How much 308 should I buy for my first bolt action rifle before start reloading it?

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adrenaline681

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I've been reloading 9mm and 223. Now I will purchase my first 308 bolt action rifle. How much ammo would you guys suggest I should purchase so after I can start reloading the brass? Also what ammo would you recommend? I will be shooting a Tikka T3x CTR.

I've been suggested to purchase Federal Premium Gold Medal- 308 Win, 168Gr.

When I started shooting 223, I purchase 1000 rounds of PMC Bronze.

Is PMC Bronce 308 any good? seems to be around 1 dollar per round.


What do you guys think?
Thanks!
 
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A lot of factors to consider.

How much do you shoot per session?

How often do you set up to reload?

Can you be bothered to set up each time you need new reloads, or do you like to have a stockpile to last you the year to when you make your annual ammo supply?

Do you muck around with different loads, or do you only have 1 load and "set it and forget it" for your rifle?

I have at least 100 pieces of brass for each centerfire that I load for. But then, I muck around with a few different loads for some of my guns until I get bored and move on to the next gun...
 
if you are ok buying components... id say start with fresh reloads, you can start taloring right away. Id say atleast 100.... I make up 10-20rnd batches for load developement.... plus i have a box of 50 plinking rounds for the gongs or fouling rounds... if say start with 100-200 rnds, good thing is you can always buy 308 brass so maybe start with a few and then wait for sales.
 
Tradex Canada, one of our banner sponsors in the bottom row, second from the right "TEC Canada" have 720 rounds of Hirtenberger surplus with BOXER primers for $549 plus tax. I have found that ammunition to be extremely accurate in my rifles and the brass is better than most commercial brass offered today.

You would be picking up the ammo for about the price of the components. Unless you have a match chamber, which would require neck resizing, this is the route I would take. I see they also offer it in 240 round battle packs.

240 rounds of brass will last most shooters the rest of their lives. I say this because I have gotten 20 reloads out of this brass, with proper re annealing and moderate loads.
 
Just buy brass and bullets. Why pay for factory ammo just to get the brass. This makes no sense. None of my rifles have ever shot factory ammo. The cost of factory pays for a lot of components
 
I bought 100 .308 Lapua cases, works great for me. If I get other decent brass, I use it but prefer the accuracy from Lapua's brass.
 
If you plan to reload for accuracy, which with the CTR seems likely, why use up barrel life shooting factory ammo just to get brass?
What you'll reload won't likely be the same as any factory load you can buy.
Pick one brand of brass and try to stick with it. Velocity will vary from one brand to another depending on case volume. My Winchester cases require half a grain more powder on average to get the same velocity as my Lapua cases. That's not a problem at close range, but if you stretch it out to 600-800 yds it becomes critical. Lapua brass are excellent quality, well worth the premium if you want accuracy. If you just want plinking ammo, most anything will do.
If you want something factory loaded to shoot just to get you going, buy in small volumes is my advice. The odds are you won't be using that brass for long.
 
laker415 said:
Just buy brass and bullets. Why pay for factory ammo just to get the brass. This makes no sense. None of my rifles have ever shot factory ammo. The cost of factory pays for a lot of components
Click to expand...

This and or .308 brass is plentiful at range brass buckets. If you are too picky for that, more for me.
 
I bought a bunch of Lake city ammo when I started. I use the factory ammo to get the barrel warmed up and use the brass for my reloads. I shoot a lot though so keeping a lot of brass on hand works for me.
 
For a 308, I would probably buy some factory ammo just to get shooting, plus it supplies brass. Winchester superX is my go-to cheap stuff. This is the route I went with both 270 and 243.

If it was a more uncommon cartridge, where factory ammo runs in the $40+ a box range I would just buy the gear to reload with. Thats my plan with 358wm and 7mmWSM once I get rifles (already got the dies lol)
 
hometownhero said:
You should buy zero rounds if factoy ammo. Buy good brass, 175gr smk, and some varget and let er rip
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This is exactly what i did
zero factory
lapua brass, 175smk, cci BR 2 primers, varget, and have extremely accurate ammo for under a buck a shot (if you plan on shooting lapua brass 10x)
 
in my CTR I bought 3 boxes of Hornady Match 168 Amax and fired them off. Been reloading 178gr Amax & Varget with good results

Lapua brass & 178gr ELD Match, Varget & CCI BR2 or F210M would be a good way to start with your CTR
 
Thanks everyone for the advice, i might follow it and just start reloading.

Im thinking about getting:

Lapua .308 Win. 200 Cases Update: Probably 200 Winchester cases instead since im not super worried about max accuracy right now.
Hornady 308 150gr bullets
CCI large rifle primers #200
IMR 4895
 
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