Friday, February 12, 2010

Is a 308 a good gun to deer hunt with?

Is a 308 win. a good powerful gun to go hunting for whitetail,because right now i shoot a 22-250 and i dont like how it dont have enough knock down power, so will the 308 drop them or about how far will they run??Is a 308 a good gun to deer hunt with?
.308 is plenty. It is a superb cartidge. All you would ever need for whitetail, mulie, hogs, or even elk. It will also puch paper at 1000 yards if you and your rig are capable (I will admit - I aint). For deer though all you really need is a 243. The 25-06 is a great round also. As many have said - shot placement is the key. Ironically though - I have killed more deer with a 22-250 than anything else.


Is a 308 a good gun to deer hunt with?
Yes it is a great gun for deer hunting, but no one can answer how far they will run. It depends on shot placement, whether the deer was running or not when you hit it, what kind of terrain, just in general how bad the deer thinks it can get away. There is just to many variables. thousands of people shoot the 308 and thousands swear by it. Some will tell you tales of mythical powers of the 308. Bottom line is its a 30 caliber projectile traveling between 2700-3200fps. When it first came out it was less popular than the 30-06 because anything the 308 could do the 30-06 could do a little better. This is almost a direct quote from page 444 of the Hornady 7th edition reloading manual. But I must say Hornady is partial to the 308, because of its medium sized action and it is not finicky as to the type of powder that works well in it. In hornady's test rifle all powders listed gave more than acceptable results. As far as more powerful than a 22-250 the simple answer is yes. Although the 22-250 can be loaded up to 4100fps. You also need to know that some states do not allow hunting with 22 caliber rifles. Mississippi is one of them. Here a 22-250, 220 swift, or 223 are all not legal for hunting white tail deer. Also some outfitters out west will not allow use of anything smaller than a 30 caliber bullet when hunting their trophy animals. So a 308 will fulfill all of those requirements.
308 is a little overpowered for deer, but it's one of the most popular choices. Whether they run after the shot depends on where the bullet goes. There's no such thing as knock-down power, but using an adequate caliber is certainly a better idea than that silly 22.


I normally choose a deer-class caliber when I'm hunting deer. That's things in the vicinity of 6.5x55 or 7x57. But I'm not ashamed to hunt with something larger like 348 Winchester or even 9.3x62 on occasion.
The 308 is a great deer rifle. It's one of those guns where if money were no object then everyone would go out and get the perfect gun to hunt each particular animal with, they would get the 308 for whitetail deer. But since money is always a factor seems like more people just step up to a 7mm, or 30-06, or something like that so they will have enough gun to hunt elk with, without changing guns.


But to answer your question. The 308 is perfect for deer.
The .308 is perfect for deer......





And do you know what the best thing about the .308 cartridge is?????


When your not hunting you can target shoot on the cheap because .308 ammunition in bulk is inexpensive!





Take a look.......


http://www.the-armory.com/shopsite_sc/st鈥?/a>





The .308 has plenty of knockdown power...... You need a minimum of 1000 foot pounds of energy to adequately take white tail deer... Look at this ballistics table and you will note most .308 cartridge loads do that easily to 400 yards...





http://www.shootingtimes.com/ballistics/鈥?/a>
You've chosen well. A .308 is a great deer cartridge - one of the best. More sniper rifles are chambered in this round than any other, because it is amazingly accurate. However, bullet placement is always the key. A gut shot deer will run for miles, whether it is shot with a .308 or a .458 mag. Put the bullet in the heart/lungs, and you'll have a deer down.
The .308 is a fine round. Remember you can't hunt with military fmj bullets. I don't know where you are, but I live in Tn. and hunting deer with anything smaller than .24 cal. is illegal. If you are not sure, check your hunting laws.
Shot placement is key. A .308 will do the job as long as you do your job. Get them in the vitals and they will drop. Of course, with perfect shot placement you should be able to drop one with a .22-250, so maybe you need a little more time at the range.






A 308 is powerful enough for almost all game in the lower 48, given the right range and bullet placement.
The .308 is an excellent choice for deer hunting, and the .22-250 is a fine varmint cartridge.





Doc
The .308 will do fine. With good shot placement and the proper bullet they should drop in there tracks or nearly so.

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