The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - .308 light & fast, and terminal ballistics

Zak Smith · December 2, 2000, 08:35 PM

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this question, but I will be reloading for this purpose, so..

How do I find out what minimum velocity various bullets will expand sufficiently, e.g., in medium-sized game like deer? In other words, is there any reference of terminal ballistics for different bullets at different velocities?

The reason I ask is that I was running some .308 loads through a chrono, the same load in my 18" .308 was about 200fps slower than my 20" .308.

In particular, from the 20" rifle, I was getting around 2700fps with a 150gr bullet. 2500fps in the 18" seems a little slow, so I am considering making up some 110 or 125/130gr loads for this rifle.

Any suggestions?

thanks
-z

December 2, 2000, 08:35 PM	#1
Zak Smith Senior Member Join Date: December 12, 1999 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado, USA Posts: 2,682	I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this question, but I will be reloading for this purpose, so.. How do I find out what minimum velocity various bullets will expand sufficiently, e.g., in medium-sized game like deer? In other words, is there any reference of terminal ballistics for different bullets at different velocities? The reason I ask is that I was running some .308 loads through a chrono, the same load in my 18" .308 was about 200fps slower than my 20" .308. In particular, from the 20" rifle, I was getting around 2700fps with a 150gr bullet. 2500fps in the 18" seems a little slow, so I am considering making up some 110 or 125/130gr loads for this rifle. Any suggestions? thanks -z