I previously used the same nosler 150 grain and had similar issues on fragmenting and damage. I am now shooting federal gold 165s and have had a great experience. The noslers are now great range ammo.
Hunting & Fishing What 308 bullet for whitetail.
- Thread starter Ozarkcop
- Start date
If not shooting in high wind, I’d say 165 Sierra game king HPBT. Very accurate in my experience and devastating on critters. If high wind or want to shoot farther, I’d go with ELD-X if shoot well in your rifle.
130 / 150 / 165 TSX / TTSX
150 / 165 Nosler BT
155 / 168 / 178 Amax / ELD / BTHP
168 / 175 / 190 SMK / SGK - 190s in Rem 700 / Win 70 factory SAAMI chamber do really well at 2.800” OAL, especially in short barrel as loses less velocity vs lighter bullet weights.
Whatever bullet your rifle will shoot well, can put where needed, when needed is going to drop a whitetail just fine.
150 / 165 Nosler BT
155 / 168 / 178 Amax / ELD / BTHP
168 / 175 / 190 SMK / SGK - 190s in Rem 700 / Win 70 factory SAAMI chamber do really well at 2.800” OAL, especially in short barrel as loses less velocity vs lighter bullet weights.
Whatever bullet your rifle will shoot well, can put where needed, when needed is going to drop a whitetail just fine.
Close up shots are going to require a bonded or monolithic type bullet to keep it from exploding on impact and destroying meat.. That said, I would look hard at the Barnes TTSX or similar.. A 130, 150 or 165gr TTSX would do the trick nicely on a whitetail..
I have been known to hunt mule deer up here in Idaho with a .223 loaded with a 62gr Barnes TTSX out of an AR. My furthest shot with this setup was out to 350 yards and was very effective. The buck took one step and was DRT.
I have been known to hunt mule deer up here in Idaho with a .223 loaded with a 62gr Barnes TTSX out of an AR. My furthest shot with this setup was out to 350 yards and was very effective. The buck took one step and was DRT.
If you shoot the 168s for target the 165SGK will probably shoot to the same POA loaded similarly. They did for me. I used them in the past before I started shooting a 7-08 for hunting. There are 2 versions of the 165SGK. One is a spire point the other. Is a hollow point. The HP has a thicker jacket for higher velocity shooting. (think 300 win mag).
I turned my best buddy on to the 165 GKHP. He likes to say everything that bullet touches "Just dies right there"
Is it too late to say 180 grain Nosler Partition? Love em. Used to be fairly cheap. Compared to regular FGMM 
Accubonds and sciroccos work pretty good on whitetail and retain a lot of weight. Whitetail are pretty easy to drop with a .308, just stay away from these fragmentation prone bullets like hornady sst’s and the like.
By chance are you suggesting avoiding the SST and "the like" (i.e. Nosler BT) because of meat loss? They do tear up a bit of meat, but damn if they aren't effective killers.
The SSTs are a bit explosive but Hornady has stoutened them up a bit since I last used them. Nosler BTs hold together very well at 308 velocities especially in the 168 and 180gr.
The .308 and 165gr Nosler BT have accounted for four whitetails of mine in the last two years. I've had complete penetration of the core on three of those (tip and fragments are left throughout). The only one that didn't have a pass-through was a ~75 yard shot at a hard quartering towards as he ran up to see what I was. I shot him in the spine/shoulder junction like I would a hog. Found the mangled bullet in the hide off of the back of the opposite lung. He crumpled and went feet up.
The SST is one of my absolute favorite hog bullets. I've put at least a hundred into hogs between the 6.8 and 6.5 Grendel. Have only ever put one into a deer, but had a pass-through of the core as well, along with a ton of secondary wounding from the fragmentation.
The SST is one of my absolute favorite hog bullets. I've put at least a hundred into hogs between the 6.8 and 6.5 Grendel. Have only ever put one into a deer, but had a pass-through of the core as well, along with a ton of secondary wounding from the fragmentation.
For what its worth I was using the sst’s about 10 years ago from a 300wm, and yeah meat loss is putting it mildly.
That is a great a picture with larger northern white tail next to the smaller southern white tail{about the size of a Pronghorn} When I was little we only had mule deer, but now we have all three.
This is the exit results of a Lehigh Defense 130 grain controlled chaos (handload). Fired from a 16" Rem 700 at 67 yards, quartering toward me. Jump, kick and flop.
yes
200 ELD-x hammers in 300 wsm. Really good results with not much meat damage. Even the factory ammo is superb.
Honestly, I see a lot of game shot each year. At this point, I can't say I have any respect for using non hunting bullets on game. The differences are just too great. I know you can kill deer with SMKs, but it is just easier to kill them with something like an ELD-x, especially with how easy they are to get to shoot. I've been there too. Got really obsessed with getting Berger EOL bullets to shoot quarter inch in my hunting rig, but they just don't kill as easily or as quickly. Just my .02, but at this point, the answer is almost always ELD-x, and if that isn't feasible, like in a 338-06 or something where you need to be light for caliber, go Barnes or Hornady GMX. Those are short distance cartridges, so absolute accuracy is less important.
I like the accuracy and terminal performance of the Speer Gold Dot Rifle Bullets.
For your application, I would suggest the Speer 168 Gold Dot.
Greg
For your application, I would suggest the Speer 168 Gold Dot.
Greg
168 Amax-- taken everything from Red Stag and Axis to whitetail, blackbuck and hogs-- lots of terminal 'experience' and I trust this bullet absolutely for medium and soft skinned game and I think it absolutely shines at .308win velocities!
