So I will be using my Savage Striker with the .308Win. barrel. It has a brake and a Nikon Monarch 3 4-16x42 sf mildot rifle scope mounted on it. I will be hunting the high deserts in Oregon so shots could be 300 to 400 yards. I know I can hit it at those ranges but I'm not sure on what bullet/powder to use. I leaning toward 165 to 168 grain partition type bullet.
Does anyone have any suggestion for me? I posted this questi on over on
LRH forum as well. I have til Nov. to work up a load. I only have IMR 3031, IMR 4895, and Varget for powders at the moment due to the
hording. I have CCI Large rifle primers that I will be using too.
The barrel is 14" or 15" I can remember at the moment.
Thank you for any help you can give me.
Rupe

At those ranges I'm guessing your velocity will be in the low 2000's so the biggest issue will be expansion. When I took my bull in sled springs that was with a 300 Win Mag Encore shooting 180gr Accubonds at a muzzle velocity of 2750 and the expansion was perfect. The partition may not give the expansion you need or want. I've used the Accubond on a bunch of deer and elk out of both rifles and T/C's so I would probably go that way.

Thanks Rod for your input. I will diffenently look into the.accubond.
Did you load them yourself? And if so what powder did you use?
Rupe

yeah but that was for 300 so I was using 7828, never loaded for the 308 so others may have more info there.

Thanks again Rod

I really like Varget in the .308. The 165NP usualy expands very good. I would try them and the accubonds in test media. reflex264

Varget is a GREAT powder in the 308. I too like accubonds. Only shot a few critters with them but they performed very well. I like partitions too but they aren't as accurate in my experience.

Aaron

+3 for Varget. You might also look at RL15. Good luck on your hunt.

Haveing several 338, 358, and 375 cal firearms, I have never considered using my 308 for elk hunting. If my wife wa to get the opertunity, I would work up loads with solid copper bullets in her 3006 rifle. I know Larry W. has taken at least one Elk with his Encore in 308, but I don't know what load he used.

I am going to go with penetration over expansion; especially if you hit the shoulder of a big bull. Of course, with any "soft nose rifle bullet" you want both. I would try to hit just behind the shoulder with a Partition or Accubond, at a range you are comfortable with making good shot placement.

As I understand it, the Accubond is a controlled expansion bullet, similar to the Partition.

Working up a load now with Varget will shoot the same when the weather cools of. The IMR powders will tend to slow down as the temp drops. They aren't temperature stable like Hodgdon's Extreme line. Reloader 15 and 25 are also stable along with the Ramshot powders.

Thanks guys for all the info. Accubond seems to be the prefered bullet, and I really like Varget alot. So I will have to work up a load and see how ot preforms

Thanks again!
Rupe

We will need a range report in trade for the info though. Good luck on your load and hunt.

I had real good accuracy in my 308W using Varget. Worked well for 150 and 165 gr bullets. In my 15" bbl, I could push the 150's to nearly 2600 FPS and 165's to 2484 FPS.

My 308W barrel (T/C) also shot factory (Rem or Win If I recall) 180 gr bullets at 2422 FPS.

Best of luck on your hunt!


Rog

Thank you Rib and buttermilk. (sounds like a menu at the Redneck bar and grill)
Have y'all tried are Ribs and Buttermilk?

LOL!

I can say that 2600+ fps from a 308 is very doable, with multiple powders, shooting 150gr bullets.

Duane

rupe,

MY recipe for the T/C Encore 308 WCF is : WW brass, WLR primer, AA-2520, 49.0 grs., Barnes 150 TSX. Vels. approx 2700 fps. Extremely accurate, and hits like Thor's hammer. All the deer and elk and one moose have been one shot kills, most DRT. Ranges from 35 to 160+ yards.

Doc

Thanks Doc!

I've done a 800# kudu with a 6.5 130 gr. Accubond , a 1000+ pound Shiras moose with a .375 260 gr. Accubond, and a heavy wildebeest with the 260 Accubond.
Had complete penetration on the kudu-lung shot. Double shoulder on moose and wildebeest- complete penetration on wildebeest. Bullet on offside on moose, perfect mushroom, 80% wt. retention.
Only big thing I did with X was a croc this year. Bullet on offside expanded just like ad photos and lost 1/2 gr. wt.
A friend of mine did a very big elk with a .30-06JDJ and 165 gr. Accubond at 100. It was on offside and weighed 155 gr.
Accubonds and Xs are excellent for any game at about any distance.

I would go with Varget and the 150 Accubond. I took an elk with the 284 accubond and my buddy took one with his 308, Varget and a accubond from a 20" barrel on his old 788 Rem. It was only 185yds but he when down in a couple of steps. You get a little more velocity from the 150's from that barrel. Plain old remington core lok's in 150 from the 308 are great also.
I have used the accubonds and really like them but next elk trip I'm using the Berger VLD Hunter in my .284 XP in the 140grn.
Good luck and keep us informed.

Mike

Thanks Hitman and Hawkeye, I am starting to like the Accubonds the more I hear about them. I've read alot about bullets in the 165 and 168 gn doing well and have shot 168gn Hornady and they were pretty accurate and so were 150 gn. Nos. Partition both out of my Striker. I will have to find some Accubonds and test them with imr 4895 and Varget. I have read some on the Berger hunting VLD's and I am not convinced they would be ideal for all round Elk hunting as of yet. They are great at broadside long range, but.what.happens when you don't get that picture perfect shot angle? Hum?
I want something that will penetrate at lower velocity's out there at 400 yards.
Of couse I'm hoping for the broadside hundred yard shot. But I'm sure Murphy will have something else planned.
Rupe

I'm interested in any info on the VLDs. A buddy of mine who decided to stop reloading gave me 200 VLD 155 hunters in 308. I haven't had time to load them and test them yet. Nor have I read about their performance on game.

OK guys, I'm going to work up loads using Varget, imr 4895, and imr 3031 being that getting anything else right now isn't going to happen do to the.hoarding going on and I have these powders on hand. For bullets I'm going.to try the Accubond 165 gr. or 168 gr.which ever nosler makes. (Is late and my head is spinning with grains right now) I will also try NP 160gr. , and I may try the Barnes TSX in the 150 to 160 (168) grain weights. I may have some 180gn partitions around here as well, but I really feel the 160 and 168gn bullets will give me the fps I'm looking for somewhere around 2600fps. I will run them threw my crony and see where they are at, and what kind of accuracy I'm getting.

I want to thank all those that posted comments, advise, experance and .02¢!
Now trying to get my hands on some bullets. It's a lot like Elk hunting, "You know they're out there, But where do I find um?" :-)
Rupe

Well well I found some H4895 at Bi-Mart! No Varget yet but they are starting to have a few things back on the shelves The only primers they didn't have was sm. rifle primers. It's starting to look like the companies.are catching up. Yeah!

Rupe

Bergers totally suck on anything but perfect broadside shots. I've tested them 3 different time on 15-20 deer at ranges up to 300 in my 6.5/.284 XP.
THe broadside shots drop the deer. ANY angled shot does very poorly. Deer run a LONG way. I even lost a couple!
Read Berger's info about their bullets. They design them to penetrate 3-5" then blow up. You can get away with that on perfect broadside lung shots or spine shots. Hit a big animal bad and you better have some good hiking shoes. At least the few animals I've not hit perfect with Xs or Accubonds have two holes in them and I've been able to recover.

Same here! Primers are everywhere, and powder is "trickling" in as well! HAHA!!! Couldn't resist that one!:-)

Thanks what a nice guy! Hahaha. Primers will come someday.I just know it,

Rupe

wvhitman thanks for that info. I was wondering about bergers. I had read aboit the way they blow up, and the testamonies they all talked of side shots and didn't say anything about anything but side shots. Good to know!
Rupe

Well I ended up using Barnes TSX 168gr. and H4895. I avg. 2400fps and the avg. 3 shot group was just under moa. best was 1/2" at 100 yds.
So I took them elk hunting. What good it did? The only elk I saw was in the headlights heading home from a day of hunting. I couldn't believe it. The herds I had scoped out before the opening were nowhere to be found. Not to many others in the area did any better so I guess I was as good as the.next guy. LOL
But at least I got a good hunting load worked up. I still want to try the accubonds with Varget and get a little more fps out of it. Along with the Barnes TSX and varget.
Thanks to everyone that gave me food for tbought, wish I could have been eating a nice big elk steak as I typed this.
Rupe