Thread: What's your pet Sika load?

I agree with you on that...With your heavier projectile there is a noticable move over the years to extract as much usefullness from the projectile as you can get out of it before it passes out the other side of the deers hide. IE the frangible projectile. Whereas we who use the trebblys have seen the trend to a less frangible, harder, partition style projectile. The projectile that just breaks the skin on the otherside and gives a decent blood trail is the ideal.

I wish one day that someone could put up a picture of a sika on here with the areas on the animals clearly outlined in red where a hit from 308 bullet causes a fatal injury and a .222, .222 mag, 223, 5.56 hit in the same spot does not.

The 308 has been around for awhile now. Is it just nostalgia thats has kept it going. Like the old Deerculler who drags his ww11 303 out of the hot watercupboard and takes down to the range and tells every one that it was the best damned Deer and German killing gun the world has ever produced.

"Why I even shot a deer in the foot once and it fell down stone dead"

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Hit a sika to low when trying to hit it between the eyes and the bullet passes through a lot of nasal tissue and under the brain cavity. It (222, 223 etc) dosen't have enough energy to carry on and bust the neck. They bleed like anything while running away, often never to be seen again. I have seen this happen more than once. An aquantance of mine who did a reasonable amout of meat hunting frequently stated that with head shots, if they weren't dead on the spot you often didn't find them.
Frontal head shots from a 308 mean a dead deer.
I don't believe it is nostalgia that keeps the 308 going, it is the fact that it works.
But in saying that, I shot two reds with one shot and it was with a 222, the first through the head and the other in the neck. Two mates witnessed it too.

I believe you just put the subject neatly to bed '7mm' The head shot is a tricky one with any calibre, especially up close where the projectile is still traveling below the line of sight. The head like the deers neck is surrounded by a lot of non fatal tissue, the head has a lot of non fatal tissue and bone where a bullet causes grevious but non fatal wounds. I pick up the odd one with the dog that has had its jaw blown off and they simply starve to death.

Nor in truth '7mm', do I believe that it is nostalgia that keeps the 308 hanging in out there, anymore than 'Thar' probably believes that a lot of us ex cullers continue to use a 223 on Sika for the same reason.

I do believe that the 308 share of the market is fading as people switch to other calibre's whilst the 222. 222mag. 223/5.56 share of the center fire market continues to expand

For Fallow I have yet to see anything as devastating as a 308 with 125 BTs at 3100.
I shot quite a few last weekend, had some marginal shots & only a couple of issues.
None escaped after being hit & few went more than a step or three, by in large BIG holes help.
I have seen a lot shot with hard/slow bullets & they bugger off real quick even though they were hit well.

I'm not sure where the idea is coming from that the 308 is dieing, try & get a Tikka in one.....

Long or short range. Interested in projectiles people are using on them. Generally with regards to reloaded ammo. Excludes factory, but if you have a good factory load would be interested.

Time depending I spend most my time on Sika. I currently have a .308 which I load 165 btsp and 130 hp Speer. Never had trouble with either on Sika or hybrids. The 165 does 2680 fps and constantly performs for me but have been thinking about switching to a lighter cal but what I've go really works. It an't broke, not going to fix it. Maybe someone will say something that jumps out at me.

I've got a .260 Rem reamer you could borrow Dan.