Buckfever
Yes, a 200 Grain Nos. Part. will work in a 308, at least under the conditions that you are hunting & what you are shooting. I assume that
the treestand hunting involves those wonderful Whitetails, but if Black
Bears are included, it still holds true. They may give you a little more of a
"smack factor", but I don't think they will give you anything special over a
180 Grain Nos. Part. in the 308 Case.
Concerning range, you say that all shots are under 150 yards & if you
are sure of this, fine. But if you have any chance of a longer shot,
consider the fact that most reloader manuals will show 2,400-2,450FPS
with the 200 Grain bullet . Nosler #4 shows 2,400 FPS with the 200 PART. at 300 yards the bullet is down to 1,900 FPS & this is the lower limit of predictable expansion & with a 100 Yd. zero you would have nearly
20" drop. At 150 yards you will have some frontal expansion but not very
dramatic unless it is a shoulder type shot because of the low muzzel vel.
There is another way with the modest .308 case to have your cake & eat
it. I am merely pointing this out as an alternate possibility. If your rifle
likes the Barnes 165 or 168 Grain TSX, that is. Exhaustive test have shown
the Barnes X to penetrate about 28 percent better than the same weight
PREMIUM LEAD TYPE bullet such as a Nos. Part. That means a 168TSX
will offer penetration about the same as a 200 Gr. Nos Part. I have seen
various stats. & some of my own testing that bears this out. Now you have
a bullet that will start at about 2,800 FPS with a good deal of shock, a great wound channel with no lost penetration & a much flatter shooting
load if you ever need it.
I like 200 Grain bullets & use them some, especially the 200 Accubond,
but in 300 Mags that have the capacity to push these bullets fast for a
flat shooting, wind bucking, hard hitting load at long range.
