308 Bullet heads

[Sean Douglas]

Hello everyone I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. Me and a freind are currently very early in the process of organising our first safari and are trying to get all the necessary equipment sorted.

We both currently own 308 rifles which we home load and are planning on using at home on large deer/boar and eventually in Africa on plains game.

Speaking to a PH he suggested that the 308 is perfectly adequate for plains game but to use good quality bullet heads (he suggested barnes ttsx or accubond) around 165+ grains.

Having researched the caliber I have narrowed the options to ttsx, hornady gmx, accubond and nosler bonded base as they are easy to find in the UK.

So far tried the ttsx and like the results. But would appreciate advice on the other bullets or any bullets that I may have missed.

Thanks

 

[wipartimer]

My wife and I have had great success with factory loaded 150 gr TTSXs in our. 308s.

 

[Sean Douglas]

Yeah early days yet but so far impressed with the ttsx. Friends had a roe buck and I shot a fox at 200 yards. Good expansion on a relatively small deer and seems flat to 200.

 

[meigsbucks]

First of all: welcome to AH.
The 165 or 180 gr Barnes are good all around choices for game up to the size of kudu and would suffice for eland, although I’d prefer a bigger gun for that critter... they are BIG!
The Accubond would be a decent choice in the same weights, but I’d prefer a tougher bullet like the Barnes. A bullet not on your list is the Swift A-frame. If you can find them, they are an excellent choice. In fact I’m working on a load for the 165 Swift for my .308.

 

[Sean Douglas]

Thats great feedback thanks. Currently looking at a cull package in Africa with the largest animal being a non trophy kudu and what I've been told so far matches what you've said with the ealand being the next step up in terms of size and calibre choice. Also I'll be sure to check out the swift bullets.

 

[Ray B]

I've never cared much for the expanding mono-metal bullets, preferring mono-metal solids. As such, for expanding bullets I prefer bullets with a lead core. the current leaders in this category, in my opinion are North Fork and Swift. But I'm not sure if you can get either of these to your location.

 

[tarbe]

165gr TTSX will do great in your .308 - so would the 150. Just put them where they need to go and they will do the rest.

 

[Newboomer]

308 with Barnes TSX or TTSX 150 or 180 is about perfect for pg. I'd go 375HH with Barnes 350 gr TSX for eland. They are huge and amazingly tough.

 

[Rob404]

My 308 seems to like 165s and I'm a fan of Sierra Game Kings

 

[mdwest]

My wife and I use 165gr TTSX in our 308s... and have successfully taken several African plains game with them.... Impala, Blesbok, Kudu, Zebra, Wildebeest, Warthog, Sable, Gemsbok, and a few others have fallen to the them with zero issues for us..

 

[Sean Douglas]

Well I've just picked up some accubond to test but it's looking like the ttsx might be the way to go, thanks for all the comments. I'll start looking for a reliable supplier in the UK soon.

 

[bruce moulds]

sean,
you do not need to say bullet heads.
it is just a bullet.
when the bullet is loaded into a primed charged case, that makes a round.
bruce.

 

[Shootist43]

Sean, because the Barnes TTSX and or the TSX are monometal read all copper, they are lighter than bullets with a lead core. Therefore they need to be longer to "make weight." Generally speaking, one would use a 150 Gr TSX vs a 165 or 168 Gr. lead core bullet. BTW welcome to AH.

 

[Von S.]

Hello Sean,

Welcome Aboard!

My good friend and brother from Alabama uses nothing but the 308 that I built for him years ago and only uses the 147 grain mil surplus ammo that he snags a fresh can from me every year before we head to Pennsylvania on our annual groundhog murdering expedition that I just got back from and as always my friend outs shot me.

We have been hunting for PG together and I hit a nice Impala with a highly expansive light weight bullet out of a 458 that took out his heart and lungs.....along with other stuff....and blew it out the other side. The Impala went close to 80 yards before it face planted. Of course my friend laughed like hell and an hour or so later came his turn and he drilled one right through the heart. It ran about 100 yards and stopped....looked around, walked about 40 yards and stopped again. Then it fell over and didn't even twitch.

So as far as I'm concerned most if not all animals in Africa appear to have an extra desire to just not faint and die as easily as something like a wild Texas hog or a caribou from North of the Hudson Bay.

I have shot Impala with a 264 WinMag and they went straight down. I have also shot many animals in the neck and all have just collapsed. Head shots work well, but don't make much sense if you are looking for a mount.

At one time I had quite a bit to do with the shooting industry and would get a whole bunch of "free stuff" from all sorts of manufacturers. One of which were bullet manufacturers so I did have quite a bit of different choices when it came to what to load what for.

And though it is only my opinion, I believe that there is most definitely a best caliber, best bullet and best speed to kill each and every different animal on this planet. And as others will do, there is really only one that is the best. Of course if you ask my friend from Alabama he may tell you that it's the 147 grain 308 as he can shoot anything's pupil out at 500 yards on a good day.

The big question is just how good of a shot are you?

This site has a section where the show the internal organs of animals you may be hunting. It most certainly helps to know where the bullet needs to go.

I will say that my first choice for PG in Africa would be the 375H&H or the 378 Weatherby. Sure.....they may sound like overkill, but when you have animals that can weigh from 30 to 1500 pounds they start to make sense. In reality having two rifles for PG makes the most sense.

Work with your pH as he will attempt to steer you straight. Tell him of your wants and expectations and you'll have a good time.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

A TTSX will serve you well. 150, 165, 168g- whatever shoots well will do the job if you put it in the right place.

 

[Ryan]

My go to for my 30-06 is the TTSX in 168 that I used in Namibia for several plains game and a few caribou in Alaska with no problems and now the 150 grain TTSX for caribou this season. The 168 is built for the 308 and 30-06.
Otherwise I used to use the Hornady Interbond in 150 grain for medium game. It dropped a Dall sheep and a mouflon without a problem. I'd go with the 180 grain bullet with a bonded bullet if I wanted to use it for an all around round for plains game.

 

[ack]

Swift A-Frames..They are very accurate in our rifles..Call Swift ,they have a website.