Thread: Belmont ammo 308 with hornady 150gr SP - Range Report

The .308 ammunition from Belmont Ammunition continues to impress me. Im surprised they are not promoting it!!
Only reason i found out about it is a friend recommended to try it. way it consistently groups great and the ES and SD are always fantastic.
The best part of this is that it’s cheap, cheaper than barnaul steel cased ammo and almost half the cost of other soft points.
Especially good if you buy in bulk and it’s loaded right here in New Zealand.
Loaded with PMC brass that I could sell off to bring the cost down even further.

For hunting this would be the first box i reach for to try down any rifle. I used to reload SSTs but for the price and the soft points perform very well i don't bother anymore.


Tikka T3 308 with factory barrel ~ 120 rounds down the barrel so not sure if it will speed up a bit more yet.
VX freedom 3-9
Shot off a bi-pod.

4 shots while sighting in the scope. Group was Just over 1"



Adjusted and shot this 3 shot group.



I now have boxes from 3 different lot numbers. So next time i will test 10 rounds from each batch to see if there is any variance between lots and also get a larger data pool for the ES and SD.
I dont often shoot groups. So can someone recommend a target that is easier to shoot at than just some orange dots on a plain piece of paper?

Originally Posted by Nugget connaisseur

Attachment 114503

The .308 ammunition from Belmont Ammunition continues to impress me. Im surprised they are not promoting it!!
Only reason i found out about it is a friend recommended to try it. way it consistently groups great and the ES and SD are always fantastic.
The best part of this is that it’s cheap, cheaper than barnaul steel cased ammo and almost half the cost of other soft points.
Especially good if you buy in bulk and it’s loaded right here in New Zealand.
Loaded with PMC brass that I could sell off to bring the cost down even further.

For hunting this would be the first box i reach for to try down any rifle. I used to reload SSTs but for the price and the soft points perform very well i don't bother anymore.


Tikka T3 308 with factory barrel ~ 120 rounds down the barrel so not sure if it will speed up a bit more yet.
VX freedom 3-9
Shot off a bi-pod.

4 shots while sighting in the scope. Group was Just over 1"
Attachment 114504


Adjusted and shot this 3 shot group.
Attachment 114505


I now have boxes from 3 different lot numbers. So next time i will test 10 rounds from each batch to see if there is any variance between lots and also get a larger data pool for the ES and SD.
I dont often shoot groups. So can someone recommend a target that is easier to shoot at than just some orange dots on a plain piece of paper?

I gave up shooting round targets awhile ago. now I draw a diamond on paper, and aim for either the top or bottom, which allows a more precise aimpoint.

Good shooting,try a black A4 sheet of paper with a white 10mm dot in the middle at a 100yds.All your concentration is on the white dot.You should be able to put your tight groups on the dot after a bit of practice.Try a 20mm dot at 200yds.

As Trout said, a white dot on a black background is the best. The size of the dot is not too important as the human eye is an amazing thing. The human eye is circular, the wee bit in the middle is circular, your scope is circular - so your target should be a circle. It makes the whole sighting thing much more natural for your eye/brain coordination, and your eye will always be drawn to placing the cross hairs in the centre. And white on black is a no brainer when you consider your cross hairs are black.

It will be very interesting to see your work on the variance between lots.

Hey great thread. I have just brought a Tikka 308 and cut down to 16inches for a bush gun with DPT suppressor and carbon stock etc. It was set up to shoot with Hornady Superformance 150gr SST and have put a box through it. Its shooting them at 2700fps out of the 16 inch barrel but at $75 a box for the Hornady ,I am very keen to try this Belmont 150gr soft point. I use the Belmont 55gr soft point 223 ammo and have found it great and very consistent. Just wondering how this ammo will perform with a shorter barrel and if speed will be compromised too much.

Originally Posted by Curtis27

Just wondering how this ammo will perform with a shorter barrel and if speed will be compromised too much.

I have a 16" Zastava that i can run some down to give you an idea on the velocity. The current SST and 8208xbr powder gets 2550fps out of it. Have not tested those loads down the tikka yet.

Thanks for the advice on the targets, ill give both of those ideas a try and see what one i find easiest to use.

Originally Posted by rupert

It will be very interesting to see your work on the variance between lots.

Ill give it a go sometime in the next few month and give you an update on it.

Originally Posted by Nugget connaisseur

I have a 16" Zastava that i can run some down to give you an idea on the velocity. The current SST and 8208xbr powder gets 2550fps out of it. Have not tested those loads down the tikka yet.

Thanks for the advice on the targets, ill give both of those ideas a try and see what one i find easiest to use.

That would be great. The price difference is over $2 per round so very keen to get onto these Belmont rounds

Just travelled up to Whanganui and got 100 rounds for $125 for the Hornady SP

This is my second batch, first was the Sierra projectiles SP 150

Oh sounds like it's worth giving it a go in my Tikka

Originally Posted by Sako851

Just travelled up to Whanganui and got 100 rounds for $125 for the Hornady SP

Website lists 100 rounds for $108.70 currently.
https://belmontammo.co.nz/product/30...le-100-rounds/

I'd say he's including petrol cost too

@rugerman Looks like the $108.70 excludes GST so adds up to $125.
Was hoping to try some of these before buying a 100 though. Anyone in Chch have a few of these rounds?