Light weight bullet's in .308

[Milk no sugar please]

Hopefully this will help the op. I’ve a sako 75 6.5x55 shooting 130gr lead, I also have a sako 75 308 shooting 130gr copper. Nothing much in it as far as recoil goes. I think the 6.5 is more of a push whereas the 308 is a little more snappy. I would attribute this to the powder burn rates, n160 in the swede builds pressure slowly and a case full of n135 gets things moving considerably quicker. Both kill deer well if I do my part and both are pleasant to shoot although the swede is more precise.

 

[Scarpa]

I can only speak for 30-06, but I've shot with 123 grain Sako cartridges (target only) and also 150 grain Brarnes TTSX copper. Both were shooting sub one inch groups at 100m but the lighter bullets at that range had an approx. 5cm higher grouping. For a compromise for UK deer I'd go for 130 grain TTSK as long as they grouped the same, but as I am also including boar in my harvest I'll stick to the 150 gr and really get to know the trajectory in all situations. For what it's worth I can't tell the difference in recoil between the two and I moved to this from an air rifle

 

[Delivery]

Has anyone used Virtus Merlin .30 cal (.308 Win) 140Gr with RS50 ? Looking for some starting load data points (by pm is fine). I will also see what’s in quickload but if anyone else has any other data sources other than quickload.
Actually can anyone who has quickload subscription check and advise if that combination of bullet and powder is provided? I don’t mind paying for the quickload if it gives me something but would be pretty annoyed to discover I paid and it didn’t have anything useful.
Thanks
D

 

[Corvid8x57]

I used to use 150 grain Winchester Super X lead but switched completely to Fox 130 grain non toxic due to the estate’s requirements. No noticeable difference in recoil, nor was there with some 180 grain Norma & Super X that I bought for a boar trip

 

[jtl]

Some years ago L loaded 110vmax .308 for fox and brought a .243 for that so tuck the remaining vmax stalking on roe. Had 2 both good forward rib shots and it buggered the front end something wicked. I wouldnt use them on deer. They werent that bad on fox, I recon the extra body weight made them work.

 

[UpNorthMI]

I shot a lot of Sierra 110gn round nose and 125gn spitzer bullets for deer, loaded them with less recoil, they performed well. Currently using Barnes TTSX 130gn with good overall results. There are a lot of options out there for lighter bullets these days.

I prefer to go bigger for red stags.

 

[Sea trout]

I have an area close to a town and I was always nervous of ricochet so bought some VMAX 110gr. Damage was as expected so generally necked. I didn't note a marked decrease in recoil

 

[Twodogs]

YewTree Fieldsports do a 119 & 126.5 grain .30 cal.

 

[Puds]

I use 123gr Sako and they work well. I tried the 130gr Sierra Gamechangers (ballistic tipped ones) and they were accurate but made one hell of a mess.

 

[Koenig]

I always found 125gr Noslers hand loads so so in my T3 accuracy wise. I can’t say I noticed any change in recoil. I probably wouldn’t bother making them again. Friends appreciate the flatter trajectory on longer ranges but where I shoot I am limited to <200m.

 

[Bowland blades]

Recoil is always reduced with lighter bullets , it doesn't really matter that they leave the barrel faster as its kinetic energy is always lower with the lighter bullet . something around 140 grain with jacketed lead is the ideal 308 bullet . That is in comps but also deer bullets , the ballance of BC , velocity, energy and of course recoil .
However for some applications you might need more or less weight for your purpose . With copper being lighter we tend to go off similar length and drive them faster on deer not match the weight as copper needs speed at impact to work at its best .

 

[09mutley05]

Used to use factory Hornady Superformance 150 grain SSTs went to Barnes 130 grain TTSX reloads when cost of factory and availability went silly a few years ago, happy with both but wanted a bit more speed and expansion than the 130s. Now using 110 grain TTSX in the .308 loaded with N133 @ max load, not chronographed it yet but, happy with the results out to 350m and see the bullet strike, don’t notice any recoil.

 

[Tim1989]

119g yewtree tlr bullets going 3060fps in my .308 , great bc aswell

 

[wytonpjs]

I have been using 130 grain TTSX for many years now at 3000fps. Recoil is mild and terminal performance is excellent on everything from fox through Roe, Fallow and Red deer. I see my shots hit probably 95% of the time. If you don’t see your strike then look at how you set up your shot more than the ammo as you are probably not doing something quite right.
If you are reloading Vihtavuori N135 is the best powder I have found. N140 is a touch slow and has heavily compressed loads to reach 3000fps.

Same combo - very effective in both my 20” Sako and Tikka .308s

 

[Virtus Precision UK]

Has anyone used Virtus Merlin .30 cal (.308 Win) 140Gr with RS50 ? Looking for some starting load data points (by pm is fine). I will also see what’s in quickload but if anyone else has any other data sources other than quickload.
Actually can anyone who has quickload subscription check and advise if that combination of bullet and powder is provided? I don’t mind paying for the quickload if it gives me something but would be pretty annoyed to discover I paid and it didn’t have anything useful.
Thanks
D

Please email Virtus. We would be happy to help.

 

[.243 t3]

112 grn lphp very good and flat shooting plus low recoil

 

[303British]

Yep, Sako 123 gameheads , reloaded the Sako brass with 125 Noslers BT's over a Vit powder, 3000 and change fps, like a laser to 200, Tikka T3.

 

[Smellydog]

I may of already commented on here but I use to get 3160fps from a 20" 700 in 308 with 110gn vmax.
It beat 243 100gn loads over 200 yards and flew pretty decent to 400.
Never used them on deer, just fox's.
I'm currently using 130gn Speers in my 3030. Very pleased. Recently shot a fox off hand at around 175yds with little to no hold over.