Bullet Selection (.308)

[Partyguy816]

I just bought a CZ Varmint 308 and so far factory Winchester Silvertips have been producing nice groups, but I want to start reloading for it. I bought some Hornady 155g A-Max, but now I think I want to switch over to Sierra MatchKing's or Nosler Custom Competition bullets.

I have some land to shoot on which should get me out to around 700 yards or so. I am looking for long range accuracy, but I also want to hunt with this gun. The animals of choice are coyotes, deer, and hogs. How will the Sierra and Nosler hollow points perform on game?

Thanks

 

[alucard0822]

they have a 1-12 twist if I remember correctly, try 168gr nosler match HPBT, as they are a good value ($45 per 250) compared to the more expensive sierras, should be fine for long range target work, and possibly for varmint/coyote(a little big if you are keeping the pelts). A good soft point or ballistic tip hunting bullet like hornandy's interlock bullets would be better suited to deer and pigs, you might even want to try something like nosler's 125gr ballistic tip to see how they shoot, for the coyotes.

ps. the HP in match type bulets don't expand they are just part of the manufacturing process and make the tip of the bullet lighter to better stabilize them, and tend to tumble intact through critters. some ballistic tip, and most soft points are intended to expand. My uncle took a nice whitetail buck with a 165gr SST interlock bullet, went right through and was recovered in a little pit in the dirt (shooting from a treestand), expanded beautifully to about 3/4" and seemed to have retained all of it's jacket and core, it shredded the heart, the deer simply fell over.

 

[steve4102]

Competition and Matchking bullets are not hunting bullets. You will find a few handloaders that use them for game, but Sierra and Nosler clearly state that these bullets should not be used for hunting big game.
If you want an accurate long range hunting bullet try something like the Ballistic Tip or VLD's. Leave the target bullets for targets. You owe it to the game you shoot.

 

[USSR]

Partyguy816,

If you want a target/competition bullet that will double for use on game, I would recommend the Hornady 178gr Amax bullet instead of the Sierra and Nosler bullets you mentioned.

Don

 

[Grumulkin]

Nosler's Shooters Pro Shop on their web site is an excellent place to get Nosler factory seconds at a good price. I've found their .308 caliber match bullets to be very accurate. Sierra Match Kings are quite accurate as well as are the Berger VLD bullets.

Berger VLD bullets are now marketed as hunting bullets though the manufacturing process as I understand it is similar to other BTHP match bullets.

 

[Trojan6]

Very interesting post as I am going through the exact same thing right now. I've trimmed down my rifle collection and basically come to the decision that my .308 bolt gun will be my defacto do-all rifle. I mostly use it for deer, hogs, and coyotes as well, but I would also like to one day take it on an elk hunt or possibly an antelope/mule deer hunt. The goal is to develop one load with the best compromise of accuracy, bullet weight, and performance on game. With that one load, shoot it all the time to create my data book under as many environmental conditions as possible for historical data and basically be intimately familiar with its performance. Right now focus is on performance out to 300 (coyotes only), and will eventually like to stretch that out to 600 (punching paper). Bottom line is that it is a hunting rifle first, and target rifle second in order to become better skilled at hunting.
Based upon my desire to shoot longer ranges and possibly hunt larger game, I've settled on the heavier bullet weights (180 grain) due to their better ballistic coefficients. This is a problem because the rifle absolutely loves sierra 165 game king HPBTs at 2250 fps out to 100 yds, and at 2520 fps out to 300 yds. This bullet has been an awesome performer for me on deer and hogs. It's low BC, however, does not give me confidence in shooting at coyotes out to 300 yds because it has the potential to drift so much in a 10mph wind. I acknowledge my lack of skill in judging wind, and doubt I'll have time to set up my anemometer in a real world hunting situation. So, I've recently started all over again with load development focused on bullets with a .500 or better BC and a computed drift of no more than 6 inches at 300.
All of the Match Kings are off the table because they are not recommended for shooting game. Also, years before I knew better, I used 190 match kings on two deer and was not impressed with the results.
The biggest problem encountered to date, and I think this will apply to you as well, is that "optimal" (not trying to start a debate on jump vs. jam here) bullet seating depth of .02" off the lands is not feasible in my rifle because OAL is too long to fit in the magazine of the rifle. Although great for target shooting, I don't want to limit my bolt gun to a single shot while out on a hunt.
So, all of that background out of the way, here's what I'm in the process of trying out:
180 Nosler Ballistic Tips
180 Sierra SBT
180 Speer SBT
I'm considering some of the Swift and Barnes bullets, but they seem a bit pricey to me and they haven't had any in stock at the stores I frequent (also hate paying shipping if possible and cash leaves no evidence of the $$$ spent on my hobby for the wife ) I prefer neck shots and therefore I like faster expanding bullets and don't see a need for partitions or other super-duper titanium bonded bullets. I also readily admit that I am a bit partial to sierra products based upon my experiences to date.
Goal is 2600 fps which I am steadily in the process of working up to and varying bullet seating depth. I have a 20" barrel on my rifle so the 2600fps mark is not the easiest to get to.
A few decent performers so far, but nothing at MOA yet. Best results have been with H4895 and Varget. I've run out of case capacity with IMR 4064 even though I'm still less than published sierra maximums, and groups (patterns) were not impressive in my rifle. I have no experience reloading compressed loads so I have shied away from them.
Those powders were selected based upon their published temperature in-sensitivity, previous good results, and recommendations from other users.
Bottom line, YMMV, but hope this disseration helps somewhat. Send me a PM if you're interested in updates. Good luck.

LH3