last post is exactly like me and my dad. He never cleaned his guns and killed a ton of deer, about every 5th or 6th deer he would start missing them. We'd check his sights out and theyre loyabl to be 2 feet off sights (scope) Id sight it back in and he'd be good for 5-6 more years. But he also missed way more deer than I ever shot at! his might be shot in the leg, head, shoulder or butt. About 18 out of 20 of mine were shot in head not to mention if they were way out there he would shoot at them only to scare them away.
All around 308 rounds?
- Thread starter uwtriguy
- Start date
Before I started reloading I'd killed plenty of animals with commercial loads.
I also want to make a point that while I do reload I am not primarily a bench shooter nor am I primarily a target shooter. I do enjoy shooting paper to see how accurate the gun is and if I get particularly good groupings I do get excited about it. If that particular load performs well I'll keep it.
That said I also DO load for "just good enough". That means that if I know I can take game with a particular load out to a certain distance but perhaps that grouping isn't better than maybe 3-4" then well I'm keeping that load for hunting. I don't need to have my hunting loads able to shoot .5MOA so I can shoot deer at 100yds.
The primary reason I reload is for cost effectiveness. I don't reload my own ammo because I'm looking for that perfect round. In face I'm not too keen on having a perfect round for every gun. I like a good all around .308 round that will function fairly well in all my .308 rifles. This means that I'm not looking for a load that will work great in one rifle but works like crap in the other two rifles I have in that caliber. I want one that will give me "minute of kill" in medium to large size game in any of the rifles I have. As it is my favorite load works just good enough with all three rifles I have that I can hit vitals out to 300+ yards on a whitetail. That is considerably larger than 1MOA and even 2MOA. Sure I have loads in my books where I COULD shoot 1MOA or better out of a specific rifle but I actually don't have any of those loads on hand or even loaded somewhere. What I DO have is a large quantity of my "just good enough" loads because that's also what I shoot at the range to keep my shooting up to par for hunting.
The same goes for when I shoot my AR-15's. I have recorded loads that were very accurate in particular guns but I actually rarely load anything different than what is required to make basic SAAMI specs OR mil-spec 5.56. I don't use really heavy bullets (aside from my hunting loads then I load to 5.56 pressures with a heavier bullet like a 68gr BTSP). I load what is basically commercial ammo most of the time. Why? Well its because I can shoot a whole lot more for the cost ammo than commercial ammo and that ammo is "just good enough."
So after that long winded rant what I'm trying to say is that my original post about reloading ammo - wasn't about getting the most accurate possible round. It was about getting a good all around loading that would be both effective at most tasks you set it to AND be cost effective. For me meeting those requirements is more important than being able to shoot the eye out of a moose at 500yds out of one specific rifle.
That's why I also recommended a particular type of commercial ammo - because I've killed plenty of deer with cheap Federal Powershok ammo before I started reloading.
My motivation to reload was to stretch my dollar out for more shots per dollar than buying commercial ammo. Being able to get more accurate cartridges is a bonus but not a priority for me. If I can match commercial ammo consistency and accuracy then I'm happy because that means I can shoot it through most of my guns and be accurate enough to take game. Will I win any long distance shooting competitions with it? Most likely not. Will I continue to be able to take game with it year in and year out? Most like yes.
I also want to make a point that while I do reload I am not primarily a bench shooter nor am I primarily a target shooter. I do enjoy shooting paper to see how accurate the gun is and if I get particularly good groupings I do get excited about it. If that particular load performs well I'll keep it.
That said I also DO load for "just good enough". That means that if I know I can take game with a particular load out to a certain distance but perhaps that grouping isn't better than maybe 3-4" then well I'm keeping that load for hunting. I don't need to have my hunting loads able to shoot .5MOA so I can shoot deer at 100yds.
The primary reason I reload is for cost effectiveness. I don't reload my own ammo because I'm looking for that perfect round. In face I'm not too keen on having a perfect round for every gun. I like a good all around .308 round that will function fairly well in all my .308 rifles. This means that I'm not looking for a load that will work great in one rifle but works like crap in the other two rifles I have in that caliber. I want one that will give me "minute of kill" in medium to large size game in any of the rifles I have. As it is my favorite load works just good enough with all three rifles I have that I can hit vitals out to 300+ yards on a whitetail. That is considerably larger than 1MOA and even 2MOA. Sure I have loads in my books where I COULD shoot 1MOA or better out of a specific rifle but I actually don't have any of those loads on hand or even loaded somewhere. What I DO have is a large quantity of my "just good enough" loads because that's also what I shoot at the range to keep my shooting up to par for hunting.
The same goes for when I shoot my AR-15's. I have recorded loads that were very accurate in particular guns but I actually rarely load anything different than what is required to make basic SAAMI specs OR mil-spec 5.56. I don't use really heavy bullets (aside from my hunting loads then I load to 5.56 pressures with a heavier bullet like a 68gr BTSP). I load what is basically commercial ammo most of the time. Why? Well its because I can shoot a whole lot more for the cost ammo than commercial ammo and that ammo is "just good enough."
So after that long winded rant what I'm trying to say is that my original post about reloading ammo - wasn't about getting the most accurate possible round. It was about getting a good all around loading that would be both effective at most tasks you set it to AND be cost effective. For me meeting those requirements is more important than being able to shoot the eye out of a moose at 500yds out of one specific rifle.
That's why I also recommended a particular type of commercial ammo - because I've killed plenty of deer with cheap Federal Powershok ammo before I started reloading.
My motivation to reload was to stretch my dollar out for more shots per dollar than buying commercial ammo. Being able to get more accurate cartridges is a bonus but not a priority for me. If I can match commercial ammo consistency and accuracy then I'm happy because that means I can shoot it through most of my guns and be accurate enough to take game. Will I win any long distance shooting competitions with it? Most likely not. Will I continue to be able to take game with it year in and year out? Most like yes.
Jack O'Conner
New member
The 150's are probably your best choice for deer due to rapid bullet expansion and wide wound channels. 180's kill a lot of deer each year, too. But they're a better choice for animals heavier than deer in my opinion. Anyone is allowed to disagree.
These two coastal blacktails were dropped where they stood by 150 grain Remington core-lokt ammo. .308 is a KEEPER!
Jack
These two coastal blacktails were dropped where they stood by 150 grain Remington core-lokt ammo. .308 is a KEEPER!
Jack
TheSILENTtype
New member
HANDS DOWN - Winchester XP3 150GR. is the best on the market today.
A little pricey for targets, but still a devastating round in all applied uses.
A little pricey for targets, but still a devastating round in all applied uses.
mapsjanhere
New member
For the actual hunt, I swear by Barnes 168 gr TTSX. Wichester white box or Tula steel case for range raining.
First tests.
Well I got the VTR out to the range with mixed results the first time. Need to get comfortable on the trigger and the rifle in general. Had a my zero a full revolution off on the wrong come-up line so I was 14" off at 100 yards... whoops. After figuring that out I was able to start hitting 3" groups with Remington Core 150, Winchester Sup-X 150 and Herters FMJ 150. Not too impressive but I was getting worn down from the first time shooting both from anxiety and recoil.
Last night I shot at a friends with some more of the Remington, Herters, Winchester and bought some "better" Fusion 165gr. After getting more relaxed I touched 3 holes at 100 yards with the Fusion and then touched with my fourth shot using Remington. I can say I love this rifle and as I improve as a shooter it's only going to get better.
Thanks again for all the feedback everybody. Your passion for the sport is amazing!
Well I got the VTR out to the range with mixed results the first time. Need to get comfortable on the trigger and the rifle in general. Had a my zero a full revolution off on the wrong come-up line so I was 14" off at 100 yards... whoops. After figuring that out I was able to start hitting 3" groups with Remington Core 150, Winchester Sup-X 150 and Herters FMJ 150. Not too impressive but I was getting worn down from the first time shooting both from anxiety and recoil.
Last night I shot at a friends with some more of the Remington, Herters, Winchester and bought some "better" Fusion 165gr. After getting more relaxed I touched 3 holes at 100 yards with the Fusion and then touched with my fourth shot using Remington. I can say I love this rifle and as I improve as a shooter it's only going to get better.
Thanks again for all the feedback everybody. Your passion for the sport is amazing!
bacardisteve
New member
I have had good luck with ultramax ammo loaded with the 165gr speer btsp for cheap ammo that shoots great and works good on deer. They use lake city brass so it good for reloading too.