Thread: 308 Subsonics

And remember that another use for subs (cheapies at least) is to spook animals that are feeding away out of range, back towards you. I was given a swag of old fmj projos, and loaded them up subsonic and have placed them into old tree trunks maybe 100-200m beyond an animal looking like its feeding back into cover, or is further away than I like to shoot. The thok! of the projo hitting the tree usually turns the animal away, and has them come back towards you (if you have the wind and terrain to your advantage). Then a supersonic round to do the job when back in range.
Note: I only use rounds I have hand loaded and know they are running at less than 1000 fps on the home range, so that they remain subsonic when I head back to my hunting area above 1000m altitude

Originally Posted by MB

Factory. The slow powder thing makes sense. I've noticed they are very smoky/dirty, does that fit?

Yep. Chrono them too. I found factory Sub-X claimed at 1050 was doing 1142. My guess is that without a gas port tapping off some of the pressure, it's driving the bullet too fast.

Get hold of Dean Maisey Tauranga gunsmith he loads sub sonic .308s Also Mark Bridgman at Custom Cartridges Taupo

Originally Posted by shooternz

Get hold of Dean Maisey Tauranga gunsmith he loads sub sonic .308s Also Mark Bridgman at Custom Cartridges Taupo

Yea my bergara is going to dean anyway so I’ll see what he can do with subs for me at the same time 👍

I’ve shot a few hundred red deer with subs and mostly with purpose built expanding subsonic projectiles from Lehigh Defence. Shot placement is key but if the it is a little off the Lehigh 168gr Controlled Fracturing is a little more forgiving on placement as on impact the bullet fractures apart sending petals, centre pin and base shearing off in all directions causing massive internal damage like a shotgun buck shot. They don’t tend to go far on a lung or hilar shot.

Here’s a few Lehigh 194gr Maximum Expansion projectiles recovered from red deer and a 168gr Controlled Fracturing pulled from a large hind, the base was found on the skin on the opposite side. The loaded round a Lehigh 168gr CF in 300 BLK. and would work equally well in a fast twist 308win.

What powder are you using behind them @tikka?

Originally Posted by Joe_90

What powder are you using behind them @tikka?

AR2205 for everything supers and subs in the blackout. Never bothered about other powders as I get sub MOA accuracy using most assortment of projectiles, especially with the 208gr ELDs 1/4 MOA that I use for goats.

Good to know. I'm working on getting a reliable sub load for the howa mini. Loaded a few test runs with AR2207 but haven't been overly impressed so far.

Originally Posted by tikka

I’ve shot a few hundred red deer with subs and mostly with purpose built expanding subsonic projectiles from Lehigh Defence. Shot placement is key but if the it is a little off the Lehigh 168gr Controlled Fracturing is a little more forgiving on placement as on impact the bullet fractures apart sending petals, centre pin and base shearing off in all directions causing massive internal damage like a shotgun buck shot. They don’t tend to go far on a lung or hilar shot.

Here’s a few Lehigh 194gr Maximum Expansion projectiles recovered from red deer and a 168gr Controlled Fracturing pulled from a large hind, the base was found on the skin on the opposite side. The loaded round a Lehigh 168gr CF in 300 BLK. and would work equally well in a fast twist 308win.

Thanks for that, awesome information. I’ve purposely bought my bergara for this type of use as it’s got the 1/8 twist.