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Best "all around" Bullet 308

Bean

.22LR
Sure, I know each situation has its own bullet that's "the best", but my 308 is my scout rifle, and as such it's not meant to be the best at everything but reasonably good at most things.

I'm looking for a bullet choice that will let me hunt, deer, possibly elk, and also protect from wolves and black bear (nuisance bears not a charge).

So far I'm leaning towards a nosler partition 165g
 
Not to sound like a smartass but what is the best for your gun would be what your gun shoots the best, esp as you stretch out the yardage. That will vary from model to model and barrel to barrel.

The partition bullet is a good choice for a hunting bullet if your gun shots it well.
 
Yes I realize ultimately what the gun shoots best is what matters.

I guess I should have worded the question better. Or perhaps what your saying is that ANY bullet that the 308 can shoot, will do,what I need it to do so long as the gun shoots it well?

I keep reading "you need this for bear, this for elk, etc".
 
Not quite.

I'm saying that you need to determine which bullets will fulfill your needs based on design characteristics, weight, etc. and then, from that subset, select the one that groups the best from your gun. It may take a while experimenting with different bullet weights/designs or you may get acceptable groups on the first try.

The partition bullet is an excellent hunting bullet and I highly recommend it.

I spent a lot of time and money chasing the bullseye trying to get various 150gr and 165gr bullets to shoot from my 3006. I wanted a light fast bullet. One day I tried some 180gr spire points and it was a night and day difference. My gun loves 180gr pills. I still go back and try the lighter bullets on occasion but even reloading them myself I cannot get the accuracy I can get with 180gr store bought ammo in my particular gun.
 
Ok, so what do I need,then? Wolves, black bears (protection) and,deer/elk hunting?

I've shot 150 and 180 grain bullets. Both were fine. I don't need national benchrest accuracy, I just need to,hit an 8" circle out to 200 yards.

So, your saying try everything, 150- 180 grains from many different manufacturers and use what shoots the best?
 
I don't,want to sound like an idiot. I know what to do and how to do it I.e clean brass, resize, trim, reprime, charge, set and shoot.

However I don't know what to do and how to do it. I.e start with the lowest charge, and then what?

Keep trying higher loads until signs of too much pressure? Then what? Experiment t with different bullets?
Then what? Try different bullet seating depths? Do I do that first?
 
@CaddmannQ has a thread on here that while it isn't .308, details how he has gone through bullets and powder, loading several variants to see what's working the best.
 
Are you sure it was caddmann? I looked at his profile and couldn't find any threads he posted on load development
 
Do you know what the barrel twist of your gun is? Or do you have a factory load that you know shoots well? That can help narrow down a starting point. If your experienced in reloading then consult some manuals, that can give you a place to start on load development.
 
I'm sure it was Cadd. I looked through his posts too but he's been busy on here and it only shows 10 pages. I thought it was maybe in ammunition or range reports. I'll look some more.
 
Do you know what the barrel twist of your gun is? Or do you have a factory load that you know shoots well? That can help narrow down a starting point. If your experienced in reloading then consult some manuals, that can give you a place to start on load development.


The barrel has a 1:10 twist. I've looked at several manuals. I just don't know where to start or what weight I need for a bullet. Or does it even matter with a 308 is the accuracy more important than the weight?

And by accuracy I'm not talking benchrest accuracy. I just need to hit an 8" gong out to 200 yards. That's what I'm told is the kill zone for anything I need to,shoot.

So far I've tried 150 and 180 grain federal power shock and vital shock ammo. One is a partition and the other just a standard softpoint.

The 180g box (partition) has the elk on it meaning it can be used on elk and brown bear yet the 180 g softpoint only has the deer on it. The 150 partition only has the deer.

So obviously bullet construction is only part of the deal.

What I'm looking for is one rifle, and one bullet that does it all reasonably well, obviously recognizing that it will not do anything extremely well.

Basically a scout,bullet for the scout rifle. There's lots of info on the scout,rifle but not much for what to feed it
 
A bonded, or partition bullet is definately the way to go. More than enough for deer, coyote, and will stay together to penetrate deep enough for elk, bear, and wild hog. Nosler makes good products. But if possible try a couple manufactures, if they're readily available.

I would try to stay in the 168-200 grain range. With the barrel twist they should stabilize well.

IMR 4064 is a tried and true .308 powder. If you want to go with a newer, more temp stable powder, then Varget, or AR Comp.
 
I don't,want to sound like an idiot. I know what to do and how to do it I.e clean brass, resize, trim, reprime, charge, set and shoot.

However I don't know what to do and how to do it. I.e start with the lowest charge, and then what?

Keep trying higher loads until signs of too much pressure? Then what? Experiment t with different bullets?
Then what? Try different bullet seating depths? Do I do that first?

Sorry, did not realize you were asking about the entire reloading process.

If that is the case then it can be overwhelming. The best thing to do is pick up a reloading manual. That will be the most reliable source for load options. For each bullet, powder, primer, casing, etc combination it will give you a base load and a maximum. as well as case dimensions, etc. Everything you need to know. Typically people will start with the base load and work up until you find what provides the best groups or until you hit the max. Loading less powder than the base or more than the max can cause pressure related safety issues so always stay within the range of the manual.

The manuals are put out by bullet manufacturers, powder manufacturers and a few that combine all bullets and powders.

If you have one or have access to one a chronograph will help you as well. It will add as a second test at the range to make sure the load is performing as expected. You can compare your actual velocity to the one printed in the book and they should be pretty close, if there is a huge difference then you may have a problem somewhere.
 
Nosler Partition is very good for medium and larger game.

Barnes all-copper are widely thought to be some of the finest bullets anywhere.

Call me crazy but Remington Core-Lokt has been a successful game getter for decades and they just plain work.
 
Hey, thanks for the mention guys, but I am definitely not a .308 shooter.
I have shot varmints sinceI was a kid, but I am no Big Game Hunter either. These days I'm just shooting targets for accuracy & I am having very good luck with Varget Powder so far.

I have a background as a manufacturing engineer, so making things is not foreign to me but I'm pretty new at this re-loading business.

As for the actual process, I have a manual from Speer, one from Hornaday, one from Lyman, one from Lee and one from Hodgdon. They all explain the process, and give you various charts. All with a slant towards using their particular products, however.

If you're using a variety of products, you would do well to read them all (and even more.) BUT I tend to think that the Speer book from RCBS is the best, & I use the RCBS press. I love the Lyman trimmer but I don't care for their book. Lee's book is very interesting to read, and he gives you some special insight. Hornaday is worth reading too.

What I can tell you about load development is this:

Read the charts from several different loading manuals for one size of bullet.

Look at where they agree and where they don't agree and figure out why.

Different velocities for the exact same charge? Yup. Thry have them. So did they use different twist/length/profile barrels? Different than yours too? A different cartridge length? A different starting charge?

Read the data carefully and you will learn things about constructing your own rounds that the manuals do not tell you, by a process of mental interpolation. That's a fancy way of saying you read between the lines.

The books will tell you never never never to do this, but you will discover things when you do.

I'm shooting loads that aren't listed exactly in any of the 5 books I have so far found. This could be because they've all determined that such a load isn't workable, but it's not the case because mine works.

In reality, it's because there are so many possible combinations of things that nobody tests them all. In fact, if you took all the major reloading companies together, they couldn't test them all.

Doctors say "what's normal is what's normal for you", and I say that the best load to run is the best load you can make for your exact gun.
 
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