My Remington 700 and my quest for the right ammo

[41800216]

So ever since the last gun show in Oaks where I purchased my Remington 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD (man, that's a long model name...), I've been on a quest to find an affordable .308 round that the 700 liked, for the purposes of going to the range and putting some holes in paper. If/when I get into hunting, I'll be much more willing to drop some coin on proper, better ammo, but until then, best value wins over absolute top-notch accuracy. Here's what I've tried so far and my impressions on them from shooting at 100 yards:

American Tactical (made in Turkey) 150gr - total garbage (quarters are where I aimed)
PPU white box 145gr - really, really good (my third time out shooting the gun and I get three ~1" groups...third pic was only two shots, no two-in-one-hole amazingness here)
Remington UMC 150gr - total garbage, although less crappy than American Tactical
Fiocchi 150gr - more or less tied with PPU 145gr (top left and middle do in fact have three hits each)
Federal Power Shock 150gr SP - pretty good
Federal American Eagle 168gr 7.62x51 HP - similar to Power Shock
Federal American Eagle 150gr - better than Power Shock or AE 168gr, almost as good as Fiocchi or PPU 145gr

I also have a box of PPU Match 175gr that I have yet to shoot, likely will head to French Creek tomorrow (Friday) around noon-1ish to try it out.

So, here's my situation and where I'd like a bit of input from you guys and gals. Since it's pretty much always better to buy in bulk, I've been looking at deals on 200/500/1000-round boxes. I have an opportunity to get a bunch of that American Eagle 150gr for really cheap, like under $10 per box of 20. I can also get a bunch of PPU for around the same price, and Fiocchi for around $14 per box plus shipping (individual boxes of 20, can't find bulk boxes of this stuff that are actually cheaper than individual boxes of it elsewhere). I'm just a bit torn as to what direction I want to go. I don't have the funds to get a bunch of everything, or to get the Fiocchi in the numbers I'd get the PPU or AE 150gr.

The PPU shot really nicely and was consistent throughout the two boxes I had, but it's a pretty dirty round and I'd be a bit concerned that it's just a little corrosive despite being billed as non-corrosive.

The AE 150gr didn't shoot quite as nicely as the PPU, but was close in accuracy and consistency and it runs cleaner. It's also made in the USA and (I'd think) would be more likely to be more consistent from box to box.

The Fiocchi ran about as cleanly as the AE 150gr, was as accurate as PPU, and was consistent throughout the box. It's probably the nicest of these rounds overall but is the most expensive.

I'm kind of leaning towards the AE 150gr due to it being the best average of the three, but would like to hear some input from other people.

Keep in mind, this is the first bolt-action gun I've ever shot and is the largest rifle round I've shot, so I'm by no means an experienced shooter, so take my experiences with a grain or two of salt!

[41800216]

FWIW, just used up that PPU Match 175gr box, and I'd say it's about on par with Federal AE 168gr and Power Shock 150gr, with the exception of the bottom left hit to the top left target, that was a booboo on my part.

[ACRblaze]

Two choices that will work...
First if you don't reload then buy Federal Gold Match 168g

If you reload SMK 168g over 37.8g of IMR 4985. You can go a little heavier on the load but that is a sweet spot for my SPS.

[Lycanthrope]

Two words.


Black Hills.


Lycanthankmelaterthrope

[dkf]

Two words.


Black Hills.


Lycanthankmelaterthrope

What he said.

[Tim Ault]

Dont expect good results from basicly any 150 gr ball ammo ,For a inexpensive ammo plain old Rem. Cor Locks have always shot well in a variety of rifles ,Your typical hunting bullet will always be better quality that ball ammo

[Pizza Bob]

The posters that said Federal GMM or Blackhills with 168 gr match bullets hit the nail on the head.

Since your Remington is the Tactical version, I'd bet that it's 1:10 twist, which works better with heavier bullets - 168 gr and up (you may want to try some of the heavier match offerings). Typical .308 hunting rifles tend to have 1:12 twists that work better with the 150 gr family of bullets. Save your money and stay away from the 147 gr offerings. The 147 gr bullet was designed for use in machine guns and has a short bearing surface to reduce heat build-up on full auto, because of that accuracy suffers.

Good luck.

Adios,

PIzza Bob

[41800216]

Thanks everyone for your input so far.

I really don't want to come across as being unappreciative of your help, but I think it would benefit everyone to read my post a bit more thoroughly, particularly:

...for the purposes of going to the range and putting some holes in paper. If/when I get into hunting, I'll be much more willing to drop some coin on proper, better ammo, but until then, best value wins over absolute top-notch accuracy.

I entirely agree, then, with the suggestions of Federal GMM and Black Hills for the higher quality, higher accuracy bullet that's more or less guaranteed to be the same shot bullet after bullet (shooter inconsistencies aside). For a bullet meant to just go to the range and play around with? I think it would be silly (considering I don't have tons of expendable funds, as I do not have a job currently) to buy large quantities of a high quality match/hunting round if all I'm going to do with it is throw it in the berm behind a target.

Dont expect good results from basicly any 150 gr ball ammo ,For a inexpensive ammo plain old Rem. Cor Locks have always shot well in a variety of rifles ,Your typical hunting bullet will always be better quality that ball ammo

Check the pictures I posted in my first and second posts in this thread. In my personal experiences (again, like I said in my OP, take them with a grain of salt), the most accurate rounds I've shot have been 145gr and 150gr ball.

The posters that said Federal GMM or Blackhills with 168 gr match bullets hit the nail on the head.

Since your Remington is the Tactical version, I'd bet that it's 1:10 twist, which works better with heavier bullets - 168 gr and up (you may want to try some of the heavier match offerings). Typical .308 hunting rifles tend to have 1:12 twists that work better with the 150 gr family of bullets. Save your money and stay away from the 147 gr offerings. The 147 gr bullet was designed for use in machine guns and has a short bearing surface to reduce heat build-up on full auto, because of that accuracy suffers.

Good luck.

Adios,

PIzza Bob

Yes, it is in fact a 1:10 barrel, and as I understand from a bit of research the ideal bullet weight is somewhere between 170 and 220 grain. I fully understand this concept and am not going to contest it from an idealistic standpoint, however if the bullet does well in my gun, why avoid it because it's designed for something else?

[Lycanthrope]

Well, I think you have to give these guys some slack. This gun isn't made to go hammer rounds into paper at the range like an AK. It's made to bust eggs at 300 yards+. Those of use with this type of rifle also don't usually just go burn ammo through them like we do our AR's and AK's. It's a LOT more expensive to rebarrel a 700 than it is an AR and after 10K rounds you're going to see it loosen up.

Don't get too hung up on bullet weight....it's the length that matters more in terms of twist rate. Typically, we don't even look at ammo being decent for this type of gun until it shoots 1moa or tighter.

So.....buy some more of that PPU white box and then start looking for something better when you start using the gun to go deeper.

Of course, don't expect it to necessarily shoot any other bullets in the same place...even if they are the same weight.

Lycanwhatdoyouwantfromus?thrope

[41800216]

Absolutely fair points, and fully understood.

I realize that at this point I'm really not delving deep into the capabilities of this gun (and the round) as I'm currently only shooting at 100 yards. I will likely be joining up at either Boyertown R&G or University Rifle outside of Reading for 200+ yard shooting capabilities. At that point, it would absolutely be worth my money/time to get more proper ammo. A friend of mine told me a few weeks ago to give the Federal GMM a try when I really want accuracy, and I think I will (especially considering it's really not THAT expensive in the scheme of .308 ammo) soon.

I'm not really getting hung up on bullet weights. My mentioning of them in my last post was in fact to point out that I don't think bullet weight should be the only factor in what round I choose, considering I saw better results with 145gr and 150gr than I did with the recommended 170+gr for the twist in my barrel.

Of course, don't expect it to necessarily shoot any other bullets in the same place...even if they are the same weight.

Lycanwhatdoyouwantfromus?thrope

I'm not sure I understand the first line here

As for what I want from you all, I guess I'm just looking for if anyone has any tips on non-top notch ammo for the times when I'm not looking for sub-MOA accuracy at 100 yards. I know it's odd for owners of these types of guns, but that's just where I'm at right now with mine, not having the funds for all the expensive stuff or for joining up at a 200-300+ yard range.


Again, I appreciate the help guys!