Okay, now I have my new Savage 10FP in .308 and Tasco SS10X42 scope with Leupold mounts and rings. I am looking for good ammo to use. Previously, I asked which to use and I now know that I should try several types to see which is best for my rifle. However, I have been reading Plaster's book, "The Ultimate Sniper" and he says to use only match-grade ammo with a boat-tail bullet. In checking prices, I find that Federal 168-grain Gold Medal match sells for around $13.00 per 20. Their American Eagle 150-grain boat-tail non-match sells for $8.00 per 20. And, the military surplus ammo many here seem to like goes for $3.00-$4.00 per 20. So, do I listen to Plaster and stick to top dollar ammo or use one of the others? Will there be an appreciable difference in accuracy for the average shooter? (By the way, he also said not to use quick-detach mounts on a sniper rifle --- I bought the Leupold QRW rings and mount! Should I return them?)
More .308 ammo questions
- Thread starter Prof
- Start date
Rokchukrslave
New member
Just because the bullet is a boat tail does not mean it is accurate. Most, if not all, military ammo is a boat tail bullet. You need match GRADE ammunition, such as:
Federal 168/175 Match
Black Hills Match ammo
Remington and Winchester both have match loads but are not as popular as the above two.
Your QRS rings are fine.
Federal 168/175 Match
Black Hills Match ammo
Remington and Winchester both have match loads but are not as popular as the above two.
Your QRS rings are fine.
You want good ammo? Reload!
From numerous sources I have heard that Federal Gold Metal Match ammo is the best commercial match ammo available. That is why LEO marksmen use it. If you want to punch holes in paper, you should use that ammo. If you are hunting, don't use the match ammo, get a good hunting round.
But here is my main point. If you want to save considerable amounts of money and fine tune your ammo to be the most accurate in your rifle, you need to start reloading. I reload my own Sierra 168 and 175 gr BTHP match moly loads in Federal brass with IMR 4064 powder. Here is a quick picture of my last group of 175's at 100 yards out of my Rem 700 VS.
I was happy with the results. I shot a Palma match with the 42.8 grains of IMR 4064 a few days later. I shot a 150-10x at 800 yards! That means I got 10 out of 15 shots in a 10 inch circle at 800 yards and the other 5 were with in 20 inches. Then at 900 I got a 142-4x and 1000 a 140-2x. I ran out of elevation with my scope and had to hold over. No fun
.
Anyway, if you can't reload, buy the Federal Gold Metal ammo, it is the best out there from what I hear. And the 13 bucks a box sounds like a pretty decent deal to me.
From numerous sources I have heard that Federal Gold Metal Match ammo is the best commercial match ammo available. That is why LEO marksmen use it. If you want to punch holes in paper, you should use that ammo. If you are hunting, don't use the match ammo, get a good hunting round.
But here is my main point. If you want to save considerable amounts of money and fine tune your ammo to be the most accurate in your rifle, you need to start reloading. I reload my own Sierra 168 and 175 gr BTHP match moly loads in Federal brass with IMR 4064 powder. Here is a quick picture of my last group of 175's at 100 yards out of my Rem 700 VS.
I was happy with the results. I shot a Palma match with the 42.8 grains of IMR 4064 a few days later. I shot a 150-10x at 800 yards! That means I got 10 out of 15 shots in a 10 inch circle at 800 yards and the other 5 were with in 20 inches. Then at 900 I got a 142-4x and 1000 a 140-2x. I ran out of elevation with my scope and had to hold over. No fun
.Anyway, if you can't reload, buy the Federal Gold Metal ammo, it is the best out there from what I hear. And the 13 bucks a box sounds like a pretty decent deal to me.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
"Holdover" is the vertical component of "Kentucky Windage". That is, you don't (or can't) adjust your sights to be exact for elevation and/or windage. So, you guesstimate how high to hold the crosshairs over the target. Similarly, you estimate how far left or right you need to hold the crosshairs to all for wind drift.
My hunting rifles are zeroed for 200 yards. In my '06, then, this means I'm about two feet low at 400 yards, and four feet low at 500 yards. So, I "guesstimate" the two feet if I'm shooting at 400 yards, and same for the four feet I need to hold above the target at 500 yards. Sure, I could adjust the scope, but since it's a hunting rifle I'm more likely to find a four-legged target at 100 or 200 yards than farther out...
Regards,
Art
My hunting rifles are zeroed for 200 yards. In my '06, then, this means I'm about two feet low at 400 yards, and four feet low at 500 yards. So, I "guesstimate" the two feet if I'm shooting at 400 yards, and same for the four feet I need to hold above the target at 500 yards. Sure, I could adjust the scope, but since it's a hunting rifle I'm more likely to find a four-legged target at 100 or 200 yards than farther out...
Regards,
Art
By the way, boattail bullets were designed to reduce the buffeting (with the accompanying loss of accuracy it creates) as a bullet slows through the sound barrier. In most modern firearms, this only happens at distances greater than 300 yds, and is usually a non-issue since most riflemen don't regularly shoot farther than that.
The boattail design produces less drag and also has less of a cross-sectional area for cross winds to act upon. (This improves the bullets abiltiy to track on the line of sight.) I have read that the military began using boattail bullets to improve on the distance that automatic weapons could achieve -- less drag, more distance.
Again, this is usually only important to those shooting long ranges.
Personally, since I mostly shoot in hunting situations, I prefer the semi-boattail bullet from Sierra. I get good accuracy and believe that the is still ample mass in the base of the bullet to allow deep penetration of game.
If I were shooting competitively at long ranges, I would definitely load my own and use Sierra's boattail Match King bullets.
The boattail design produces less drag and also has less of a cross-sectional area for cross winds to act upon. (This improves the bullets abiltiy to track on the line of sight.) I have read that the military began using boattail bullets to improve on the distance that automatic weapons could achieve -- less drag, more distance.
Again, this is usually only important to those shooting long ranges.
Personally, since I mostly shoot in hunting situations, I prefer the semi-boattail bullet from Sierra. I get good accuracy and believe that the is still ample mass in the base of the bullet to allow deep penetration of game.
If I were shooting competitively at long ranges, I would definitely load my own and use Sierra's boattail Match King bullets.