When i switched from .243 to .308 i decided i should start reloading,which i have.
Taking to different people about the best bullet for Roe, (ie kill with out excess meat damage) I have heard conflicting advise.

Some have said sako 123gn sp other say 180gn rn others 150gn fn ???

At present i have just got some speer 150gn bt which i plan to run at a modest velocity say 2500 f.p.s Max

Would be interested in what you fellow Europeons use, bullet weight and velocities ???

Regards Englander

Englander,
The way to minimize meat damage would be to keep velocities down, but by doing so, be aware that you might get insufficient expansion. Roe deer are tenacious and will take some time before giving up if the bullet happens to pencil through.
I would suggest a 125 grain balistic tip at 2900 fps and try not to hit the shoulders or other heavy bones.
I have used them with good results.
montero

How does a Roe deer compare with a white tail? I have heard of them but never read any discription of them. I agree with not hitting the shoulder if they are not a big tough animal for sure. I know with white tails when I hit right behind the shoulder into the lungs I do little to no meat damage with 165 grain ballistic tips in my .300 mag. This year it is getting customized so I will be useing a .308 and am planning to use 150 grain ballistic tips. Do the 125's hold together well? I have some I was trying for ground hogs but never had time this year.

Jacobite,
Our roe is smaller than a white tail, maybe similar to the coues deer.
The average mature buck will weigh in the neighbourhood of 50-55 pounds.
And yes, the 125 balistic tips hold up well, at least in such a petite animal and at the speed I mentioned.
montero

I know many who dissagree, but I have found that even with proper shot placement balistic tips cause a lot of blood shot meat on the carcass. I know of people in the UK who have used them in 6.5x55, .243 and .308 and all said the same thing; very accurate but too much much meat damage.
Personally, I use a fairly standard Sierra 150grn SP in my .308 for all my deer. I don't claim its "the best" but it does the job as long as I place the shot correctly.

A good bullet does 99% well and copes with the 1% freak occurrance.

I think the bullet you have chosen does both. I would try it with a conventional start load. If ranges are longer then there is nothing wrong with working it up.

Englander,
Have been using .308 for some time now with great success. Started off with 150g Ballistic tips but had 2 that seemed to pencil through so went onto 150g Hornady BTSP with great results, all 1 shot kills and almost as accurate as the ballistic tips. These can sometimes damage some meat when the shoulder is hit but wont any bullet? have never lost more than one shoulder. I have recently changed rifle (to another .308) I am trying Ballistic tips again so watch this space. I can pass on some other reccomendations from others. I have had good reports of the Speer mag tip and ordinary soft point 150 and 165g bullets from George Wallace at BASC and glowing reports of Nosler Partitions from St Hubert Club members. They seems to be a bit of overkill on the tiny Roe deer but at least you know your bullet wont let you down. Essentially I think the most important way to avoid meat damage is by careful shot placement, however keeping velocities down and generally speaking bullet weight and sectional density up should also help too. The ideal bulet depends on the stalking you do, if you stalk where shots are almost always short range then drop the velocity to 2400-2500fps and stay with a round nosed or flat point bullet, if like me you stalk coniferous forest where shots down the rides can sometimes be quite long then you may want to keep the velocity right up there and use a fairly tough bullet that will cope with close range impact at high velocity. Let me know what you decide on and how it performs
SR

Thanks Montero. Then I would say the 125 BT should do very well. 50-55 pounds is not much critter. I would think a shot in the lung area with a ballistic tip at moderate speeds would do a great job. Can't imagine you get more than a few meals from a deer that size so every bit of meat helps. Bet they are good roasted over an open fire on a spit!