Most accurate 308 reloading hunting bullet?

[TimberHunter]

I’m struggling to find a decent load for my 308 Winchester 20” barrel with a 1-10 twist.

What bullet in your experience has been the easiest to find an accurate kid for?

I tried nosler BT 165 with IMR 4064 from 40.5 to 43.5 (some pressure signs on 42.5 grains and higher) and couldn’t get any to shoot 3 shot groups under 1.5”.

On hand I have IMR 4064, H4895, RL15, H4350 and IMR 4350.

I’m an average shooter than can shoot as well as .5” groups but usually around .75” with my other rifles at 100 yards


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[Salmon River Solutions]

Try a VLD Berger .01” into the lands

 

[BBob]

Sierra 175 MK. Yes Match Kings. In 30 cal they work great on game. In smaller calibers not so much. I've had great results with 168 MK as well. Both are easy to get to shoot and in the past I've killed a bunch with them in a 308 Win. My best loads are using Varget but that powder seems unobtainable anymore.

 

[wildcat33]

Varget and 165gr Barnes TTSX shoot lights out in my 21" bbl 10twist. RL15 is the closest to varget on the burn chart of the powders you have, so maybe start there.

 

[TimberHunter]

Try a VLD Berger .01” into the lands

Won’t that cause issues when unloading an unfired round? This is for a hunting rifle


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[Salmon River Solutions]

I’ve never had any issues. Its just barely into the lands. I’ve done that on 7 different guns and never had to play with seating depth on any of them!

 

[wildcat33]

Careful when taking an existing load and seating it further out and into the lands, can increase pressure.

 

[TimberHunter]

Careful when taking an existing load and seating it further out and into the lands, can increase pressure.

As a general rule of thumb, the longer out you seat the bullet (as long as you don’t contact the lands) the pressure decreases with a certain powder charge correct?

For example I loaded up some 180 SST last night because I had some on hand. Hornady book said COAL should be 2.740 and max charge of 41.3 IMR 4064 grains. I found my lands with the 180 SST to be around 2.858-2.862. I loaded the 180 SST at 2.830. One with 39 grains, one with 40 grains then 3 at 41, 3 at 41.5, 3 at 42 grains (IMR 4064)

I haven’t shot them yet but with each shot I plan to use a chronograph and check the brass closely and fee the bolt lift.


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[wildcat33]

Yeah, you've got about 0.03 jump to the lands. The posts above were discussing a 0.01 jam. Jamming the bullet can lead to a pressure spike, which makes sense if you think about it. A jump means a microscopic amount of volume increase as the bullet moves into the rifling.

 

[gbflyer]

Bullet manufacturing is a tedious undertaking. Long ago I participated in it at a small scale custom level making .22 and 6mm for 1-300 yard Benchrest with who would be considered in that small circle as somewhat of a master of the trade. A spec of dust at the wrong time is grounds for reject.

A flat base bullet is easier to manufacture consistently. BT bullets don’t do a thing for anyone but the marketing department for normal .308 Winchester hunting range. The base of the bullet is where the magic happens. I have personally tested one against the other with the same bullet weights and powder charges with no practical difference in trajectory out to 600 yards.

There are not a lot of options out there unfortunately because so many today are keyboard snipers who want to routinely shoot out to 1000 yards on their next deer hunt.

I’ve had good success with the Sierra Pro Hunter line and also Woodleigh bullets from down under. There are probably others.

 

[EastMT]

I’m struggling to find a decent load for my 308 Winchester 20” barrel with a 1-10 twist.

What bullet in your experience has been the easiest to find an accurate kid for?

I tried nosler BT 165 with IMR 4064 from 40.5 to 43.5 (some pressure signs on 42.5 grains and higher) and couldn’t get any to shoot 3 shot groups under 1.5”.

On hand I have IMR 4064, H4895, RL15, H4350 and IMR 4350.

I’m an average shooter than can shoot as well as .5” groups but usually around .75” with my other rifles at 100 yards


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Have you tried any 180 gr bullets? I have a 1/10” that prefers them. Not as fast but 180’s punch a nice hole without risk of an explosion.


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[hunting1]

My go to is a Nosler BT or AB 168/165 and 45-46 grs of Varget. Coyote to elk, MOA, just works.

 

[peterk123]

I have been working on load development for my tikka 308. I am settling on 41.0 grains of IMR4895. I am getting about 2430 fps with a standard deviation around 9. OAL is at 2.810. I can't really go any longer because of the magazine.

I am getting good accuracy with it and I have found that accuracy does not drop off any if I am a bit over or under my target grains.

I am using a 165 grain hornady bullet.

 

[OXN939]

Google "Hammer hunters" on here. They can, and routinely do, make just about any off the shelf rifle into a sub-MOA shooter.

 

[rootacres]

Bergers are usually fairly easy to get a good group with. The Classic Hunters have a slightly different ogive than the VLDs supposedly making them less jump sensitive. My 7mm WSM liked the berger classic hunters the best thus far. My 300 WSM shot Accubonds very well. They are usually slightly more forgiving on seating depth too. Third place was the Barnes TTSX. Maybe try the 165 Accubonds or 168 Classic Hunters.

 

[TimberHunter]

Google "Hammer hunters" on here. They can, and routinely do, make just about any off the shelf rifle into a sub-MOA shooter.

Thanks for the info! I’ll give it a look, they seem to be a bit higher price at $1/each


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[OXN939]

Thanks for the info! I’ll give it a look, they seem to be a bit higher price at $1/each


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They are. For a reason.



Honest assessment, I worked up that load and another one at the same time. That was was, even with the higher cost per bullet, much cheaper because of how much less on the way of components I had to use. They are the easiest projectiles to load for I've ever used.

 

[MallardAddict]

In my .308’s I use the 155gr Lapua Scenar’s as they shoot tiny groups and terminal performance has been great on deer, elk and bears.

 

[Kimber7man]

MallardAddict beat me to it. Lapua 155 scenar

 

[prm]

155 Scenar