.308 For Small Game

[Detoxx100]

We can all agree that the 308 isn't the practical choice for small game hunting (in my case, I'm interested in rabbits).

But are there 308 loads specifically for small game hunting? I did some searches online and read that loads like the "HORNADY BOAT TAIL SPIRE POINT LIGHT MAGNUM RIFLE AMMUNITION" (link below) is a good choice so that you can preserve the meat and end up not leaving a big mess. Also, read that the best loads can be hand-loads, but I have no experience with reloading.

Any thoughts on this or does anyone have experience using similar loads?

http://www.brownells.com/ammunition/...8%20Winchester

Thanks in advance.

[football061]

We can all agree that the 308 isn't the practical choice for small game hunting (in my case, I'm interested in rabbits).

But are there 308 loads specifically for small game hunting? I did some searches online and read that loads like the "HORNADY BOAT TAIL SPIRE POINT LIGHT MAGNUM RIFLE AMMUNITION" (link below) is a good choice so that you can preserve the meat and end up not leaving a big mess. Also, read that the best loads can be hand-loads, but I have no experience with reloading.

Any thoughts on this or does anyone have experience using similar loads?

http://www.brownells.com/ammunition/...8%20Winchester

Thanks in advance.

Ummmmmmmmmm......why would you ever do such a thing? A .308 for a rabbit? Shit, a .22 hollowpoint damn near ruins a squirrel if you don't hit it in the head! I'd expect a .308 will blow any small game to hell unless you can hit them in the head.

[Qtrborecrazy]

Your kidding right?

[MT1]

I must have missed where it says it is good for preserving meat. All I saw that was anywhere close is it's referenced use for varmints. Game hunting is about food collection. Varmint hunting is about blowing big holes in usually small critters.

[pennlineman]

It may not be as ridiculous as you may think. The old timers would hunt small game with .32 caliber muzzle loaders. It would however require reloading. Some sort of cast bullet, maybe even a round ball over a very lite charge of powder. This would work provided that the load would shoot accurately out of your rifle. The legality of hunting small game with a center fire rifle may be an issue too, no sure on that one.

[Detoxx100]

My apologies if I wasn't clear.

I'm simply asking if anyone else heard about loads such as these, that's all.

Obviously, the most optimal and popular choice for small game is the 22LR.

Just some background:

I hunted deer and waterfowl over the past years, but never tried small game.

So rather than investing in a smaller caliber rifle, I was just curious about a special load for my Remington 700.

(Or my other option would be my shotgun with small game loads)

Thanks.

[R L Suehr]

It may not be as ridiculous as you may think. The old timers would hunt small game with .32 caliber muzzle loaders. It would however require reloading. Some sort of cast bullet, maybe even a round ball over a very lite charge of powder. This would work provided that the load would shoot accurately out of your rifle. The legality of hunting small game with a center fire rifle may be an issue too, no sure on that one.

I don't think it has as much to do with the actual bore diameter than the energy involved. A light black powder load in a .32 cal muzzle loader probably would not have much more down range energy than a modern .22 load. A .308 round has Around 2200 ftlbs of energy at 100yds. Standard velocity .22 lr is only @ 75ftlbs of energy at the same distance. A 45 grain .32 cal round ball fired @ 1200 fps would have very similiar energy at the same distances as the .22.

[R L Suehr]

My apologies if I wasn't clear.

I'm simply asking if anyone else heard about loads such as these, that's all.

Obviously, the most optimal and popular choice for small game is the 22LR.

Just some background:

I hunted deer and waterfowl over the past years, but never tried small game.

So rather than investing in a smaller caliber rifle, I was just curious about a special load for my Remington 700.

(Or my other option would be my shotgun with small game loads)

Thanks.

Go with the shotgun if it is all you have available to you. There isn't really any factory loadings in .308 that would bee suitable for small game. I'm not even sure you could down load a .308 yourself and retain any reasonable accuracy to do what you are looking for.

Why no .22 rifle? You could pick up a used marlin or mossberg for cheap (think $100-150). If you like to shoot .22 is a tramendious amount of fun and is cheaper to practice with than your .308.

[wrangler1120]

Its against regulations to shoot a bullet larger than .224 for small game in Pennsylvania.

[Tomcat088]

Its against regulations to shoot a bullet larger than .224 for small game in Pennsylvania.

If this is true, then I'd definitely make sure to not use your .308 on small game. I'm not from PA, so I can't help you on the laws there, but I'm sure some more on the board will chime in. I do have some advice on that particular bullet design though.

I must have missed where it says it is good for preserving meat. All I saw that was anywhere close is it's referenced use for varmints. Game hunting is about food collection. Varmint hunting is about blowing big holes in usually small critters.

What MT1 is saying is exactly right. Most "varmint" rounds are design to be "explosive", or at the very least accurate and fairly volatile. The information provided say that the load is using a Hornady V-max bullet. I can tell you from experience that it's a "volatile" round that likes to fragment. So if you're using these particular bullets on an animal that you intend on keeping for meat, it's not going to work out very well. Even if you were to hit them in the head, the meat you would recover would be pretty blood shot. If you were to hit them in the body, you'd see something that most would describe as an "explosive" effect.