308 shooters

[eroyd]

I haven't shot much but haven't so far had any problems knocking over rams with a 155 gr. 308. Has anyone had any ringers with that bullet weight, I'd hate to unnecessarly lose a point  

I'm also considering experimenting with some lighter bullets, perhaps 125gr or even 110gr's for chickens and pigs. Any suggestions or advice?

[Bird Dog]

I noticed there is not a whole lot of participationon this forum.  I use to shoot a .308 when I started shooting silhouettes. Back then we use to shoot at rams with a 190g bullet and still have ringers. I am shooting a more pleasant cartridge now in 6.5mm with the 142g at the rams and my percentage of Rams that I lose is relative to the range I am shooting at. This year at Ridgeway I only lost one Ram with my hunter gun in 6.5X55. The rest went down fine with my heavy gun (6.5TKS). a month later, I lost 3 rams at the Texas state championsghip but I hear a lot of us had the same problem regardless of the caliber.
I would not go to a lighter bullet in your case, I would try to stay with the 168g and I think you would have better chances of knocking them over.

Just my opinion.
Brittman :roll:

[shootingpaul]

I have not much experience with .308, but I think that to go to the lighter bullets for the other 3 dist is the way to go, I would keep the heaviest for the rams.  I lost quite a few rams last year shooting 142gr Sierra, this year I switched to Lapua only shooting 108 gr and 139 scenars for the rams (in 6,5 - 260) and did not loose any.  I dont think that I will be going back to Sierra......

Did you find your picture??
what kind of 308 do you have?, you can mail me to the hotmail and we will talk
Pawel

[Steel killer]

With the match king line you need to keep volicity bellow 2600 fps on rams, the bullet has a soft core and a thin jacket ( the 107 6.5-30 cal 220 alll perform the same) They were made to shoot well on paper. You may wish to try a hunting bullet on ram if you can find one to shoot well.
Steel Killer

[eroyd]

I'm getting the impression that I shouldn't even limit myself to 168 gr's for Rams but instead shoot the heaviest boat tail my rifle can stabilize. Not sure what the rate of twist is but I'll figure that out tonight. Guess that means more recoil as well.

[MarkW]

There are a lot of factors that go into whether or not a ram is knocked down or rang.  How the rails are setup, how the rams are placed on the rails, wind, even how the rams are constructed can play a part.  We as shooters have no control over these, the only thing that we can do is to use a cartridge which will provide enough knock-down power for the worst-case situation.  However if we use a cartridge that will knock down 100% of all rams hit, the recoil would probably cause you to miss more rams than you rang in the first place.  Just some food for thought.  

Another little tidbit of information:  Derek Greenaway won the 2003 NRA Silhouette Nationals at Ridgeway PA with a 109/120 score using Sierra bullets.  He used a 260 Remington loaded with 142 gr HPBT MK to shoot at least 25 out of 30 rams and did not ring one.  Also the next two highest scoring competitors used Sierra bullets to shoot a pair of 98/120's.  Needless to say a lot of rams fell to their bullets as well.

People can discuss ram knock-down until they're blue in the face, but one fact that no one can argue with is that you have to hit the ram otherwise all the bullets in the world will do you no good.  Use whatever cartridge/bullet combo that you shoot the best and go to work.

MarkW

[fwt1712]

At our recent (Australian) Nationals I used Lapua's 185gn Match ammo with 100% knockdown on rams. The box says they use their D46 projectile with V0=2650fps. Recoil is very tolerable (more a push than a punch) and accuracy is outstanding at around 4" or better at 500m. I have also used Speer's 180 flat base very successfully at around 2550fps, and these may be more easily obtainable if you're in the USA.

[haroldclark]

I shoot for fun 2 days a week and I have seen just about every rifle, except the magnums which we don't allow on the range, ring a Ram.  

I attend and spot for the Black Powder Cartridge Matches at our range.  I have seen Rams ring with a 560 grain bullet when most of the time that bullet will move the Ram straight back off the rail.  

I have rang Rams with a 180 in 30-06 and 308 and 7mm Mauser with 175 grain bullet.

Mark hit the nail on the head.  It all depends on the way the Rams contact the rail and the weather elements of Wind.  There is one full bank of Rams on 3 line at our range that are hard to take down.

We refer to the Ringers as being the luck of the draw.  We have determined that we do not want to shoot the magical rifle that will knock down Rams every time without fail.  The recoil will beat us to pieces.

Follow Mark's suggestions and go with it.  It is all in fun anyway.

Great conversation going on here.

Harold

[Heikki in FIN]

eroyd: I have shot two years now with Lapua 155 Scenar (2680 fps). Only one match I have to change 185 Scenar (2450 fps) for rams because on practice day I ring couple of rams (rams are hard to knock over when it's raining wet show :shock:  )

BTW: Lapua was new 6,5 mm 100 gr Scenar.

Heikki in FIN

[longgun]

I shot the 308 for a couple of years and lost lots of rams.  I then switched to the 190's that Hornady was selling at the time (  they were 190 grain rebate boatails made by Lapua I think).  I didn't loose any rams with those bullets.  But after shooting the 308 for forty or fifty shots,  I was raedy to put it down at the end of the day.   I've shot several different cals since then but am shooting the 260 in hunter and 6.5BR for standard.  Lost lots of rams with the 6.5Br untill I got the velocity up to 2650 f/s and switched to Lapua 139's.   Don't loose many rams with the 260 with the Lapuas either.    I was at the match Britman was talking about in El Paso and in two days shooting I lost two rams with the Br and one with the 260.  Others probably lost more than I did since the wind was blowing from behind and loading the targets somewhat.  

There is no magic caliber nor combination, but for me it is certainly more enjoyable shooting the 6.5 Br than the 308.  I also think that I ring fewer critters.   Don

[RamSlammer]

I use 155 for the shorts with 42 gr of varget (ar2208 in AUS)with good results.On the rams the best thing I've found so far is a 170FMJ,I used 180woodleighs designed for a 300mag and still had some stand.the first time I shot HP Istood 3 rams straight with 168 noslers.

[eroyd]

I can't seem to get 155's to group under 2" at 200m's. Nosler J4's nor Sierra Palma's using Varget, 3031 or RL15. Funny thing is the short little 110 Sierra HP's at a moderate velocity will shoot 2" at 200 and they might be nice on chickens or even pigs. My sako especially liked plain old 168 hornady bt match grouping 5 shots within 1" at 200m's :grin:

[Arizona Jake]

No bullet weight/velocity combination will work 100% of the time.
At the Arizona State Championships earlier this month (Joy Cox won the event with a 61/80), I rang 1 ram, center-punched with a 140 6.5 bullet out of my .269 Remington.

I also spotted another ram rung with a 6.5 BR, AND, as I was spotting for one of my buddies, I witnesses not 1 but TWO rams being solidly hit with 190 grain .308's and not even move. Figure that one out... :?

[ajj]

A couple of years ago I watched a very experienced shooter ring three consecutive rams with a 260 Rem and the third was hit square in the horns. I think wind is the probable culprit. If a gust hits the back of the ram as the bullet arrives, forget it.

[Gringo Grizzly]

I've shot more silhouette with the .308 than all of the other calibers  combined, and although it's not my top choice as it once was, there's no denying that it's hard to find a .308 with decent bedding&barrel that does not shoot well.

I've kept accurate records since 1981.

Bottom line is WEIGHT COUNTS.  Anything that will get down range will take the "short" targets (check the N140/150 SMK load in the recent Sierra manual) but it takes a flying telephone pole to knock down rams with consistency.
This is true regardless of caliber, the long bullets are usually the ones employed by successful silhouette shooters.

In the .308, I've had best luck with 190 SMK's behind stout charges of either H380 or IMR 4064.  The former is dirty and latter loads like irregular buck shot from even the good powder measures. Both will work in most .308's.

I've shot tons of rams with 168's but I considered the % loss to be unacceptable.

No matter what you shoot, if you hit enough rams, you WILL lose a few now and again.  As one previous respondent said - you have to hit them to have a chance to knock them down.
Take accuracy first, but if possible use a long bullet!
Gringo