.308 not enough for Sambar? Taking the piss, right?

[keen]

Was half way through reading this on another forum and it's crashed or something so here I am to finish it

One of the guys has a .308 and is planning a trip to VIC for some Sambar hunting but "everyone" is telling him it's not enough.

He must have some s**t friends or something trying to talk him out of a trip or something

Rubbish, right?

[tom604]

yes rubbish, a 308 will take everything in Australia,,but everyone wants more gun

[MeccaOz]

Never shot a Sambar ... But yes it is LOL. Hell game wardens in South Africa use their FN's 308 to destroy Elephant

[Oldbloke]

A well placed chest shot, quality projectile at a stationary sambar, out to say 220 meters should be fine. A running sambar might be another story. Thats my undersanding anyway. 150 to 200grain projecti.es are popular, but 180 might be enough for the 308 though. It is a legal round in Vic for all species.

[Aussier]

Tell them the crosshair is supposed to be pointing at the deer.

I think they're doing that wrong.

[AusC]

Taking the piss or doing it wrong.

Shoot a Sambar in the ass with a flimsy match bullet and obviously you won't drop it. .308 or otherwise...

Chest shot with a hunting bullet and down it goes.

[Westy]

They weren't Rep's from a certain rifle company were they????

[keen]

Just random people apparently.

Blokes at the range or gun shop or whatever.

We all know the quality of info you get from know-it-all's at the range though I suppose.

[Pilch]

He didn't have a second hand 300 win mag for sale did he?

[COLLECTOR 1]

Have used the mighty 308 on everything that walks in this country with no issues.....how big are the sambar ??????

[Walt68]

you can kill an elephant with the .308, just do not try it at more than 200 metres, shoot it in the brain not the bum, zero problems.

[FuzzyM]

Sambar can get pretty bloody big.

They are quite a tough animal.

Someone I know put two 30-06's into a big Stag's chest and he still ran away.

I don't know how good those shots were, so I imagine he must have missed the good bits, I wasn't there.

I would still hunt one with a .308, but shot placement is very important. (Nothing new there!)

[AusC]

True, there are some bigguns, but they're not all 500kg monsters.

200kg - 300kg is much more common, .308 is definitely ample in the vast majority of cases.

What happened with your mates stag out of curiosity? Track him down or lose him?

[FuzzyM]

They tried to track it down for about four hours in the dark apparently. Then gave up.

[WhelanLad]

ahhh this ol chestnut.

more the projectile used than the Calibre or Cartridge it came from..

Sambar are on of the tougher, strong willed animals and will run a long way an hide up if a flesh wound is created by a ballistic tip type projectile or too light of Cup and Core projectile.
avoid the Shoulder/leg bones... wack em in the heart and lungs
Premiums are the go for Walking them up as velocity is rather high in close an when meeting such tough bone and strutcture can really open them up fast..

[deye243]

just tell the nha Sayers that say the 308 is no good but say get a 30-06 to crono a 308 and a 30-06 factory rounds and watch the red faces

if they do it ........ as they are the same speed or very close as the 06 is loaded to lesser pressure .

oh and yes I have taken 6 sambar with and wait for it ............................................ my OMARK 44 .

[albat]

Mob of 3 o haters i reckon plenty have been rolled with way less grunt than a 308

[agentzero]

Haven't you seen all those videos where the .308 ricochets off the Sambars' chest?

Me neither

[Oldbloke]

just tell the nha Sayers that say the 308 is no good but say get a 30-06 to crono a 308 and a 30-06 factory rounds and watch the red faces

if they do it ........ as they are the same speed or very close as the 06 is loaded to lesser pressure .

Yep I have a 3006 and little difference except perhaps the larger 190 - 220g projectiles

[deye243]

just tell the nha Sayers that say the 308 is no good but say get a 30-06 to crono a 308 and a 30-06 factory rounds and watch the red faces

if they do it ........ as they are the same speed or very close as the 06 is loaded to lesser pressure .

Yep I have a 3006 and little difference except perhaps the larger 190 - 220g projectiles

yes I still can't believe that some actually believe their own dribble , it's like the debate

between the 222 and the 223 at practical distances there isn't that much of a case for

one or the other .

[Oldbloke]

Can't agree more. Splitting hairs.

[sandgroperbill]

There are advamtages to .308 over .30-06 and advantages of .30-06 over .308. Same can be said for numerous cartridges. .cartridge plays less of a role than bullet type and shot placement trumps it all.

.308 will kill pretty well everything in this country. Just put the bullet where it counts, not in the big toe.

[Wes]

Lots of differences on paper for forum jockeys to argue over forever

At the end of the day though, put a decent size bullet with a bit of gusto into some games chest and you've got yourself dinner

[Jaykeragnarson]

I'll tell you right know I have a police patrol 7600 rem and a 700 in 308. I've used them them on reds fallow and sambar especially sambar the best shoot placement is with plenty of practice my last sambar I hit NW +1" of his shoulder the beast dropped on its tracks I prefer to use a heavier pill out of my pump Action because of shorter barrel to stabilise the bullet a bit more once it hits the front shoulder they go though and expand I've never seen a deer live longer 10seconds when you do this if you need a second shot with a 30cal do more grouping work the bullet usually goes through should expands and frags in all the organs and retrieval of bullet is 80% a certain outcome even have done the same method out to 430yards with a 308. On 200kgs plus animal 308 is a light recoil for its size great for a follow up shot and you can get 308. In 180g to move over the 3000fps second mark if anybody says that won't stop a sambar well maybe get your gun zeroed happy hunting be safe practice and be practical

[cadet]

.308 will do it.
But there's good reason many choose to go bigger.

[Member-Deleted]

They used the 308 in the Northern Territory to commercially shoot buffalo for years so it is a quiet capable round but then again you shoot anything in the arse I doubt whether a bigger caliber would do the job either

[marksman]

the buffs were shot using ruger mk1 rifle in 308 shooting military fmj ammo with headshots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OneyeUxzL40

from the people I have spoken to that hunt sambar I have found that the 308 is a popular and successful round for sambar
where people go bigger is because they want the animal to drop on the spot with chest shots
there's nothing worse than having to go bush to try and locate your animal, I think most people would fail finding a downed animal in thick scrub
one guy I know uses a 12 gauge with slugs and can eat up to the hole as there is no bad bruising, but they are quick close chest shots
shot placement and projectile are what matters IMO

[mickb]

Buffs were shot with everything in the day. A lot were taken with 303's, bodyshots too. Also knew blokes shooting them with 223, head shots of course. I never found 12ga slugs a very emphatic killer myself, a 308 with decent softpoint drops things faster. Cant fault people who want to go bigger for whatever reason though.

OP, my reply to those guys would be saying, "So you cant use a 308 well enough to shoot the same size animals that swedish women use a 6.5 to harvest? okay then"

[TassieTiger]

I'll tell you right know I have a police patrol 7600 rem and a 700 in 308. recoil for its size great for a follow up shot and you can get 308 In 180g to move over the 3000fps second mark if anybody says that won't stop a sambar well maybe get your gun zeroed happy hunting be safe practice and be practical

What loading is being used to get a 180gn 308 to over 3000 FPS?

[bigpete]

I'll tell you right know I have a police patrol 7600 rem and a 700 in 308. recoil for its size great for a follow up shot and you can get 308 In 180g to move over the 3000fps second mark if anybody says that won't stop a sambar well maybe get your gun zeroed happy hunting be safe practice and be practical

What loading is being used to get a 180gn 308 to over 3000 FPS?

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