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.308 for deer ?

Crappiepro

.270 WIN
Whats your thought on a .308 for deer hunting.
Indiana is moving toward openning the calibers of rifles up and I was thinking of a Ruger American .308 bolt gun.
Ive been wanting a yote gun anyway.
 
You can't do much better. The .308 fits right in the middle of great deer calibers IMHO.
 
It appears to be a good rifle but I honestly have no experience with it. I've owned Ruger handguns and .22's and never had a problem with them.
 
I have a Ruger American in .308 with a 3-9x scope on it. I got it about 4-5 months after they came out so it has the longer barrel and black stock. My best group at 100 yards was about 3/4" but most are in the 2-3" range. Some of that is me and I think some is the ammo. I will be trying some reloads soon and hope to get find a load that will give a consistent 1 1/2" which I think is realistic for the gun and my shooting. I would buy it again.
 
Welp, I just went and bought it. $323 out the door. They were on sell for $279. I had to buy a Lockable gun case because of being within so many feet from a school but Ill use it I guess.
Gonna be looking for a scope/rings and shell's here in a week.
Any scope and ring suggestions. It's a deer gun so.......
 
ive heard other rumor of Indiana allowing high power rifle hunting for deer, if you dont mind me asking where did your information come from? as far as a scope you have to take into consideration where you will be hunting and how far your shots may be. as an Indiana resident I will say i cant think of anywhere i would hunt that i would shoot over 300 yards. there are places no doubt i could take the shot, but I would not be comfotable with myself being accurate enough. that being said a decent Simmons 3-9 should be sufficient. i have a simmons 3-12 pro sport on my .308 that ive shot out to 400 yards with. have it zeroed for 200. and would no doubt be able to hit the kill zone of a deer with it, at that range. at 400 yards i'm using SWAG, and kentucky windage to hit my target because of the trajectory of a .308 round.
 
I like the 308.

It's a little "too much" for where I hunt, but more than capable.

Sorry to hear about your gun law. To be honest, that really bites.
 
ive heard other rumor of Indiana allowing high power rifle hunting for deer, if you dont mind me asking where did your information come from? as far as a scope you have to take into consideration where you will be hunting and how far your shots may be. as an Indiana resident I will say i cant think of anywhere i would hunt that i would shoot over 300 yards. there are places no doubt i could take the shot, but I would not be comfotable with myself being accurate enough. that being said a decent Simmons 3-9 should be sufficient. i have a simmons 3-12 pro sport on my .308 that ive shot out to 400 yards with. have it zeroed for 200. and would no doubt be able to hit the kill zone of a deer with it, at that range. at 400 yards i'm using SWAG, and kentucky windage to hit my target because of the trajectory of a .308 round.
I really dont see me taken a shot over 200yrds. I have place's where it's ok to take a shot like that even to 300. I asure you it will be sighted in and I will feel comfortable taken a 200yrd shot or I wont be using it to hunt with, I will also take time to know whats on the other side of my target.
I was raised shooting gun's, I was taught gun safety.
I've been wanting a yote gun and a target gun to tinker with.
 
With our population density, and the terrain, the thought of every swinging Richard roaming the woods with a high power kind of worries me. Fortunately every place I would hunt would be private property, but thats not to say the guy two fields over wouldn't send an errant round.
 
I wanted a gun capable of long range accuracy, with enough energy for hunting purposes. The gun is more than capable, but the optic,is just what was on it when I got it. I intend to upgrade it soon to something that allows for proper holdover, and range estimation. Just haven't gotten to it yet.
 
70% of Indiana is farm land. I can't understand why they limit hunting to shotguns. Even Michigan had some sense when it split the state in 1/2 for shotgun/long gun hunting. If they set it up so you had to be 2 miles from a formal city limit, or something similar would make more sense.

If I was to pick a cartridge for deer and varmint hunting. I'd pick either a .243 or a .270, instead of a .308. They have less recoil, and hold a flatter trajectory than the heavier 150-180 grain bullet in the .308. And, there isn't a deer in the US that so tough it can't be dropped with either of those cartridges.
 
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I shoot a .308 primarily as my deer gun
 
If I was to pick a cartridge for deer and varmint hunting. I'd pick either a .243 or a .270, instead of a .308. They have less recoil, and hold a flatter trajectory than the heavier 150-180 grain bullet in the .308. And, there isn't a deer in the US that so tough it can't be dropped with either of those cartridges.

They are both excellent for varmint and whitetail. So is the 6.5mm 260-Remington cartridge which has long range ballistics far superior to almost any other factory cartridge.

But .308 Winchester is an outstanding deer hunting cartridge.
 
I tagged out this year with a 308. All my buddys use a 30-06 or a 270. Have no complaints about this caliber and would highly recommend. BUCK 7.jpg
 
In Maine my 308 has gotten me roughly 25 to 30 deer over the past 40 years. Lately I have been using a 30-06. My first buck fell to my dad's 12ga with OO buck shot.
 
I hunt large (Red and Sika Deer) and small (Cottontail Deer) with both .308 and 30.06 rifles. If I have to do a lot of walking, I grab the .308 because it's lighter and I'm getting older...:cool:
 
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