So.  I find myself talked into going on an antelope hunt with two of my buddies.  Will be the first time I have actually gone hunting in, well...a long time.

I am limited in my gear...my only real bolt gun is, as mentioned, a Remington 700 .308.  That said, it is a fantastic rifle.  Set up on the bipod on the hood of my truck this summer, I could ring the 8" gong at 425 yards every time, if I took my time and did my part.  That was using 168gr FGGM though.

I am expecting that with the speed goats, I will never get closer than 300 yards.  So, I need a good factory round that I can get comparable accuracy to, so I can go re-zero everything and practice a bit before we go next month.  I understand that I do not have an optimal rifle for this, and I am not interested in injuring some poor animal, so I am not going to bother shooting unless I have a really good shot presented to me.  I'll go for the camaraderie and to get out of the house for a while, and if I get that good shot, I'll take it.

That said, I would like to actually have a chance at hitting something at range.  I have sort of narrowed it down to:

Barnes VorTX, 168gr TTSX (same velocity, BC, and weight as what I have been shooting through it)
Federal ammo with Nosler Accubonds, 165 gr (really close)
Hornady SST, 165 gr (ditto)

I will likely buy a box of each of these and see what the gun likes best.

Any other suggestions?  Are any of these a waste of my time, accuracy-wise?  Anything you can think of that's better?

I have heard the Hornady AMax, although being match/target rounds, are very effective on moderate-sized animals as long as you keep them under 2700fps, but reports differ, so I am not sure I want to chance it.

Well, I bought and tested two of them so far.

The Hornady SST shot...weird.  It would group rounds in two places.  A typical five-shot group with those would have three grouped tightly at the POI, and would put 2 low and left by an inch-ish, again right on top of one another.  It did this three times times, the exact same pattern, and one time with 2 at the POI and 3 an inch low-left.  I don't think it was me...the bench rest was steady enough, I took my time, I wouldn't have said I had any flyers that were my fault.  It was consistent in that pattern.

The Federal with the Nosler bullets was another matter.  4 five-shot groups, the biggest was right at 1", the smallest was under .5"  The other two split the difference at .75"-ish.  These made me very happy.  I started with the scope at the zero mark for the FGGM, and I was around 1" up and 1/2" left.  Three clicks down, two to the right, and I was hitting the bottom of the bull, just under center.  I don't think I could really ask for better than that, I suppose.

I doubt I will try the Barnes VorTX rounds.  I have them in another caliber (300blk), and like them fine, but I doubt they are going to shoot better than the Federal.  Plus they are $50 a box, where the Federal are $30 (the Hornady were $32).  Seems like a waste at this point.  I will just use a Cabela's coupon, pick up another several boxes of the Federal, practice a bit, and save a box for the trip.

Apparently no one cares and I am just typing this as a log for my own info anyway.  

Sounds like you have your ammo sorted out.  

I would practice taking longer shots in field conditions.  Shooting from a bench or rest is one thing but you really need to practice from sitting, Kneeling, and possibly prone.  

Reason I say this is I recently got back from my Antelope hunt and had to take a longer shot than what I had practiced for in a position (kneeling with shooting sticks) that I wasn't real comfortable with.  

I shot him at just under 500yds.  It was the only shot I could get as they had been pressured pretty good for the first week.  Opening day i'm sure I could've gotten within 200yds or so like in the past.

The Barnes TTSX is a great bullet.  it has tremendous penetration.  However, it does seem to work best with high velocities.  Using a .308, which is modest by many velocity standards these days, at 300 yards means impact speeds are fairly low.  The TTSX simply won't have all the speed you'd really want for truly great expansion.  You should expect a fairly narrow but very deep wound channel,  You'll kill the crap out of the hillside beyond the Antelope, but the actual performance on the game will be disappointing....

You will be far better served with the other two.  Quite honestly, my choice would be a Nosler Ballistic Tip.  These bullets are fragile, and I would NEVER use one at high speeds (.30-06 or magnum), let alone use one on truly big game.  However, at 308 speeds and on smaller game like a whitetail, they are fantastic.  Nosler designed them with deer in mind.  Given the size of antelope, the BT's would work incredibly well.  They open up harder and faster at more modest speeds (your 308), and open earlier in the wound channel (ideal for antelope and deer).

Supposedly the accubonds and inter bonds are supposed to open faster, because of the bonding process which apparently softens the jackets somewhat.  My experience with these is limited, but I'm not seeing that happen.  Expansion is indeed faster than something like a partition, and definitely better than a TTSX, but they aren't opening up as quickly as the Ballistic Tip.  But again, i've got limited experience with the Accubond.

Given a .308, 300 yards and a smaller animal like the Antelope, I'd be opting for 1) 150 Ballistic Tip, 2) Hornady SST 3) Accubonds/Interbonds....   Your rifle seems to like the Accubond, so that looks like a go.  One suggestion.. Given the performance of this bullet, I'd personally try for a quartering shot, something like base of the neck/shoulder junction diagonal thru the game and out behind the far side shoulder (or the reverse) over a simple broadside.  Quartering away, in behind the shoulder and out the far side base of the neck/shoulder junction would work wonderfully too.  That diagonal wound track will give you about 6 inches more wound channel over a simple behind the shoulder broadside shot.  It'll give the Accubond more length to expand and work its magic...  

Remember, its a 308 and the actually starting velocity with a 165 will be lower.  If you are shooting Federal's 165 AB load out of a 24" barrel, you supposedly get about 2700 FPS muzzle velocity.  At 300 yards, speeds have dropped to 2100 and change.  Thats not "fast".  At 400 yards the impact speeds are sub 2000 fps.  At that impact speed, the nose of the Accubond will flatten and 'rivet' but its not going to be the tremendous mushroom shaped expansion that you see in magazine ads.  You're going to get a very narrow, very deep wound channel, almost like a FMJ.   It will open, but not hard and fast.  A lot of the expansion will take place beyond the antelope, in the hill behind it....   At ranges longer yet, you may hit the target, but bullet performance will be suffering dramatically.....  If its a 450+ yard shot on that antelope with that ammo and cartridge, I'd pass on the shot.  It won't open as well as it should.  It's too tough at bullet at too low an impact speed.

Warning:  If you are shooting a 20" barreled rifle, knock another 100 yards off those ranges.  Muzzle velocities are likely about 100 fps right from the muzzle....

The ELD-X looks like it would offer some promise.  Its SUPPOSED to be designed to expand at longer ranges.  But I have NO experience with it, so I cannot recommend it.  It could be great.  I just haven't had a chance to personally observe it yet.

Fro

Thank you both for the advice and knowledge.  It's appreciated!

Like I mentioned, I am not going to be taking long shots. I'll be happy with a long weekend of camaraderie, and let my buddies take their animals first. If I get a good shot (especially that quartering one mentioned) I'll take it. Otherwise, I'll get a better caliber hunting rifle before the NEXT trip.

Thanks again!

Nothing wrong with a .308. I would prefer using a 150, or even lighter bullets though. I generally prefer midweight to heavy Bullets for general purpose use but you have enough time to find a 150 grain load like a ballistic tip, or a fusion, etc

Prit near ideal.