new rifle for daughter.. ammo selection time

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ian745

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ok, so picked up a sako a-7 in 308 for my daughter, we both love the rifle, but i`m having a hard time finding something it likes to shoot less then 2 inches at 100, , ive tried winchester white box, fed blue, federal premium, hornady speed(?) and and hornady black box 178 with the eld tip

its a 1-11 twist, most ammo tested was 150-16 with exception of the hornady hunter stuff in 178, , next step is moving up to 180 gr, anymore have any luck with sako branded ammo?, or have any other suggestions?

please don't suggest reloading, as i don't reload, thanks in advance!
 
How far is your daughter going to be shooting? For most hunting a rifle that can put a billet within an inch of where you want it at 100 and 3" at 300 isn't going be the limiting factor. The ranges where it starts to matter much don't usually show up
in the same sentence as daughter and factory ammo.

A Sako that shoots 2" tops with common factory ammo almost sounds like something that should go back on a accuracy warranty. Before you do that, check all the screws, try a different scope and as much as I hate to say it try some Barnes factory ammo. Those copper bullets have an annoying habit of shooting when nothing else wants to.
 
every things been gone over, snugged up and torqed to specs, i just started testing the rifle out, its going to be 300 or less, mainly around 150 average though i would figure, i thought i`d try some heavier ammo before getting worried, as i know my l30.06 hated every 165, switched to 180 and it was happy, if i cant get heavier ammo to group then i`ll swap the scope for a known shooter, and if that doesnt work then i`ll contact sako i guess
 
I hope this may help. I have been sighting in a new Tikka T3X in .308. I suspect its barrel may be similar to your A7's. (Also an 11 twist & I've read they come off the the Sako forge).
I have a pet 165gr load that it did not like. It did very well with 168gr Hornady Match but that is a poor hunting choice. I tried 180gr Federal Fusion gold box and it cloverleafs.
 
burnsy56 said:
I hope this may help. I have been sighting in a new Tikka T3X in .308. I suspect its barrel may be similar to your A7's. (Also an 11 twist & I've read they come off the the Sako forge).
I have a pet 165gr load that it did not like. It did very well with 168gr Hornady Match but that is a poor hunting choice. I tried 180gr Federal Fusion gold box and it cloverleafs.
Click to expand...

fed fusion gold box?, not sure ive seen that one, anyway you can add a pic to the thread ?. id like to give it a shot..

thanks!
 
Rifles will preferentially "tune" to a particular bullet weight. So your best bet is to try a spectrum of bullet weights. FWIW - Some factory ammo is better than others. I reload, so my purchases of factory ammo are limited. I recently picked up a rifle in a caliber I don't reload for and bought a box of Wichester SXP?. It shot terribly - 8 in groups. I borrowed some reloads from a friend and got 1.5 in groups.
 
Try a Barnes load. I have a rifle (9.3x62) that shoots twice as accurately with a Barnes TTSX than with anything else. There's a theory that Barnes bullets only like Barnes fouling so clean the barrel completely with Wipe-Out and then run a box of ammo through it. Other than that, take it to a 'smith for a quick bore-scoping. Maybe the hammer forging machine had a hiccup. If it just won't shoot no matter what you try, send it back. There's no reason to put up with an innaccurate rifle, especially not a Sako. You wouldn't want to be out-shot by some pimply 20-year old with a Savage as his first rifle because he didn't know any better :). That was me 10 years ago, shooting as tight groups as my dad's Tikka. Speaking of Savages, you might also want to check bolt lug contact.
 
Cabelas has a sale on now for federal powershock and non-typical ammo with $5 rebates comes out to $15-16/box. Try 180's or 150s some guns like it cheap....

Handloads of concerned about recoil. Otherwise if they are ready to shoot .308 then she should be good to go with whatever is accurate. For plinking rounds of your not reloading Lake city rounds are ok.
 
I would suggest trying something a bit heavier in the 180 Gr. range. The entry-level ammo can always be hit or miss. Federal Fusion is decent, try some Federal Vital Shok, my favorite bullet is the trophy bonded tip. Hornady is generally decent ammo, but I've seen some rifles not handle it well. Usually, I've seen it with Superformance, but there's no guarantee. Another top quality ammo is Winchester Expedition featuring a lot of Nosler bullets. Anything weird about the brass that is coming out of the rifle? Flat primers, excessive soot around the case neck, deep scratches? Did you clean the barrel before shooting the rifle?
 
150gr Sako Super Hammerhead worked well out of my T3, bullet seems to behave similar to the Fusion 150 . I used 168gr BTHP Hornady for one season on Sika, expand well on a body shots. Just seem to have delayed expansion and just about no expansion on smaller targets like neck shot or even head shots on sika. I used a 20" barrel, about 18 Sika deer shot between 30m and 460m. Our smallish deer we have I prefer 168 A-Max, accurate and expands well.
As mentioned above the 150gr Hornady Interlock FB also shot very well out of any 308 I had but seemed very soft almost explosive expansion, stopped using them.

edi
 
So factory ammo that's what I would try: Federal Fusion 150-180. Give it a few shots before shoot a group with cool barrel. I don't have a Sako in 308 but I've got a Hunter in 30-06 and it definitely likes the Federal Fusion.
 
Don't the A7's have a 1 MOA guarantee? You may try calling their warranty department.
I had an A7 in .270 for a bit. I sold it because it was heavier than advertised by a 1/2 lb, it didn't shoot as well as I expected, but the most frustrating thing is that the empty casings would bounce off the underside of the scope and not clear the action. They'd get in the way and cause a jam.

If you've tried so many boxes of good quality ammo and it still won't shoot as per advertising, then you should try talking to their warranty guys. At least to exhaust that avenue.
 
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