Thread: .308 ammo for Sika, Sako powerhead 2, federal fusion or browning bxc

What would you guys choose for bush shooting sika have a box of each of these
Sako powerhead 2 - 168gr Barnes TTSX projectiles
Browning BXC controlled expansion - 168gr bonded core projectiles
Federal Fusion - 165gr Bonded core
i bought these to try and use locally in Canterbury more suited for big reds hopefully but i see that sako does 123gr sp and the brit game managers
rave about the killing power on sika,fallow even on big red deer would it be worth trying these in my 1:10 twist bergara extreme hunter or just use
what i have? I will be spending a month chasing sika during the roar so just looking at options Cheers

not the first ones....too hard maybe....butter for bigger reds.
fushions would be my pick of those three
PERSONALLY I would use winchester power points as have had such good results with them..the 180s seem to have LESS recoil that the 150s and kill exceptionally well as they are soft and expand fast.....the 150s MIGHT be better option for light sika...hard to let go of the preformance of 180s all the same...if stag of lifetime was arse on and about to exit,I KNOW which one I would prefer to have chambered....and PERSONALLY wouldnt hesitate to take that shot with that load either.

Probably one of the last two. A big slow copper TTSX will likely just pencil straight through a small animal
like a sika with bugger all expansion. Different story if it was a 130 humming along.

Yeah that what i was thinking , was just wondering what projectiles/ factory loads people are using on fallow, sika because last thing i want for the sake of a packet of ammo is it wound, loose animals in the bush

150gr corelokts. Work on sika and reds, job done

Personal preference, but I've poked 125 gn BT's out of my 308 for about 25 years, almost exclusively hunting Sika.
Nice and flat out to 300, which is my personal cuttoff. Before that was 130 gn hornadys.
Over that time, maybe two animals needed a second shot.

Yep the Sako 123 gr work very well. My cousin in Scotland shoots all his deer ( roe, red and fallow) with them and supply all the local gamekeeper with them.

Belmont ammunition used to make an excellent load with the 130 gr Speer hollow point, very accurate and devasting. Not the kind of load you want to shoot three quarter forward on a big red. A mate of mine shot a good size sambar with that load. He shot it through the ribs and blew the heard off but it did not penetrate any further. I hate to think what would have happened if he had shot through the shoulder.

Standard 150gr federal blue box or fusion will do the job fine as well.

I have shot 4 sika with the 123gr and they havnt moved at all. To be fair, the furthest shot was only 350 out of a 20” tikka carbine.
The 165gr game head pro is working really well.

We also have a 150gr game head soft point in the mix for next shipment.

For bush hunting I'd be using Remington corelokts. I haven't used them in .308 but have in 4 other calibre's over the years and haven't found any other bullet that kills sika better.

Originally Posted by stagstalker

Probably one of the last two. A big slow copper TTSX will likely just pencil straight through a small animal
like a sika with bugger all expansion. Different story if it was a 130 humming along.

+1 a 168 Barnes in a 308 doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, unless you’re a sambar hunter.

I don’t know much about the browning bxc but it also sounds like it’s designed for heavy big-boned animals; sika are definitely not in that category.

So I would go with the fusion. Haven’t used them in 308 but I’ve tried them in other cartridges and they were accurate with good terminal performance. Reasonably priced too

Read your other post and all the best in your quest to knock over a trophy, I’m sure it will be an epic few weeks for you!

cheers mate cannot wait, the barnes are for close in red stags if i have to clip abit of brush before the animal they are abit more grunty then most soft points

Originally Posted by Carbine

cheers mate cannot wait, the barnes are for close in red stags if i have to clip abit of brush before the animal they are abit more grunty then most soft points

Bloody hell they are hard!

I bought some when they first came out and were moly coated,they would pencil thorugh Thar at 300m.I guess they are more made for 300 win mag and above velocities.

I truely wish you well on your hunt,I wish I could help you out in some way,shape or form.

Its all good mate was just wondering what people were using for sika mostly as ive only shot 2, years ago when i lived up north, its going to be an epic month hunting these fellas for the roar with the help from some awesome forum members

Don't under estimate a worked up Sika stag during the roar as 7mmwsm said , years back I shot a nice 8 pointer at about 70 yards with a 150 gr interlock out of my 30 06 . He went straight down but bounced back up and took off, he didn't go far but surprisingly the bullet didn't exit and was still intact. When worked up they are tough. A good 165 to 180 gr bullet at bush ranges should do the job.

Ended up using Sako powerhead 2 - 168gr Barnes TTSX projectiles on the smaller 7 and
Browning BXC controlled expansion - 168gr bonded core projectiles on my 8 pointer