.308 Winchester Ballistics Chart

.308 Winchester, 168 grains, leaving the muzzle at 2,650 feet per second and zeroed at 100 yards, lands 15.3 inches low at 300 yards and 62.7 inches low at 500, with 1,162 foot-pounds still on it at 500. That is the short answer; the full .308 ballistics chart is below, and every load on it opens in the calculator with its figures already in.

The .308 ballistics chart: how far each load drops

Standard sea-level day, 100-yard zero, scope 1.5 inches above the bore, 10 mph crosswind from three o’clock. Drop is measured against the line of sight, so a negative number is below your aiming point. Every muzzle velocity and ballistic coefficient is the figure the maker publishes for that catalog number.

.308 Winchester drop in inches from a 100-yard zero, September 2026
Load MV BC (G1) 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd 600 yd
168 gr — Boat-tail hollow point match 2,650 fps 0.462 −4.3 −15.3 −34.3 −62.7 −102.2
175 gr — Boat-tail hollow point match 2,600 fps 0.505 −4.4 −15.7 −34.9 −63.4 −102.7
178 gr — Polymer-tipped hunting 2,610 fps 0.552 −4.3 −15.2 −33.7 −60.9 −98.2
150 gr — Jacketed soft point 2,820 fps 0.313 −4.0 −14.8 −34.5 −65.5 −111.3
Line chart of .308 Winchester bullet drop in inches out to 600 yards from a 100-yard zero, comparing the 168 gr, 175 gr, 178 gr, 150 gr factory loads
Each load’s path against the line of sight, 100-yard zero, out to 600 yards. Drawn from the same figures as the table above.

What is left of the energy

.308 Winchester remaining energy in foot-pounds
Load Muzzle 100 yd 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd 600 yd
168 gr — Boat-tail hollow point match 2,619 2,251 1,925 1,636 1,383 1,162 973
175 gr — Boat-tail hollow point match 2,626 2,284 1,978 1,704 1,461 1,248 1,061
178 gr — Polymer-tipped hunting 2,692 2,370 2,079 1,817 1,581 1,370 1,184
150 gr — Jacketed soft point 2,648 2,125 1,689 1,325 1,027 789 607

What a 10 mph crosswind does

.308 Winchester wind deflection in inches, 10 mph full-value crosswind
Load 200 yd 300 yd 400 yd 500 yd 600 yd
168 gr — Boat-tail hollow point match 3.2 7.5 13.9 22.6 33.9
175 gr — Boat-tail hollow point match 3.0 7.0 12.9 20.9 31.3
178 gr — Polymer-tipped hunting 2.7 6.3 11.6 18.7 27.9
150 gr — Jacketed soft point 4.5 10.7 20.2 33.6 51.5

Run your own rifle

Every load above opens in the ballistic calculator with its figures already filled in. Change the muzzle velocity to whatever your chronograph actually says, set your zero, and drop, energy, wind, recoil and scope clicks all update together.

How this .308 ballistics chart was worked out

A point-mass solver stepping half a thousandth of a second at a time, using the G1 standard drag function — the published table of drag against speed that the ballistic coefficients on the box are measured against. Air is the ICAO standard sea-level day: 59 °F, 29.92 inches of mercury, dry. Crosswind uses the lag-time method. The full method, the formulas and a worked example you can check on paper are on the ballistic calculator page.

The check that matters: the muzzle-energy column above is computed, not copied, and it lands on the same figure the maker prints for every load on this page. If it did not, nothing here would be worth reading.

Questions and answers

How much does .308 drop at 500 yards?

About 63 inches below the line of sight from a 100-yard zero, for the 168-grain load at 2,650 fps. Across every load on this page the spread at 500 yards is 4.6 inches, so the load you pick matters less than the zero you pick.

What is the best zero for .308?

Two hundred yards suits most hunting. It keeps the bullet within a few inches of the line of sight from the muzzle out past 250 yards, so there is nothing to think about on a close shot. A hundred yards is the better choice if you dial your turret for everything past that, because the come-ups are simpler to read. Set the zero field in the calculator to either and compare.

Does barrel length change these numbers?

It changes the only number that really matters. These velocities come from the maker’s test barrel, usually 24 inches. A 22-inch barrel typically gives up 25 to 50 fps, and a 20-inch barrel more than that. Chronograph yours and type the real figure in.

Why does the heaviest bullet not always drop the most?

Because drop follows time of flight, and time of flight follows how well the bullet holds its speed — which is ballistic coefficient, not weight. A heavy bullet that starts slower can still catch up by 500 yards if its coefficient is high enough. The wind table above shows the same effect more starkly.

Where the numbers come from

Data updated September 2026.

All retrieved 15 September 2026. Drop, energy and wind are computed from those published figures, not reprinted from the maker’s own tables.

This .308 ballistics chart is one of several. Other cartridges: 6.5 Creedmoor, .30-06 Springfield, .270 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum. Everything else we have built is on the tools page.