anyone else shoot one of these ultralight type guns? I am using Hornady 150grain red tips, and i seem to be able to hold a 3.5" group out to 300 yards shooting from my bipod (better from a rest, but my bipod is the standard)

would you say that 300 would be an effective range limit with this gun, or can i reach out further if necessary? I haven't been able to test my shots past 300 because i have no place to shoot that far.

just looking for opinions.

I've got a tikka t3 .308 22" barrel, 300 yards no problem, anything past 400 you lose the kenetic energy for most large game. Really it's unfair to the game to take one at those ranges, also if it's not a kill shot you'll take too long to get to the animals impact spot to then track it.

I've used that rifle out to 650 yards at the farm, quite a bit of drop and quite a bit of ammo trying to get on target.

Well, the army says that the max effective range of a 5.56 round is 300meters on a point target. I would have to look up the specs on the 308, we do use that round for snipers, it is a hell of a long distance round. But your not tryin to kill a human which is easy to down, the thick hide of a deer or elk makes a big difference. I would say no more than 400 myself. (for a straight out drop)

Most sniper rifles start in the 308. Most milldot reticles are for 308. For hunting if you can see it and still have enough kill energy go for it.

Redbone, 300 yards in the army and you qualify expert, however that's not the max eff range of the .233, 500 is the max effective point target and 800 is the maximum effective area target.

And yes human tissue is much easier to tear through. I chose a .308 as my primary weapon for hunting as I figure if it's good enough for a marine to take down a combatant I'm sure it's good enough for a buck.

Redbone, 300 yards in the army and you qualify expert, however that's not the max eff range of the .233, 500 is the max effective point target and 800 is the maximum effective area target.


Now that sounds like it is straight out of the USMC rifle manual. We shot competition with the M14/.308 (open sights) out to 600 yards and did fine.At that distance they ended up pulling the M16 off the range because the bullets were tumbling through the targets or just not reaching.500 max range on the m16 is true. As far as the M14 goes, these were man sized targets and paper is diferent than the real thing but they will reach. I dont know what kind of energy is left when it gets there at this range though.
Semper Fi!

Mildot has nothing to do with any specific caliber. It is a ranging reticle.

I wouldn't shoot a .308 much over 300 yards at a deer.

Bingo, you'd need a range card and rangefinder to effectively shoot deer beyond 300 meters.

i now consider 300 yards to me my range limit... i took my gun out today and shot at 100, 200, 300 and 350... my fun performed just fine out to 300 (4" group) at 350 for some reason, i couldn't get better than 6"

I saw a scope once that you match to your bullets coefficient and it would have different size circles along the y axis and it acted like a built in ranger, match the circle to the kill area on the dear and it's already has your trajectory set up. was 600 bucks for the scope.

Just know your scopes clicks for every 100 yards up to 300 then for every 50 yards past that up to 500. Preferably every 25 yards.

I've got a buddy that is a nationally ranked competitive long range shooter that uses a .308 with a 18.5" barrel at 600 yards with no issues. The gun is definitely capable with the right round. You give up a bit of velocity under 24" in a .308 because of incomplete powder burn, but the shorter barrels are proving to be ever so slightly more accurate than their longer counterparts. I was asking him the same type of question because I'm considering the Remington 700 LTR .308 in 20" barrel, and don't have any experience with anything under 26".

What matches is he shooting? BTW shooting known ranges in a match is not the same as field shooting.

Sorry I fat fingered that one. I guess that's what I get for being in a hurry and not re-reading my post.

Hunt Texas your friends barrel weighs a lot more. I went with the lite version for my rifle as I stalk quite a bit and figured I'd want a lighter rifle.

I used a .308/7.62 for a year in Iraq and took many many shots out past 600 meters. Most of these guys are right. A human is different than a deer, hog, ext. I have no problem shooting an animal at 600 meters but it is with a weapon that I know how to use very well. Confidence is a key factor. Some people can do it and some can't. Practice shooting at paper and yes I know it is not the same as an animal but practice makes you better. Get balistic charts off the internet if you are serious about taking long shots. And go north and do some prairie dog hunting. I found that to help alot with accuracy and confidence. Personally I love the .308 and wouldn't trade it for any other caliber. Just my two cents.

300 is a kick in the bucket with any barrel length 18-26" on a 308. After that, hard part is the conditions wind, elevation, will the animal stand still long enough for the bullet to hit the intended area.

If you know you target range and if you are going to take an animal that far out 400,500, or 600 yards you have better set up the situation to know what the distance is exactly, its not hard to make the shot. Of course, I load my own amo and know my dope out to 1000 yards.

You have to be willing to accept the consequences of a poor shot, a miss would be the least of you worries.

I have shot 3 or 4 deer/ hogs at 300, 2 hogs at 425 & 450 and one 9pt at 505. All with a 308 20 and 22" barrels.

175gr sierra bthp @ 2680fps
155gr lapua bthp @ 2880fps

berger makes a great hunting/long range bullet as well

Your effective range is what you can consistently group at with field like conditions (i.e. no bench rest). The further out you shoot a deer, the harder it could possibly be to locate the animal, especially with a marginal shot.

It never ceases to amaze me about the things I read on the internet. So the M16 won't shoot past 500 yards? Funny how they use it in the 600 yard competition at Camp Perry.

You will probable need a range finder if you are shooting over 300 yards. The trajectory falls over 17" between 300 and 400 (depending on load, see Remington's chart on the link below).
http://www.remington.com/products/ammuni...fire&cal=33

And wind will really start to be coming into play.

Approx. drift for a 10 mph direct crosswinds is:
100yds 0.8"
200yds 3.1"
400yds 13.6"
600yds 33.3"

They did allow the M16's at the Pacific division matches at 600 yds when we shot at Iroquise Pt. range in Hawaii 1992ish. I dont know if it was the wind or what but they pulled them from the range (like I stated). We were shooting M14's.It has been 15 or so years so I dont remember the specifics but that has always stood out in my mind.I always referenced my experience when I would hear 550 yds point target and 800 yards area target with the M16.I thought how true that is considering we qualified at 500 and pulled them at 600.I was not trying to sound like a know it all, I was just chiming in. However, you sound like quite the smart arse.

who cares if a .223 can go 600yrds we are talking 308.

FYI .223 has got plenty of velocity at 600 to be a stable projectile the energy would be the only thing I'd worry about.

55gr fmj 3200fps 80deg

Range_ Drop__ Wind_ Vel.__ Energy
(yd)_ (in)__ (in)_ (ft/s)_ (ft•lbs)
0____ -1.5__ 0.0__ 3200.0_ 1250.3
50___ -0.3__ 0.2__ 3076.5_ 1155.7
100__ -0.0__ 0.7__ 2956.5_ 1067.3
150__ -0.7__ 1.5__ 2839.7_ 984.6
200__ -2.5__ 2.8__ 2725.8_ 907.2
250__ -5.4__ 4.4__ 2614.8_ 834.8
300__ -9.7__ 6.5__ 2506.4_ 767.1
350__ -15.3__ 9.0__ 2400.6_ 703.7
400__ -22.4__ 12.0_ 2297.3_ 644.4
450__ -31.1__ 15.5_ 2196.5_ 589.1
500__ -41.7__ 19.5_ 2098.2_ 537.5
550__ -54.3__ 24.2_ 2002.5_ 489.6
600__ -69.0__ 29.4_ 1909.6_ 445.3
650__ -86.1__ 35.3_ 1819.5_ 404.2

but I thought we were talking about .308

I used a 308 to take a cull buck last year. I shot him ear through eat at 210 yards.

I fell in love with the .308 right there.

My Dad killed a nice buck at 320 with a neck shot. 308 is a very impressive round. JMO

With a good hand load there is no problem out to 500 with a 170+ grain bullet with the righ velocity that being said it is hard to say about factory. Remember it is not about punching holes it is about doing th job.
Matt