I just ordered 100 Hornady 165gr Spire Point Boat Tail bullets to load in my 308 for deer hunting this fall. This gun shoots the 155gr A-Max bullets very well, so hopefully the 165gr SPBT's group somewhere around an inch.
Anybody else loading up 30 caliber or 243/6mm loads for deer hunting in Indiana this fall?
Good choice on the 165 BT. Heavy and not too heavy. Won't slow down much.
More than needed for white tail, and therefore just right!
How far are going to put them from contact with the rifling?
What is your OAL for these? I'm looking at the same load for my Ruger American 22" 308.Spent some more time testing the 308 loads this weekend. I ran charges of 40, 41, 42, 42.5 and 43 grains of IMR 4895 under the 165gr Hornady BTSP. The first three charge weights were ho-hum at around an inch and a half. The last two were considerably better, with both shooting to the same POI and less than 1" groups for four rounds at 100 yards. This is listed as a starting load on the Hodgdon site, but a near-max charge in the Hornady manual. Either way, it should be generating about 2,600fps, which means it will have a reasonably flat trajectory with plenty of energy to perform well out to 250 or 300 yards, particularly once I have practiced with it at that range.
Nobody running 4350?
What is your OAL for these? I'm looking at the same load for my Ruger American 22" 308.
I'll double-check that for you tonight. They are not crimped, but loaded with the mouth pretty close to the cannelure.
I've tried some of the slower-burning powders in 308 (4350 and 4831) but with the light-to-medium-weight bullets, found slightly faster powders to work better with the given volume. Maybe with 180's or heavier the slow powders would work well. H4895 and IMR4320, along with Varget, tend to be good choices.
Thanks. Should I let the chamber/rifling determine this for me? If so, do you have any procedure/advice for this?
Thanks for the help. Looks like I'm at 2.83 OAL (quite a bit below the cannelure) but fits in the mag and the bolt closes normally. Going to try some at 42.3 grains H4895
Anybody else loading up 30 caliber or 243/6mm loads for deer hunting in Indiana this fall?
No, I use the 6.5x.284.
The deer I have killed have been with a 140, so your 155, 168, 170, etc. in .30 should all be optimal.
Happy hunting, Broom!
Do you use your 6.5x284 during depredation hunts or also during the regular gun season?