Factory 308 ammo?

[JoeM]

I now have my first centre fire rifle and while I save up the pennies for reloading kit am looking for suggestions/recommendations as to which factory ammo would be best.

The rifle is a Ruger Precision in 308 with it's standard 20" 1/10 twist 5R barrel.

Having trawled this section for some hours now I get the idea that a 168 gr bullet might be good in this barrel but has anyone any personal experience of this gun can add their tuppence worth?

Is there a factory round head and shoulders above the rest or is it just a matter of "pays your money and takes your choice"?

Any help and suggestions would be welcome.

[mag41uk]

Speak to HPS.

https://www.hps-tr.com/en/

[saddler]

Experience of just "this gun" or ANY 20" barrel .308?

Factory ammo that is good & seen as the benchmark in quality is the Federal Gold Medal Match.
Not too easy to source in the UK though...(or cheap if you do find some)

& reloading kit is far from expensive.
Even the basic Lee Loader, which will start you off, is only around the £30 mark.
Some factory rounds will cost that for a box of 20 cartridges.

[WelshShooter]

I cannot speak from experience but based on what people talk about GGG is good ammunition and not too pricey (146gr bullet mass @ £59,50 per 100)
http://www.ammo-zone.co.uk/(S(ouisr3fcffhrcnz244oxxqj5))/Home.aspx?A1=Search~7.62mm%20(.308)

There is also a lot of praise in the US for Hornady 168gr A-Max factory rounds but these are quite pricey (£29,95 per 20, so thats £149,75 per 100!!):
http://www.dauntseyguns.co.uk/proddetai ... =HORN-8096

I'm not sure if GGG is berdan primed or not but the Hornady brass is pretty good for handloading. Once you have your shekels together and get into handloading you should be able to replicate the performance of the Hornady ammunition for almost a third of the price. Unfortunately I've only ever shot German MEN 7,62 and have handloaded the rest (circa. 700 cartridges) which is why I don't have much experience with factory rounds. I would recommend saving up your dosh and contribute it into the reloading setup and start from scratch. The amount you could spend on 200 of those Hornady bullets could easily buy you a starter kit and at least a pound of powder and box of bullets.

[DL.]

Like the above, I have a 20" barreled .308.

If I was shooting competitively, I would be choosing something like Hornady TAP.

As I shoot for my own enjoyment/practice I have quite happily used Prvi, PMC & Geco.

I was just lucky that my rifle groups well with the less expensive ammunition, but so as not to be stuck with ammo that doesn't group well, it's probably best to buy one box of each type to find group sizes before committing to a greater number.

A lot of gun shops don't publish their prices online so that if there's any increase they can pass this on the the customer immediately!

http://www.valmontfirearms.co.uk/ammuni ... nents.html

http://gunshop-eb.com/CF%20Target%20Ammunition.php

[bnz41]

A shooting friend has one of these rifles he uses GGG factory ammo which is fitted with a 155gr SMK bullet (he will reload the brass). Has had good results, even though the rifle is so new. GGG also do a 7.62 146gr Nato round which I use in my .308 M14 rifle which is a little cheaper.
The NRA use the GGG 155gr ammo at Bisley for the comps.

[Daryll]

I've been using the GGG NATO ammo in my Mossberg MVP LC (.308, 18,5'' 1:10 barrel) and it seems to work fine. I'm keeping the brass with the intention of reloading it at some point.

As has been noted, the 168gn bullets seem to be favoured for reloading.

[zanes]

Speak to HPS.

https://www.hps-tr.com/en/

+1. Excellent ammunition for PPU prices.

[Dannywayoflife]

168 grain bullets ain't much good for longer range stuff though due to thier short steep boat tails bear that in mind if you plan shooting long range with it

[Andy632]

GGG standard NATO stuff is good and Boxer primed, MEN is OK but Berdan primed. The 155gn GGG is supposed to be very good but I've not tried it. RG 155gn (green spot) also works well in my rifle 22" 1 in 10 twist. 168gn HPBT) Sierras work fine out to 600 yards which for me is 'long range'.