Best .308 Surplus?

M

MP-44

New member
It looks like I am going to be getting a commercial bolt gun in .308. Which is the best military surplus on the market right now to use as plinking ammo? Which ones are to be avoided? Thanks!
 
I've had good luck with South African in my M1A. I also hear Potugese is highly recommended. Hirtenberger is supposed to be good, too, but not their larger bullet -- I believe 180 grain?
 
I have done a little reading on this subject and tried a few different brands.

Hirtenberger is good quality and available, but Portuguese seems to be getting the nod lately by a slim margin. Supposedly slightly more consistent and accurate. I am not a sub-MOA shooter, so I can't tell the difference.

The Hirt I have been buying is headstamped '79. The Portuguese I have bought is three years older, but both come in sealed battle packs and look new when you open the pack.

Ammoman has some Portuguese right now that has a 146gr. match bullet instead of the usual 147gr. FMJ. Have not tried that one, but it looks interesting. Made in '70. Shipping is included in price.

http://www.ammoman.com/images/PORT_3.jpg

Bob Lippman has Portuguese at a great price, but that price does not reflect shipping costs. Don't know if it is the same stuff that Ammoman is listing.

http://www.lippman-enterprises.com/ammo.html

The big unknown is how much heat the ammo has been exposed to in twenty or thirty years of storage. Every case you buy may have a different history.

You definitely want to avoid Cavim. It is crap.
Radway Green is supposed to be good, but I have not tried any.
 
i've found the south african PMP to shoot very well in military weapons fn fal & hk 91/g3... both their current production and their older stuff

the malay and portug are very reliable too
 
Concur with the Port. Good, reliable and clean.

Have had good results with Hirt and the Malaysian, but Port is the best in my experience.
 
I agree with the Port being good stuff. I believe the M1A has trouble with the 180gr Hirtenberger but the bolt guns wouldn't have a problem with them. For some reason the M1As don't like the heavy bullets.
 
I've used nothing but Hirt in my M1A. So I suppose that I can't compare any of the other rounds to say which one I think is better. All I know is that Hirt perform great in my gun. With no complaints on accuracy. I'm almost finished with my second case of ammo.
 
Hirtenberger=good stuff.

Have tried some CAVIM in my FR-8. The best thing I can say about it is that it was fairly inexpensive. ;)
 
The Southern Ammo is the cheapest. I've been shooting it and it is OK. It is about a 50/50 mix of copper coated steel jackets and solid copper jackets. The accuracy isn't that terrific as it comes from all kinds of mixed manufacturers and dates of manufacture. I’ve had at least one or two duds in the several hundred rounds I've shot. You get what you pay for. It's good if you're just plinking. Don't bet your life or your match scores on the stuff.
 
Q-Man -- What I did with my mixed bag from Southern Ammo was segregate by headstamp and year of manufacture. That'll reduce the variation some. It's all you need for plinking purposes, which is what the poster asked for.
 
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