Ammo Wars
BY PGF
2 years, 1 month ago
It’s not likely that anything will compare to the running battle over .45 and 9mm, but rifle ammo wars are all the rage nowadays. The good news is we can learn plenty and get better with our tools by examining the outcomes. Competition is a good thing.
First: The Best .308 Hunting Ammo of 2022
Although we still haven’t climbed out of the ammo shortage, there’s good news if you hunt with a .308—many retailers have a variety of .308 hunting ammo available. The previous ammo shortages hit the .223 and .308 ammo stocks hard, while having less effect on stalwart hunting cartridges like the .30/06 and .30/30. This time, it seems that manufacturers have been able to stay on top of .308 hunting ammo production and hunters at least have something to buy.
Still, it’s a strange time, and there are both surprises and disappointments in the ammo market today (not exclusive to .308). Some ammunition has excelled, and some factory offerings that typically delivered excellent accuracy don’t seem to shoot as well as they used to. Some types of ammo seem to be everywhere, and other loads are scarce.
This year, I have tested and reviewed 11 different rifles chambered in .308 Win. I shot many types of ammo through these guns, testing it in affordable budget rifles, but also in mid-priced rifles. I’ve shot a variety of .308 Win. in specialized rifles like the Christensen Ridgeline Titanium FFT and the Howa M1500 HS Carbon. Through all this shooting, I was able to see what shot well, what didn’t, and hopefully help you pick the best .308 hunting ammo for deer or whatever your game is this year.
Best Overall: Remington 150-grain Core-Lokt Tipped
Best .308 Ammo for Deer:Federal Non-Typical Whitetail 150-grain Soft Point
Best Copper .308 Ammo: Barnes Vor-Tx 168-grain TTSX
Federal Premium 165-grain Swift Scirocco II
Things to Consider Before Buying .308 Ammo for Hunting
Game and Bullet Construction
As with any hunting ammo, you want to choose a load and bullet that will suit the game you intend on hunting. The .308 Win. is an extremely capable (and oft underrated) cartridge, and is suitable for large game like elk, moose, and even brown bears. If you’re hunting heavy game, pick a bonded or monolithic bullet and keep your shot distances under 300 yards. However, most people are hunting medium-sized game with the .308 and just about any medium-weight expanding bullet will do. Luckily there’s plenty of good, affordable .308 ammo for deer that can still be found on store shelves.
Accuracy
Each .308 ammo offering listed here will have both five-shot average group accuracy and standard deviation. It’s always great to maximize accuracy, but keep in mind that each rifle will like a different load. If you can’t try several loads, pick one with a small standard deviation. That means that across all the rifles tested, the accuracy of the load didn’t very much, and there’s a good chance it will shoot similarly in your .308.
Cost
Ammo is expensive, and premium ammo is even more expensive. If you need top-end bullet construction or are shooting at distances that require best-in-class accuracy, it’s worth the extra cost. However, if you’re hunting deer-sized game at distances under 200 yards or so, less-expensive ammo is usually sufficient.
Interpreting the Data
To test each of these types of .308 hunting ammo, I fired and measured five-shot groups through a variety of rifles. I recorded a minimum of five groups for each type of ammo (based on my inventory), but I was able to record between 15 and 30 groups for most offerings.
Keep in mind that average group size is with five-shot groups across all rifles tested. Some rifles shoot better, some worse. The standard deviation is the average variation in group size across all rifles tested. This data only reflects the rifles tested. Accuracy, obviously, varies from rifle to rifle. I experienced a couple of loads that would shoot four-inch groups in one rifle, and one-inch groups in another.
There’s much more at the link, including good details on these nine different rounds studied.
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Next: Long-Range Big Game Rivals 6.8 Western vs 7mm Rem Mag vs .28 Nosler
The 7mm Remington Magnum is one of the most popular magnum cartridges in current production. Versatile and dependable, this old-school cartridge managed to overcome the American shooter’s aversion to the metric with its incredible long-distance ballistic capabilities.
However, the 7mm Rem Mag has been around for a long time (since 1962 to be exact), and the wheels of ammunition innovation haven’t stopped turning. Could a newer long-range ballistic superstar dethrone this popular old-timer?
In terms of long-range hunting cartridges, the 6.8 Western vs 7mm Rem Mag vs .28 Nosler match-up is a good one.
If you’re a big game hunter going after long-range sheep, elk, or antelope, is it worth pursuing one of the newer hotrod cartridges like the 6.8 Western or the .28 Nosler? Or should you stick with a safe option, like the tried-and-true 7mm Rem Mag?
In this article, we dive into a deep analysis of the ins and outs of these solid long-range performers.
There’s a lot of data in this second study as well.
On November 17, 2022 at 7:25 pm, X said:
I am loathe to tell other shooters what they “need” and what they don’t. I believe in freedom; shoot whatever caliber you want.
That being said, for me personally, I prefer ubiquitous, accurate, and effective chamberings for which brass and other components are readily available to esoteric, faddish calibers.
I’m sure that the 6.5 Jesus is a great cartridge, but I didn’t feel the urge to get on the bandwagon. The .308 will perform perfectly well for probably 90% of the big-game hunting done in the U.S. and probably 100% of the hunting east of the Mississippi. Add a .30-06 to your gun safe and you are probably equipped to hunt 100% of the big game anywhere in the U.S.
The .308 is a global caliber, there are going to be components and loaded ammo available just about everywhere decades after the Zombie Apocalypse goes down. Yes, there are cartridges that shoot flatter and deliver more energy and have a bit less drift, but probably none more accurate. Palma shooters and M1a National Match shooters and the U.S. military have figured out every trick there is to this cartridge decades ago. The .308 works well in bolt guns, semi-autos and pump-actions. You simply cannot go wrong with a .308.
On November 17, 2022 at 11:56 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ X
Re: “I’m sure that the 6.5 Jesus is a great cartridge, but I didn’t feel the urge to get on the bandwagon.”
I see what you did there! That’s pretty funny… you zinged ’em good.
The business model of companies like Hornady is to tout the latest cartridge and rifle combination on the market this season as being the greatest thing since sliced bread, and thereby drive customers to go down to the local firearms emporium and spend some of their hard-earned money on the 6.5 Creedmoor…. or 6.5 PRC…. or 6mm Creedmoor… you get the idea.
What they don’t tell you is that many existing and much less-costly cartridges have performance which is very similar to that new kid on the block. Now, don’t get me wrong: 6.5 CM is a nice cartridge which does a number of things very well.
However, the Swedes and Norwegians – who jointly invented the 6.5x55mm “Swedish Mauser” long-action cartridge about 130 years ago, must be laughing themselves silly, asking “What took you guys so long?” Maybe the Italians and Japanese are laughing, too, since they also had service rifles in 6.5mm.
And more-recently, the .260 Remington has established itself as a mainstay on the competition circuit. That cartridge was created by necking down .308 Winchester to .264-caliber/6.5mm. Hornady doesn’t want you to buy a rifle in that chambering, however, since cheap .308 brass abounds and thus you’d have no need of buying 6.5 CM brass and die sets from them.
Service rifle competitors have been rebarreling their M-1s and M1As in .260 Remington, 6.5×55, and 7mm-08 for a long time now, since all three of these offer excellent accuracy, efficiency and at lesser recoil than the standard military 30-06 or 7.62x51mm cartridges these rifles used originally.
It turns out that the old folk saying is really true: There really is more than one way to skin a cat! (Don’t get bent out of shape, all you cat lovers out there…. just a figure of speech). If you look around, there’s usually a cheaper and more-practical option which does what you want with a lot less hassle and drama.
On November 18, 2022 at 12:00 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
6.8 Western and 28 Nosler may very well be great cartridges in terms of performance, but why give up sixty years of the venerable 7mm Rem-Mag when the performance gains offered by the new guys are so marginal? That out-of-the-way hardware store, country general store, or independent sporting goods dealer is unlikely to carry either of the new guys, but he is probably going to stock 7mm RM. And even if he does have 6.8 Western and 28 Nosler in stock, good old 7mm RM is going to be cheaper and you’ll probably have more choices of manufacturer and style/weight of projectile than the two new guys….