308 Browning question?

[1highhog]

I just bought a 308 lever action Browning, does anyone know the ballistics of this gun, and how it compares to others such as the 30-06 or 270's?

[Nuttsuks]

.308 is all you need. Similar to both actually. Great round, shoots flat. Back home in Texas I prefered .270. But here in N.W. Ark.....I haven't found the need for it.  Where and what are you hunting? Terrain makes a big difference. Heavy cover or clear shooting?
BTW, the Browning lever .308 is pretty sweet. Great rifle.

[1highhog]

I hunt usually on a powerline, shots sometimes around 300 to 400 yds.  I have hunted the past 4 years with a 30-06.  Before that a 280.  Deer hunting is about my limit of big game hunting.

[Hawgon]

It will shoot about 100 fps slower than a 30-06 in the same bullet weight.  Trajectory will differ no more than an inch or two at three hundred yards and 4 or 5 at 400.  So, it is pretty much exactly the same and no deer will ever miss the 100 fps.  Likewise if you can shoot well enough from field positions to notice the two inch difference at 300 yards or the four or five inch difference at 400, then you're better than 99.9 percent of all hunters or a teller of tall tales.

[LSUFan]

4" at 400 yds.

Used to shoot a Winchester Model 100

[hoggydog]

great gun, used to have one.

[1highhog]

Well, this weekend the deer were really moving.  I seen 32 Saturday, mostly doe and a few spikes, one nice size buck, only a six point, four on one side two on the other, but had a good spread, around 16" or 17".  Today I hunted only till 10:00, but saw 9, 3 spike, 5 doe, and shot at one buck.  This is where the story goes downhill,,,,
I was hunting on a pipeline, had a good look of 500 yds. each way.  Around 8:20 I saw a nice buck, massive body and huge rack, he was coming straight down the line at about 400 yds. away.  I got my rifle up, just as he turned broadside to step back in the woods.  I felt good with my shot, I aimed 10" above his back, and shot.  He jumped and ran, I guess I shot right under him.  The shot was at 375 yds., a guy at Gander Mountain told me that at 300 yds. I needed to aim about 9" above the target.  I had zeroed in the rifle at 100 yds, shot several groups of 3  and could put 3 in a one inch circle.  I looked and looked, no blood, so I'm at least comfortable knowing I did'nt just wound him.  I'm going to buy me a book to see what the trajectory is on this rifle.  Anyway, thought I'd let you guys know how my weekend went.  Thankss for your responses.

[Hawgon]

Don't listen to the guys at Gander Mountain about rifles.  I say again, never listen to the guys at Gander Mountain about rifles.

Zero your rifle at two and half to three inches high at 100 yards.  By so doing, you will be able to aim on target all the way out to 300 yards.  You will only be about five to six inches high at your highest mid point trajectory and six to nine inches low at 300 yards, well within the kill zone of a deer.  From your muzzle to 300 yards, you can aim dead on target and expect a hit.  With this kind of zero, you can expect to be about 17 to 22 inches low at 400 yards.

If you sight dead on at 100 yards, you are probably going to be about 15 inches low at 300 yards.

This advice is good for standard deer calibers from .243 to .300 Win. Mag.  There will be a differences of up to four or five inches, so it is important to get out there and actually shoot at those distances to see how your individual rifle shoots.  There is no substitute for practice and knowing your rifle.

[Hawgon]

I looked it up, and I was almost exactly right on the .308.  With a 100 yard zero, Remington says that you will be 14.7 inches low at 300 yards.

Follow the link:

http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/comparative_ballistics_results.aspx?data=R308W1*R30062*R300W1

[rickm1976]

With 165 gr. bullets and smaller, it has basically the same ballistics as a 30-06 - no practical difference.

[1highhog]

Thanks guys for posting the information and links, they really have came in handy.  I just wish I could get off work in time in the afternoons to try it out.  I'm going back to the woods this weekend and hope to have my problem fixed by then.

[Hudge]

I have to agree with Hawgon, about not listening to the guys at Gander. I have heard more BS spill out of some of their mouths, than any where else. I've lived in a lot of places, and visited alot of gun stores, but Gander seems to top them all in the BS department.

[Hawgon]

I watched a Gander employee convince a guy that a very light Browning .270 WSM was the "perfect" rifle for his 10 year old son.

After the Gander dude went up to the counter I tried to convince the guy that the kid would be better off with a 7mm-08 or something like that but he just looked at me like I had stepped in a turd and bought the WSM.

Somewhere there is a kid who would rather get punched in the mouth a couple of times than go to the range and whose flinches are measured in feet because Gander Mountain talked his dad into buying him way too much rifle.

[IronHog]

Well, this weekend the deer were really moving.  I seen 32 Saturday, mostly doe and a few spikes, one nice size buck, only a six point, four on one side two on the other, but had a good spread, around 16" or 17".  Today I hunted only till 10:00, but saw 9, 3 spike, 5 doe, and shot at one buck.  This is where the story goes downhill,,,,
I was hunting on a pipeline, had a good look of 500 yds. each way.  Around 8:20 I saw a nice buck, massive body and huge rack, he was coming straight down the line at about 400 yds. away.  I got my rifle up, just as he turned broadside to step back in the woods.  I felt good with my shot, I aimed 10" above his back, and shot.  He jumped and ran, I guess I shot right under him.  The shot was at 375 yds., a guy at Gander Mountain told me that at 300 yds. I needed to aim about 9" above the target.  I had zeroed in the rifle at 100 yds, shot several groups of 3  and could put 3 in a one inch circle.  I looked and looked, no blood, so I'm at least comfortable knowing I did'nt just wound him.  I'm going to buy me a book to see what the trajectory is on this rifle.  Anyway, thought I'd let you guys know how my weekend went.  Thankss for your responses.

The title of this post should be:

HOW TO BLOW THE FRONT LEG OFF A DEER.



Until you  spend the time to learn what your rifle will do at extended range any shot you take is unethical.

Taking deer at extended ranges takes the proper equipment, knowledge, and practice.  Based on your post you have none of the required skills needed to take shots past 275 yards.

[1highhog]

IronHog, even though I have to admit I did not have the time this year to properly zero in my rifle or know anything about a 308, I can assure you that with over 35 years of hunting, and upwards of 50 kills, I have never wounded a deer.  Before you accuse me of somthing, such as "you have none of the required skills" you might want to put that to a test. 

[IronHog]

IronHog, even though I have to admit I did not have the time this year to properly zero in my rifle or know anything about a 308, I can assure you that with over 35 years of hunting, and upwards of 50 kills, I have never wounded a deer.  Before you accuse me of somthing, such as "you have none of the required skills" you might want to put that to a test. 

Wounding game is part of hunting,

but......

hunting with a rifle not properly zeroed=no respect for game.


Marksmanship is earned on the range, not talking to some dude at Gander Mountain about how much to hold over with a new rifle.  You posted you shot at a deer at long range with a rifle without any knowledge of the theoretical or real world ballistics of the weapon.