Thread: Cheap 308 Reloads

Originally Posted by MassiveAttack

Like everyone else has said reloading isn't about saving money, it's about getting better quality ammo. You can buy decent stuff loaded with match grade projectiles but then you are up in the $75 a box range and thats just madness.

Buying a whole lot of inaccurate factory ammo (like the PMC) for the brass is valid but only if you want to blast away at not stuff thats not alive.

Sierra match and game kings have always shot well in every 30 cal rifle I have had and are a reasonably priced projectile.

Maybe we just got lucky. Barnaul 7.62x54R gives me about a 30mm group at 100m with a Mosin Nagant and my brother gets about a 30mm group at 175m with the 140gr SP Barnaul ammo in his Baikal single shot. My 223 does not like Barnaul at all but that is due to a slow twist that likes lighter projectiles than Barnaul make (35 to 40gr)

At the price they charge for Barnaul it is certainly worth trying. I know quite a few people who use it and it performs very well. I also know a few that their rifles do not like it. Either way, I use it and it works well.

I think a lot of people expect rifles and ammo to be accurate without practising. If you want your rifle and ammo to perform, then the operator also needs to be up to scratch and this takes practise. All to often this practise does not happen with a centrefire as the ammo costs are too dear so they shoot 5 or 10 rounds sighting it in and expect to never miss. If you start with cheaper ammo and get used to the rifle, in most cases accuracy will improve to a point. I would suspect newer shooters that have experienced poor accuracy and blame the cheap ammo will find that by the time they finish a few packets of cheap stuff, give up and buy dearer stuff will find a good portion of the improvement is actually the fact they have practised, then taken a break and returned fresh with a new brand of ammo and they have performed better rather than the ammo.

I had one person here who I took out to the local range. On his previous trip, he was using Barnaul 308 and was struggling too hit a dinner plate sized target with his set up. He had gone out and bought some new $3 per round ammo to try and I gave him a few pointers on technique. His first group was much better at about 40mm at 100m. The second, even better still at closer to an inch. Without him noticing, I loaded three rounds of the Barnaul in his mag and got him to fire a third group. That third group was the same size as the $3 ammo. He did not believe me so I got him to try again and he repeated it. He now shoots with the Barnaul. And he is practising a lot more.