What ammo for my Sako 75 in .308 for deer stalking?

clivej

I will be getting my second-hand Sako 75 in .308 soon and what to know what ammo I should be thinking of using for deer stalking.
Many people have said to use soft point only and avoid meat damage while others are true to the balistic tip rounds.

I am leaning towards the Federal Fusion 150gr SP but I'm open to your thoughts.

I have also posted this thread on other forums to see what the answer may be.

Jonty

I've used fusions with good success. I'm currently shooting 165gr remmy accutips(€44.50), but the fusions (€32.00)are just as good. I cannot for the life of me find a reason to recommend the accutips over the fusions. Cost would be a prohibitive factor with the remmys.

150gr hornady soft points shoot good too (€38.50 a box)

I've got a sako .308 varmint too. Some rifle. Well may you wear when you pick her up.

ejg

I had previously posted some pictures of retrieved 150gr fusion bullets that looked like out of a brochure. Fusions are good but normal soft points at 308 speeds also work well. I've shot deer with 150gr remington psp, remmington 165gr ballistic tips, 150gr lapua mega and a few others. I didn't see a huge difference in meat damage. Even using the same bullet and almost same placement lead to one being more damaged than the next.
The big advantage of the fusion is that one will have less lead shrapnel in the body and maybe meat because of the high retained weight.

Try a few brands, the one that groups best at 200m would be my choice.

edi

jwshooter

hi clive the 308 is a excellent cal keep the bullet weight lite .

try federal 150 gr soft point or ballistic tips .lads that dont know any better will well you the ballistics well do more damage this is bull ****.

federal ballistic tips have a fairly solid base the front only expands where the soft point will cause a bigger exit wound at close range like under 200 yards .

the ballistic tip will expand better at longer range ie over 400 yds ,
bullet weights over 150grs in 308 do not work as well on our deer from what i have seen.

the worst damage i have seen been caused in my 243 is federals 80gr soft point .

and 110gr v max in the 270 .

good shot placement does not cause meat damage .

Jonty

JW is right, ballistic tips in .308 aid expansion (WAY thicker jacket)as opposed to ballistic tips in varmint calibres which aid explosion (thin jacket):D

There is no need to be looking at rounds weighing over 165gr anyhow.

Trojan911

Clive,

I use Win .308 Remington Premier AccuTip, boat tail 165grn. Never had a problem with them (except the price at €43.50 a box of twenty).

I've used the Fusions 150grn as well and found them good as well.

(Throw up a pic when you get your new addition).

clivej

The Fusions look to be a popular round.

deerhunter1

clivej wrote: »

I will be getting my second-hand Sako 75 in .308 soon and what to know what ammo I should be thinking of using for deer stalking.
Many people have said to use soft point only and avoid meat damage while others are true to the balistic tip rounds.

I am leaning towards the Federal Fusion 150gr SP but I'm open to your thoughts.

I have also posted this thread on other forums to see what the answer may be.

Ya as Trojan said I also have used Rem 165 Gr Ballistic Tip for the last number of years. super round but expensive. This year I am trying Rem 150 Gr soft point, I believe the 150 Gr is supposed to be better round. ill know this year.

ejg

I reckon 165gr is the best for the 308. BC vs drop and down range energy. For sika and fallow 150gr is plenty though and has a bit less drop at first.
Clive you might also find quite a difference between group sizes with or without mod. My rifle shoots remmy sps 1.5" without mod and 1/2" with mod at times.
edi

BUACHAILL

clivej wrote: »

I will be getting my second-hand Sako 75 in .308 soon and what to know what ammo I should be thinking of using for deer stalking.
Many people have said to use soft point only and avoid meat damage while others are true to the balistic tip rounds.

I am leaning towards the Federal Fusion 150gr SP but I'm open to your thoughts.

I have also posted this thread on other forums to see what the answer may be.

I have the Sako 85 .308 and use the fusion 150gr and fint it superb. You cannot go wrong with this round. Expensive but so what, beats spending hours followin blood trails.... good luck with it great calibre in my opinion

jwshooter

hi clive looks like your mind is made up to use fusion .

i used them and could not what the fuss is all about .

try picking up some old phone books duck tape 4 of them together and submerge in water for a day .

now shoot at them from 150yds ,the more phone books you have the more types of ammo you can try .

its a interesting exercise and a bit of crack.

federal soft points at 25 euro@ a box as a general all round bullet are hard to beat i think.