I agree with LongWinters
The .308 Winchester will kill deer well beyond 500 yards IF
IF
IF you can place the bullet in exactly the right place. But thats a BIG IF!!!
In reality, the .308 Win. is an excellent 250-300 yard deer rifle
and, frankly, I feel that few hunters should attempt shots beyond 250 to 300 yards because I believe that most hunters and MOST hunting rifles are NOT capable of hitting the kill zone on a deer beyond those ranges.
I wont attempt a shot over 250 yards with my Savage Model 99 in .300 Savage which is, incidentally, the cartridge from which the .308 Winchester was developed. This fine lever action rifle regularly shoots 3-shot groups of about 3/4th of an inch @ 100 yards.
Point-blank-range is the range from the rifles muzzle out to a range at which the bullet is never more than 3-inches ABOVE or BELOW the line-of-sight from the rifles muzzle to the target.
The .308 Winchesters point-blank-range using a 150 grain bullet fired at a muzzle velocity of 2800 fps is approximately 275 yards where it is 2.99 inches low. It is 3.0 inches high at 130 yards.
Total bullet drop at 500 yards would be 73.93 inches (that's over 6 feet) with a remaining bullet velocity of only 1829 fps and a bullet energy of only 1115 ft/lbs
barely qualifying as having the minimum bullet energy needed (1,000 ft/lbs.) to cleanly kill a deer.
Something to think about the next time you line up a deer.
Strength & Honor
Ron T.
