308 Hunting Reload - what's your favourite recipe?

[petemacsydney]

Hi all,

Interested to know what your favourite hunting reload recipe's are for large boar size animals in a 308 calibre?

Powder? Projectile? Primer? COAL?

Cheers,
Pete

[Chronos]

Ill be interested to hear this too. I haven't settled on a hunting load myself.

I tested 130gr speer HP, 150gr SST, GMX and nosler BT with 2208 with little success. Most groups were in the 3"- 3 1/2" region at 200m and velocities were quite low. I also tested sierra 165gr game kings which shot well with a max load at 2 1/2" at 200m and had similar speeds to some of the mid loaded 150's. You may find the 165's a big heavy for pigs but I reckon they'd kill em dead.

Interestingly the 130gr federal factory ammo loaded with the Speer hollow pints shot beautifully with a. 3 shot group of 1" at 200m with velocity at a nice round 3000fps.

Chronos

Edit: all loads tested were prepped rem brass, federal match primers, 2208 and coal for tikka magazines, 2.815 " from memory

[petemacsydney]

yeah those 130 grain fed premium tactical's are great for factory loads. infact, i bought several hundred rounds of it which i am now reloading with my prime target load.

[Hennie Dreyer]

Mine: 42gr S335 Somchem powder (Not sure whether you get this in Oz), with 165gr Nosler partitions, and Lapua Palma casings. (I use 165gr Sierra Game Kings for paper trophies)

It works perfectly from my CZ 550 Lux in .308 with a twist rate of 1 in 12, and measures 1630 fps. One test batch of 5 rounds fired from 100 meters actually all clipped - making the hole in the paper bigger with each successive shot.

I bagged two Impala rams and 3 warthogs successfully so far in this hunting season with this combo, and am looking forward to my next trip middle August for a Blue Wildebeest bull and Kudu bull - will keep you posted!!

Happy hunting to you all!!

[mausermate]

I loaded 45 gr of 2208 with a Woodleigh 150gr Weldcore. Winchester primers and Brass. 69.28 mm COAL (2.72)

Not a quick load but I got under MOA with my Mauser 66 and got really good kill results on pigs.

[bunnybuster]

Mine: 42gr S335 Somchem powder (Not sure whether you get this in Oz), with 165gr Nosler partitions, and Lapua Palma casings. (I use 165gr Sierra Game Kings for paper trophies)

It works perfectly from my CZ 550 Lux in .308 with a twist rate of 1 in 12, and measures 1630 fps. One test batch of 5 rounds fired from 100 meters actually all clipped - making the hole in the paper bigger with each successive shot.

I bagged two Impala rams and 3 warthogs successfully so far in this hunting season with this combo, and am looking forward to my next trip middle August for a Blue Wildebeest bull and Kudu bull - will keep you posted!!

Happy hunting to you all!!

Hennie old mate,I think you might have lost 1000 fps somewhere,or that's a really slooow powder ,I haven't seen that brand here,seems

to have a similar burn speed to AR2208 produced here,

Be Safe BB

[Lorgar]

I got rid of my .308 a while ago and have forgotten the loads exactly. All were done with AR2208 and 3/4 - max load though according to ADI data. All shot in my Ruger when I had it. The one's that worked well for me were...

Hornady 150gr SST.
'Ballistic tip' style projectile. Accurate, I think about .8" group. Good BC goat tail, so good for longer shots. Priced ok.

Sierra 150gr Pro-Hunters.
Soft point. Just as accurate as the SST's in my rifle. Flat base bullet so really intended for 300m ish shooting... Slightly better weight retention than the SST? That's a bit subjective though so take that with a grain of salt. Great priced projectiles.

Nosler 180gr Accubonds.
This was actually for Sambar, not pigs. They do 125gr, 150gr and 165gr Accubonds too so you might prefer one of those weights but I used the 180gr so that's what I'll talk about.

Accubonds are top bullets. The weight retention of them is awesome. I've pulled shot Accubonds out of the back of tree stumps at 50m and they were just about a 180gr mushroom where others were less bullet and more shrapnel at that range. In that sense they're the best hunting bullets I've used.

Downside... They're terribly expensive. About $1.10 per bullet. TBH they're overkill for most Australian hunting though, IMO. That aside though if you want a good hunting bullet, they're definitely up to the task.

Nosler 150gr Ballstic Tips.
Same as above except without the bonding. Good accuracy, decent retention, good range. You don't get the mushroom souvenirs afterwards but they're half the price. Much the same as the SSTs.

If I have to pick one, I'd probably say the Pro-Hunters first, Accubonds if you're not shooting heaps and can afford the extra $ for them.

2c.

[Granting]

Thought you were a Ballistic Tip man through and through, Lorgar?

[Lorgar]

These days yes, for my 7mm-08 Tikka.

When I bought my Tikka I was lucky enough to be given a proven hand load recipe for it with 140gr and 120gr Ballistic Tips as a colleague had tested his (the same rifle) and found them to be best.

I only hunt these days so ammo cost isn't really an issue as I'm only shooting a handful of rounds each trip. My rifle shoots .4 MOA as well with the loads I have.

Not worth the time or effort to try anything else. It's already more than accurate enough, and at best I'd save a few cents per shot with some other bullet.

Saving 20 cents per hunting trip, yay!

[Hennie Dreyer]

Mine: 42gr S335 Somchem powder (Not sure whether you get this in Oz), with 165gr Nosler partitions, and Lapua Palma casings. (I use 165gr Sierra Game Kings for paper trophies)

It works perfectly from my CZ 550 Lux in .308 with a twist rate of 1 in 12, and measures 1630 fps. One test batch of 5 rounds fired from 100 meters actually all clipped - making the hole in the paper bigger with each successive shot.

I bagged two Impala rams and 3 warthogs successfully so far in this hunting season with this combo, and am looking forward to my next trip middle August for a Blue Wildebeest bull and Kudu bull - will keep you posted!!

Happy hunting to you all!!

Hennie old mate,I think you might have lost 1000 fps somewhere,or that's a really slooow powder ,I haven't seen that brand here,seems

to have a similar burn speed to AR2208 produced here,

Be Safe BB

Sorry mate...I did lose a 1000ft/s...I may have had one too many whilst doing the braai thing

Thanks for pointing this out - should read 2639 fps

[Chronos]

I got rid of my .308 a while ago and have forgotten the loads exactly. All were done with AR2208 and 3/4 - max load though according to ADI data. All shot in my Ruger when I had it. The one's that worked well for me were...

Hornady 150gr SST.
'Ballistic tip' style projectile. Accurate, I think about .8" group. Good BC goat tail, so good for longer shots. Priced ok.

Sierra 150gr Pro-Hunters.
Soft point. Just as accurate as the SST's in my rifle. Flat base bullet so really intended for 300m ish shooting... Slightly better weight retention than the SST? That's a bit subjective though so take that with a grain of salt. Great priced projectiles.

Nosler 180gr Accubonds.
This was actually for Sambar, not pigs. They do 125gr, 150gr and 165gr Accubonds too so you might prefer one of those weights but I used the 180gr so that's what I'll talk about.

Accubonds are top bullets. The weight retention of them is awesome. I've pulled shot Accubonds out of the back of tree stumps at 50m and they were just about a 180gr mushroom where others were less bullet and more shrapnel at that range. In that sense they're the best hunting bullets I've used.

Downside... They're terribly expensive. About $1.10 per bullet. TBH they're overkill for most Australian hunting though, IMO. That aside though if you want a good hunting bullet, they're definitely up to the task.

Nosler 150gr Ballstic Tips.
Same as above except without the bonding. Good accuracy, decent retention, good range. You don't get the mushroom souvenirs afterwards but they're half the price. Much the same as the SSTs.

If I have to pick one, I'd probably say the Pro-Hunters first, Accubonds if you're not shooting heaps and can afford the extra $ for them.

2c.

Great post, thanks Lorgar.

There's some stuff in there you don't get reading the manufactures blurb.

On the pro hunters there's some advantage in being a flat based bullet. They are heavier for their length and also tend to stabilise quicker when fired meaning they can perform better on game at closer ranges.

As I said at the start of this thread I tested a bunch of .308 bullets but none of them impressed, particularly compared to my 7-08. Simply a matter of more testing required in sure but also my .308 is a hunting gun, not a target gun like my 7-08 so 1.5moa is probably plenty good enough.

Chronos

post edited to change SST to Pro hunters

[headspace]

I've been spending a fair bit of time and reloading components on my 308 and have found that it's best load so far is 45.5gn of 2208, and CCI primer and a Hornady 165gn Interlock.

As it's a hunting rifle I was pleasantly surprised to get it to put 3 rounds into under a half inch at 100m. With a cold barrel there was one flyer but the group was still MOA at 100. Still have to play with it at 200m.

The cases are Winchester and the rifle is Howa with a 22inch fluted barrel,10inch twist and a Boyds stock.

JD

[Lorgar]

there's some advantage in being a flat based bullet.

They certainly worked fine for me.

I know heaps of people bag flat base bullets over boat tails, but for the most part I reckon they've never even shot one.

Just more cases of "I read it on the internet so it must be true" and then spouting it off as their own expert knowledge.

If I was working up another load in future I'd never discount them.

[remnt]

On the SST there's some advantage in being a flat based bullet.

Err, Pro-hunter's you mean?

[Chronos]

Err, Pro-hunter's you mean?

Ah sorry, yes I meant the pro hunters. Post edited, thanks.

Chronos

[petemacsydney]

Thx all for the responses, some good info there for me to start with!

[tiki]

Just more cases of "I read it on the internet so it must be true" and then spouting it off as their own expert knowledge.

That happens on the internet? No!

[VICHunter]

As it's a hunting rifle I was pleasantly surprised to get it to put 3 rounds into under a half inch at 100m.

I think that'll do it...

[dorpel]

On the pro hunters there's some advantage in being a flat based bullet. They are heavier for their length and also tend to stabilise quicker when fired meaning they can perform better on game at closer ranges.

They do have a bit shorter range though, don't they?

[Vati]

Their BC is lower so yes, but their not meant to be an extreme range bullet.

300m is kind of rule of thumb, plenty for the majority of hunters.

[Chronos]

They do have a bit shorter range though, don't they?

As vati said they will have a lower BC but that won't affect accuracy, just increase drop, increase wind drift and reduce down range energy

This won't matter much if you're hunting paper but you might find it a disadvantage in a hunting situation. Chances are your walk around hunting outfit won't be used to drop pigs at 600 m.

Chronos

[Rakk]

I dunno, jthunting does his 50 cal pig hunting at some crazy distances.

F-Class hunting a new sport?