.308 Winchester Factory Ammo Options

[rookieforever33]

I have a Howa HS Precision in .308 Winchester with a 22-inch barrel. Not sure on the twist. I took a trip to the range today to experiment with some different factory rounds while dialing in the rifle with my new DA nomad ti suppressor.

Shooting off the tailgate with sandbags at 100 yards I was able to achieve these groups (best group out of 2-3 sets):
Federal 150 grain Power Shok .087 MOA
Federal Premium 180 grain Partition 1.0 MOA
Nosler 165 grain Ballistic Tips 1.5 MOA

I was rooting for the ballistic tips to be the winner so I could bounce between them and Accubonds. Alas, the Howa had other plans.

This is a do it all antelope, deer, elk rifle. I would like to experiment with some other factory ammo that would be reliable up to elk sized critters out to 400 yards. What are your go-to factory offerings that y’all have had success with?

One of the great things about a 308 win is the amount of factory offerings. You are likely to find multiple options that work well, and determine which you would like when the time to hunts comes. I figure it as every different box of ammo I find is a chance at adding another potential hunter. If I dont like it I have ammo for trigger time practicing. My personal preferences dictate not shooting the same bullet at an antelope or elk. If longer ranges are in play a better bc bullet may be my choice. Dont marry a bullet, choose the right one at the right time.

 

[mtmuley]

Dont marry a bullet, choose the right one at the right time.

Just the opposite for me. My rifles are set up with the same bullet and load no matter the game or distance. mtmuley

 

[rookieforever33]

Nothing wrong with that either. Freedom of choice is a wonderful thing.

 

[huntnfisher]

Another vote for the Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Tip 165 grain.

 

[longtail55]

Federal Premium Terminal Ascent 175 grain. Not sure how much difference between them and the Trophy bonded tips?

 

[Sheltowee]

150gr. Hornady SSTs out of a .308 were my go-to on deer and hogs for quite a while. They're wicked.

Nosler 165gr. ABs will also stomp a whitetail but I was surprisingly disappointed by their performance on a cow elk (admittedly, a sample size of one).

 

[WVmike]

150gr. Hornady SSTs out of a .308 were my go-to on deer and hogs for quite a while. They're wicked.

Nosler 165gr. ABs will also stomp a whitetail but I was surprisingly disappointed by their performance on a cow elk (admittedly, a sample size of one).

Used the SST 150gr reloads for my Rem 700 in .308 and they are a hammer for whitetail. Those are the only bullets I've used for reloading and the best group I've gotten was a smidge over 1/2 moa. It's a 24 inch barrel and I believe the twist is 1/10. Haven't used it in a while as I'm going to be passing it down to my son and putting a new stock on it and maybe getting it threaded.

 

[Dan O]

3 groups of 3 shots of the Power Shoks and Ballistics Tips. Only 2 groups of 3 of the Partitions (thought I had more in the box). Groups represented in the OP were the best group of 3 consecutive shots for each bullet style respectively. Hope that clears it up.

IMO just taking the best group and ignoring the other groups is a mistake. You should average all the groups of each load. That will give an honest answer of each load.

Also shooting off a tail gate of a truck is not the best platform to use. Using a concrete bench as a platform is much more stable. It does make a difference. Again IMO

 

[Steiny77]

Good ole 150gr Remington Core Lokts.

 

[PNWtrekker]

IMO just taking the best group and ignoring the other groups is a mistake. You should average all the groups of each load. That will give an honest answer of each load.

Also shooting off a tail gate of a truck is not the best platform to use. Using a concrete bench as a platform is much more stable. It does make a difference. Again IMO

I received the same advice in a PM. There's wisdom in this and I think it is where Frequently Banned Troll was going. I much prefer shooting in the field to a range, but I'll either go to the range or work out a nice place to prone out in the woods and give all the previous rounds another whack and average out the groups in addition to some others. Thanks.

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[PNWtrekker]

Good ole 150gr Remington Core Lokts.

I have seen the Core Lokts kill a scary amount of whitetails and a few elk in .270 and 30.06. Ye 'ole cup and core does work. Especially when you stick it behind the shoulder where the biggest bone is a rib.

 

[PNWtrekker]

Also, based on everyone's input I just ordered a box each of Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Tip 165 grain and Federal Premium Terminal Ascent 175 grain. Looking forward to seeing how they perform. At least, I have a lot of ammo for practice, and I can add some additional weight to my hunting back because my wallet is about 10 pounds lighter.

 

[huntnfisher]

Also, based on everyone's input I just ordered a box each of Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Tip 165 grain and Federal Premium Terminal Ascent 175 grain. Looking forward to seeing how they perform. At least, I have a lot of ammo for practice, and I can add some additional weight to my hunting back because my wallet is about 10 pounds lighter.

Sounds like a couple of good choices! I use Federal Premium Terminal Ascent 175 grain in my .30-06 with really good results too.

 

[6mm Remington]

If you haven't you might try some 150 gr. Accubonds. They would work fine on elk and the other game you might hunt. Maybe your rifle likes the lighter Accubond. They are such a great bullet I think it would be worth it to give them a try.