.308 Winchester target bullet recommendations

[Russ57]

Looking for suggestions for bullets for .308 Win target ammo. In today's market it pays to have options.

Seems there are (only?) three top options. Sierra Match King, Lapua Scenar, and Berger Juggernaut.

Maybe there is something else to consider? Ranges will be to 600 yards. Honestly mostly 300 yards, so chances are I can get by with a lower quality offering. Availability and cost are the major considerations (assuming adequate accuracy).

Thanks in advance Gentlemen.

 

[JmacD]

I wouldn't rule out Hornady eld-m. My built Howa shoots 1/2 moa pretty easy with them. I havent run mine to 600 yet however. I did shoot an inch a 300 with them.

 

[Charlie98]

With the caveat that I've never tried the Lapua or Berger bullets... I've had the best luck with the SMK's, hands down.

Having said that, I've also used the Nosler Custom Competition (NCC) and the Hornady BTHP match bullet (not the ELD-M) with decent results.... but neither of those is quite as good as the SMK, it's quite discernible. But they ARE less expensive. If you are lucky, you can catch the NCC seconds that are sold at places like Midway and Natchez, once in a while.

 

[AJC1]

The difference in price is not small. If money was not limited I'd be shooting 185 jugs. I really like my 175 smk, and I can't really fairly grade the lapua bullet as I've only shot the 155 which is not close in weight class. For 300 they would probably be good but I'd take the extra bc of the others at 600. Again not a fair comparison and they make heavier lapuas.

If your not competing for money the 168 Hornaday bthp is plenty to have fun with friends.... I do.

 

[irishlad]

I like 168 gr Hornady Amax.

https://www.hornady.com/bullets/rifle/30-cal-308-168-gr-a-max-100#!/

 

[Charlie98]

If your not competing for money the 168 Hornaday bthp is plenty to have fun with friends

I like 168 gr Hornady Amax.

Some of my ladders I'm taking to NV in a few weeks are comparing the Nosler CC to the A-Max... I'll be curious to see how those shake out, even though I'm abandoning all of those for the SMK.

FWIW, I've never had good luck with Hornady rifle bullets... I don't know why... with the exception of their .224" bullets. The SMK beats the VLD-M with ease in the 6.5CM (142grn vs 140grn) and the SMK smokes anything I've tried in the 168grn .30's.

 

[tominboise]

A cheaper bullet that I have used in my Garands, is the Midsouth Classic match 168gr BTHP. I don't know who actually makes them but they shoot pretty well. They also have a bullet called the Match Monster, which I have not yet tried.

 

[irishlad]

Some of my ladders I'm taking to NV in a few weeks are comparing the Nosler CC to the A-Max... I'll be curious to see how those shake out, even though I'm abandoning all of those for the SMK.

FWIW, I've never had good luck with Hornady rifle bullets... I don't know why... with the exception of their .224" bullets. The SMK beats the VLD-M with ease in the 6.5CM (142grn vs 140grn) and the SMK smokes anything I've tried in the 168grn .30's.

I've had just the opposite results with Hornady bullets vs SMKs. The Hornady BTHP and ELD-M 140 gr shot way better than SMKs in our 6.5 CMs. Gave all the SMKs to my neighbor to try. Having a choice is a good thing. Glad they work for you.

 

[lightman]

Any of the three that you listed have the potential to shoot great. I would start with the SMK's as they are the less costly of the three. I've shot the 168's, the 175's and the 190's at 600 yards and the 190's shot the best in my rifle. But only by a very little.

 

[IALoder]

I'd personally start with the SMK's, they're the cheapest and in my experience are pretty easy to get shooting well. My .308 loves both the 168's and 175's, the 175's were SUPER easy to get out to 550yds with.

 

[dh1633pm]

I use 168 SMK’s for most of mine. I have many of them. I have heavier, but lots of 168’s. For General use Hornady 150 FMJ’s. Got a bunch of these too.

 

[W.E.G.]

Lake City M852 match ammo is loaded with a 168 Sierra MatchKing.

If you come up with something better overall, and you have the EXECUTION skills to prove it, you'll make a fortune promoting it.

There are lots of other good bullets out there. Lot of them probably better than the 168 SMK in unique applications.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Use whichever bullet best fits the seating stem of your seating die. Or, get the bullet for which you can find a perfect fit seating stem and die set.

You can get the best bullet money will buy but if your seating die pushing on the tips, it won’t perform well.

 

[nettlle]

I like 168 gr SMK.

 

[AJC1]

Some of my ladders I'm taking to NV in a few weeks are comparing the Nosler CC to the A-Max... I'll be curious to see how those shake out, even though I'm abandoning all of those for the SMK.

FWIW, I've never had good luck with Hornady rifle bullets... I don't know why... with the exception of their .224" bullets. The SMK beats the VLD-M with ease in the 6.5CM (142grn vs 140grn) and the SMK smokes anything I've tried in the 168grn .30's.

That doesn't bode well for the 150 I just put together. The last time I shot these they were 1.5 ish inches at 100 in a ten shot string.... not perfect but good enough to practice. Number 3 center left.

 

[Charlie98]

Lake City M852 match ammo is loaded with a 168 Sierra MatchKing.

As does FGMM.

 

[Rob96]

168gr SMK is where it's at.

 

[Nature Boy]

What’s the twist on your barrel Russ?

 

[Russ57]

Honestly I'm not positive. I have seen different numbers quoted (from 1:8 to 1:12) and haven't measured it yet. It is a Steyr Pro THB with 20" barrel. Figure worst case and I don't think a 1:12 would have a problem with the 168 SMK.

I'm curious about the 169 SMK. You don't hear about them. It "seems" like the best of both between the 168 and 175 SMK's.

 

[Kaldor]

Looking for suggestions for bullets for .308 Win target ammo. In today's market it pays to have options.

Seems there are (only?) three top options. Sierra Match King, Lapua Scenar, and Berger Juggernaut.

Maybe there is something else to consider? Ranges will be to 600 yards. Honestly mostly 300 yards, so chances are I can get by with a lower quality offering. Availability and cost are the major considerations (assuming adequate accuracy).

Thanks in advance Gentlemen.

I have shot about 25 different bullets thru my 308. Bergers, Speers, Hornady, Sierras, etc. Weights from 110 to 200 grains.

For pure accuracy? The 185 Berger Jugs beat everything.
Second? Sierra 175 SMK
Third? Hornady 178 BTHP
Budget bullet? Hornady 168 BTHP
Really cheap? Kind of a tossup. Ive always shopped around for bullets in the 150-168gr range that were cheap for AR10 fodder.

Might be some other stuff like the AMAXs, ELDs or a TMK that shot well, but not good enough on average to beat the standard BTHP bullets.
Most accurate powder Ive used? Varget, followed by 8208 XBR. Noth to say other stuff like VV 140 or 150 wouldnt be great, thats just what I happen to have on hand, other than a bunch of ball powders.

 

[Nature Boy]

Honestly I'm not positive. I have seen different numbers quoted (from 1:8 to 1:12) and haven't measured it yet. It is a Steyr Pro THB with 20" barrel. Figure worst case and I don't think a 1:12 would have a problem with the 168 SMK.

I'm curious about the 169 SMK. You don't hear about them. It "seems" like the best of both between the 168 and 175 SMK's.

I’ll bet it’s 1:10

If that’s the case I’d recommend the Berger 185 Juggernauts. Easy to find an accurate load when using Varget, H4895 or N140

Here’s a sub-MOA 20 shot group at 200 yards using 41.9gn of Varget

 

[Kaldor]

I’ll bet it’s 1:10

If that’s the case I’d recommend the Berger 185 Juggernauts. Easy to find an accurate load when using Varget, H4895 or N140

Here’s a sub-MOA 20 shot group at 200 yards using 41.9gn of Varget

View attachment 1184810

View attachment 1184811

Thats been my experience as well
42.6gr of Varget
20 thou off the lands
2641 fps
Yields a consistent 1/2" group in my rifle

 

[Lennyjoe]

What platform are you shooting from? AR10, bolt rifle, auto loader rifle?

 

[The Glockodile]

Never hear much about the Sierra Tipped Matchkings,

Were they a flop?

 

[Nature Boy]

Not a flop. I’m guessing that since Nosler and Hornady have tipped bullets and Sierra didn’t they were motivated to match their competitors offerings.

With that said, as a general statement, and with all another variables being equal, tipped bullets aren’t as accurate as non-tipped.