I have secured a few properties to hunt groundhogs. These will all be in PA, so I cannot use my AR, yet. I don't want to buy a new rifle, so I will be using my 308 win. Can anyone recommend a light 309 mold? The rifle is 1/10 twist.
I have secured a few properties to hunt groundhogs. These will all be in PA, so I cannot use my AR, yet. I don't want to buy a new rifle, so I will be using my 308 win. Can anyone recommend a light 309 mold? The rifle is 1/10 twist.
If I were to use my .308 with cast for groundhogs I would probably lean toward one of the silhouette bullets, either the RCBS or the Lyman. I have had better luck with RCBS molds, as I think was often the case a few years ago when I bought mine. I did purchase both molds and with the Lyman the cavities were offset by about .003". I hope they have improved their quality since that time. Tom at Accurate Molds is my default mold maker but I'm not sure Tom can do a meplat as small as what you would want.
Good Luck,
Rick
Why light CB? I run a 145gr FP PB @2100 from a BO, 165gr FP GC 2700 in 308. Lighter boolits are pretty short to get into the throat of the 308. Maybe a 30 carbine mould would work. Even the 30 cal soupcan would be a close range load.
Whatever!
It was just on the news this week the PAGC gave the ok for semi auto for small game but still no go on deer and bear
If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!
I have good luck with the noe 311-188 30 hunter mold running around 1600fps. I am gas checking and lubing with 2500+. May not work powder coated as the nose is slightly engraved.
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http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...3g683ik2qhgmu7
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.p...3g683ik2qhgmu7
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/30...oint-gas-check
Or my 1st choice would be a Lyman 311359. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lyman-311359...sAAOSwmgJY2IY3
I used to use the Speer 130 gr hollow point out of my .308 for ground squirrels.
Semper Fi!
Currently casting for .223, .308, .30-06, .30-40 Krag, 9mm, .38/.357, 10mm, 44 Mag and 45 ACP.
I like strange looking boolits!
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Many years back when all I had was a .308W with a 10" twist I killed a lot of rock chucks (groundhogs western cousin) with a Lyman 311041 HP cast of COWWs + 50% lead (with todays COWWs add 2% tin then mix with the lead) loaded over 26.5 gr H4895 in WRA 67 cases with CCI 200 primers and a Dacron filler. Velocity was/is right at 1850 - 1900 fps (24" barrel). It killed the chucks w/o problem out to 200 - 250 yards.
Larry Gibson
do not use a silhouette type boolit on Marmots.
it will pencil through them and the best you'll get is a flopping around animal that you can't hit with subsequent shots.
use a flat nose and loads just like you'd use for deer hunting.
I use the rcbs 30-150 in both the 30-30 and the 30-06, I use the accurate 31-165A in the 308's.
their flat noses at 1900-2400 fps will put a chuck in it's place right now.
I laid out a rock chuck last year with my 300 xcb using the accurate mold at about 250yds and it just flat lost it's head when the boolit hit.
I was running the load at about 2450 fps.+/-.
the chrono showed speeds about 25 fps on both sides of that number showing I should probably use a tuft of Dacron on top of the 4064.
I was so excited about the first shot hit at distance I didn't even notice I had scratched the stock on the lava rock I was resting on.
it was sure more energetic than my 223 loads.
With cast and flat angles ricochets can be an issue. Not what you asked for but if I was hunting groundhogs with a 308 I would be using 125 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips or the equivalent V-Max.
For a J bullet load in a .308 the Speer 125 TNT over Hodgdon's starting load of 46 gr of IMR 8208 XBR for about 3000 fps is outstanding!
For a cast bullet load I would choose the Accurate 31-160G (XCB bullet) and H4895 and go as fast as you can go accurately.
I would think the Lee 309-150 would hammer them.
A 145gr cast 308 boolit is a lightweight. I have found in my extremely rust damaged bore 303 Brit that a 147gr big enough to seat in an unsized neck shoots very well indeed. Your 308 would have a different throat but perhaps the same principle would apply? The fat boolit engages the throat taper even with it away from the rifling leade. But the 308 throat is different.
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''Assume everything that moves is a human before identifying as otherwise''
Thanks for all the replies.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |