New whitetail rifle
 

I’m thinking of changing up my regular hunting rifle away from my 308. I use 180gr Hornady sst’s and while it works it doesn’t leave a very big exit hole. I shot a deer this year and easily got a complete pass through at 178 yards but the exit wound wasn’t all that big. The deer didn’t go far but there wasn’t much blood until he collapsed. My friend used that rifle a few months ago and took a 200 yard broadside shot and was a little high. The deer ran 50 yards. The exit hole was the same. There was very little blood to track. I’m considering a larger caliber. Of corse sitting around a fire it brings up everyone’s favorite rifle. My father in law refuses to use his 30-06 anymore because using 150gr interlocks, the same problem exists. I have gutted deer he shot using the interlocks and there wasn’t a ton of damage to vitals. What would you use in a situation where the best hunting spots range from 100 yards to 250 yards? My friend has great luck with his 444 marlin but he doesn’t hunt much past 125 yards.

If you're not getting satisfactory results from the SST then you probably have unrealistic expectations.

Your current set up sounds perfect for the ranges you're hunting.


-Jake

If you need something bigger than 30 cal to deer hunt,, your expectations are unrealistic. I use either a 6mm ARC or a 6.5 Grendel aand have zero problems

9 times out of 10 they seem to be good but if I ever have to track it seems they don’t bleed a lot and I have had a few really tough blood trails. Our property is so over grown that if they go into the brush I have a hard time tracking them down. So many game trails and very little blood makes it hard to follow. My brother in law loves his 44 magnum and if he ever has to track the blood trails are huge. Just got me thinking “bigger hole, bigger blood trail”

what bullet do you like with the Grendel? I have an upper on the shelf but haven’t done anything with it yet. I wonder if a different bullet in my 308 will have different results. I have always used the sst because I started loading with them for my 6.8 spc. Most accurate bullet in my arp barrel.

I shoot 123 ELDM's in mine, have taken some large bodied bucks with it, have yet to have one get out of sight.

You might want to try a lighter bullet in that 308. I've used 150 gr. and 165 gr. Hornady interlocks or Sierra game kings at 308 velocities for years in a 30-06 and most recently a 7.5 Swiss. If I shoot them in the chest, they just die. Unless they are perfectly broadside, I aim for the off side shoulder. They seldom get out of sight.

Never had a problem with blood trails if I need to track a deer using 150 grn Rem coreloct bullets.

I think I’ll start with changing up bullets. I guess it’s time to get online and look for some 150’s

I think you need a different bullet not a different caliber. I have had similar results with SST bullets so I don't use them. They don't seem to expand like they should. I would use Remington Core-Lokt bullets. They are my go to factory load. Reloading I use only Nosler partitions.