Ok folks whats the best 180 gr. roundnose to load in my faithful .308. Shots this season will be under 150 yards and probably hunting in thick stuff. The price of the bullets doesnt matter i will be handloading. Thank you

I have always been a closet .308 fan. I have never extolled its virtue has a great deer gun, I am a '06 guy. Period.
- BUT -
I have fired about 50,000 rds of .308 using up a few rifles in the process. It is a awesome caliber for a cropping rifle and has a personal defense tool it is unsurpassed. These qualities obviously make it great hunting cartirigde as well.
My all time favorite -HUNTING- bullet is the 180gr. Remington Corelokt RN. This is the most consistent performing expanding bullet I have ever used. I have recorded a number of harvests (8200) of animals from small deer size up to camels and elk. It is in the "zone" for performance. The .308 doesn't ask it to be a superhero. The velocity is agreeable from the muzzle to 300 or so yards.

You will have to really dig to find a better choice in factory or handloads.

ED

What about the Sierra 180 gr. RN pro-hunter? Anyone used that bullet, pros vs. cons?

I'd like to add to the question: At the speeds a 308 will shoot 180gr bullets, would the Sierra GameKing and ProHunter be suitable on game?

I think if the answer is yes, these will be the best option since I've had great accuracy with them. If the answer is no, the Partition has also been accurate for me and should give you textbook performance from a 308.

I look forward to hearing about this. The Sierras are just too accurate to ignore and I assume the 308 will get them going at a sane speed.

North Fork bullets. They will hold together and are very accurate. Check out the pictures here.
http://www.northforkbullets.com/

John17. The Sierra 180 gr. RN is my bullet of choice for 180 gr. loads in my Ruger 77 RSI. In that very fussy rifle (very fussy on 180 gr. bullets. It won't shoot any spitzer bullet within 4 inches.) the Sierra RN will consistantly print .75". My load is 48.0 gr. of W-760, but I haven't a clue as to the velocity. The Winchester #15 loading pamphlet says 2580 FPS, but I'll be willing to bet it's closer to 2450 or so from that 18.5" barrel. Every deer I've shot with that rifle has dropped on the spot, usually like all four legs have been jerked out from under them. None have been recovered.
I suggested the bullet to a friend for a hog hunt for use in his 30-06 and he was highly impressed witht he one shot kill he got. he did recover the bullet and the mushroom was picture perfect.
Paul B.

I will vouch for the old Rem 180 gr. Corelokt as the best RN bullet for the .308 and deer....and they are real cheap if bought in bulk...

I just chronographed some factory Winchester 180gr power point (?) bullets yesterday at about 2480fps from an old Rem 700 ADL (22") that so far has liked nothing else. The 180 was an attempt to find ONE load that the gun liked. Now I don't have quite the excuse to rebarrel...
Mike

John,

I have seen the 180 gr RN speer used on hogs and it worked well. I have 250 of these loaded myself for when I run out of the current lot of Nos BT's I have loaded.

I think RN's are much better for hunting and better killers/pentrators. IMHO.

I also am a 30/06 guy.

I would also like to add if you want the BEST 180 RN .308 bullet it would be a woodleigh, they hang togetehr and mushroom really well.

Hey everybody,

The Woodleigh is indeed great as is the Northfork, but I don't think you would "need" them for a 308 deer bullet. I am a firm believer in using the best bullet you can but in John17 description of usage I thought of first and foremost the Rem.
I haven't used a Seirra in years as I asked them to do too much in the Maggies and went to others. Now that I am back to some tamer cartridges I may check them out again. A 170FN in the 30/30 or there 87sp in a .25'06.

ED

Round Noses just work. Instead of which is the best, does anyone have any experience with a BAD round nose bullet??

No one I ever know has. There is no downside to any choice here, that I can see.

Glad I can see I am in good company with my regards for Round Nose Bullets.

Cheers!

I asked the EXACT same ? back in the summer before trying to work a deer load for my 08.The consus here was to use a spitzer as the Rn would actually expand more and penatrete less.
I wound up on the 150 Hornady Flat Base Spire Point and 47 grs 4064.

Honestly in the 08 I dont think you could go wrong on deer with any bullet from 150 to 180 grs.

Hornady.

Mike

My first pick would be the Hornady, but the Remington that Ray recommended is just as good. Good luck, and good hunting.

Just the way I see it,,,,,,,,

I loaded up Hornady's RN for hog hunting with my Savage 99. A 180 grain at 2600 FPS did the trick for me. As a plus they seem very accurate out of my rifle.

NoCAL

the sierra gamekings, is not a top peformer.

as mentioned above, the woodliegh weldcore, is a top performer in the .308, up close.

i saw the results of that round on a 300 lb. deer in saskatchewan, in the brush up close. it was devastating.

cold zero

I'm a big fan of the 220 gr Woodleigh round nose in my .30-06. (Muzzle Velocity 2460fps) I used it on five animals in South Africa in 2002. From Impala to Hartebeest, it worked great. If I was going to load a round nose for the .308 Win I'd try the 180gr Woodleigh. (I don't own a .308 Win.) Actually, I believe Woodleigh only offers the Protected Point in 180 grain weight and not a round nose.


Woodleigh's Protected Point bullets

A bonded core bullet is probably not really necessary for deer, though. The 180gr Hornady RN would probably work great. But as I have never hunted deer ( ) I'd certainly listen to the advice of the more experienced hunters here.

Woodleigh's web site:
http://www.woodleighbullets.com.au/

Just my two cents....
-Bob F.

Easy............... 180 Hornady!

The Rem and Hornady's both work great on deer at modest speeds and are reasonably priced. I prefer them to any spitzer for deer in the 30-06 or 8mm mauser.