Effective range of a .308 out of a 16" barrel

[EdLaver]

The farthest I have shot my ar10 carbine is out to 350 yards so far. I am interested in knowing what the effective range of 168gr .308 out of a 16" barrel Ar10 carbines and SOCOM M1A's alike?

The main purpose of my AR10 carbine is for hog hunting, auodad hunting, and pure fun. I am thinking 500 yards would be the max effective but curious to hear from THR members with experience.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[xphunter]

Ed,
The effective range for hunting (Not talking about shooting skill from field positions) based on this cartridge/barrel length, will depend upon your impact velocity at a given distance and the bullet you are using.
If the bullet is not going fast enough at impact to perform properly, then you may get less than desirable results.
For targets, have all the fun you want!

 

[-v-]

16" .308 goes trans-sonic at 750-850 meters depending on the loading. It still has over 1k ft-lb of energy out to 350 or so meters.

 

[madcratebuilder]

What -V- said. I would think as long as the bullet is still supersonic it would make a clean kill. Putting the bullet in the right spot is the hard part.

I understand hogs get pretty big in the SW so 400yd plus shoots should be doable.