New Savage 10 BA .308 factory ammo recommendations

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pavmentsurfer

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I just bought a lightly used Savage 10 BA in .308 from the EE... Im looking to shoot out to about 500 yards and will EVENTUALLY get into a re-loading setup. Hopefully over the winter. But for the time being, can anyone recommend a decent factory round that will give me decent accuracy for a reasonable price. I shot Hornady 55g Vmax out of my Savage 10 PC .223 and really liked it. But I have zero experience with different weight rounds in a .308... I have no idea where to start. If I get a couple popular recommendations ill pick up both and see what works best. But knowing where to start would be so helpful.

Also, if anyone has any tips on this gun, anything I should know or look at id love to hear about it. Im pretty excited.
 
I shoot Hornady Match 168gr bthp (24$), Nosler Match Comp 168gr(24$)and Nosler Trophy Grade Accubond 165gr(18$) in my 5R... These work the best for me.... But best results with the BTHP...Nosler comp are pretty close...
A lot of people will tell you to buy Federal Gold or Lapua..... Never tried them...they are over 35-40$/box
I tried hornady Superperformance and Match Amax(around 28$)... But I didn't had the best result with them.... But they were good...
Tried some scirocco at 46$/box and they where non-consistent.....the worst I tried.... But probably good for hunting...
Tried sellier and belliot(16$) ...they were Ok to burn some powder..

I think I gave you few idea of ammo to try.... After that, pick what shoots the best for you..
 
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Thanks so much man, thats all I needed to hear. Ill buy a selection of what you suggested and try them all before I pick one to stock up on. Sounds like 168g is the starting point for 308... im hoping that will be enough to take me out to 500yards. By the time I get consistent at that distance ill hopefully have my own reloading setup and can develop a load to go to 1000. Thanks again.
 
168gr works good in my 5r rifling 1:11.2 twist.....
You have a 1:10 twist... So you should be able to shoot from 150gr to 180gr without a problem.... I think 168gr is a good baseline to start and every shop have some.... You can try 150gr or 175gr too and see the results.... It's all about trying...

You'll have no problem to get to 500m with a .308, having a good grouping is something else
 
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You might find this surprizing, but the Winchester red box 308 (150 grain) that you find at Canadian Tire worked very well in my 10BA, even though the intent was to simply harvest the brass.
As far as high end commercial ammo, I find the Norma Diamond Line (168 grain) to be very consistent, clean burning, and really doesn't foul the barrel due to the moly coated bullets. Not very high velocity, but great for paper punching.
Not long after purchasing my 10BA, I began to reload and have never looked back. It's more of a winter "hobby" for me, and I find it to be a relaxing pursuit, ESPECIALLY when the wife is out, and my son is sleeping over at a friend's house!! Keep in mind that getting a good, well equiped reloading bench set-up is not cheap, and don't let anybody fool you into think that you'll "recoup your loses" unless you're a range junky that enjoys plinking. :D
 
I spend ALOT of time shooting. I have some property I own just across the road from me with 50, 100, 200 and 250 yard targets setup so im out every couple days and usually shoot 40 rounds per day. So, I think reloading is going to be important down the road. But I figure I can use the rest of this season shooting factory stuff and build up a collection of brass, then get into a reloading setup in the winter and load it all back up.
 
I suggest getting into re-loading, and then trying the 155 grain (palma) bullet.... I settled on the Hornady 155 A-Max (30312). I developed a load yesterday with 26 gr Varget.... Took it out to the range, 4 shots through the same hole and one flyer. Deadly. Oh, im shooting the 26" BBL Savage model 12 BVSS.....
 
There are a number of different commercially made loadings of .308 match ammo. Most use 168 grain bullets, you might find a few with 155, 175 or 190 grain bullets. Basically any commercially made ammo that claims to be "match" ammo, that is loaded with a hollow point boat tail bullet, ought to work well for you. They can be a bit pricey, but most of them stand quite a good chance of working well for you in your rifle.

One of the most common 168 grain match bullets out there is made by Sierra (the Sierra "168 HPBT Match King"). It's a good, easily-accurate bullet, but at longer ranges (somewhere around 600m-800m, depending on various factors) it will lose stability. If you're not shooting at those distances (and you indicate that you are not), it is a very, very good bullet to use.
 
pavmentsurfer said:
I spend ALOT of time shooting. I have some property I own just across the road from me with 50, 100, 200 and 250 yard targets setup so im out every couple days and usually shoot 40 rounds per day. So, I think reloading is going to be important down the road. But I figure I can use the rest of this season shooting factory stuff and build up a collection of brass, then get into a reloading setup in the winter and load it all back up.
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In this case I strongly suggest you make the jump to handloading even if you must cut back a bit on the shooting for a time. In the long run you will not only learn more but will be able to shoot far more than ever, not to mention the fact your handloading efforts if done with care and information will give you better results.
 
I have ownedd a 10BA for almost two years now.

I sighted my first scope in using Hirtenburger FMJ, which was okay to set up my scope, but the groupings were not very tight. Proably better for the likes of a M14.

I installed a new scope on the gun, then tried S&B .308 ammo 180 gr FMJ to sight it in, plus to begin collecting brass to reload. I was not impressed the groupings I got at 200 yards.

I also tried AE 150 gr 150 FMJ, again to collect brass, the groupings began to tighten up but still not what I felt the rifle was capable of.

I picked up some Black Hills 168 BTHP on the EE, I read the brass is very good. This ammo provided excellent groups, I was down to 1.25 -1.5 inches at 200 yards using this factory ammo.

Recently I came across an excellent deal on 200 rounds of Federal Matchking 168 BTHP which I couldn't pass up, again very good brass to reload. I have not shot any yet, but I am confident it will shoot very well like the BH's.

As others have posted, reloading is the way to go if you want good accuracy, plus reasonable shooting costs.
I reloaded a number of years ago. At the time I owned a Browning 78 falling block in 6 mm. Using factory ammo it shot groups over an inch at 100 yards, when I began to roll my own, 5 shot groups were touching!

This winter I plan to reload for my .308 and .338LM.
 
ginnz said:
I suggest getting into re-loading, and then trying the 155 grain (palma) bullet.... I settled on the Hornady 155 A-Max (30312). I developed a load yesterday with 26 gr Varget.... Took it out to the range, 4 shots through the same hole and one flyer. Deadly. Oh, im shooting the 26" BBL Savage model 12 BVSS.....
Click to expand...

You might want to check this.....
 
If you are shooting a couple of boxes of factory ammunition, every couple of days, you really should take up reloading.
Also, as far as brass collecting goes, a mixed bag of different makes isn't the best way to produce premium loads.
 
JPNICK said:
I shoot Hornady Match 168gr bthp (24$), Nosler Match Comp 168gr(24$)and Nosler Trophy Grade Accubond 165gr(18$) in my 5R... These work the best for me.... But best results with the BTHP...Nosler comp are pretty close...
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match ammo is $33-50 is per box of 20 out my way -- where are you getting these great prices?

there is some .308 Nosler Custom Trophy Grade Ammo (165gr.) around lately, good deal at $22/box of 20, $200/case of 200. some site sponsors have it. it has been getting stellar reviews.
 
Londero sport in Quebec for the Hornady and a little Shop in Alberta for the Nosler... don't remember the name... I'll have to check my credit card bill to remember the shop name..... A buddy of mine found that place and the Accubond costed 175$/200 and the comp costed 240$/200....bought them 3 weeks ago...
 
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