a shame. One hopes his young son will take the custom 308 afield some day. Life is but a moment between two eternities.

nordrseta,
It is a great loss to many who knew him and sadly, with the new South African gun law, his collection will have to be sold. The custom 308 was but one of several dozen firearms he had collected over the years. The Grey Rehbuck was taken with the 308 and I saw the rifle on the Kendrew hunt. It was topped with Meopta variable and a very accurate rig.

When I was in Johannesburg in April this year, I helped Simon to install the gear in his loading room. He was going to start loading for hunting and paper punching after our season this year.