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308 Ammo... I know I know

S

Snip-er

Private
Minuteman
Dec 23, 2017
91
1
#1
I just got a Savage Stealth in 308. I will only be doing target shooting... not Comp... yet anyway... I am looking for a decent load that won't break the bank, but somehow shoot sub MOA or close. I'm a firm believer of training and practicing with just one load, but I am new to rifles other than my Infantry days 25 years ago, so I just want to be able to buy something in bulk at a fairly good price that will give me a consistent shot group.

I know this has probably been asked a million times, but I really appreciate everyone's help in this manner.
 
#4
yep federal gold medal match. from what i've been told, (and done) 168 is fine within 5-600 yds or use 175g if shooting past that.

use ammoseek.com to find best price, but make sure you do factor in freight costs.
 
#6
davsco said:
yep federal gold medal match. from what i've been told, (and done) 168 is fine within 5-600 yds or use 175g if shooting past that.

use ammoseek.com to find best price, but make sure you do factor in freight costs.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at those obviously, but I'm also looking to see if there is a somewhat comparable load that is cheaper to use.
 
#10
Snip-er said:
Thanks Mcameron.. just looked, but the Black Hills is definitely more than I'm looking to spend. Would like to stay at or below a $1 per round
Click to expand...
"cheap" and "accurate" are not words commonly seen together in the precision rifle world.


might also want to keep an eye out for XM118LR.....still goes for about $1/ round
 
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#11
The Federal GMM or the Black Hills are both favorite factory loaded industry stand buys. I don’t think there will be much that you can’t get done, with a factory loaded round, that these won’t do. As far as cost; I always just figure “it is what it is.” I’m not being a smart a$$, and I don’t in any way mean to sound dismissive, but short of handloading, and finding your exact load for your rifle, those two are THE rounds to pick. I would definitely try the Hornady ELD-M as well. I believe theirs is a 178 load. Not absolutely positive, but I think it is. The ELD-M in 140 and 147 have both been superb in my 6.5CM. I’d definitely try them in .308.
 
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#12
TargetsportsUSA has FGMM in both 168g and 175 g loads for an everyday price of $19.99 per 20, or under $1 per cartridge.
https://www.targetsportsusa.com/308-winchester762x51mm-nato-ammo-c-101.aspx#Ma38|

Sometimes they offer it on sale for $18-19. Order a case of 200 and shipping is free. Truth is that you MAY find a cheaper load that will work well in your rifle, but as has been said already, precision ammunition and cheap are not very common and you can waste a lot of money chasing it.
 
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#13
lash said:
TargetsportsUSA has FGMM in both 168g and 175 g loads for an everyday price of $19.99 per 20, or under $1 per cartridge.
https://www.targetsportsusa.com/308-winchester762x51mm-nato-ammo-c-101.aspx#Ma38|

Sometimes they offer it on sale for $18-19. Order a case of 200 and shipping is free. Truth is that you MAY find a cheaper load that will work well in your rifle, but as has been said already, precision ammunition and cheap are not very common and you can waste a lot of money chasing it.
Click to expand...

Thanks Lash.. I will give that a look see. Appreciate it.
 
#15
Got a Cabela's or BPS nearby? You can get gift cards for either online for ~20% under face value, and interchange them at the others' stores. Reason I say nearby is they changed their military discount deal, no longer available online, but now you can get it in store at BPS... used to be only once a month there, and I think excluded all guns & ammo.

Can't offer you much help on choices, sorry. I got some PMC "Match" from Cabela's for <$1/rd and it seems OK, but I'm not that great a shot to say it's great or mediocre ammo.
 
#17
I know its not what you asked but you and your rifle would be much bettter served and get far better results if you reload. There are many load recipes that are dam near universal for almost any 308 bolt rifle I have ever owned that have always outperformed factory ammo.
 
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#18
agree federal gold medal match is great. i ran about 1000 rounds through my .308 tikka ctr and it was always sub MOA. I know others have mentioned some websites to check. I really like palmetto state armory. I found 168 gr fgmm and 175gr fgmm for 15.99 shipped per box when you ordered ten or more. VERY affordable for the quality. It probably shot better than i was capable.
 
#20
I will tell you another manufacturer that makes great ammunition but not all lot of people use it nor talk about it - Norma 168 ; you can get it for around $20 but you are left with great brass for reloading. Out of a 21" 308 this are my Magnetospeed results:

168 Norma -09/03/17/Temp 80deg/Baro 30.00"/Humidity 45%
1 - 2685 ft/s
2 - 2669 ft/s
3 - 2702 ft/s
4 - 2690 ft/s
5- 2671 ft/s
6- 2688 ft/s
7 - 2697 ft/s
8 - 2686 ft/s
9 - 2694 ft/s
10 - 2684 ft/s
Min2669
Max2702
Avg2686
S-D10.3
ES 33

I shoot their match ammunition in 308, 223 and 6.5mm Creedmoor and have gotten outstanding results.
 
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#25
Snip-er said:
I just got a Savage Stealth in 308. I will only be doing target shooting... not Comp... yet anyway... I am looking for a decent load that won't break the bank, but somehow shoot sub MOA or close. I'm a firm believer of training and practicing with just one load, but I am new to rifles other than my Infantry days 25 years ago, so I just want to be able to buy something in bulk at a fairly good price that will give me a consistent shot group.

I know this has probably been asked a million times, but I really appreciate everyone's help in this manner.
Click to expand...

I have used Hornady 168 gr A-Max for years and they have been both consistant and accurate in both my 700 and SCAR 17.
 
#31
Since you didn't respond to the suggestion ^^up there^^ to reload and you're buying a big same-lot order of ammo anyway, be sure to save all your brass. Keep it all together clearly labeled with "once fired" and the lot # of the ammo. Don't let any other brass get into that bag. If someone comes to steal the brass laying beside your rifle, b slap them. Someday you might reload and you might be exceedingly picky about details, and doing this will save you a couple hundred dollars on a brass purchase. If you don't reload after a few years, remember your old buddy bluegrasspicker who loves once-fired brass all of the same lot!
 
#33
Lunchbox27 said:
Federal Gold Match. 168 or the 175’s. If they wont group sub moa or better it’s you or your rifle.

There is a reason Mike from TacOps uses it with his test targets.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's because he builds all of his rifles specifically to shoot the FGMM offerings. That's not a bad thing at all, but it's very specifically why he uses that ammo.
 
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#34
bluegrasspicker said:
Since you didn't respond to the suggestion ^^up there^^ to reload and you're buying a big same-lot order of ammo anyway, be sure to save all your brass. Keep it all together clearly labeled with "once fired" and the lot # of the ammo. Don't let any other brass get into that bag. If someone comes to steal the brass laying beside your rifle, b slap them. Someday you might reload and you might be exceedingly picky about details, and doing this will save you a couple hundred dollars on a brass purchase. If you don't reload after a few years, remember your old buddy bluegrasspicker who loves once-fired brass all of the same lot!
Click to expand...

Thanks BlueGrassPicker, appreciate that info.
 
#36
It depends on which 168 you are talking about. The 168SMK tends to start losing stability after about 800 out of most barrels. The Hornady 168 does not exhibit the same limitation in my experience. In other words, not all 168g .30 projectiles are created nor act the same.
 
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#37
Federal GMM, and I’ve also had luck with the 168 CBC by Magtech. It was cheaper than FGMM when I bought a case of 500, and has consistently shot around MOA. When it doesn’t, I’m pretty sure it’s me. I don’t practice enough.
 
#39
When I got my Ruger PR I bought two boxes of FGGM 168 gr, SMK, Hornady 178gr.BTHP, Sig Elite 168 OTM, PMC Bronze 147 gr. FMJ-BT. Zeroed the rifle and began to shoot five shot groups with each. The PMC is not their match grade ammo and is garbage, don't waste your money. The other three shot sub MOA but the FGGM 168 gr. shot half MOA. Bought five hundred rounds from PSA for $15.59 p/box. As noted above their sale price on this ammo is now $19.99 p/box. They have great sales around all holidays if you are patient. Save your brass in the original boxes and look for a local commercial reloader and with the furnished brass you should be able to get the second firing at about seventy cents a round.
 
#42
My .308s love FGMM but they equally love Hornady #8105 178 hpbt. It's the only factory ammo I'll run but I must admit I run very little factory ammo since I reload. I run 42.2 grns. of 4064 in a Hornady match case topped of with the Hornady 178 hpbt and a CCI standard primer.
 
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#44
Snip-er said:
I just got a Savage Stealth in 308. I will only be doing target shooting... not Comp... yet anyway... I am looking for a decent load that won't break the bank, but somehow shoot sub MOA or close. I'm a firm believer of training and practicing with just one load, but I am new to rifles other than my Infantry days 25 years ago, so I just want to be able to buy something in bulk at a fairly good price that will give me a consistent shot group.

I know this has probably been asked a million times, but I really appreciate everyone's help in this manner.
Click to expand...
Hi, personally I found the best balance between precision and cost in the Fiocchi Exacta 175 grains SMK.
In my Sabatti Shooter ICM (20" barrel) and Sabatti Tacictal EVO US (22" barrel) I've consistently gotten sub-moa 9 shots groups.
Since I'm Italian, I'm getting this load here in Italy, so I do not know how it fares in the US, pricewise, but to make a comparison, here a 20 cartridges box of Fiocchi Exacta 175 is around 36€.
Federal Gold Medal Match 185 grains Berger is around 50€.
Another load that performs very well is the SAKO TRG Precision 175, with the Scenar-L bullet, but while it fares a tad better than the Fiocchi, it costs 55€/box.
I've been using the Fiocchi Exacta 175 for some time now, and it's become my default load due to quality, price and ease of sourcing.
On my last shooting session, a test of the Sabatti Tactical EVO US for Gunsweek magazine (www.gunsweek.com), I got an average velocity of 770 m/s (2526 fps) with an SD of 1,3 ms (4.26 fps).
SD goes up with shorter barrels, like the Shooter ICM's 20" compared to the Tactical EVO US's 22", to around 4,3 m/s (14.1 fps) so you may want to take this into account if shooting long range with a short barrel.
Data measured with Garmin Xero C1 Pro, 20°C, 85% HR at 2021 hpa.
Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
#45
gunslinger said:
Hi, personally I found the best balance between precision and cost in the Fiocchi Exacta 175 grains SMK.
In my Sabatti Shooter ICM (20" barrel) and Sabatti Tacictal EVO US (22" barrel) I've consistently gotten sub-moa 9 shots groups.
Since I'm Italian, I'm getting this load here in Italy, so I do not know how it fares in the US, pricewise, but to make a comparison, here a 20 cartridges box of Fiocchi Exacta 175 is around 36€.
Federal Gold Medal Match 185 grains Berger is around 50€.
Another load that performs very well is the SAKO TRG Precision 175, with the Scenar-L bullet, but while it fares a tad better than the Fiocchi, it costs 55€/box.
I've been using the Fiocchi Exacta 175 for some time now, and it's become my default load due to quality, price and ease of sourcing.
On my last shooting session, a test of the Sabatti Tactical EVO US for Gunsweek magazine (www.gunsweek.com), I got an average velocity of 770 m/s (2526 fps) with an SD of 1,3 ms (4.26 fps).
SD goes up with shorter barrels, like the Shooter ICM's 20" compared to the Tactical EVO US's 22", to around 4,3 m/s (14.1 fps) so you may want to take this into account if shooting long range with a short barrel.
Data measured with Garmin Xero C1 Pro, 20°C, 85% HR at 2021 hpa.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
good necro. OP hasn't been on here in over 6 and a half years
 
#47
I’ve been on a search for more “ budget friendly “ 6.5 Creedmoor rounds for my new Tikka Super Varmint. At least for my gun, the AAC ( PSA’s ammo brand ) and American Gunner ( Hornady ) have shot very well. Both have loads in .308.
 
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