Thread: Benelli Lupo 308 ammo

Hi everyone!

I decided to treat myself with nice rifle Benelli Lupo 308. I wonder if there is anyone with same rifle and willing to share which ammo suits yours the best? On reviews I found online it looks like it perform best with Hornady ELD-X 178gr, but this specific ammo seems to be rather bad. Core separation being main issue. It comes along with very low weight retention (in one of the tests only 36%). That leads to very poor performance after impact so I'd prefer to stay away from this ammo.
Obviously, I'm just trying to save some money here. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers, Denny.

Very fine rifle, mine shot stupidly well with 168gn ELDM's (hand loads) and also 150gn sako game head (factory soft points) and pretty much anything else I fed it in reality.
Miss mine but too much $$$ tied up made me very reluctant to use it for fear of scratching it.

308s aren't picky. Grab a box of Sako, Federal, Remington, Norma, Hornady, Winchester with 150gn projectiles. I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference between any of them in accuracy nor terminal effect.

I shoot Hornady ELD-X 178gr, have not hunted with it, shoots real well in my sako 85, think it's a compromise projectile trying to do all things well, for me the fact that it shoots is the big thing. Should be heavy enough for close range penatation & BC to take it to longer distances & still expand. Have read that the eldm are way better at longer range. Guess there is no such thing as the perfect projectile for all situations.

Go with what @dannyb said he spent a lot of time and effort researching what worked in his. He is a perfectionist though.

Originally Posted by Happy Jack

Go with what @dannyb said he spent a lot of time and effort researching what worked in his. He is a perfectionist though.

Very flattering.....thanks Gary
In reality ask yourself what you intend to use the rifle for then pick your ammo based on what projectile will work best, if not hand loading.
If you are hand loading same deal but just work up a load that shoots in your Lupo.
If your unsure, tell us what your intended use and range and I'm sure we can offer up suggestions.
My old Lupo 308win was probably the least fussy rifle I've ever owned. I'm sure finding a suitable load won't be hard.

Thank you for answer! I'm hunting in south to center of north island, mainly public, occasionally private land - so mostly bushy short range, here and there some longer stretches. I'm new into hunting so at this stage 200m max - aiming to improve. Not hand loading. I'm aware on 200m it might not make huge difference, but I like to push myself and want to make most of it. Precise and ethical shots.

Originally Posted by aaafdtx

Thank you for answer! I'm hunting in south to center of north island, mainly public, occasionally private land - so mostly bushy short range, here and there some longer stretches. I'm new into hunting so at this stage 200m max - aiming to improve. Not hand loading. I'm aware on 200m it might not make huge difference, but I like to push myself and want to make most of it. Precise and ethical shots.

At 200m max pick whatever flavor cup and core bullet and run it, can recommend sako factory ammo it's reasonably priced and shot well in my Lupo, or any of the Federal or Hornady offerings.....but not limited to them, I'm sure it'll shoot most breeds acceptably.

As said above if only shooting out to 200m any lead tip will be more than effective. I’d just go with a box of 150gr of whatever’s reasonably priced. Always practice out further than you want to shoot. For example if you want to shoot at 200 practice out to 300. Does matter how good your ammo groups if you can’t shoot In the first place. Good luck.

150g federal blue box has shot well in all my .308 S over the years.

Mine shot federal fusion well and very consistent.

Winchester 180s for in the bush itself.basic cup n core 150s for everything else.buy four boxes and keep using it till it's gone. Keep your empties and revisit this question after initial eighty rounds are gone.

Hi there! Thank for your input. I'm very keen to practice and stretch my confidence to longer ranges where it will matter more than now. I'm just trying to think little ahead and got some ideas. Practice longer than intended range is really good tip. Thank you!

Nothing wrong with the 178 eldx it does exactly what it's meant to and does it very well. Don't over think it.

Great choice in rifle 😉