Short Barrel .308 Elk Load

[marshland_max]

Subscribed....I am thinking of getting a short barreled 308 myself.......having visions of a load for 165 gr Accubond.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This

150 - 165 Accubond and a full case of powder is a wonderfully balanced load for the 308

The Ballistic tip or Partition are also awesome!

We use a crap ton of Partition and Accubonds and that's for everything all the way up to 416 Rem Mag

Good Luck!

 

[Brendan]

Lots of great suggestions.

Hadn't seen the Absolute Hammer release yet. That could be interesting in a .308. Have wanted to play around with the Hammer Hunters or Cutting Edge anyways. Keep getting the feeling that a little higher velocity combined with copper might be good in the .308.

I've killed one elk and one deer with 165 Accubonds out of this gun (Factory Ammo). Both broadside short range shots, and didn't get an exit on either. Both did the job, but the deer track job was harder than it should have been without a drop of blood, and he was small... Elk found it under opposite side hide.

 

[orelkaddict]

Well my wife shoots a 308 with a 16" barrel and I shoot a 308 with a 20" barrel, both shoot the same load. 45.5 grains of Varget with a 168 SMK. Her average speed is 2812 and mine is 2851. Our self imposed limit is 600 yards and never had a problem yet

 

[wind gypsy]

180 elite hunter has a form factor that is only bested by 245 EOL and new pointed Long Range Hybrid Target line, and about the same as 200.20x / 215 hybrids.

150ish monos would be cool too but you'd have to be cautious with wind drift as you get further out.

 

[EastMT]

Now I want to cut my 24” donor rifle off at 16” and test the 124 hammers. Taking the barrel off any way, may just do it.


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[Iman]

Well my wife shoots a 308 with a 16" barrel and I shoot a 308 with a 20" barrel, both shoot the same load. 45.5 grains of Varget with a 168 SMK. Her average speed is 2812 and mine is 2851. Our self imposed limit is 600 yards and never had a problem yet

That is fast out of 16-20”!

 

[Iman]

Was curious what optics do people prefer on short barrel rifles like this. Do you use holdover, ballistic/mil/moa reticle, or spin turrets when past point blank range?

 

[pnw]

I was kind of supprised to read that the regular ab didnt get an exit I have shot two black tail bucks broadside right behind the shoulder with the 168 lrab 308 win 24 inch barrel .5 grain under max load of varget one at arond 20 and one 70/80 ish yards both exited and did quite a bit of bloodshot on the exit side no bullets recovered but have pictures of the exit of the 80 yd buck he would have bled if he went anywhere I am liking them for deer so far and if the shot is longer they are supposed to open to some of the lowest velocities advertised I wish that they would come out with a 178/180 gr ablr

 

[EastMT]

I was kind of supprised to read that the regular ab didnt get an exit I have shot two black tail bucks broadside right behind the shoulder with the 168 lrab 308 win 24 inch barrel .5 grain under max load of varget one at arond 20 and one 70/80 ish yards both exited and did quite a bit of bloodshot on the exit side no bullets recovered but have pictures of the exit of the 80 yd buck he would have bled if he went anywhere I am liking them for deer so far and if the shot is longer they are supposed to open to some of the lowest velocities advertised I wish that they would come out with a 178/180 gr ablr

The LRAB seems to do ok when not out of a super fast round, there have been a few problems at high speeds of basically a shotgun blast point blank and no penetration. I know 2 guys had this with sheep at 200/400 yds. One of the sheep looked like he had skinned a 8” circle at the impact area, destroyed the cape, broadside, no brush to hit in the way. I had it on a goat at 425 but it was a fast 26 Nos. Didn’t make it through the scapula, 1” of tore up meat under the hide.

The problem is it’s called a LR Accubond but they are nothing alike, the big air pocket under the top causes instant expansion, at too fast an impact it has potential to explode.

The 308 isn’t a barn burner so I think it does pretty good, especially with the heavier LRAB.


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[6mm Remington]

Nosler 150 gr. Accubond
Nosler 150 gr. E-tip
Nosler 150 gr. Partition
Nosler 165 gr. Accubond
Nosler 165 gr. Partition

If your rifle really likes any of the above that is what I would use and feel completely confident in how they will perform in your 308.

 

[pnw]

also look up cfe 223 and the 152 hammer hunter got them loaded but havent had the time

 

[204guy]

The 155 scenar pairs up well with 308 velocities. The 308 is pretty easy on bullets, so pretty hard to pick a bad 1 unless you go heavy for cal with something too hard.

 

[JakeSCH]

also look up cfe 223 and the 152 hammer hunter got them loaded but havent had the time

^ this is my combo, shooting 2915 with a 20” 308 (got to 2985 but wasn’t nearly as accurate). This was my go to for the last several years until I decided to buy a 6.5 PRC and 300 WM this year.

 

[fraz01]

We are planning to try the Federal 175 Terminal Ascent in 308 and 30-06 when they are available again. If they are accurate shooting @ 2750 in the 308, should be good to 600 yards.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I like the 166g hammers in my 308.

 

[hunting1]

A follow up of 168 BT, Varget, and elk..... They work! Compared it to a recovered 165 NP equal speeds.

 

[rcook10]

I limit to 300 yards with my shorty because that's my limit for 1500ftlbs using 168s. The math seems to find 168s are the best middle ground of velocity, energy conservation, and ballistics. If you need to shoot 600 just bring the damn 300win mag.

 

[robtattoo]

150 Accobonds for me, out of an 18" barrel. Don't recall the exact load, but enough CFE223 to get them above 2800 was the ticket for me. Great groupings & i'm totally confident they'll perform well beyond my comfortable range (400yds)

 

[sneaky]

This is right up @luke moffat alley. He shoots a lot of short barrel rigs.

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[luke moffat]

This is right up @luke moffat alley. He shoots a lot of short barrel rigs.

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HAHA yes sir!! Currently shooting a 168 grainer at just under 2800 fps with my wife's 16" barrel 308. Short and handy yet still plenty of oomph for the animals I shoot and the distances we shoot them.