Bullet Drop on .308

statjunk · 10-19-2004, 10:56 AM

I scouted a really nice spot for hunting this year. It will offer shots at 200 yards on the short end and about 500 to 600 yards on the long end.

I'm hunting with a Winchester M70 Heavy Varmit SS in .308 win. The round that my rifle shoots the best at 200 yards is Federal 165 gr soft points.

Does anyone have experience with the approximate bullet drop that I will experience during the hunt at variying distances between 200 and 500 yards?

Between 100 and 200 yards I see about a 2" drop.

Thanks for the info

Tom

10-19-2004, 11:27 AM

This is considering 165gr bullet with .380BC launched at 2750fps and 100yard zero.

What this should show you is keep your shots under300 yards.

Yards Velocity Energy POI
200 2274 1894 -10.5 -2.9
225 2218 1802 -13.5 -4.7
250 2163 1713 -17.0 -6.9
275 2109 1629 -20.9 -9.5
300 2055 1547 -25.3 -12.7
325 2002 1468 -30.2 -16.3
350 1950 1393 -35.5 -20.4
375 1899 1321 -41.5 -25.1
400 1849 1252 -48.0 -30.4
425 1800 1186 -55.3 -36.4
450 1752 1124 -63.3 -43.2
475 1704 1063 -72.3 -50.8
500 1658 1007 -81.8 -59.1

James B · 10-19-2004, 02:35 PM

I sight my 308 2 1/2 inches high at 100 yards That put it 8 inches low at 300 yards. Beyond that range without a laser range finder, you are just quessing. Even the 300 Mags drop like a rock out there at 500 yards. and the drop would be 40 inches or so. I won't shoot at a deer at much over 300 yards. 15 years of shooting steel Silhouettes at 500 meters showed me far to many variables at that range. Like they say a lot of things can happen in 500 meters and most of them are bad. Its one thing to shoot at a target at that range but game animals deserve a bit more consideration. Your 308 will carry enough energy out there for deer but the good shot placement gets pretty iffy. IMO. Good hunting.

10-19-2004, 03:09 PM

James hit it right about the energy. Look at my initial run, and you see energy numbers around 1000 at 500 yards. Not much hydrostatic shock and not much chance getting a heart shot. You need one of the other for a nice kill.

stress-relief · 10-20-2004, 09:42 AM

Play with this on-line ballistic calculator. You can plug in bullets with different ballistic coeficients, muzzle velocities, play with the altitude and temperature, look at the effect of different cross winds:
http://www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx

statjunk · 10-20-2004, 10:47 AM

Thanks for all the info guys.

Big Country, what do the last two negative numbers represent? Is it an interval?

Tom

10-20-2004, 01:22 PM

One of them is actual bullet flight and the other is POI relative to zero point.

CanWoodsman · 10-20-2004, 04:32 PM

For long range hunting with a round like your 308 you want to zero at 200 or 250 yards. This will give you a much longer point blank aiming range. Anything over 350 or 400 yards and you will really have to deal with wind drift, shots up or down hill & accurite range estimation. Also ensure you have a stable shooting rest & lots of expierience shooting long range. Retained energy for your round must also be considered.

Good Hunting