I have a Browning X-Bolt in a Hell’s Canyon Speed, Suppressor Ready in .308 with an 18" barrel. I have tried numerous factory ammo in it and have found that the Federal Premium 175 grain Terminal Ascent shoots the best in this gun. Most of my shots will be 200 yards and shorter. I just need to know if this bullet will be adequate for whitetail deer. In other words will it expand good and still retain most of its weight with good penetration and a good exit wound. In the past I was shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor with a Hornady 143 grain ELD-X and had issues with the bullet coming to pieces and not creating an exit wound. As long as the deer did not run, I could find the deer, but if it ran there would be no blood trail.I do not want to have this problem with this .308 and this bullet. Some of the bullets I have tried are the Hornady American Whitetail in 150 and 165 grain. The Fed. Prem. 150 grain and 180 grain Nosler Partition. The Nosler brand ammo with a 150 grain Accubond bullet. The Hornady 175 grain ELD-X. And the Fed. Premium 150 grain Barnes TSX bullet. As I said above, the Fed. Premium 150 grain Terminal Ascent gave me the best grouping at @ 1/2" MOA. Any suggestions, opinions, are recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I am open for any information that I can gather to find the most accurate and best performing ammo for this gun.
That bullet is probably the best design for terminal performance. It’ll do exactly what you want. It’s not the ideal choice for high BC or extreme accuracy, but it’s a perfect choice for reasonable accuracy and great terminal performance.
Jim,
Thanks so much for your quick response. I also have a new Fierce Rival XP in 7mm PRC. I actually watched your review on the Fierce Rogue and then compared it with the Rival and I liked the palm swell on the Rival better than the Rogue, so that is what I purchased. So, to follow up on the Terminal Ascent bullet, It also was the best grouping bullet in all of the ones I have tried in my Fierce Rival 7mm PRC. I have been able to get sub 1/2" groups with that bullet @100 yards in my Fierce Rival. I plan on using that gun for my long range weapon. Should that bullet perform well at long distance in the 7mm PRC ? My gun sure does like it and is shooting better than any of the other bullets I have tried. I failed to mention that the Terminal Ascent bullet I used in my 7mm PRC was 155 grain. Is that a good size for whitetail deer and a good combination for that caliber?