Cheap 308 components for plinking rounds?

[adrenaline681]

I'm going to make my first components order to reload 308. For an accurate load I've chosen to start with:

LAPUA Brass .308 Win
Sierra – (.308) 168gr HPBT MATCHKING
HODGDON - VARGET
CCI – #200 LARGE RIFLE

But I would also like to purchase components for pretty cheap rounds just to plink and have fun with friends.

For bullet I've looked at (Hornady 150gr FMJBT) or (CamPro 147gr FMJBT) any other suggestion?
For powder the cheapest options I found were Hodgdon BLC-2 and IMR 4895.
Not really sure about what brass to use for this plinking ammo.
For primers I will stick probably stick with CCI – #200 LARGE RIFLE


Any suggestion about what components should I use for plinking rounds?

Thanks!

 

[Chas59]

I would use BR2 primers but that's just my preference, the CCI's work fine. I like your other components but you might want to try Lapua's bullet offerings.
For plinking ammo, I would just buy surplus, rather than spend the time trying to make it with cheaper components, like why spend the time? All rifle ammo I spend the time making, i want to be accurate.

 

[rick357]

I'll correct that. All the ammo I spend time shooting had best be as accurate as I can make it. If I spend time making ammo it had better be as accurate as I can make it. Put them together and it decodes to "Why would you want to bother shooting junk ammo of any type?"

 

[laker415]

The hornady 150 fmj work well with blc-2 in my 308.

Accuracy isn't as good as my match loads but good enough to hit a steel plate at 300 yards or set off some tannerite.

 

[Trinimon]

Hornady FMJs or Campro for cheap plinking pills. Pretty decent accuracy from them too.

 

[Boomer]

Shoot match bullets loads when accuracy is the primary concern. Shoot good quality game or varmint bullets when terminal performance is the primary concern. Shoot lead cast bullets backed by a small charge of fast burning powder like SR 4759, 2400, and Unique, when the cost of shooting is the primary concern. Shooting small groups with cast bullet loads is particularly rewarding, the cost saving compared to shooting jacketed bullets is significant, and using these loads for small game hunting adds versatility to a big game rifle.

If your .308 has a nominal 1:10 or 1:12 twist, leading is a nonissue provided velocities are kept below 2000 fps, your bullets are gas checked which prevents the bases from melting, bullets are correctly sized to prevent gas cutting, and high quality bullet lube is used to reduce/prevent friction with the bore. Should you observe lead smears when looking into the bore from the muzzle, shooting a few rounds of jacketed bullets cleans it right up, if you object to running a bore brush through your barrel.

 

[Candocad]

I would use BR2 primers but that's just my preference, the CCI's work fine. I like your other components but you might want to try Lapua's bullet offerings.
For plinking ammo, I would just buy surplus, rather than spend the time trying to make it with cheaper components, like why spend the time? All rifle ammo I spend the time making, i want to be accurate.

This is the challenge we all face, and you have a very valid point, why shoot substandard ammo at anytime? Olympic competitors probably shoot only the very best, the same load as they shoot at the actual competition. But there is a cost to do that, and most of us cannot reasonably afford that.

I have a couple of rifles that I consider to be my 'best' target rifles. Each one is in a different calibre. These I roll my own and only the best ammo is used in them.

The rest of my rifles that I use for a mixture of shooting (hunting / target / plinking etc.) these I use different ammo for each application. I have a M305, that has a 'developed' load for target, another for hunting and I use Hirtenburger for plinking. The surplus is not best, but it delivers a level of accuracy that is acceptable for the application. I also run it through a crimping die to get a slightly better level of consistency.

If I only run the best ammo through my guns, I would be living in my garage, so surplus has its place I think.

Candocad.

 

[3030blaster]

Once fired IVI brass (General Dynamics Canadian military) from X-Reload.com is cheap and of reasonable quality. I use it for match and plinking loads.

 

[Boomer]

Once fired IVI brass (General Dynamics Canadian military) from X-Reload.com is cheap and of reasonable quality. I use it for match and plinking loads.

I've picked up some IVI 5.56 stuff at the range after the RCMP qualification shoots, and the necks and shoulders seem to be very hard and prone to cracking. Annealing should resolve this issue, but I've got so much .223 brass on hand now, that I just haven't got around to it, so can't say with absolute certainty its the answer. A long timer ago I had a couple of thousand pieces of IVI .308 (7.62X51) brass that was a distinct copper color; as I recall, this was nice stuff for reloading.

 

[BattleRife]

For plinking ammo, I would just buy surplus, rather than spend the time trying to make it with cheaper components, like why spend the time?

Ummm, to get acceptably accurate ammo for half the price? I don't know of a source of surplus for less than 80¢ a round, and most surplus shoots 3-5 MOA, which is rather marginal for even casual use. Decent economy handloads can be made for 45¢.

I'll correct that. All the ammo I spend time shooting had best be as accurate as I can make it. If I spend time making ammo it had better be as accurate as I can make it. Put them together and it decodes to "Why would you want to bother shooting junk ammo of any type?"

Because there is no need for the most accurate ammunition some of the time, and the cost in time and money of making it is wasted on certain applications.

Diatribe here, but the modern take on accuracy has become infuriating. 2 MOA is all anyone needs for almost any practical application, doing any better is just an exercise in "I told you so". You are not the originator of the question, why do you feel the need to impose your personal take on "I told you so" onto someone else's reality? There are millions of people behaving like this on this topic now, it makes me want to find Townsend Whelan's grave, dig him up and beat the crap out of his dusty bones. His stupid quote has warped the minds of countless shooters.

... I would also like to purchase components for pretty cheap rounds just to plink and have fun with friends.

For powder the cheapest options I found were Hodgdon BLC-2 and IMR 4895.
Not really sure about what brass to use for this thinking ammo.
For primers I will stick probably stick with CCI – #200 LARGE RIFLE

For powders I suggest sticking to ball, if you are going to be loading them fast and cheap you don't want the headache of crunchy operation through a powder measure. BL-C(2), W748 and H335 are prime candidates.

For brass, the deciding factor should be convenience of supply. I had a stroke of luck when I got my M14, I was looking for a stash of brass at the same time a local store bought a bunch of once fired Federal Match brass from a police range somewhere. Voila, 400 cases, all good quality, all the same headstamp, at a good price. See if you can find a batch of military surplus or a batch from a used brass dealer somewhere, and buy enough to last you through several shooting seasons.

I like the CCI primers, but I also worked up my loads testing with Winchester to ensure interchangeability. Now if one brand is unavailable, I just switch to the other.

 

[flashman2]

For plinking ammo, I would just buy surplus, rather than spend the time trying to make it with cheaper components, like why spend the time? All rifle ammo I spend the time making, i want to be accurate.

Loading your own with service grade components should result in ammunition more accurate* than surplus, or you're doing it wrong.

Surplus Hirt: 0.83 per.
Loading your own: 0.25/bullet, 0.20/powder, 0.05/primer, 0.03/brass = 0.53 per.

Shoot almost 60% more for the dollar, with better quality ammo. What's not to like?

Not really sure about what brass to use for this thinking ammo.

1F IVI surplus will be your cheapest, and is excellent quality brass. That is if you can't scam it for free or even cheaper on the EE with 1F Hirtenbrger.

*precise. I should say precise.

 

[LUTNIT]

I've done several side-by-side comparisons between Hornady 150gr FMJ/BT and Campro 147gr FMJ/BT and the difference is staggering. In a rifle that can consistently produce multiple 3/4 MoA groups at 100yds with 178gr ELD-M, it can barely hold 2 MoA with the Campro bullets. I've tried them in 3-4 different rifles with several different powders in each doing load development work-ups each time. I just can't get the Campro 147gr .308 bullets to shoot well. The Hornady 150gr FMJ on the other hand don't seem to have an issue holding 1 MoA in rifles capable of it. I'm talking about average group sizes though, not single best groups.

The difference in cost is quite large though. The Campro bullets can be bought for under $.25/each where as the Hornady tend to trend closer to $.35/each. When you're looking at a thousand bullets it's a big difference.

I've relegated my Campro 147gr to bulk plinking ammo I use for "heavy carbine drills" (the kind people normally shoot with .223/5.56). When I'm running a semi-auto hard and fast while moving and engaging multiple targets at 10-40m, the difference in accuracy isn't even noticeable. If I'm shooting off a bench or prone I only use quality bullets (168gr HPBT or AMAX in my semi's, 178gr ELD-M in my bolts); otherwise I get frustrated.

For bulk ammo I use inspected and headstamp sorted range pickup. Mostly FC brass where I shoot. I use whichever large rifle primers are cheapest and haven't noticed a difference between CCI, Winchester, and Federal with plinking ammo (when also using mixed-lot brass and Campro bullets). I have an assortment of medium-burn-rate powder I'm trying to use up but if you don't have any you can just look for what's cheapest per load. I find Benchmark and IMR4066 to be fairly economical.

 

[flashman2]

There are millions of people behaving like this on this topic now, it makes me want to find Townsend Whelan's grave, dig him up and beat the crap out of his dusty bones. His stupid quote has warped the minds of countless shooters.

His quote is quite correct. Only accurate rifles ARE interesting. If countless shooters misunderstand that to mean only precise rifles are interesting, well, that's on them. There's a reason they're called "precision rifles" and not "accuracy rifles." Though all of us, myself included, are guilty of saying accuracy when we mean precision. In fact, I just did it in my last post.

Also of note is that at the time Col Whelen was writing, 2 MOA would have been about the cutting edge of precision, and 4 + MOA from a service rifle with service ammo. So, I would think he would be in agreement with you regarding 2 MOA. If a modern shooter wants to retroactively apply modern standards of precision, again, that's on them and not Col Whelen.

 

[flashman2]

I've done several side-by-side comparisons between Hornady 150gr FMJ/BT and Campro 147gr FMJ/BT and the difference is staggering. In a rifle that can consistently produce multiple 3/4 MoA groups at 100yds with 178gr ELD-M, it can barely hold 2 MoA with the Campro bullets. I've tried them in 3-4 different rifles with several different powders in each doing load development work-ups each time. I just can't get the Campro 147gr .308 bullets to shoot well. The Hornady 150gr FMJ on the other hand don't seem to have an issue holding 1 MoA in rifles capable of it. I'm talking about average group sizes though, not single best groups.

If you're making ball ammo that holds a consistent 2 MOA, you're doing about twice as well as military issue ammo. I can't remember off hand what STANAG 2310 specifies, but I know for sure 2 MOA is way under.

If you want more precision, use precision components. No big surprise there.

 

[LUTNIT]

If you're making ball ammo that holds a consistent 2 MOA, you're doing about twice as well as military issue ammo. I can't remember off hand what STANAG 2310 specifies, but I know for sure 2 MOA is way under.

If you want more precision, use precision components. No big surprise there.

Oh, absolutely, if I want smaller groups I need more premium bullets. I was just surprised by the difference with Hornady. I suppose it's more related to the fact that I used Hornady 150g FMJ for so many years with such good results before trying Campro that it was kind of a let-down. I have no issue using the Campro bullets in anything with iron sights or for close-work in scoped rifles. My skill with irons and/or the shorter distances means 2 MoA is more than adequate. I guess I was just hoping to get the same performance as Hornady for less money but that old adage of you-get-what-you-pay-for seems to come true more often than not.

The precision I look for does have a huge impact on scores in competition. A consistent 1 MoA load versus a consistent 2 MoA load is the difference between 8th place and 28th place. For hunting loads I always look for the minimum required precision which I define as 6-8" groups at realistic hunting distances. Where I hunt the range is limited to 125-150m (trees, brush, property lines, etc.) so I have no issue with my slug gun (shotgun only zone) shooting 4 MoA groups. It'll still hit the deer in the vitals.

 

[rick357]

and I am surprised to see that people think 2 MOA is acceptable for target shooting. Pretty much Henry Ford thinking going on there. My lever guns give me better than that. If the op wants a something that doesn't cost much then there are several online sources of SKS for a couple of hundred bucks. Add in a case of 1500 rounds of surplus ammo for another $250 and have at 'er. That's under $0.17 a round for the ammo alone, a whopping $0.30 a round if you include the cost of the rifle amortized in with that first case of 1500. Cheaper than the cheapest possible cost of reloading for a .308. No wasted time or cost buying reloading gear, actually sitting down and reloading, or sourcing components. Just go shoot!

 

[flashman2]

and I am surprised to see that people think 2 MOA is acceptable for target shooting. Pretty much Henry Ford thinking going on there. My lever guns give me better than that. If the op wants a something that doesn't cost much then there are several online sources of SKS for a couple of hundred bucks. Add in a case of 1500 rounds of surplus ammo for another $250 and have at 'er. That's under $0.17 a round for the ammo alone, a whopping $0.30 a round if you include the cost of the rifle amortized in with that first case of 1500. Cheaper than the cheapest possible cost of reloading for a .308. No wasted time or cost buying reloading gear, actually sitting down and reloading, or sourcing components. Just go shoot!

Huh? Who, exactly, said that? The OP was inquiring about plinking. Lutnit explicitly said that 2 MOA WASN'T good enough for target shooting. I didn't mention it at all, except to say that it was indeed a near century old standard for precision.

But, I'll bite... why isn't it? If it isn't, that definitely rules out every SKS, the M305, standard ARs, VZ 58, Type 81, and just about every milsurp on the market for shooting at targets. It seems like a weirdly arbitrary standard to say <2 MOA or GTFO. The challenge in shooting is getting the best out of your weapon, not shooting the most precise weapon available, at least to me anyway. I mean, shooting matches with a Lee Enfield is a blast, and they'll hit 2 MOA only in a spicy food induced fever dream.

I'm also gonna call out the lever gun claim. 5 x five round groups at 100 yards please.

 

[rick357]

Huh? Who, exactly, said that? The OP was inquiring about plinking. Lutnit explicitly said that 2 MOA WASN'T good enough for target shooting. I didn't mention it at all, except to say that it was indeed a near century old standard for precision.

Diatribe here, but the modern take on accuracy has become infuriating. 2 MOA is all anyone needs for almost any practical application, doing any better is just an exercise in "I told you so". You are not the originator of the question, why do you feel the need to impose your personal take on "I told you so" onto someone else's reality? There are millions of people behaving like this on this topic now, it makes me want to find Townsend Whelan's grave, dig him up and beat the crap out of his dusty bones. His stupid quote has warped the minds of countless shooters.

But, I'll bite... why isn't it? If it isn't, that definitely rules out every SKS, the M305, standard ARs, VZ 58, Type 81, and just about every milsurp on the market for shooting at targets. It seems like a weirdly arbitrary standard to say <2 MOA or GTFO. The challenge in shooting is getting the best out of your weapon, not shooting the most precise weapon available, at least to me anyway. I mean, shooting matches with a Lee Enfield is a blast, and they'll hit 2 MOA only in a spicy food induced fever dream.

I'm also gonna call out the lever gun claim. 5 x five round groups at 100 yards please.

and apparently you didn't read my entire response:
"If the op wants a something that doesn't cost much then there are several online sources of SKS for a couple of hundred bucks. Add in a case of 1500 rounds of surplus ammo for another $250 and have at 'er. That's under $0.17 a round for the ammo alone, a whopping $0.30 a round if you include the cost of the rifle amortized in with that first case of 1500. Cheaper than the cheapest possible cost of reloading for a .308. No wasted time or cost buying reloading gear, actually sitting down and reloading, or sourcing components. Just go shoot!"

I do NOT see one word about it not being capable of being used to shoot in any way one would wish to should it be allowable. Read it through again. I explicitly say to go buy one and a crate of surplus ammo and "Just go shoot!"

 

[SHELL SHUCKER]

Shoot match bullets loads when accuracy is the primary concern. Shoot good quality game or varmint bullets when terminal performance is the primary concern. Shoot lead cast bullets backed by a small charge of fast burning powder like SR 4759, 2400, and Unique, when the cost of shooting is the primary concern. Shooting small groups with cast bullet loads is particularly rewarding, the cost saving compared to shooting jacketed bullets is significant, and using these loads for small game hunting adds versatility to a big game rifle.

If your .308 has a nominal 1:10 or 1:12 twist, leading is a nonissue provided velocities are kept below 2000 fps, your bullets are gas checked which prevents the bases from melting, bullets are correctly sized to prevent gas cutting, and high quality bullet lube is used to reduce/prevent friction with the bore. Should you observe lead smears when looking into the bore from the muzzle, shooting a few rounds of jacketed bullets cleans it right up, if you object to running a bore brush through your barrel.

This fer sure.^

I made up some loads to test in my new Rem 783 using Hornady 110 FMJ on top of 15.5 gr of Trail Boss as well as some using 86 gr Rem/UMC bullets I pulled from a batch of 30 Mauser a bud gave me. Same powder load as with the 110's. I'll be flinging hardcast 165's & 180's from er after I have some giggles with the jacketed stuff. As fer accuracy, I'll be plenty happy workin' out a load that can keep shots inside an inch at 80 yds. Minute of grey squirrel noggin is ideal.

View attachment 185173

 

[Dake21]

Cast bullets are great but if he is shooting a semi auto rifle the light loads might not produces enough hot gases to cycle the action.