.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.

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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.

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+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

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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

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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
Attachment 173207

180 rem corelokts :thumbsup:

I will be taking my 243 with some handloads for sika next year hopefully if all goes to plan

Nice looking 8 ��

Haven’t taken my 243 out after Sika yet but I’ve got no doubt it would be very effective

I managed to pick up a 90% condition Winchester model 70 carbine in 243 for 350$ after i got back from my month hunting sika to good a deal to not hit the buy now. Was perfect timing as i came away feeling overgunned.

The 243 will work well , we have used them a lot over the years. We have found the 80- 85 gr bullets good on most deer. Of late I have started using up to 95 gr bullets as my current 243 doesn't seem to like the lighter ones much. Haven't shot to much with them but I am sure they will do the job.

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Originally Posted by Mooseman

The 243 will work well , we have used them a lot over the years. We have found the 80- 85 gr bullets good on most deer. Of late I have started using up to 95 gr bullets as my current 243 doesn't seem to like the lighter ones much. Haven't shot to much with them but I am sure they will do the job.

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Sounds good ill be getting into reloading pretty soon and am looking up loads think a nosler partition at 3300fps will be the ticket

We have used and still do the 85 noslar partition on reds ,Sika, sambar, Tahr and they work well. Our loads run at about 3100 fps.

I’ve found the 95gr fusion to be very good but they’re not available to reloaders. The 95gr partition would be just as good. My theory is to use a reasonably heavy soft point with the 243 to give good penetration. A 1:10 twist should stabilise a 100gr soft point but won’t stabilise the high BC pills of 103gr or heavier. But who gives a shit, a decent cup and core is all you need most of the time

Having hunted sika a fair bit with the .308 I've found 150s to work better than 165/180. 130gr ttsx by far was the best especially in the roar, the only load to completely 'stop' a sika in its tracks everytime. I reckon they're the toughest deer to put down even more so than Sambar.

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Originally Posted by kiwigreen

Having hunted sika a fair bit with the .308 I've found 150s to work better than 165/180. 130gr ttsx by far was the best especially in the roar, the only load to completely 'stop' a sika in its tracks everytime. I reckon they're the toughest deer to put down even more so than Sambar.

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Why do you reckon the 150s work better than the 165s? Speed thing? Would explain why the 130ttsx go so well

Can get some good velocity with 80gr ttsx in the 243 and im familiar with them in 308 and they punch through anything pretty much

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kiwigreen

Having hunted sika a fair bit with the .308 I've found 150s to work better than 165/180. 130gr ttsx by far was the best especially in the roar, the only load to completely 'stop' a sika in its tracks everytime. I reckon they're the toughest deer to put down even more so than Sambar.

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Sika are a pretty light boned species, I wonder if the 165s & 180s were “penciling” to some extent due to their construction and the reduced velocities? Whereas a relatively fast 150 with a thin jacket will generally sack them if they’re hit in the right spot; that was certainly my experience with the 150sst superformance load

Yeah 165gr going too slow out of an 18" barrel for them to open up. Sika need speed i reckon, they don't give up the ghost as easily as reds. The 130ttsx @3k did the best job on them bush hunting. Always thought the 110ttsx would be the ultimate load for sika.

The last one i shot using the sf 168gr eldm worked a treat though at 30 yards. Opened up nicely, much better than sst imo as I find they only work well past 100yards but eldm seems to open up straight away.