First Hunting Rifle .308 cal - factory loads for starting out

[John87]

Afternoon everyone.

I'm planning on buying my first hunting rifle end November. I've done some research and finally narrowed it down to Howa 22" in .308 cal due to a ammunition availability and various options on the market and some freebies a friend of mine is willing to depart with at no extra cost.

The setup I've settled on is the following:

• Howa 22" .308 Barrelled Action - Hoque stock mahalla from a friend.
• Warrior Large silencer reflex fit
• Vector Optics Tourex 6-24x50 FFP
• Buffalo River sling (not the best but will have to do for now)
• SSG Single Rifle Bag
• Nikko Stirling 0moa Picatinny Rail (not the best but will have to do for now)
• Buffalo River 9-13" Swivel bi-pod (just for starting out)

The rifle will mainly be used for bushveld or open plains hunting

I would like to get your opinions on what factory loads I can start out with on that will :

1. Provide a constant velocity and adequate trajectory.
2. Will give good to proper grouping on 100 - 200mt ranges.
3. Will be adequate enough for small to large game, especially large game like Eland, Wildebeest and Gemsbok.
4. And what weight would you guys recommend for the above?

For now, reloading is not an option due to funding, so I'll have to make it work on factory loads.

Hope to get some lekker information from you guys.

[shark_za]

Hornady is some of the most consistent ammo available.
A 180gr Interlock or Interbond will do pretty much anything you need done on the larger animals.
I would get a bigger rifle for large Eland bulls though.

[TStone]

You chose a great caliber for your requirements. Howa makes accurate and reliable rifles, good choice.
You will have to test the ammo in your rifle to determine accuracy but most quality factory ammo will be adequately accurate for hunting out to 250-300m.
Almost any 165 or 180gr bullet will work for most of the species you mentioned. For bushveld use I would prefer a bonded bullet (Nosler Accubond and Norma Oryx is available at Safari Oudoor) in the same weight or a 150 - 165gr monolithic bullet (Barnes Vortex is available at Safari Outdoor).
If a big eland bull is on the menu, I would stick with one of the monolithic expanding bullets.

Some advice on the optical equipment you are looking at.
One of the biggest problems we experience every year is hunters pitching up with too much scope. A 6-24x50 FFP scope in any make is too much scope for bushveld hunting. FFP scopes are great for target shooting and long range hunting, they are a bad choice for bushveld hunting. At the lowest magnification the reticle becomes so thin that it is difficult to see, especially in shade or against thick brush. Add to that that 6x is already marginally too high for bushveld shooting.
The exposed target type turrets on the Vortex Tourex are another potential problem on a hunting scope, especially one used for hunting in thick bush.

My advice would be to buy a 3-9x40 scope from a proven manufacturer. Spend the scope money on quality rather than fancy features that are more of a hindrance than a help for your needs.

Buy and fit decent scope mounts and rings.

Avoid hanging unnecessary equipment on your hunting rifle, it adds weight and destroys the balance.

As for the silencer, consider the Warrior shorty or another light and compact suppressor if you are going to be using it for bushveld hunting.

Practice with your rifle. Before going hunting. Practice in a way that is relevant to hunting. Skill is the one thing that you can not buy.

You do not need a bipod for bushveld hunting but it can be handy for hunting on the plains. Consider getting a decent set of shooting sticks. 4-Deadhold is good and can be used very effectively even for longer shots.

Enjoy your rifle and the hunting you do with it.

[Craig Gerstner]

Get a Leupold 3-9 x 40 scope and 180 grain pmp brown box, I have the same rifle and that combo has done everything from Springbok to zebra and Eland.

[Pirate]

Fully agree with TStone. Physically smaller silencer (you can definitely consider the Silent Hunter Huntbuddy), and smaller scope. 3-9x40 with good glass will serve to well out to at least 250m (I'm partial to Nikon, but you'll have to look in the second hand market since they went full retard and stopped making riflescopes after caving under Green pressure). Invest in quality scope mounts and bases. I'm partial to Warne, but Leupold and Lynx make quality products. You don't really need a Pic rail, but they do make scope fitment easy. Again, I'm happy with my Warne Mountaintech, Lynx also makes bases specifically for the Howa. Personally I wouldn't really put Nikko Sterling stuff on a centerfire gun (although I do have a springer rated Nikko Sterling scope on my Gamo CFX and it has served me well).

If you're only going to hunt bushveld, 180gr ammo will work very well. In earlier days I'd have suggested PMP ProAmm but doubt you'll find any PMP on the shelves. I've heard good things about Federal Fusion as well, in addition to those already mentioned. You'll quickly probably find out that you want to shoot more than what's affordable with factory ammo, so start putting away a kitty for reloading gear.

[Adoons]

Everything that TSTone said, especially the part about optics!

I have hunted my whole life with 4x fixed and 3-9 x 42 scopes with 1 inch tubes, normally used on 4 or 6 x. Then I mounted a 6-24 x scope with a 30 mm tube when purchasing a 6.5x55. I miss the 4x magnification from time to time and have never used a setting of greater than 12x.

Federal Fusion also a decent option in factory ammo.

[Heath Robinson]

Another voice in agreement with TStone.

And "not the best but will have to do for now" is completely the wrong approach for any of the hardware mounting the scope to the rifle, especially if you are dead set on using such a massive and heavy scope. Recoil will play havoc with that rail and you end up with a rifle that doesn't shoot and a hard time tracking the problem down.

As for ammo, for the purpose of a first-time hunter (unless you have a huge amount of experience at long-range target shooting), shooting to ranges that are ethical for you to be shooting at, you don't need anything more than 1MOA accuracy (that is approximately 30mm @ 100m or 25mm @ 100 Yards).
Any reputable brand's ammo will be accurate enough to do that in some rifle, although maybe not in yours (rifles don't all like the same recipe).
You may need to try a few different loads and see what works best. Be aware that you can't make that determination on the strength of a single 3-shot group. I feel you need at least nine or ten shots (2 5-shotters or three 3-shotters) to be reasonably confident. Don't shoot them all in one string, allow the rifle to cool between groups.

Some things to keep in mind with regard to ethical ranges:
1) Wind can have a large impact on bullet drift, and this is one of the .308's worst performance areas when compared to many of the more modern calibers.
2) Wind can be very difficult to judge. I have seen range flags pointing in opposite directions along the length of a 300m range, and that's typically flat ground. Shoot across a river and you really need to know what you are doing.
3) Even if you are the world's best wind reader, there is time of flight to consider. At 400m, the time of flight of a .308 will probably be over 1/2 a second. Any game animal can cover quite a lot of ground in that time, having started for something that is not under your control and which you may not be aware of.

Long range shooting is a lot of fun, but do it on steel or paper, not game please.

[shooty]

155gr ELD-M with 40gr S335 Target
150gr Sako Super Hammerhead with 42.5gr S335 Hunting

Both loads shot incredibly well in my Remington 26" VSSF with 1/12 twist. 155 under .5 MOA and when I keep cool .25.

Now with Sako 85 Varmint wit 1/11 getting same incredible accuracy.

Never try to chase speed and to heavy bullets.

Ive shot up to Gemsbuck and Kudu out to 340m with 150gr no issue in 20 years at all putting them down on the spot.

[Stef1274]

Summary of best advice from all the posts above, in my opinion:

1. Way too much scope. I would actually recommend 2-7x, but to keep the rotten tomatoes low'ish, go with 3-9x (TStone). Leupold and Nikon scopes are fully sufficient (Pirate)

2. Use 165-180gr bonded or interlocked bullets. Some yesses and nos: (Various members)
- Federal Fusion, double yes (Adoons and myself. I would drive far to get this if I used factory)
- Nosler Accubond, yes
- Hornady Interlock, yes (My current flagship load. 90% as effective as Accubond, 35% of the price)
- Norma Oryx, yes
- Hornady ELDM, ELDX, SST, no (my own advice)
- Nosler Ballistic Tip, no (my own advice)

3. 1MOA is completely adequate. In fact, 2MOA would be fine at <100m for species you mention. I would 1000x over use strong and heavy bullets at 2MOA than "whitetail bullets" at 0.00001MOA (Heath)

4. Too much furniture on the gun. I personally even take my sling off when walking into the bush, but that may be excessive for some. (TStone, maybe others too)

5. .308 is marginal for big eland bulls, and even big gemsbok and bwbees bulls for beginner hunters in some cases (I promise I don't intend any offense). (shark_za)

6. Long range shooting is a lot of fun, but do it on steel or paper, not game please (Heath)

7. Practise a lot before hunting, all positions (Myself, sure other would agree)

8. Shooting sticks. Can make your own very dependable sticks if budget is an issue. (TStone)

9. Stick to sub-100m shots at first, doesn't matter how close the animal "looks". Short range bushveld hunting (stalking, patience, endurance, stealth) is after all a lost skill. Don't be the guy that only thinks the hunter's skill is measured in shot distance. Springbok at 400m is great, but so is a kudu bull at 17m on foot. (my own advice)

10. I don't use silencers, so can't comment on which is good or not. But will recommend to use the smallest and cheapest one available to only tick the box of farms that require it. (my own again)

If my writeup is not too presumptuous and directive, reach out for more lekker chat. Also in Pretoria, 20yrs bushveld hunting with .308 behind me, majority of which was with factory ammo and on larger species, using a weaver K2(?) 1.5-4.5x. 0827750254

Stefan

[Adoons]

"Putting them all down on the spot" like Shooty is only possible with Central Nervous System shots. But don't strive do duplicate that and don't stress when an animal takes of after the shot. Safest shots are heart shots and then a "death dash" normally follow the shot.

There was comments on Eland bulls. My own experience: Any 150 - 180 gr bullet @ 2500 - 2800 fps MV is not enough gun for reliable boiler room shots on Eland bulls and don't even attempt frontal shots. All must be perfect, then those tiny bullets will do the job, but keeping a cool head and slow finger if shot presentation is not perfect and confidence is 100 % is crucial with Eland.