.308 ammo Bear, Deer, Target/Defense

Discussion in 'Browning BAR Rifle' started by E350, Oct 21, 2021.

  1. E350

    E350 .22LR

    I am considering buying a Browning BAR MK 3 DBM .308

    For various reasons, including that it is currently still legal in California.

    For you "true" .308 guys and gals out there, what are the best .308 ammo Bear, Deer, Target/Defense?

    Let's assume that I eventually would like to reload, so would like to stay within the best and same brass/primer family for all three ammunition types (assuming that there are differences in brass and/or primers).



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    BTW, although the snip above shows a 2-part picatinny rail, apparently the actual rail on the newer guns is one piece from one end to the other.
  2. Bill Idaho

    Bill Idaho .270 WIN

    For bear, I would suggest the heaviest bullet-somewhere in the 180 grain and up range.
    For deer, you can throttle things back a bit and go with something in the 150 grain area.
    For target, hardly anything beats FGMM (Federal Gold Medal Match), either in 168 or 175, OTM.
    For defense, I have been involved in numerous tests/comparisons and something along the lines of Hornady TAP.

    There is no optimum round in the list you gave that one particular round would work for all your criteria. (Although, anything taking a .308 round will realize it, if-ya-know-what-I-mean!)
    Each rifle shoots different rounds with different results in regards to accuracy. Bullet design is a shade more predictable. A deer round, for example, is designed to humanely kill the animal with minimal damage to the meat. A defense round is designed to kill, period, with little regard for meat salvage. A target round is designed for the utmost in accuracy and consistency. A bear round is designed to provide maximum penetration with a controlled bullet expansion.

    I have seen (and own---before the boating accident) rifles that will group 1 1/2" with one brand of ammo, and 4" with another brand. Yep, there can be that much variation.
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2021
    E350 likes this.
  3. E350

    E350 .22LR

    Hunting ammunition will need to be lead free. These are Hornady Bullets not Ammunition. Unfortunately, I do not reload. At least not yet.

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    Here is a Hornady GMX Ammunition:

    https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/308-win-165-gr-gmx-superformance#!/

    What lead free ammunition would you recommend?

    Will the 12" barrel twist be too slow for copper bullets to be accurate?

    Also since the BAR DBM's barrel is only 18" long and completes one twist in 12" (as opposed to the current 10" designs) I wonder if the GMX bullets would expand at all?

    Chuck Hawks apparently is not a fan:

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    Last edited: Oct 26, 2021

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