.308 for deer stalking

simon1979

Well-Known Member
hi all, hope christmas is going well for yous all,
i been looking to buy a .308 rifle, for deer stalking. But theres such a lot out there and im woundering whats the ideal barrel twist and length for stalking,
im gusing i will be useing 180g bullets, and i will have a sound mod fitted to.
ive looking at the cz550, rem700, ruger m77, my price range ideally is second hand for under 500,

many thanks
simon
 
CZ I reckon for that budget, or a Tikka

have you had a look to see what's available s/h?

length wise, where will you be using it? If woodland go shorter; hills go longer :)
 
Hi Simon. What makes you say you will be using 180gn bullets? 165gn is about the optimum for the .308 with most manufactures making a hunting bullet in around 165-168gn. 180's will do the job no problem. I've got some sako hammer head at 185 gn which do just fine. Twist is normally around 1 in 12. If you intend using alot of light ammo for varmint shooting a faster twist would be better to stabilize but to be honest I'd go with 1in12 and use ammo from 150gn to 180/200gn. I seem to remember you loose about 100ft/sec of the velocity for each inch removed from barrel length. So if a load in a 24" barrel was running at say 2700ft/scd and you had a 18" barrel you would be sending same bullet out at 2100ft/scd. Which is a fair drop or you got to start loading a bit hotter fto get the MV back. I've got 22" barrel on mine and don't use a mod to keep length down. I could put a end fitting mod on or a brake but to be honest for the single shot I do in woodland stalking there is no real need IMO. Sometimes a little uncomfortable for the PH if he's stood next to you or in the seat when you let one go but generally they put their fingers in their ears.
As for the rifles, it's only a few weeks till the shooting show up at Stoneleigh so if I were you I'd go there and have a feel of some rifles see what feels right for you.
ATB
 
You need to buy my stunning Brno zkk601 deluxe with a t8 mod, harris bipod and sling that clover leafs 150 hornady btsp's at 100yds for £450.
It has the much preferred standard trigger (not that horrible set trigger thing)

:)

I'll even throw a set of my quad sticks in! f2f or rfd at cost
 
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hi there,
i do have a zkk601 in .243 and yes is a great rifle, but id like to something different with my .308.
i havent looked to much at bullet size tbh, but yes around 165g is plenty for deer. I was told to go for as short of barrel as i can get round 20'' because of the mod making it to long, but does the sound mod really make alot of difference
 
Nope mine is .308 deluxe as in the pictures on your other post.
mods do make a difference...even over barrel mods make the barrel front heavy.
Mine shoots 150gr btsp's at 2770fps and have accounted for the toughest deer in the country....rutting sika stags.
 
Simon. It depends on what type of stalking you intend to use this for in the main. If woodland then 20" would be ok and is nice and short. With a reflex (over barrel) type mod you'd only add around 4" or 100mm to the length. They do make a difference to the noise and if you get something like a T8 then it will make the muzzle a bit heavy for of hand shots and make carrying muzzle up less comfortable. If you go for say an atec or other light alloy mod or titanium one then you probably wouldn't notice it too much.
If on more open ground taking longer shots then length of barrel and increased MV is an advantage so I would go with 22-24".
Hope you find what your looking for.
 
your .308 is a cracking gun, and your stock looks fab, im looking to try out different make/models, i do love my zkk601 but i do like try others on the market, i ve had rem 700 and loved it, and ive used a sako 75 and 85 and again loved them.
I have been looking at a ruger m77 but not sure yet.
Its intresting that you say not to bother with the sound mod, i have one on my .243 and im sure if it improves it any.
 
Hi Simon. What makes you say you will be using 180gn bullets? 165gn is about the optimum for the .308 with most manufactures making a hunting bullet in around 165-168gn. 180's will do the job no problem. I've got some sako hammer head at 185 gn which do just fine. Twist is normally around 1 in 12. If you intend using alot of light ammo for varmint shooting a faster twist would be better to stabilize but to be honest I'd go with 1in12 and use ammo from 150gn to 180/200gn. I seem to remember you loose about 100ft/sec of the velocity for each inch removed from barrel length. So if a load in a 24" barrel was running at say 2700ft/scd and you had a 18" barrel you would be sending same bullet out at 2100ft/scd. Which is a fair drop or you got to start loading a bit hotter fto get the MV back. I've got 22" barrel on mine and don't use a mod to keep length down. I could put a end fitting mod on or a brake but to be honest for the single shot I do in woodland stalking there is no real need IMO. Sometimes a little uncomfortable for the PH if he's stood next to you or in the seat when you let one go but generally they put their fingers in their ears.
As for the rifles, it's only a few weeks till the shooting show up at Stoneleigh so if I were you I'd go there and have a feel of some rifles see what feels right for you.
ATB

You are not going to loose anything like 100fps per inch of barrel between 18" and 24"!
 
that is a lot of fps if i went to a 18'', i will probiliy stick around 22'' i think, as i do both woodland and open shooting.
i was looking at the wildcat mods as they seem good value for money,
yes i will be looking for a good buy at that show, although i was at the midland game in spet and i didnt think there were any really good offers tbh.
 
that is a lot of fps if i went to a 18'', i will probiliy stick around 22'' i think, as i do both woodland and open shooting.
i was looking at the wildcat mods as they seem good value for money,
yes i will be looking for a good buy at that show, although i was at the midland game in spet and i didnt think there were any really good offers tbh.

Simon

You will be unlucky to see a difference of 200fps between an 18" and 24" barrel in a 308. I sometimes wonder where these figures come fom. Don't take my word for it, read the following table, about 2/3 of the way down the page...

.308 Winchester Cartridge Guide
 
But that will depend on what powder he chooses along with some other factors. I have seen as much as 30+ fps per inch with some 30 caliber rifles.~Muir
 
But that will depend on what powder he chooses along with some other factors. I have seen as much as 30+ fps per inch with some 30 caliber rifles.~Muir

I agree, but even at 30fps per inch between a 18" and a 24" barrel only equates to 180fps slower. Not the suggested 600fps of a difference as quoted in one of the other posts which is why I suggested 200 would be an upper limit guess. Personally, with 150grn bullets I would have thought that a 20" barrelled rifle would have been sufficient for normal stalking practices...
 
I agree, but even at 30fps per inch between a 18" and a 24" barrel only equates to 180fps slower. Not the suggested 600fps of a difference as quoted in one of the other posts which is why I suggested 200 would be an upper limit guess. Personally, with 150grn bullets I would have thought that a 20" barrelled rifle would have been sufficient for normal stalking practices...

Sorry. I mis read the post. I was thinking he was expecting 200 fps. Six Hundred? Gad, no.~Muir
 
Jamross. I'm sure you and muir are right with your thoughts on MV reduction. Not sure where I got that figure from it just seemed to be one in my head but as you rightly say does seem high. As I've never owned a short barreled 308 I hadn't given it too much thought. If around 200 fps is all the drop then it wouldn't really matter what length the barrel was in most cases and the op should just go for what he likes. Thanks for putting me right.
 
I agree, but even at 30fps per inch between a 18" and a 24" barrel only equates to 180fps slower. Not the suggested 600fps of a difference as quoted in one of the other posts which is why I suggested 200 would be an upper limit guess. Personally, with 150grn bullets I would have thought that a 20" barrelled rifle would have been sufficient for normal stalking practices...
Just make it up with a faster powder, h335, superformance etc instead of varget (for eg) but I've never heard of, or seen a deer stand up and moan that a 150+ gr bullet was 200fps too 'slow' and to be fair, a lot of people stoke up a load for velocity when in fact, the bullet is designed to work lower anyway.
Just my tuppence worth
Pete
 
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