What Is The Biggest Game Animal You Can Take With A 308
The .308 Winchester is a very capable cartridge, capable of taking many game types in North America.
Like any cartridge, though, .308 has its limits. It'south non potent enough to take certain large game and is as well powerful for some modest species.
Overall, though, .308 is in a sweet spot of ability that lets it hunt about large game species in North America.
Your .308 Winchester rifle can be used to reliably take medium and large game such as caribou, cougar, coyote, deer, elk, goat, pronghorn, sheep, wolf, black bear, and wild boar. Moose, bison, and dark-brown bear may require a more powerful cartridge.
Read on to get into the nuance of what makes .308 good or not for various species of game.
Why is .308 Winchester a Practiced Hunting Cartridge?
.308 is a keen hunting round because it's a popular hunting round.
Let me explain.
.308 Winchester is part of the aforementioned lineage as 7.62×51 NATO, which means that compatible military surplus armament is relatively cheap and readily available.
Cheap ammo draws many shooters to a cartridge, which increases the number of potential customers.
Ammo manufacturers take reward of this potential demand by designing and releasing high-quality hunting ammo. This draws in more than hunters to use the cartridge.
This feedback loop means that mod hunting .308 is highly effective and less expensive than other specialty calibers.
Combine this with .308'south moderate recoil and weight, and you get an excellent jack-of-all-trades hunting cartridge.
Related: What'south the Difference Between .308, .308 Win, and .308 Rem?
What'southward the Biggest Fauna a .308 will Kill?
Decades agone, .308 was considered to exist just barely powerful plenty to have elk reliably.
Notwithstanding, bullet technology has improved, and now you have admission to high-quality .308 bullets that tin can accept down an elk with ease.
This puts moose at that level of "I can, but should I?"
As for predators, .308 is constructive against every meat-eater in the US except for grizzlies and polar bears.
You lot might be able to put one of those furred hunters down with a .308 bullet, simply if it fails, practise y'all desire to risk retaliation?
What Animals are likewise Large for .308?
Equally capable as .308 is, it's not powerful plenty for reliably taking down sure animals.
I wouldn't use a .308 against bison, brown bears, muskox, and moose. My big game gun is a Marlin 1895 in .45-70 Regime.
Some people are willing to take a shot against moose with .308, only I'd rather conduct a burglarize I know will work on the first shot.
What'south the Smallest Animal a .308 will Kill?
This may surprise some people, but .308 can exist too powerful for some animals!
A hunting bullet needs to expand and impart kinetic energy into the target. Otherwise, it'll poke a hole through without causing the devastating damage necessary for a quick, upstanding kill.
Alternatively, it can expand too much, ruining large amounts of meat and making parts of the hide unusable.
The smallest animals I'd hunt with a .308 rifle are coyotes, wild pigs, mount goats, and the smaller species of deer, such as Sitka Deer.
What Animals are too Modest for .308?
.308 is overkill for any brute smaller than a coyote.
Bobcats, foxes, groundhogs, hares, marmots, raccoons, squirrels, and prairie dogs are improve hunted with a less powerful cartridge.
Smaller-quotient cartridges such every bit .243 Winchester or .223 Remington/five.56 NATO are better choices for varmints and pocket-sized animals.
Related:Is five.56 or .308 Amend? (An Enthusiast Weighs In)
List of Animals You can Hunt with .308 Winchester Rifles
Here'due south a list of fauna species and some subspecies suitable for hunting with .308:
- Bighorn Sheep
- Black Comport
- Black-Tailed Deer (Columbia, Sitka, etc.)
- Caribou (Barren-Ground, Mount, Woodland, etc.)
- Cougar
- Coyote
- Dall Sheep
- Elk (Rocky Mountain, Roosevelt, Tule, etc.)
- Mule Deer
- Pronghorn
- Rocky Mount Goat
- Shiras Moose (But non larger subspecies such as Alaska-Yukon moose)
- Stone Sheep
- White-Tail Deer (Columbia, Coues, etc.)
- Wild Boar
- Wolf
What Animals can You Hunt with a .308 Outside of N America?
Yous tin can likewise apply .308 rifles on big game exterior of Due north America, and then long as they are about the same size every bit whatever animals on the above list.
When in doubt, employ what the locals utilize!
For African plains hunting, the standard advice is that .308 is skilful confronting eland antelope and smaller.
Here'due south a non-comprehensive listing of animals that have been taken with .308:
- Blesbok
- Eland antelope
- Impala
- Kudu
- Oryx
- Springbuck
- Waterbuck
- Warthogs
- Wildebeest
Again, I advise yous to learn what'southward recommended by people experienced with hunting the species you desire to chase.
I will point out, though, that familiarity with your firearm can give yous an border over a more capable gun that'south new to you if .308's performance is marginal against the game you want to hunt.
Which Bullets should You lot Use when Hunting with .308?
Part of why .308 is such a good hunting round is the variety of loads available.
The most common bullet weights are 150, 165, and 180 grains. Heavier bullets will accept a college ballistic coefficient for greater penetration and long-range performance at the expense of less initial velocity and a more firsthand bullet drop.
Mostly, you'll utilize heavier bullets on a larger game.
Focus on bullet weight retention, too. Bullets with more retention volition penetrate deeper but at the expense of widespread tissue damage that can cause an brute to driblet immediately.
A high-retention heavy bullet may not be as effective confronting a whitetail deer as a lighter bullet with just 70% retention.
Controlled-expansion 165 gr bullets such as Hornady InterLock or Nosler Partition are the go-to bullets for many people for almost any game species.
Solid copper bullets, aka monolithic bullets, are groovy for animals with dense muscles such equally moose and bears. They reduce atomic number 82 contagion, as well!
Alternatives to .308 Winchester
Though the .308 is a very capable round, it's not the all-time choice for everybody.
A smaller bullet in the aforementioned case will have a better ballistic coefficient, increasing long-range performance. .270 Winchester, .260 Remington, and half dozen.5 Creedmoor are long-range alternatives to the .308 Win cartridge.
Sometimes, though, yous need more energy instead of more velocity. This is when .300 Win Mag, 7mm Remington Magnum, and .338 Federal are worth examining.
I also like .45-70 Government for the brown behave state, though it's a shorter-ranged big game cartridge.
Conclusion
A .308 Winchester rifle loaded with high-quality bullets such equally Barnes TSX, Sierra GameKings, and Hornady SST can take nigh any brute in North America.
Whether you're hunting pronghorn, elk, or any animal in between, your .308 rifle volition serve you well.
What animals have you hunted with .308?
RECOMMENDED: Best .308 Rifles Reviewed
FAQs
Tin can You Hunt Brown Comport with .308?
Technically, aye. However, brown bears are unsafe, and a single .308 bullet may not lay them down.
Take it from an Alaskan hunter: If y'all're going to hunt grizzly bears, yous want either a bigger rifle or a friend with a bigger burglarize to back you upward. Your .308 likely won't drop that ambitious bear in one shot.
Can You Hunt Wild Boar with .308?
.308 volition take down pigs with no problem.
However, it can destroy large amounts of meat. And so, if you want to harvest them, I'd utilise a smaller cartridge such as vi.5 Grendel.
Can You lot Chase Moose with .308?
Some people hunt moose with .308.
There are iv subspecies of moose in Due north America: Alaskan, Eastern, Western, and Shiras.
Shiras is the smallest subspecies and is the near suitable for taking with .308. The others are too large for reliable takedowns.
Can Yous Hunt Varmints with .308?
.308 will devastate varmints, but yous may not be able to recover much of the hide. It'due south overkill for small animals like varmints.
Can You lot Impale a T-Rex with .308?
A loftier-quality, monolithic .308 bullet may have the penetration required to tear through a T-King's heart or break through its braincase, but a more than powerful firearm is recommended to ensure a one-shot kill.
RECOMMENDED: Pros and Cons of .308 Rifles: Great Gun, But Non For Everyone
Source: https://outdoorempire.com/what-game-can-you-hunt-with-a-308-rifle/
Posted by: carmichaelwassix.blogspot.com
0 Response to "What Is The Biggest Game Animal You Can Take With A 308"
Post a Comment