308 win heavy loads

[Flight01]

Anyone ever shoot 200 or 220 grain flat or round nose? I see hornady offers 220grain round nose in the international line. My dad was talking about hunting with 220 soft points back in the 70’s with his rem 700 in 308win. I was thinking of giving it a whirl just to see. They are heavy but not that much longer due to design. Any experience with stabilizing this bullet? Specifically 220 Sierra round nose. I’ll be trying it and I’ll report here with accuracy, velocity and I’ll try to capture a few at 25 yards and 100 yards to see expansion if I were to make this my black bear round.
Again any real world experience? Even info in the 30-06 is welcome.
I know bullet construction and technology has improved but it’s just something I want to try. I’m foreseeing 30-30 trajectories but at higher energy

[Salavee]

Originally Posted by Flight01

Anyone ever shoot 200 or 220 grain flat or round nose? I see hornady offers 220grain round nose in the international line. My dad was talking about hunting with 220 soft points back in the 70’s with his rem 700 in 308win. I was thinking of giving it a whirl just to see. They are heavy but not that much longer due to design. Any experience with stabilizing this bullet? Specifically 220 Sierra round nose. I’ll be trying it and I’ll report here with accuracy, velocity and I’ll try to capture a few at 25 yards and 100 yards to see expansion if I were to make this my black bear round.
Again any real world experience? Even info in the 30-06 is welcome.
I know bullet construction and technology has improved but it’s just something I want to try. I’m foreseeing 30-30 trajectories but at higher energy

I use 220RN in my 30-06. With a .308 Win. you should be able to get a MV of between 25-2600 fps with Ramshot Hunter or H 4350. It makes for a great round with the right rifle and a 24 in. Bbl

[Flight01]

My 308 is a 22” barrel and with reduced powder capacity compared to the ‘06 I’ll be seating near max OAL and getting 2300 FPS. That’s my goal anyway .
I’m thinking accuracy will be fine but will have to do some expansion tests at 100 yards to make sure I’m keeping velocity high enough to expand somewhat.
Any on game experience?

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by Salavee

I use 220RN in my 30-06. With a .308 Win. you should be able to get a MV of between 25-2600 fps with Ramshot Hunter or H 4350. It makes for a great round with the right rifle and a 24 in. Bbl

Sounds a bit hot. Lee data doesn't hit 2400 with 220 or 225 gr. and Hornady data for 200 and 208 is a bit under 2600 and 2500 respectively.

I'd use a 220 RN for heavy game. The .308 rifles I believe all have a fairly fast twist.

Would carry energy a bit better than the lighter 170 gr. bullet from a 30-30.

[obsessed1]

Both my 308s have a 1:12. They don't stabilize a 200+ bullet well..a 1:10 like my brothers 783 would work well I'd imagine. Like you said. Slow with somewhat rainbow trajectory ( thinking 16-20" barrel) but should hit pretty hard and penetrate well.

[Salavee]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

Sounds a bit hot. Lee data doesn't hit 2400 with 220 or 225 gr. and Hornady data for 200 and 208 is a bit under 2600 and 2500 respectively.

I'd use a 220 RN for heavy game. The .308 rifles I believe all have a fairly fast twist.

Would carry energy a bit better than the lighter 170 gr. bullet from a 30-30.

Yes it is ... VERY hot. Those were 30-06/220 loads. Sorry. I better learn to edit before posting.

[Dick284]

Round nose 220’s require a 1 in 10 twist.
Stubby or round nose 200’s should run fine in a 1 in 12 twist tho.

[Flight01]

I believe this rem 673 is a 1:10.

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by Salavee

Yes it is ... VERY hot. Those were 30-06/220 loads. Sorry. I better learn to edit before posting.

Lol! Well you wouldn't be the first! I responded to a hunting post several years back, and I was pretty darn sure, because the other option seemed silly. As soon as I posted it, I thought that I had better make sure. Got back a few minutes later to correct myself, and someone had already taken me to task for it!

[Dean2]

There is no advantage to heavy for calibre bullets. On top of that, round nose do not buck brush any better than spire points, the loss of launch velocity and the effect on velocity of the RN means trajectory, wind deflection, expansion and possibly penetration etc are all negatively impacted. A 200 or 220 will not kill game any better than a 165 or 180 grain. I don't see the point in making a 200 yard gun out of something that is entirely competent to 800 yards with the right bullets. If you want to shoot 220 grain bullets I would move up to the 338-06 because even the 338 Federal is better off with 200 grain or lighter bullets and performs best with 180s. Other option is the 35 Whelen. In my view, the only reason for RN bullets today is for use in tubular magazines or to get a wider metplat for shooting dangerous game at 50 yards or less.