Looking for factory hunting ammo for AR10/shorter barrel .308

[chrislibby88]

Looking for a good factory .308 hunting round for barrels 16in and shorter. I normally shoot Federal 165gr Sierra Gamekings, they work great in my 20in gun, but noticed poor expansion on game out of my 16in model7. I don’t think I’m getting enough velocity for reliable expansion. Should I go with a lighter round to hold the velocity? I’m also thinking about trying some ballistic tips To see if the forced expansion works better. The barrel is 1:10 twist, so seems like heavier bullets will have better accuracy/stability, but lighter bullets will get better velocity for expansion.

Anyone have any experience killing critters with shorter barreled guns?

 

[T-Roy]

Sub'ed for info.

I zeroed my 16" inch gunsite scout with 180 gr soft points thinking a heavier bullet to put more energy on target because of the decreased velocity. That being said I've never hunted with it and could be 100% wrong.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

[Boot71]

My Ruger Scout rifle absolutely loves Hornady American Whitetail 150gr. It's actually more accurate than alot of the more expensive options I tried. Last deer I took with it, was at just over 100yd, and was drt. Wound channel was impressive for a "cheap" bullet, but as they are all a complete pass thru, I don't have any proof of performance other than backstraps in the freezer. I typically use a high shoulder shot. My barrel is also a 1:10 twist, but oddly it seems to like projectiles closer to 150gr, vs the heavier 180gr. The interlok bullet used in that ammo is definitely older technology, but my dad wouldn't use anything else back in the day.
I tried Hornady Superformance, Barnes BallisticTip, Winchester ballistic tips, federal premium..........(all the usual stuff) but my rifle didn't shoot them as well as the flat based interlok found in the American Whitetail. The American Whitetail was the only 150gr I tried, everything else was heavier. I'm honestly not sure if it's the weight of the bullet or the flat base projectile that my particular rifle preferred, but the flat base doesn't seem to bother accuracy out to 300yd, which is the farthest I've tried to stretch it out.
Hope this helps.

 

[jeep78]

Have a 308 with a 16" barrel I wanted to use on deer. I had the same concern as OP about expansion and velocity loss.

I ended getting some 150 gr flat nose 30-30 bullets and loaded them. Outstanding performance from my 308 shorty.

 

[jglenn]

we did the same thing years ago as Jeep78 said.. used a 150gr nosler 30-30 bullet in our mdl 7s in 308.. worked perfectly.. bullet is no longer made but Speer has one similar.

the good old Nosler BT will work all day long too..

 

[greg vess]

I built a 18 inch bull barrel AR10. 2 inches isn't that bad. I do know it one accurate son of a bitch. It will stamp one touching hole at 100 with the right ammo. I was using Federal gold Medal ultra match. 175 Sierra open til match. Possibly the best box ammo produced.

 

[drewga11]

My bolt action .308 is a 20 inch barrel and as far as shooting deer, I won't use anything but 180gr soft points now. I've tried all sorts of other bullets, including Superformance, Barnes TTSX, and a few others, but for overall performance on deer I've had the best results with a heavy soft point.

 

[ridgerunner33]

Remington 150 or 180 grain Round Nose Soft Points.Old tech...yes but they work and work good.The old Remington round nose have a thinner jacket than the spitzer type bullets and will open up nicely yet stay together,especially out of your 16" with its slightly lower velocities.(Deadliest Mushroom in the Woods.)Now I know they arent as cool and all as the new wiz bang stuff,so if thats something that appeals to you,go with a 150-165 grain Nosler Ballistic tips or Winchesters equivalent.A box or mag full of those have the cool factor and they shoot laser beam accurate.They also have a thinner jacket,opening up good sometimes a little too good,but again using a 16" barrel, they should be about perfect.Remington's 180 grain RNSP gets the nod for me.

 

[cmshoot]

I’ve had great results with 150grn and 165grn Nosler Ballistic Tips, but I’ve not used them on game out of a barrel that short.

 

[greg vess]

I was bit short on that last post. They did make a soft point in that Federal gold medal match. 168 grain Info believe. As s matter of fact I still have a box. I will try and find it. It was the only thing that survived a terrible boat wreck. Don't think that round isn't heavy enough. I saw an old boy drop an elk at 300 with a ,150 gr.