New Hunter Caliber ?

[Hatfisher]

Hey guys, I'm a little New to hunting. Infact just started last year. Managed to get my first deer wich was a Whitetail doe. My question is what is your opinions on a .308 for an all around cal. Good for deer up to about 300 yards or more if your comfortable with it. I know that much but how about for Elk or Moose if I choose to try for them later on? Would a 180grn round do the trick?

[lilsundance]

my partner and his father before him used the 308 on moose,deer and elk. It has brought down many a moose.
Personally I use a 30-06 as did my father before me. lol

[citysfs]

Recent article in shooting magazines referred to 308 as a long distance gun. Of course its all tuned up but if I recall correctly, it was one inch groups at 500 yds. I think that speaks well for the calibre, now I just need to practice ..a lot

[101sonny]

Recent article in shooting magazines referred to 308 as a long distance gun. Of course its all tuned up but if I recall correctly, it was one inch groups at 500 yds.Do you know what magazines that info was from I would like to read it Thanks .

[varmitr]

although i dont have one, i would say it is great caliber, since most kills are in the 100-200 yard range. and being a .30 you have a limitless selection of projectiles
if you feel the need to 'upgrade ballistically'(for lack of a better term) do it in the future.
if you feel the need to spend cash on a rig, buy a excellent scope and bases..leupold, zeiss etc or cleaning rods and supplements. at least with them you can transfer them onto a new rig someday
but for now...pound rounds

[Hatfisher]

Thanks for the info guys. I think I will stick with a .308 as I am comfortable with the one I've been shooting. Sako Finfire .308 Heavy Barrel. I took My doe with it at roughly 270 yards. So far so good. Now if only I could get my first buck this year. Anyone hunt Wmu 118 for whitetail? If so how was your luck?

[fallairfever]

Interesting post Hatfisher.
I know soem guys on here are tired of the does this cal work for this... kind of posts. Myself I always enjoy reading them. I am seriously looking at buying a .308 this summer so I am ready by fall. Great bullet selection and from what I hear easy on the shoulder and I usually hunt bush so dont need a gun that shoots flat to 400 yard anyways (no that I am comfortable much past 200 at this time.) I have a .270 that I am pretty happy with but I bought it used from a friend, good gun but I want a new one! I was thinking a 165gr barnes tsx would be a good place to start for a all around cartrige.

I would love to hear some of the knowlegable guys chime in say dick, duffy, sheep... with an opinion.

Thanks for starting the thread Hatfisher
FallAirFever

[Hatfisher]

This Sako .308 I woudn't hesitate to let a young hunter shoot. Even a 12 yr old would have no probs hanging onto it on bipods. I am in the process of buying this rifle once I recieve my P.A.L witch should be in the next week. This .308 has maybe 3 times that of a .22 for kick. I feel very comfortable with it, witch in my opinion is more important than havin a big bang. the more comfort with the rifle the better shot you can make. If it feels awkward to you you'll never get the shots you'd like to make. I feel it's the right rifle for me. It's not a light gun @ 9.75Lbs so you wouldn't want to pack it around much, but if it's what you enjoy shooting, you won't mind. I was useing 150grn Federal Premium Power shoks factory load when I took my doe. At $20 average a box Ammo is priced right too.

[grandzillaa]

That is all I use for hunting is my trusty 308. I have the 30-06 from which the 308 came out of, but I don't use it all that often. In fact I have'nt used my 30-06 for two years.

As was mentioned most kills are no further than 200yards. Unless your like me and you want to be get as close as possible to the deer. My brother and I have this unwritten rule, don't shoot an animal over 100yards, but once I did by 25 yards. The main reason for this is because I like the challenge of trying to get past the deer's quick alertness to movement. Most of my kills are under 75 yards and less. My avg. kill would be at the 50 yard mark. :D

[Rackmastr]

Hatfisher,
I hunt 118 for deer sometimes, and there is better whitetail if you head north of the Hat or stick closer to the Hat on the north side of the park......just my observations.....

The 308 is a dandy round....

[Dick284]

Your doing fine with what you have.
Some have more velocity, some shoot heavier slugs, some have flatter trajectory.
But as stated earlier how many 300yd+ shots does a guy really make in a life time. And further to the 300yd+ shots, how many hunters should be taking those kind of shots in the first place?
Learn to shoot what you have well, and get proficent within your personal bounds.

[new 308]

Has anyone shot the new 308 marlin express, I am looking at getting one as long as ammo prices are reasonable.

[Dick284]

J:
Expect delays of up to 18 months before stuff that makes it into US publications is available in Canada.

Reminds me of the 325WSM saga, rifles made it up here but it took another 6 or 8 months for anyone to find ammo.

[sheep hunter]

I shot the new Marlin 308 in January and yes it is a nice calibre but truthfully, unless you are looking for a shorter action, I don't see much advantage over the tried and true .30-06. Other than if you just want a new rifle...then that's a perfect excuse.

[Hatfisher]

Thank you guys for all your information and opinions. I feel I have made the right choice in this rifle. Rackmastr I grew up in Wmu 118 and have seen big whitetails come out of there, however I have noticed a major decline in the whitetail numbers there from about 10 years ago. I found it quite over hunted then. I have hunted north of Medicine Hat but have found it is much the same way. In the first few hours of hunting it was nothing to see over 20 trucks in the same area. Still seen alot of deer but how long will the population take it? I'd like to find a place where there are good numbers but see less hunting preassure without going to far from home(Med Hat)

[Rackmastr]

North of the park is better than south of the park for whitetails. I agree there are some great ones, and I spent the past 3 years hanging out in 102 and 118 a lot. While there are good whitetails all over, it seems like you see more north of the park than south.

All nice country though...

[winchester70]

7.62 rawks....except for the 7.62x39 russian..:p

[118 whitey]

While bowhunting elk in september I was seeing a ton of whiteys. 5 bucks over 135 with the biggest being in the mid 150's (not bad for the south country). When hunting muleys in november the numbers and quality of whiteys diminished. I seen 1 buck about a 150 class and just a few little guys. the bucks are around but get pushed all over buy the muley hunters. I would recommend north of the park for whiteys but stay south for big muleys.