What hunting bullet for Howa 308 20"?

[johanvb]

What available hunting bullet would you use in a Howa 308 20" barrel??

Thank you

[Heath Robinson]

For what game at what distance, and what type of shot?

I am a huge fan of the Rhino Solid Shanks. Use them in .308 and 7x57. Puts game down like no other bullet I have ever tried.

But it's overkill, one doesn't need to spend that much at .308 velocities.

In reality, for 90% of shots in a .308 (and assuming weights of 165 gr and heavier) you don't need anything special.

[tobie]

I had dissapointing results with both 165gr Sierra Gameking (out of .30-06) and 165gr Hornady Interlock (out of 20" .308) on my hunt last week. Both these bullets are crazy accurate out of my rifles, but gave quite a bit of meat damage. Two Impala's were shot, one with each rifle. I recorvered only the Sierra Gameking jacket, lead core missing. A hunting buddy also got surprising amount of meat damage with 180gr Hornady Interlocks out of his .308.

We are considering trying some type of bonded bullet, i am sceptical of non bondede bullets after last week. Hope that helps.

*Edit: Someone shot another Impala with my .30-06 loaded with 165gr Sierra Gamekings in the neck, bullet didn't exit, so they seem to be quite fragile.

[Antlion]

I have done the full circle and am back to using "standard" bullets in the 308. I mainly use 180gr but have used 150 and 165 as well. The conventionals at 308 velocities hold together( depends on the brand used as well) , penetrates well . Due to availability I have settled on Hornady Interlocks. This 180gr specifically has worked well up to BwB. The 180gr at 2450fps have not given much meat damage compared to some faster options either.
Keep in mind with some lead core bullets you may not recover picture perfect bullets but they do work. On broadside shots even with hitting bone I have yet to recover a 180gr interlock or Sierra Prohunter(discontinued ), they always seem to exit.
I may use bonded or mono bullets for certain situations or upcoming hunts but the standards for my standard hunting requirements are working perfectly. I spend more time overthinking shot placement Vs bullet choice these days.

[johanvb]

For what game at what distance, and what type of shot?

I am a huge fan of the Rhino Solid Shanks. Use them in .308 and 7x57. Puts game down like no other bullet I have ever tried.

But it's overkill, one doesn't need to spend that much at .308 velocities.

In reality, for 90% of shots in a .308 (and assuming weights of 165 gr and heavier) you don't need anything special.

What speed does the Rhino need to expand?

[Heath Robinson]

I can't give you a measured velocity.

But I load my 7mm quite slow (around 2000ft/s) and still get very good expansion at bushveld ranges.

It has a fairly blunt tip (large meplat) with exposed lead core which I am sure helps with this but of course that means it doesn't have a great BC. However at the ranges I am prepared to hunt (around 350m) this is not really a factor.

I think it is better in this respect than a monolithic but can't quantify how much better.

[driepootx]

Remember that the Rhino is a copper mono with a bonded lead front. The new Safari Bullets are similar.

[Heino13]

Federal fusion 165gr

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[MohamedD]

I use 165gr in my Howa 20”. I have used sako gamehead pro, Norma oryx and federal fusion on impala and blesbok. This year I used Barnes vortx 168gr on a wildebeest.

[Heath Robinson]

Remember that the Rhino is a copper mono with a bonded lead front. The new Safari Bullets are similar.

I am aware of the contruction. But it seems as if the big meplat, the lead core and the fact that it is made from annealed copper allows the Rhino te expand much faster than the monolithic bullets I tried at the time (Barnes X, GS Custom and a bullet of my own design). The attached picture shows a 15gr Rhino flanked by two Barnes X, all three shot into the same wet-pack with the same load.

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