recommended rounds for a Tikka T3 308 Lite?

[ccoker]

Got one recently and topped with a Nikon Monarch 3-12x42 BDC and Warren rings
I have shot it twice just breaking in the barrel and getting the scope close..
Shot some mil surplus ammo and some older fed 150g SP I picked up cheap
haven't really started trying to shoot it for groups yet but my first hunt is in a few weeks and I know you really gotta try a bunch of different ammo and see what your particular gun likes..

mainly Texas whitetails with the occasional 150 lb hog thrown in, ranges from 100 to 300 yards out (400 max and anything under 100 is going to get shot with a pistol)

just curious what some of you guys that have the same gun have found yours likes for accuracy....
if there's a trend there.. that's a good starting point

I have some new Fed 150g SPs, 150g Fusion, 155AMAX and some 168 match HP (probably won't shoot either at deer) that I will start playing with in the next week or so..

thanks in advance

[Tunaman]

One of my buddies shoots shoots Hornady Light Mags and one that shoots Silver Tips. Both shoot very well out of there guns. I will be honest though, Just about everything shoots good out of my T3 25/06 but my 300 wsm is a bit more picky. I would guess that you will find that most factory ammo will give you pretty good hunting accuracy. Good luck on your hunt.

[longwinters]

I shoot a 308 in a Sako.  It likes 150 Hornady Interbonds with Reloader 15.  It likes 165 Partitions with Reloader 15 and it likes 165 Hornady interlocks with . . . Reloader 15.  It also likes several other bullets all with Reloader 15 from 42 gns to 44.5 gns.  Happy loading.

Long

[ccoker]

now that I have about 50 rounds of proper break in through the gun I went to an indoor 100 yard range today and shot for groups

Federal 150g SP and Federal 165 Gameking BTSPs both shot just a tad less than a 1" group and both printed close enough to each other that I would use either at a 100 yards, both center of groups were within a 1/2 of dead center, the 165 printing just slightly higher

the Federal Fusion 150g was horrible in this gun, about a 4" group!

the real  shooter was Remington 150g core lockts, one ragged hole the first few rounds and just a 1/2 to the right, adjusted and shot through about a 1/2 a box.... nice, that's what I expect, a 1/2" group

with the exception of the fusion 150s, all three bullet types grouped combined were about an inch, pretty good

I cleaned the barrel and let it cool down between each bullet type and judged the first round vs the 2nd and 3rd for printing from a clean barrel vs fouling shot and then shot enough of the remingtons to get the barrel heated up to start opening the group up

still got to see what the rounds do at 2 and 300 yards, the longest range I have access to this weekend

but, it looks like the corelockts, a round I have never really given much thought to might just be the one

[clattin]

That's ironic....the Federal Fusion 120 grain ammo shoots like butter out of my T3 25-06, the Core Lokts didn't shoot very well.  My custom Mauser LOVES the 140 grain Core Lokts though!!

Chris

[ccoker]

it just proves the point that you have to try different stuff to see what that particular gun likes

my sako 243 hated the expensive Fed 85g Gamekings but LOVES the cheaper 80g Federal SPs and the Winchester 100g SP

what's a little frustrating is that this box is some old corelockts with the more rounded, not pointed SP that they sell now!
arg

gotta go buy a box of that and see

all of except for the Fusion 150 groups at less than an inch, meaning all the shots would fit in an inch circle, not just center to center..
all plenty deer and hog accurate...

but I like MORE accurate

[tennbuck]

"NOTHING" shoots better out of my Tikka big boar .308 than Winchester Ballistic tips 150gr. best group is .61 @ 100. i tested about 10 different brands.

[ccoker]

after this post I started handloading
165 Gameking BTSPs, 1 ragged hole at 100 yards

got to test this weekend, got 4 deer at ranges from 120 to 250
two does at about 130 yards, both through the neck, dropped in the scope and never even flickered
about a 1.5" exit wound

1 doe at 250 through the heart, same bullet performance but deer ran maybe 30 yards and folded

1 buck at almost pitch black on the move at 150 yards, drilled through the shoulder, and came out the other shoulder, ran about 50 yards and was dead.  Shot was standing with the gun rested on a very cold metal pole for a stand above me that my son was hunting in so I was about an inch forward.... but dead deer and the load was flawless

[Old English]

CCoker, sounds like a hell of a weekend, well done. All deer in TN seem to be using infra red night vision, as you never see them during the day but they leave 100's of tracks at night.
I need to try your new load in my rifle, I've been using a Savage 7mm this season. I used the 308 Lite recently and was amazed by how light it is!! Wish I had one in 243 as well.........now there's a thought?

[ccoker]

it was fun
my buds place doesn't get hunted, it's a weekend retreat place for them
well, they dove and duck hunt on it but only get a deer or two taken off the place a year so eh told me to shoot whatever I wanted, especially needed to clean off some does

my load was 45.5g of Varget, (1./2 g under max) CCI BR primers, 2.80 COL

my son (10) shot his 3rd deer, he's shooing my old Sako l579 243, he had been shooting 80g Fed SPs but this weekend he shot the Hornady light mag 100g SPs, hit a doe at 140 yards in the chest facing us, it did severe damage, blew the rib cage up all the way to the back of them...
anyone who thinks a 243 isn't well qualified deer round should have seen the results....