Some bullet selection help

[doc25]

If you were going to stock up I would find one bullet to do all your hunting with and buy those. Make sure it is accurate in your gun though. I'm running 180gr accubond in my 308. They are accurate in mine.

 

[PSE]

A few years ago I went the same route as the OP and decided to use only factory for a variety of reasons I won't get into. I also decided to uncomplicate my life and I choose only 1 bullet per caliber after trying out a few high end brands for the best accuracy.


For my 308 I finally chose 165 gr Hornady SST, this being my primary deer rifle
For my 06 I chose 165 gr Hornady Interbond, this being my moose rifle
For my 6.5x55 I chose 140 gr Nosler Accubond, this being my long range rifle
For my 303 I chose Win PP (OK I cheaped out on this one), this being my loaner rifle

 

[hawk-i]

I'd go 180's either winchester white box or federal blue box.

 

[regulate34]

Hornady interlocks work great
Remington cor-lok work great
Winchester power points
ECT ........

If you are going to stock up I would go with a standard cup and core bullet of what ever brand shoots best in your set up
If moose are on the agenda I would go with 180g. Nothing wrong with having a mix of 165 and 180 grain would be fine as well.

No need to go premium ammo

 

[Dogleg]

Standard loadings with ordinary cup and core flat-based bullets are standard/ordinary for a reason. They make most of the people happy most of the time. Simple bullets shoot better in more guns, esp when you consider SAAMI spec COLs and one size fits all factory charges. Most big game is neither very tough, or very big, nor very far away. Most people chose a cartridge that is more or less appropriate. As much as we'd like to believe that our own needs are unique and special, they probably aren't.

Federal blue box is a safe bet in standard chamberings. If you're convinced that you need more penetration go up a weight.

 

[captonion]

Im currently shooting a 308 and was wondering which catridge to stock up on.

But if a person was going to slowly stock up what would be the best all round grain weight/brand/etc?

 

[ironsighter]

To the OP: don't give up on reloading just yet. If cost/space limitations are holding you back you can also consider the Lee Loader kits for a single caliber. I have them for 30/30, 308 & 30-06. Wholesale sports has them for I think $39.99 per one caliber and contains everything you need (minus a plastic mallet) except the components (brass, bullets, primers). They are very easy to use with good instructions, although not super fast. But I can easily load a 30-40 rounds in an evening for a day of shooting or for hunting season. I usually load on either my kitchen table or coffee table. They are a very inexpensive way to try reloading and work great for you since you only have the one rifle in 308. Since the Lee Loader only neck sizes the brass it may or may not work in another rifle of the same caliber. For example my two 30-30 will interchange but my Tikka and Rem 760 30-06 won't, the Remington needs full length resized brass. If you save the brass from the factory loads you shoot you can add the kit, bullets, powder and primers as you go. If you reload with a simple kit like the Lee Loader you can pay for it very quickly either with cheap plinking loads for more practice or load rounds with premium bullets like Nosler or Barnes etc for waaay cheaper than buying factory loads with those. A guy will go broke in a hurry shooting those at $40-60/ 20 !!

Even if you later decide to get better reloading gear the Lee kits are still useful. You can even do load development on your tailgate while your shooting in the bush with them. The 308 is super easy to reload for components and information are everywhere. The only thing I would add to the kit when you buy it is a good reloading book either the Lee one or from the bullet manufacturer you are interested in Nosler, Sierra etc. They have a wealth of information that can't always be found online.

I have been using my little kits for over 10 years now and loaded many hundreds of rounds with them. I don't think I could afford to shoot even have as much as I do ( or play around with all the different loads I do) if I had to rely on the factory stuff. I have never had a problem with accuracy or reliability either. I have even worked up 1 MOA loads for my Marlin 30-30 !

Yup.

Oh, and some "light" reading about .308 projectiles, for the OP... http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.308+Winchester+7.62+NATO.html