UPDATED: Ammo choices in .308 - so many questions...

[UpTheIrons]

Warning - cheapgerman alert ahead!

I recently bought a Marlin XS7 in .308 and am ready to sight it in. Over at the Marlin forum, many folks said their rifles prefer either 150 or 165 gr bullets with very little crossover - it's one or the other. I have had all kinds of fits looking for cheap 165 gr loaded rounds. 150s are all over the place, but the 165s seem to appear only in premium ammo.

Should I just bite the bullet and get a box of each in a premium line, or do any of y'all have suggestions for less expensive options? I guess it makes sense to run a box (or more) of what I'll use for deer, but the frugal person within doesn't see the point of 'wasting' up to 10 rounds of the 'wrong' bullet weight on the quest for a 1 MOA group. Or is the difference likely to be minimal that it doesn't matter? I've been running the same 150 gr Remington Core-Lokt rounds through the same .30-30 for so long that it's out of my realm of experience to flirt with this much change! Although I did switch to LeverEvolution for it this year.

I am not in a place on my reloading journey where I am comfortable rolling my own rifle rounds yet, but likely will be sometime early next year.

[RECIT]

You are probably not going to find cheap ammo in 165gr. Yeah 150gr, 147gr, and 145gr and are cheap NATO rounds usually and don't have the accuracy or velocity that a premium hunting round will have. But it goes bang for sure. If you are sighting in/breaking in your rifle I would choose a box of whatever round you want to hunt with. Federal soft point 165gr or168gr is some of the most accurate inexpensive premium ammo I have found and wal-mart sells it for around $15-18 per box. I have never shot any Fusion or Hornaday in that caliber but I'm sure it rocks. Good luck...

[TLE2]

I can tell you that my Remington 700 shoots better with Remington ammo than Winchester: same bullet weight.

I shot from the bench using a "Lead Sled". The accuracy was certainly noticeable, because the guy next to me said " That sure shoots better with that Remington ammo".

Don't know why, but it does. Try a couple of brands of ammo as well as different bullet weights.

[puma guy]

I can tell you that my Remington 700 shoots better with Remington ammo than Winchester: same bullet weight.

I shot from the bench using a "Lead Sled". The accuracy was certainly noticeable, because the guy next to me said " That sure shoots better with that Remington ammo".

Don't know why, but it does. Try a couple of brands of ammo as well as different bullet weights.

You'll have to experiment which ammo your weapon likes. If you're whitetail hunting 150 gr is more than adequate bullet weight wise. Once you find which ammo it digest better look at the lot number on the back or end flap and buy several boxes. Ammo makers do a good job of trying to duplicate loadings from lot to lot but guns have a mind of their own. Good Luck.

[The Annoyed Man]

What is the barrel's twist rate? If it is 1:12, the rifle will likely prefer bullets in the 150 to 168 grain range, tending toward the lighter. If it has a 1:10 twist, it will likely prefer bullets in the 165 to 180 grain range. I have a Ruger M77 MkII with a 1:12 twist that prefers 150 grain bullets. My M1A with a 1:11 twist prefers 168 grain bullets. My Remington 700 with a 1:10 twist does best with 175 grain bullets.

As far as cheap ammo... well, I have yet to see cheap ammo that shoots extremely accurately. This of course does not include handloads, which cost half of what a commercially loaded cartridge costs, but which can be tailored to shoot very well in an individual rifle. As far as commercial hunting ammo goes, I have had good results with the Federal Fusion 165 grain ammo. It is fairly accurate, and it is consistent. It used to be "cheap" when it first came out, but it has gone up considerably in price since then.

[Sidro]

I have had great luck with 150gr in sp and psp bullets. Have taken whitetail, mule deer and elk with this round. When I reloaded I used IMR-4895 powder and Sierra bullets for a tack driving round. The 150gr is an excellent bullet. The .308 is a great caliber, hope you enjoy yours.

[The Annoyed Man]

I have had great luck with 150gr in sp and psp bullets. Have taken whitetail, mule deer and elk with this round. When I reloaded I used IMR-4895 powder and Sierra bullets for a tack driving round. The 150gr is an excellent bullet. The .308 is a great caliber, hope you enjoy yours.

175 grain Sierra Matchkings over 42.5 grains of Varget = .375 MOA with consistency.

[puma guy]

You've got no real choice but to test the loads if you want to hunt ethically.

However, speaking of frugality.... how good are your stalking skills? Get in close enough and it really won't matter

Sub-1MOA is nice to have in a rifle, but group-size is really only a concern at the further distances; a 2 MOA load is plenty fine for 100-yard shots on deer, assuming you're aiming for the basketball behind the shoulder - but that same load at 200 yards is obviously then going to give you a 4" group, etc, etc. Basically, have some idea of the distances at which you're likely to be shooting and work backwards from there to determine acceptable accuracy.

I wouldn't shoot a deer with milsurp FMJ unless I had absolutely no choice (survival or end-of-the-world kinda thing). Like RECIT mentioned, buy a single box of decent 165gr and try them out.

I know it's not the end of the world yet, but I remember seeing/hearing/reading somewhere that FMJ ammo cannot be used for game hunting in many states. Don't know for sure it's the case in Texas, but you might want to check. I'm going to check out the web to see what I can find, unless someone beats me to it.

[UpTheIrons]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I checked the TPWD regs, and the only restriction on deer is no rimfire. I wouldn't use FMJ anyway, so I'm looking more at weight than bullet type. However, when I get to loading rounds for hunting, I think either the Nosler Accubond or Hornady Interbond would work fine for Texas Hill Country Whitetail. Nearly all shots will be under 150 yards on our lease, with many of them under 75 yards, so I'm not real concerned with sub-MOA accuracy, it just seemed like the thing to say.

What is the barrel's twist rate? If it is 1:12, the rifle will likely prefer bullets in the 150 to 168 grain range, tending toward the lighter. If it has a 1:10 twist, it will likely prefer bullets in the 165 to 180 grain range. I have a Ruger M77 MkII with a 1:12 twist that prefers 150 grain bullets. My M1A with a 1:11 twist prefers 168 grain bullets. My Remington 700 with a 1:10 twist does best with 175 grain bullets.

The XS7 has a 1:12 twist rate, so I'll be on the low end of the weight scale. I figured I'd just have to go out and get some good ammo, I just wanted to confirm my suspicions. I do have a box of 148gr Sellier & Bellot FMJ that I'll probably run through first to get the scope set close, then switch to the "good stuff" to dial it in the rest of the way. I suppose one box per bullet weight ought to tell the story, right? It shouldn't take more than four 5-round groups to see if the gun likes that weight/brand, should it?

[UpTheIrons]

Heck, if you do it right it shouldn't take more than 2 5-round groups - but who's gonna stop when there's still ammo in the box, right?

Yep. An itchy trigger finger makes me want to go

[puma guy]

I don't believe Texas has any restrictions (apart from using rimfire calibers on game) on caliber and type of bullet when it comes to deer-hunting with rifles, but I'm open to correction.

Yep, Andy you're correct. I perused the Outdoor Annual. I remember where I saw the info re: FMJ - It was in some hunter education course training material that stated many states prohibit FMJ. Texas only prohibits rimfire.

[threoh8]

I've had good luck with .308's. My Remington 788 carbine (18.5" barrel, 1 in 10" twist, shoots everything fairly well, but really shines with 150's.

I shot it in NRA Highpower Rifle matches for a while, with a receiver sight, globe front sight, and modified 5-round magazines. They sometimes asked me to scoot forward a bit on the line - the muzzle blast bothered some of the guys with poodleshooters.