Heaviest bullet weight for .308 Win?

[spalit]

I was wondering if anyone has ever gone above 180 gr for a .308 Win. I know you can get 190, 200 & 220 gr bullets in the .308 dia range, but most of the literature out there seems to suggest that those are reserved for the 30-06 with the larger case capacity. Anyone have any experience with the heavier bullets? I'm thinking a 200 gr bullet might be a good weight for moose/caribou/elk; as long as the hunting range is < 200 yards.

Mind you, my 180 gr Hornady IB have taken African plains game quite handily, including larger animals like Waterbuck, Black Wildebeest & Kudu; so I'm not sure a heavier bullet is really necessary...

 

[Shoney]

My 308 Win preference would be a 165 gr Nosler Partition for moose. If you have an accurate 180 gr load, stick with it!

 

[joneb]

Shooting above 180gr slugs well will depend on your barrel, I would think a 1:10 twist would be helpful for longer bullets. The barrel length and velocity will also play a roll in stabilizing the longer bullet, velocity and twist will determine the rotation, longer bullets need more spin. So what are you shootin ?

 

[Grumulkin]

I've shot 190 grain bullets in a 308 Winchester & they shot OK. I don't think they're necessairly needed for moose though.

 

[GunTech]

190s here too. SMKs. But you really need a 1:10.

 

[spalit]

I'm shooting a Tikka T3, with a 1:11 twist, 22.4 inch barrel. So the longer the bullet, the faster the twist rate needed?

 

[Bartkowski]

Mind you, my 180 gr Hornady IB have taken African plains game quite handily, including larger animals like Waterbuck, Black Wildebeest & Kudu; so I'm not sure a heavier bullet is really necessary...

Stick with what you have, it should be enough for the animals you mentioned. Although not ideal for moose, it will certainly take one down.

 

[joneb]

So the longer the bullet, the faster the twist rate needed?

Yes, the proper rotation rate is needed for the bullet to be stable . Your 1:11" maybe fine for +180 gr. My .308 has a 1:12" and for 180gr I need to push them faster to get the best accuracy/stabilization. The .308 Win has a limited capacity for powder with longer bullets, and if your OAL requires the cartridges to fit in the magazine this complicates things.

 

[Old Trapper]

Same question but different angle

It sounds like that in most standard factory barrels the twist rate will is not ideal for a 200 grain bullet in a .308.

Is there a down side to the faster twist rates in a .308 barrel if you are also going to be shooting deer with 150 or 165 grain bullets?

So, given normal twist rates what would be the ideal short-action caliber to stabilize a 200 grain bullet with good sectional density for larger North American game? Whats most practical -- put a custom barrel on .308 to shoot heavier bullets or just get a larger caliber?

From what I hear reported from Shiras moose hunters in the lower 48 the 180grain bullet in a .308 should be be great, but the original question was posed to include caribou which makes me think "spalit" may be thinking about Alaskan moose where griz are more common.

Do your perspectives on 180 grain bullets being adequate change if we change the paradigm to Alaska rather than the lower 48 States?

 

[ROCKSHUND]

I actually have a full box of Winchester Olin Canada .308's loaded with 200 grain Silvertips hereabouts. Never shot any, but they're around if I ever think that I just gotta try. Should work just fine in my Savage M10 Tac. The Canadians must be using these things for moose.

Myself, I just have to force myself to load anything other than 165 grain BTSP's.

Cheers, FNR...