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"Matched" .308 Rifle and factory ammo
- Thread starter TXAZ
- Start date
Federal Gold Medal Match ammo in 168gr in any rifle rifle chambered in .308. Black hills match ammunition is the same. Tikka T3 rifle of any variation, Bergara B14 in any variation, And if you're on a budget Ruger American any rifle, the hunter or the Predator are both great.
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the possum
New member
This is exactly why the Boss muzzle weight system was brought to market. You can tune the barrel harmonics to a given load to get accuracy like a tuned hand load. Might be worth looking into that, because it's the only thing out there that will let you tune a gun to the load rather than vice versa.
There are good guns and good ammo, but every one is an individual. No one can guarantee a given rifle will shoot a particular factory load the best otherwise.
There are good guns and good ammo, but every one is an individual. No one can guarantee a given rifle will shoot a particular factory load the best otherwise.
I've seen some very impressive test shots from Accurate Ordnance they have pictures of test targets on their Facebook, one of them was one of their .308 rifles using 175gr smk from Gorilla Ammunition. 3 shot group of 0.098" at 100. 5 shot group of 0.579" or .289 moa at 200.
Pretty exceptional for commercial ammunition and a rifle with a barrel that probably wasn't even broken in yet.
A rifle from them will cost north of $4000, but it'll be more accurate than 99% of us are capable of getting out of it.
In any case, a fine rifle showed this to be quality .308 ammunition.
http://www.gorillaammo.com/308-win-175gr-sierra-matchking-20-round
Pretty exceptional for commercial ammunition and a rifle with a barrel that probably wasn't even broken in yet.
A rifle from them will cost north of $4000, but it'll be more accurate than 99% of us are capable of getting out of it.
In any case, a fine rifle showed this to be quality .308 ammunition.
http://www.gorillaammo.com/308-win-175gr-sierra-matchking-20-round
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Weatherby rifles guarantee 1"-MOA from their rifles
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Not unless you pay the premium for one of their sub-MOA rifles. They offer a Weatherby Vanguard and then a Vanguard SubMOA, a Mark V and a Mark V SubMOA. Unless they've changed their marketing and now guarantee sub MOA for all their rifles
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CarJunkieLS1
New member
The Weatherby Vanguard S2's have an MOA guarantee but don't believe that junk for a second...my personal experience has been Weatherby DOES NOT stand behind that Accuracy Guarantee.
Buy yourself a Tikka in .308 and shoot Federal Gold Medal Match.
Buy yourself a Tikka in .308 and shoot Federal Gold Medal Match.
ripnbst:
If I had to work with off the shelf ammunition in .308 Winchester those would be my choices. I have to add that short of rolling your own there will be limits but off the shelf? I like the Federal and Black Hills flavors. My take is that most of the new off the shelf rifles shoot well out of the box while I like the Tika and CZ rifles as well as the older Remington 700 VSSF rifles as they are easy to tune, for example adding a good trigger like a Timney.
Ron
Federal Gold Medal Match ammo in 168gr in any rifle rifle chambered in .308. Black hills match ammunition is the same.
If I had to work with off the shelf ammunition in .308 Winchester those would be my choices. I have to add that short of rolling your own there will be limits but off the shelf? I like the Federal and Black Hills flavors. My take is that most of the new off the shelf rifles shoot well out of the box while I like the Tika and CZ rifles as well as the older Remington 700 VSSF rifles as they are easy to tune, for example adding a good trigger like a Timney.
Ron
Federal Gold Medal Match (FGMM) has long been at the top of the heap.
Prime, Hornady and Black Hills "match" loadings are also very respectable. If you have a quality match barrel, you will end up with one of those most likely. That is not to say there are not other smaller ammo makers out there with great ammo.
Prime, Hornady and Black Hills "match" loadings are also very respectable. If you have a quality match barrel, you will end up with one of those most likely. That is not to say there are not other smaller ammo makers out there with great ammo.
It is pretty hard to beat factory ammo with handloads for accuracy. Especially when you get into the premium ammo. Most all of the good stuff will shoot in most rifles better than most of us can shoot. You shouldn't have much trouble finding something that will shoot roughly 1 MOA, maybe a bit better. If your goal is .1MOA then you need to take up reloading and have a custom rifle built.
Re-loading reduces cost, and sometimes allows you a little more speed than available from factory loads. I can hand load high end bullets 50-100 fps faster for the same price as buying budget factory ammo. But my loads are rarely any more accurate than the high end factory stuff.
Re-loading reduces cost, and sometimes allows you a little more speed than available from factory loads. I can hand load high end bullets 50-100 fps faster for the same price as buying budget factory ammo. But my loads are rarely any more accurate than the high end factory stuff.
No two rifles are identical so no one can predict what loads will shoot well in a particular brand.If you're aware of a good .308 rifle that shoots extremely well (assuming a qualified shooter) with a specific factory cartridge, please list it here. I'm not into reloading but would like a tack driver that I can get consistent results from a factory cartridge.
The answers you get will only apply to the ones owned or used by those who reply
No two rifles are identical so no one can predict what loads will shoot well in a particular brand.
The answers you get will only apply to the ones owned or used by those who reply
Eh, I used to kind of buy into that, but it is not true. I have had 5-10 of the same rifle (4 models and 2 brands) for various things with sponsors and matches. They all shoot the same ammo the same. When I shoot ARs, the best group in one is also the best group in another and the worst is the worst in all of them. I have 5 .243s...they all shoot the best ammo the best and the worst ammo the worst.
Tiny nuances are almost undetectable between quality rifles with proper match chambers. Sure, as the throat and or crown go, one type of ammo might be better or worse than another. But Factory ammo and new factory rifles built right, the best will be the best almost universally. That is why you see FGMM recommended by so many people.
I would say any 168 gr match ammo. I had a barrel installed & blueprinted by Accurate Ordnance 308 cal very happy with their work. I saved the target, at 100 yards dead center in the bullseye a 3 shot group 1 hole. Was afraid the screw it up with the forth & fifth shot. only shoot at 200 yard zero now, average .05 groups. That's with my reloads though. Shoot 3 groups of ten. Reloading is just as enjoyable as shooting. My rifle started out as a Rem 700 LTR 308 cal. after 4000+ rounds sent it to Accurate Ordnance for the work $ 1300. took 5 weeks , Great Company.
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Out of the box, my experience is that Savages shoot accurately in almost any caliber. I have two Savage .308s and they both shot factory ammo accurately out of the box with factory ammo. I, too, use Federal GGM or Black Hills as my reference factory ammos.
But I will admit that all my rifles shoot more accurately with my hand loads because factory ammo sells velocity rather than accuracy.
But I would have to agree with Snyper that there are differences between rifles of the same manufacturer.
My two Savage .308s are almost identical but one shoots 150 to 168 grain bullets most accurately and the other shoots 175 to 200 grain bullets most accurately. If I only shot 168 grain bullets, I would have never found that out.
If you are willing to try different bullet weights, you probably will find a factory ammo that a new rifle will prefer.
But I will admit that all my rifles shoot more accurately with my hand loads because factory ammo sells velocity rather than accuracy.
But I would have to agree with Snyper that there are differences between rifles of the same manufacturer.
My two Savage .308s are almost identical but one shoots 150 to 168 grain bullets most accurately and the other shoots 175 to 200 grain bullets most accurately. If I only shot 168 grain bullets, I would have never found that out.
If you are willing to try different bullet weights, you probably will find a factory ammo that a new rifle will prefer.
Don Fischer
New member
It is very rare that I shoot factory ammo in any of my CF gun's. But out at a rifle rande a couple years ago, I watched a sheriff sniper shooting his rifle, he told me they weren't alloed to use handloads so they used Hornady match ammo. That may not work for a hunting rifle but his target's were very nice.
Check your rifle's bedding before shooting any ammo to be sure less accuracy than you want is coming from the bullet and/or your shooting. If you could afford it and you don't do it yourself, take it to a gunsmith. I have only had one rifle in my life that did not benefit from it and it shoot's little group.s right out of the box. Beware of manufacturer claims of accuracy. I is my understanding they test them from a vice, barrel and action removed from the stock.
Check your rifle's bedding before shooting any ammo to be sure less accuracy than you want is coming from the bullet and/or your shooting. If you could afford it and you don't do it yourself, take it to a gunsmith. I have only had one rifle in my life that did not benefit from it and it shoot's little group.s right out of the box. Beware of manufacturer claims of accuracy. I is my understanding they test them from a vice, barrel and action removed from the stock.