Hi guys,
Having got the .308 starting to shoot nice groups with target bullets, I can start looking for a load suitable for UK red deer. Your favourites welcomed.

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tikka 3 barrels

How about a Hornady 150 grain spirepoint or spirepoint boattail with 46.0 grains RL-15 powder and a standard primer for appx 2850 fps from a 22" barrel? I don't find that the SST shoots well at .308 Winchester velocities - - it is much more accurate at magnum levels. You can try working up to 48.0 grains for appx 2930 fps. I've found RL-15 stable in all temperatures.

It shoots well under 1 MOA in my Winchester Model 70 Featherweight, adn usually under 3/4 MOA.

The eastern whitetail deer I've killed (a bit bigger than roe deer) with this load have dropped in their tracks.

Take whatever load you are using with target bullets, and replace the target bullet with a hunting bullet of the same weight. Deer are small and do not require the penetration of a premium bullet, so any softpoint -- Speer, Sierra, Hornady, Nosler Ballistic Tip, Remington Core Lokt, or others -- will work well. If your target loads are loaded to maximum pressure, then back off the load by a grain or two when you first try the hunting bullets, and then work up to the max load. If they are already a bit below maximum, then you can load the hunting bullets with no decrease in powder for your first tries.

The best bullet weight for deer in the 308 is probably the 150 grain. If your target loads are heavier than that -- i.e., you are using target bullets of 165 or 180 gr. or thereabouts -- then you will probably need to increase the powder charge that you are using when you switch to the lighter 150 gr. hunting bullet in order to get that lighter bullet up to good hunting velocity.

Pete,

I have been using my .308 Win in Canada for whitetail deer (about 300 pounds body weight there), and in Africa for a variety of sizes of plains game. You red deer is a good sized animal, and I like the 180 grain bullets for animals of that size.

I have used Winchester FailSafe, Trophy Bonded, Hornady's Interlock Spire Point and the Speer Grand Slam. They all worked fine.

I don't know what bullets you have or what powders, but there are a lot of good .308/180 grain loads. It is an easy cartridge to load for.

jim dodd

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"if you are to busy to
hunt, you are too busy."

I took a buck and a doe this year using my pet 308 load. I load 44.5 grains of H335 topped with a 150 grain Gameking. I get sub MOA all day long and both dear dropped in their tracks. The exit wounds were 3+ inches.

I get really good accuracy with the 150 gr SST and max load of VV N540. Haven't shot anything with it (yet), so can't say much about that myself, but read reports that was very positive.

At least a 165 grain, if not a 180, in a controlled expansion bullet like the Nosler partiton. Why not try a Federal Hi-Energy with Trophy Bonded Bearclaw? These put the .308 in at least the 30/06 class. I think the red stag (Hirsch) is about like an elk, rather than a whitetail as far as power requirements are concerned.

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Larry

Pete,

You should E mail Pete E as he has a 308 and has shot some reds with it.