Thread: Subsonic 308 project

Originally Posted by Clubbie

Not yet, they've all exited. TBH I'd be inclined to go Lehigh for big game...but on the other hand, if it's your bush gun you're shooting them at very close range anyway.
I'm yet to have the opportunity with a red at close range with this rifle.
So you have the $3 vs 40c debate, but also the ethics of a clean kill, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they do to answer the ethics question.

An enjoyable watch.

I’d actually found you and subscribed before you pitched up here cos I was searching 308 subsonic recently, as it is my next project. A suggestion that would be helpful for me is next time would you be able to show us the wound channel, entry and exit wounds? Its a wee while since I watched the vids, don’t think you covered that?

Regarding the Lehigh question, have read up a shit load on this subsonic business and concluded that we can spend up big on components, and still very easily put the bullet in the wrong place. Won’t matter a damn whether its one bullet or the other in that situation! I love the design and reputation of the Lehigh. But I reckon with our soft deer and the use of subsonics, the “ethics” question is better answered by practice, detailed knowledge of your ballistics and deer anatomy, and then more practice, much more than it is by which bullet you use (within reason)... Just my take. I’ll be trying @shooternz’s cast bullets, and regular hunting bullets that will readily tumble.

(Basically I really don’t like the whole “ethical kill” thing, as responsible hunters I think our ethics are sound from the get go... when you look at the dictionary definition of the word. If you’re a moron being moronic as unfortunately I come across from time to time then that’s where ethics should be discussed cos those wankers dig a big whole for the rest of us to fall into whether we like it or not. Anyway I’ll shut up.)

I've played with this to, tried 200g casts lead at 25y they keyholed / 11 twist not enough / so 150s better but hard to keep subsonic, got a bit concerned about lead fouling; so I tried 175 flat point 30-30 type projectiles and they worked well out to 50 metres. Was a ridiculous amount of trail boss about 8g or so. Tried drilling the flash holes but didn't find a huge advantage, used magnum primers and that seemed to do the trick. Loverly to use, so soft and quiet.

Originally Posted by Cordite

Great videos. Thanks for your time in putting it all together.

Thanks so much for your support

Great videos Clubbie, I've watched nearly all of them. I recently did the HUNTS course, so always looking for new stuff to learn so I can get out there at some stage and also take my 8 year old son who's dead keen.

Originally Posted by N&B

Great videos Clubbie, I've watched nearly all of them. I recently did the HUNTS course, so always looking for new stuff to learn so I can get out there at some stage and also take my 8 year old son who's dead keen.

Awesome mate, that’s what it’s all about- making memories with the kids on adventures!

So thanks to @Clubbie for the motivation to get onto this...8gr of Trail Boss, 165gr Sierra Gameking. ES of 9fps, average velocity of 1010fps, into a 0.6" group at 50m. I've run out of projectiles so will pull some old rounds I'll never use, and load up 20 cartridges for a bigger test and therefore better stats, but pretty stoked with the initial results.







I'm likely to stick with traditional hunting bullets with some modifications to the nose, and rely on tumbling for the wound channel.

Awesome, i have a bunch to try in the weekend, i have done a ladder test with one round per load, going down in 0.5 grains per round to find subsonic velocity then will go home and load up for groups. i have 150 gr. 180 gr round nose and 208 gr eldm but i doubt the eldm will be stable.
150s are reasonably close to 50% case capacity around where im expecting them to be subsonic. So ill probably try to use a 165-180gr projectile to increase the fill volume.

Hearing protection for dogs.....just a thought

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I have about as much chance getting my dog to wear that, as he does getting me to wear a tweed Deer Stalker hat and plus fours.

Just taking the piss mate.......wasn’t serious

Probably a completely daft question, but has anyone considered or even tried these bullets in a subsonic Blackout / .308 Win?

https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifl...hort-jacket#!/

Hornady Short Jacket

looked at those plinkers,then decided there is no way in hell they could be any better than shootersnzs 151s they wont expand more and have less weight so wont penertrate as far if hit bone... on side note the 200grn jobbies he makes work fine in my .308 but I will need to drop below 10grns TB as they still pretty loud.....goes to show every rifle is different.

Yeah scratch that Hornady bullet off the list, contacted the seller and he told me they got down to very low powder charges (Trail Boss) to get them subsonic, too low, and they didn’t like it, so stopped. Minimum velocity they felt was safe was 1500fps, and they expanded well enough.

You need a HP to expand lead bullets at subsonic velocity the solid versions of mine will expand at 1400fps and they are as soft as I can get them and still cast properly,

I got hold of some of Robert's (@shooternz) 151gr cast lead bullets and gave them a whirl this morning. Here's the outcome.

I started at 9gr of Trail Boss and was at 1200fps. So I dropped the loads down in 0.5gr increments until I dropped below the sound barrier, and then by 0.2gr to make sure. So I settled on 7.8gr of Trail Boss and made up five rounds.

The first cartridge I over did the seating depth, so I gave it some taps with the puller and long story short buggered it up a bit. The neck tension would have been looser than it would have with one clean pass through the seating die, and the bullet was a bit deformed by the time I'd finished. In the image below, its the one off to the bottom right.

Shot #1: 1070fps
Shot #2: 1081fps
Shot #3: 1081fps
Shot #4: 1089fps
Shot #5: 1085fps

Shots 2-5 had all gone in a tight little group so I went back to the shed and made up one more for a five shot group, all at the same seating depth with no buggering around.

Shot #6: 1089fps

Very happy with the outcome, 0.44MOA at 50yds (cheating, by leaving out the buggered bullet). Yes, there are 5 shots in those two touching holes. I think there's actually four shots in one hole, hard to tell.

Low ES, low SD. Can't ask for more than that. Definitely suggests that you have to be careful with neck tension. Considering its blowing a bloody gale here today, not too shabby for handmade bullet with a massive meplat.

The point of aim was the bullseye above the groups, the rifle is zeroed for my GameKing supersonic load. Wind was gusting strongly from about 8 o'clock.

Looking forward to getting back onto the goats with these subsonics.