Need some advice on a good bullet for my 15" 308 encore. I was finally able to find an encore at the right price and get a 308 pistol barrel. I am looking for a bullet for white tails and hogs up to 225 pounds with hopefully a trip out west for mule deer and pronghorn antelope later. Anyone have experience with the Accubond in the 308 win? I like the Nosler Accubond but had trouble with them getting expansion in my 375JDJ. The ballistic tip works great in my 30-30 but it seems a little fragile for the 308 win. velocity. Any other options?

125gr SST
168gr A-Max

Are the two I use most out of mine. The A-Max is my go-to bullet for deer sized game up to 400 pounds. Has worked on enumerable deer and hogs with antelope and aoudad thrown in to boot.

The 165 Ballistic tip has done really well for me on both deer and pigs. I've also used the 150 on both with exceptional results. Mule deer at 355 yards with that load from my 14" 309 JDJ and numerous large hogs. Full penetration with both loads and at odd angles. I wouldn't worry about fragility at the velocities in the handgun.

Amax all the way.

168 A-Max for me

Great minds and all.

I plan on trying the 125 grain SST one deer sized game with a future 308 Winchester SP since it is a lightweight platform.
Yes, I have a 308 specialty pistol again...

Woohoo!!!!! You can run........but you can't hide (from the .308).

I honestly initially tried the 125gr SST because the successfulness of the A-Max was getting...........boringly regular. So, I wanted to try something new. Just to be different and bounce to the other side of the weight spectrum. Having tried the middle and heavy spectrum.

I've now tried the 125gr SST in:
13" .30-30 AI
14" .308 Win
15" .30-06
16" .308

It seems to work well at all those velocities. Penetration is less, but terminal performance is completely satisfactory. Not enough that I'd switch from the A-Max, preferring the higher BC, but.........it has pleased me enough to keep it in the lineup of bullets to use.

Have you used the 155 grain A-Max?

The 155 works too

On some of the media testing that we do. Yes. Not on an animal.

It's so close to the 168 in weight and the performance on media has been enough less..........that I'd just stick with the 168.

Close enough to be the same but far enough away to not be worth the effort.

Make sense?

I actually still have a box of the 155 Amax left, I think. I guess I could use them on an animal. Just for science!

YES!
Curious to what the recoil will be in the Dominator

The dominator is going to bite. Go 125

DeerDad, I have killed a lot of whitetail, hogs, and many other critters with Nosler's 150 gr. BTs without incident. Never have I found them too fragile at handgun velocities. I also have taken a bunch of deer with Hornady's 150 gr. SST with flawless performance. I've been shooting a .308 Encore from day one and it makes a dandy hunting rig for the game you mention. There are a lot of quality bullets to choose from in your .308 Win. Good luck with your season.

308 dies and 168 grain A-max in hand. Will start loading tonight. I will start with RL-15.

150gr Ballistic Tip have worked well in the past, too. I have a ton of factory ammo with that bullet. Never had an issue with terminal performance.

The ONLY reason I switched back when I did was that the match ammo or handloads with the 168gr A-Max and 125gr SSST was considerably more accurate to my liking.

Otherwise, terminal was perfectly acceptable on deer.

150 AB, as well as 168 TSX do very well on broadside and angled shots on deer.

Last year I used a 155 grain A-Max on a heavy 4.5-year-old whitetail buck out of my 300 Win Mag Encore. If I was going to use an A-Max again, I'd probably use the 168 grain or or one of the heavier versions.

I have used both the 165 Sierra s.s.p.game king and the bulk 165 gr Rem sp with good results.

KRal passed along the load I use. It consist of a 125 grain NBT and 748 powder. I've never use it at longer distances but have used it on whitetail and hogs. Very accurate and great performance. What powder are you guys using with 150 grainers? I'd like to try these.

I loaded up some 125 gr sierra's and 130 gr speer hp's lastnite with Imr 4895 and cci's to test. Imr 4895 is my go to powder for .308.Add a 165 Sierra game king and it shines.