Thread: Realistically how far can i push my 12.5 inch 308

After my mate passed up on a 300m shot at a very big stag on Saturday, it has got me thinking do i need to step up in cal and do a "superpig" since i have cut my 308 so short.Id rather be prepared for the unexpected. Its got roughly 12.5inchs of effective barrel length. Would loading something like a 130ttsx , 125accubond etc give me enough poke for those sort of ranges? Im using factory ammunition currently

Id be looking more at a 125 balistic tip than a accubond for the reduced velocity.
What are you running currently and how fast will it push it?

how far can you CONSISTANTLY hit a 3ltr milk jug of water?????
thats your chest shot maximum range.......
think its Scott Trail who uses one with 10" barrel......there was article on it that covered the bits you want to know. dialup is essential

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Id be looking more at a 125 balistic tip than a accubond for the reduced velocity.
What are you running currently and how fast will it push it?

Factory 150gr soft point lapua projectiles, have the reloading gear but havent bothered as typically bush hunt. No idea what its spitting out as

I ran the 130ttsx for a fair while out to 300 or just over and ran amax for any further, that was launching them out at 3150fps from memory. You wont be anywhere near that velocity and they need decent speed to work well.
Id be looking at light varmint projectiles or possibly 30-30 or 7.62x39 projectiles but still 300y could be a big ask depending on the velocity you can get.

I was getting 2372 from memory with a 16" .308 so about 14" effective and that was reliable and accurate regularly took animals at 300 mtrs no worries . I shot steel at 500 often but probably would have called 400 my cut off with it on animals bassed on group size at 500 that was 180 sst

so going by the speed Kelton suggests.....you have in effect turned it into a 7.62x39mm but with better projectile selection and more accurate..... I would happily use the x39mm to 150 yards....as said above if you can consistantly hit a 3ltr milk jug at a given range,you can place projectile in deers vitals at the same....having enough energy/penertration to go in and do the damage is a other whole can of worms...use your judgement as at end of day thats the only judgement that really matters.

178g eldx out of a 12" with n150 powder, 2447fps. 11 clicks up on my leica and in at 248m bang on.. can easily push that out to double, then I'd be pushing it. .

Originally Posted by Larskramer

178g eldx out of a 12" with n150 powder, 2447fps. 11 clicks up on my leica and in at 248m bang on.. can easily push that out to double, then I'd be pushing it. .

Thats impressive to get that speed !
How far out have you used it on game and had good results?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUXJ4icGjtI

It can be done...I know someone who used one of these.

It’s all in the bullet. Gotta be a soft bullet, so the two you’ve suggested @matto1234 would be at the top of my list to definitely not use.

A thin skinned, soft lead alloy cup & core design with a thin jacket on the ogive. Definitely go with a heavy bullet, to maximise retained energy. At 300m, a 190gr ELD-M is going to hit with ~30% more energy than a 125gr Accubond. A soft heavy bullet makes a big bloody hole even at low velocities.

The weakness is loopy trajectory. As MD says, at longer ranges, you’ll want to dial, or have a well understood BDC reticle as a minimum. Either way, you require a thorough drop test to validate ballistics. Once you know your drops, loopy trajectory doesn’t matter so long as you can range accurately. My slow and heavy load’s range card that I carry in the field is in 10m increments, the angle at which the bullet is falling at 300m+ is very steep, so ranging and calculations need to be precise.

Deer I’ve shot with my .308 at sub- 2,000fps impact velocity, with either the 165gr GameKing or Speer BTSP, or 168gr A-Max, and have had dirty great big bleeds and the deer passed very quickly. 2,000fps equates to ~350m in my rifle.

I shot two mature red hinds in quick succession at a bit lower speed - 1,900fps or so - in front of @Wingman once and I’m sure he’ll remember the claret fountain out of the one as it fell over. The other died instantly I think. That was Speer BTSP. Soft and heavy bullets work well down to quite low velocities, so your max effective range will be governed by when your bullet passes below a certain velocity, say 1750fps or even lower.

Several good sources of info on which bullets to use. You need one that fits the classic “long range” description for it’s terminal ballistics at low speeds. Higher BC means higher retained velocity and energy, so even if you’re only shooting 300m, every bit counts.

This guy has got it worked out. Check out the wounding.

https://youtu.be/8di1L9NBR0U

Yes I recall it well, I was spotting through a 21X scope and snapped a few pics off too. The first one stumbled for about 3 steps and then rolled down the hill a bit landing with the exit wound upward and a red geyser on full display. The second animal that was laying down stood up and @Flyblown quickly encouraged it to lay down again, it dropped on the spot and rolled down the face until it got caught up in some scrub.
Like he said, heaviest bullets your barrel will shoot but light jackets, even match bullets are often the best for lower velocity kills.

Here’s another example of a .308 low velocity exit hole, this one was 425m. Only a small animal but bigger animals aren’t immune. The blood pouring out of this wound was something else.

I run 168eldm at 2580fps at mag length in my 15 inch 308 3shots touching @100 haven't tryed them out on deer yet... Here's sterlock drop chart of 168eldm @2400fps with 200 meter zero

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Thats impressive to get that speed !
How far out have you used it on game and had good results?

248m and dropped on the spot, obliterated the heart/lungs