308 for Deer Hunting Light or Heavy?

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Palmetto-Pride

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So I have 18" M&P 10 that I am going to use deer hunting some this season. My question is should I load a lighter bullet @ faster speeds or should I load a heaver bullet that will be slower but, has more weight behind it? I will mainly be hunting over corn, peanut or cotton fields with shots from 100yds to probably 350yds max although 800yds could be taken, but 350 is probably my limit on deer. I have 30cal Nosler bullets from 125gr to 180gr.

Thanks for any input!
 
Me personally, I'd load whatever is most accurate. It's all going to be about shot placement anyway. Up to 800yd though, I'd definitely go with the heavier bullet.
 
I have shot 20 mule deer with bullets from 115 to 162 gr, and they all go bang flop or bang stagger stagger flop.
I like to pick the bullet that gives me the least trajectory at the longest range I can keep them in a kill zone sized target.

So I would go for the lighter of the two bullets that you are considering.
 
.308 is going to kill deer no matter what bullet you use. My concern with such a short barrel would be muzzle blast.

I'd have to run it in QuickLoad to be sure but I'd bet IMR 3031 would be a good choice for powder. Good speed and low muzzle pressure.

For bullets, I like light and fast until wind becomes a factor at long range. 350 is getting there. I'd probably go for something around 165gr, whatever gets me 1MOA or less.
 
.308 with a 150 grain or heavier bullet is going to outdo .30-30 even in a short barrel, and time has shown how well that cartridge kills deer within the limits of its platform.

Don't go for anything outside your comfort zone just because someone out there has done it or claims it can be done. 300 yards or so should be your limit IMHO. Save the really long shots for a full size bolt gun in .30-06 or better.
 
I used to load 165gr sierra game kings in my old .308
The 165 will hold energy better and is more stable in the 150 or lighter bullets
That is a good 400 yds load although many here might disagree they think I'm to conservative

For really long shots I would think about a 7mm ultra mag or 6.5-284 but that's just me and no one listens to me anyway
 
At ranges under 400 yards any of them are fine. For longer shots a heavier bullet will probably work better. Lighter bullets lose speed fast at extended range.

I use 130 gr TTSX's loaded @ 3050 fps as my go to load for deer and black bear and feel fine with that combo out to at least 300 yards. I also load and shoot 150's, 155's 165's 168's and 180's in my 308, but if I were limited to only one bullet for everything it would be a 165 gr Nosler Accubond or 150 gr TTSX.
 
I tried 150 grain bullets and they worked okay, but if you happen to get a close range shot, they can tear up more good meat than what is necessary. I switched to 165 grain bullets and they do the job just fine at any reasonable range. Some like to use premium bullets, but for me, the standard Hornady boat tails in 165 grain weight are cheap, reliable and plenty accurate.
 
You cant go wrong with the 168 national match ammo. The Sierra match king is a second to none medium game hunting bullet in the velocity range of the .308 Win. If you just cant bring yourself to hunt with a "match" bullet, Berger sells their match bullets in an orange box with the word "hunting" on them.
 
How far away can you hit an 8X11" sheet of paper? Shoot five rounds from an improvised rest, like you would do while hunting. At the point at which you can't hit the sheet of paper with all five rounds, the range has just exceeded your ability.

Jus' saying. It might be 50 yards for me, might be 450 yards for you. But you do need to test your ability before you get too hung up on technical details.

It ain't the bow, it ain't the arrow, it's the indian, to paraphrase an old saying.
 
In a 308 a 150 gr bullet is about right for deer.

In 60 years of hunting I have never had a shot over 300 yds.

If that rifle has a magazine capacity over 5 shots check your state laws.
 
Jay, It is the bow, the arrow, and the Indian. You can put a 3 MOA rifle in the hands of a world champion shooter, and his groups will average 3MOA. You can put a world record holding rifle in the hands of a 3MOA shooter and the groups will average 3 MOA.

Savage, I guess it just all depends on where you hunt. I shoot deer from 15 yards to 775 yards. Sometimes withing 30 seconds of each other. (filling up the freezer on closing day of season) Granted, I have wind flags all over my clear cut. Deer dont mind them. Sometimes they chew on them.
 
I figure that a .308 is likely as ballistically strong as a GI load in an '06. I know that a 150-grain Hornady Spire Point ahead of a GI load of 4895 will kill deer to 500 yards. Witnesses to my father's doing that told the story. And more than a hundred other deer, with me observing one kill at about 250.

So, IMO, 150s and good to go. FWIW, I've never had an accuracy problem or a kill problem with Sierra 150s. :)

Just guessing, but with a scope, two inches high at 100 yards will be close to dead-on at 200. Maybe 8" low at 300? 18" to 20+" low at 350.
 
A Sierra match king is nota hunting bullet and are not made for hunting anything but varmints. They aren't made to expand. Neither is ANY National Match ammo suitable for hunting. That us usually illegal to hunt with anyway due to it being FMJ.
"...although 800yds could..." Forget any shot at that distance or anywhere past 300ish. The .308 with a good 165 grain hunting bullet sighted in at 200, will drop about 4 feet at 500. You'd be guessing the holdover at 800 and the bullet will not have enough energy for a clean kill. Otherwise, a 165 is the way to go. It'll kill any game you care to hunt without excessive felt recoil. Mind you, the 18" barrel will cost you velocity and give you a huge fireball.
 
For shots out to approx. 225 yards or so, my favorite is Remington round nose 180 grain core-lokt ammo. The bullet opens up fast to transfer energy like a 150 grain but doesn't spoil as much meat. This is my bear ammo, too.

Pointed 180 grain ammo is designed for long shots at elk and moose and has no place in the deer woods.

150 grain pointed bullets are great for very long shots but destroy meat at closer ranges.

Jack
 
I don't trust myself to make ethical shots past 400yds with a 308. I guess you could in some cases, but in my situation I rarely have the time to calculate all that drop and wind if necessary.

When it comes to target practice, sure, I'll try to shoot at any distance. But when it comes to hunting, I like to keep the shots down to lengths that won't cause much drop. I choose calibers accordingly. If I know the shots could be past 350yds, I'm probably going to take a 30-06 or even a .300 mag if it gets to 500+yds.

If you want to use 165gr bullets, you might should look into a 30-06. One of the most accurate 30-06 loads is a 165gr bullet with 52gr of IMR4064 (max load - over 2900fps) which seems to satisfy all your qualms.

The .308 with a 165gr is going to run ~250fps slower, which makes a significant difference at longer ranges. Not to mention your barrel is short so it's going to suffer velocity deficiencies already.

I load my .308's with 135gr and my Remington 700 loves them.
 
My hunting load for Deer and Antelope has been 168 gr. Nosler BT. It has what is needed at 350 Yds>. and 100 Yds.< where I have used it. The bullet has a high BC to cut the wind and it opens up quick even at the farther ranges and will penetrate. No advantage to go lighter or heavier. Accuracy is another quality to that bullet. 308 is a fine cartridge so use a fine bullet. You won't regret it if you can hit the target. You don't need any thing larger than a 308 for deer.
 
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