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Best .308 & 7.62×51 Ammo: Target Shooting, Plinking, & Hunting

.308 has been around for a long time and there's lots of ammo...we pick our favorites for cheap plinking, accurate target shooting, and clean hunting.

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There is no more popular long-range cartridge in the world than the 7.62x51mm or .308 Winchester.

Assorted 7.62x51mm (MEN 147gr, PPU 165gr, PPU 180gr, Gold Medal 168gr
Assorted 7.62x51mm (MEN 147gr, PPU 165gr, PPU 180gr, Gold Medal 168gr)

Whether on the shelf in its .308 Winchester flavor or the 7.62x51mm version, this cartridge has been in use since the 1950s, and it has carved out an enduring reputation with hunters, target shooters, the military, and law enforcement.

This legendary little cartridge still offers the same excellent ballistics and is still available cheaper and more readily than any other round in its class.

Popular .308 Winchester and 7.62x51mm Ammo
Popular .308 Winchester and 7.62x51mm Ammo

We’re going to go over a little history, followed by our favorite ammo picks.

But since ammo supplies are tight, here are some choices that are in stock:

The Quick List

.308 / 7.62x51mm Ammo In Stock

Brand
Grain
Cost/Round
Promo Code
147gr FMJ
$1.10
-
Assorted
$1.73+
-
180gr Power-Shok
$1.55
-
Assorted
$2.10+
-

Table of Contents

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How We Tested the Best .308 Ammo

The Pew Pew Tactical editorial and writing staff have extensive range and field experience behind various rifles and platforms. We've used a variety of ammunition in that time, and our experience covers competition, law enforcement, military, hunting, and plinking.

SIG Sauer MCX Spear prone shoot

We've run through thousands of rounds to land on the recommendations on this list. We use these picks when we test and review guns, and they have been selected based on availability, cost, performance, and reliability.

Best .308 Ammo for Hunting

1. Federal Premium Vital-Shok 165gr Trophy Bonded Tip - Best Hunting Ammo

Pros

  • Great terminal performance
  • Excellent accuracy

Cons

  • Expensive

Federal’s Premium Vital-Shok line is one of the most popular game rounds around, and for good reason.

The .308 Vital-Shok offering comes with a 165gr Trophy Bonded bullet with a polymer tip for superior aerodynamics and controlled expansion.

I’ve gotten a few big whitetails and numerous hogs with this round, and I’d trust it for any medium game.

2. Remington Core-Lokt 150gr Soft Point - Most Affordable Hunting Ammo

Most Affordable Hunting Ammo
Remington .308 Win 150gr Core-Lokt PSP
Prices accurate at time of writing
$25at GrabAGun
Sportsman's Guide (See Price)
Brownells (See Price)

Pros

  • Solid terminal performance
  • Time-proven design

Cons

  • Affordable in terms of hunting ammo

Remington’s Core-Lokt line is a favorite of whitetail hunters, especially in the Southeastern US, where we don’t have those long 400+ yard shots to worry about most of the time. Core-Lokt ammo has been in widespread use for decades and may have very well taken more game than any other bullet around.

The 150gr soft point round is perfect for mid-sized game at close to mid-range and is relatively accurate, even without the polymer tip.

It's also a good bit cheaper, and it is fairly common to see it on sale from time to time.

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3. Barnes VOR-TX 130gr TTSX Boat Tail - Best Varmint Ammo

Pros

  • Good velocity
  • Outstanding expansion
  • Accurate

Cons

  • Expensive
  • May lack penetration on large game

Sometimes the bigger number isn't always better. Those who primarily hunt varmints like coyotes will enjoy the extra velocity and faster expansion offered by lighter bullets.

The Barnes 130gr VOR-TX tipped TSX bullets are built just for that, speed and lethality. We have experienced excellent terminal performance combined with excellent accuracy. These will bring home the bacon - as it has for our editor many times.

Don't be fooled into thinking that these are exclusively for small games, though. The 130gr TTSX is excellent for harvesting whitetail deer and other medium game, as it delivers rapid and violent expansion without overpenetration and wasted energy.

Best .308 Ammo Target Shooting

4. Federal 168gr BTHP Gold Medal Match - Editor's Pick

Pros

  • Great accuracy
  • Many guns are accurized with this round in mind

Cons

  • None

Federal Gold Match is one of the best match loads on the market. These rounds use Sierra Match King bullets that produce outstanding factory-loaded accuracy. Many firearm manufacturers use this specific round as their accuracy benchmark for factory ammo.

I've been about to get half-MOA groups with this ammo with the right rifles; that is mighty nice off-the-shelf ammo!

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Readers’ Ratings

4.99/5 (2385 Votes)

Your Rating

5. Hornady Match 168gr ELD Match - Best Match Ammo

Pros

  • Excellent ballistic coefficient
  • Outstanding accuracy

Cons

  • Expensive

Hornady Match ammo is one of the most popular target rounds out there, and the 168gr ELD .308 offering is fantastic for stretching the legs on your .308.

This is my go-to factory load if I need to quickly pick up something for some range time where I actually care how I do.

I get sub-MOA groups out of this with a good rifle, and I would be happy to make use of these high ballistic coefficient bullets in a match if I didn’t have any handloads.

Best .308 Ammo for Plinking

Assorted 7.62x51mm (MEN 147gr, PPU 165gr, PPU 180gr, Gold Medal 168gr
Assorted 7.62x51mm: MEN 147gr, PPU 165gr, PPU 180gr, Gold Medal 168gr

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6. AAC 150gr FMJ-BT - Most Affordable Plinking Ammo

Most Affordable
AAC .308 Win 150gr FMJ-BT
Prices accurate at time of writing
$15at Palmetto State Armory

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Reasonable accuracy

Cons

  • Only available through PSA

Since the COVID-induced ammo shortage, .308 ammo increased in price across the board considerably and has taken its sweet time coming back down.

Finding ammo under $1 a round can be tough, but Palmetto State Armory has you covered with their AAC line of ammo.

Their standard 150gr full-metal jacket boat tail ammunition runs clean and gets the job done at a reasonable price.

7. Prvi Partizan Match 168gr HPBT - Best Budget Accuracy Ammo

Best Budget Match Ammo
PPU Match .308 Win 168gr HPBT
Prices accurate at time of writing
$22at GrabAGun
Sportsman's Guide (See Price)
Lucky Gunner (See Price)

Pros

  • Affordable for match ammo
  • Good accuracy

Cons

  • Can be harder to find in stock

PPU Match is decidedly better than normal plinking ammo and is much closer to the good match-grade stuff, but at a price that is still affordable.

Finding cheaper .308 ammo that uses rounds heavier than 150gr can be tough at times, but luckily, PPU has a reasonably priced 168gr loading. Think of it as the poor man's Federal Gold Match.

If you want to practice your match shooting without spending true match ammo money, this is your guy!

8. PMC Bronze 147gr FMJ-BT - Best Plinking Ammo

Pros

  • Decent accuracy
  • Widely available

Cons

  • Limited to 147gr

PMC makes solid ammo in almost any caliber, and the PPT team is a huge fan of their Bronze line and frequently uses their ammo to feed our handguns and ARs.

Their .308 stuff is no different. We have found it to be great for plinking, and it has produced good groups for us for the price.

Final Thoughts

That’s all she wrote, folks. These .308 rounds are more than good enough to get you started.

We tested a lot of these ammo choices when we did our Aero Precision M5 Review, so if you want real-world shooting of these .308 rounds, take a look!

If you try any of these, make sure you let me know in the comments below! And if you have another factory load you prefer, make sure to drop that in the comments as well.

Latest Updates

May 7, 2024: Removed Magtech 147gr M80. Added Barnes 130gr VOR-TX TTSX. Added data detailing how we chose the ammo on this list, added supplemental data to each product with more information, and changed the organization of this article.

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Written By

Matthew Collins

Matthew Collins

Author

Matthew Collins is a writer, editor, competitive shooter, hobby-level gunsmith and general firearms enthusiast. He has a background in the entertainment industry and currently works as one of our awesome writers in the field.

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Since 2016, the Pew Pew Tactical team has been dedicated to providing expert reviews and in-depth testing of guns and gear. All while keeping in mind that guns are fun and that readers come first.

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Conversation

48 Comments

Join the discussion

  • I, too, search 7.62x51 HUNTING AMMO, and all I see is .308 recommendations. I have an FN SCAR 17s, chambered in 7.62x51. I caked FN if I can shoot .308, and their response was, "We're not responsible for what happens." Contrary to frequent (and clearly misinformed) opinion, .308 is NOT a safe round to run through this weapon. I would like to hunt my SCAR (at least once), and no one seems to carry hunting ammo. Please help!
    ...
  • 2
    Gang,

    I asked about 7.62x51 ammo specifically because I have gorgeous pre-ban M14. You guys promptly went .308 in your reviews. I understand the subtlety. What is the best Long rnge (sniper) 7.62 x 51 round that I can put into large game (elk+) hunting?

    Jim
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    • Scott Murdock

      Jim, you brought up a really, really interesting point (for the ballistics nerds among us). I'd recommend looking very closely at bullet construction and velocity at distance for that kind of shooting. There's a great Vortex Nation episode that dives into the viability of match ammo for long-range hunting. Give it a listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzs2uQtkZq4
      ...
  • Simple gun safety idea? I'll play nice here. If they were stupid enough to pass such a law, who would be crazy enough to enforce it?
    ...
  • This was intended to be a reply to 'jshtragman' post below, whose post advocates for a firearms serial # database in America. Sorry for the seemingly off-topic post. -BK
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  • All the big western 'democracies' have used registration of firearms as a step towards implementing complete bans, as in Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, etc. where citizens have been disarmed and are now at the mercy of tyrannical globalist governments. Implementing an overt firearms serial number database (as opposed to the illegal covert databases already existing from electronic purchase transaction records, BATFE databases of Form 4473 images, other) would have virtually zero effect on Mexican cartels' ability to source arms. This is simply another tactic on the road to confiscating Americans' lawfully owned firearms. Cartels have billions of dollars in income and can source weapons worldwide, such as the heavy machine guns and recently discovered cache of RPGs on the border attest to. At most it would have a temporary and minor effect on the cost of arms for the cartels, while trashing Americans' hard-earned and besieged constitutional rights.
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  • 1
    Have shot thousands of PPU match ammo at long distance in my Gap700. For the money it cannot be beat, prefer heavy than 168 at a thousand. Yes there is better match ammo but most people cannot shoot as good as there rifle, scope and ammo can do.
    ...

    • Scott Murdock

      Excellent point. Collecting quality data and figuring out wind calls will do way more for our shooting than marginally reducing variability in ammunition.
      ...
  • I've been shooting .308 for decades, literally... mostly in Rem700 models of some sort but also in Savages and AR10's. The Black Hills .308 ammo is some of the most accurate you can buy. That said, for plinking I highly recommend military surplus rounds. You can usually find 100-1000 rounds locally on sites like arms-list. It lasts forever and if you just want to sight in and you don't have a laser with you or you want practice going from 100 yards to 500 yards (where most lasers aren't visible), mil surplus rounds are the way to go. You can always shoot the more expensive stuff when you want to show off your leet sniper skills to the boys at the range.

    On a side note... saw my first legit military surplus subsonic 300BLKs available at a local gun show recently. Here's to hoping we see more of that on the market.
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  • 1
    3
    2
    Mexican authorities allege that tens of thousands of US-manufactured guns are trafficked south across the border each year, providing drug cartels with easy access to massive arsenals used to fight each other and the Mexican government. Some estimates put the total at over half a million weapons each year....BBC News.............America's ATF is barred by NRA sponsored legislation from having a computer gun serial # registry. Which is why the ATF rarely if ever catches and prosecutes America's thriving gun traffickers.....

    Simple gun safety idea. Opposed by.................gun lobby
    ...

    • Silky Johnson

      What the hell does that have to do with this article? I’m not disagreeing, your comment is just off topic.
      ...
  • Check out Barnes' 168gr Vor-Tx ammo. According to Barnes it will expand as low as 1500fps with best expansion at 1700fps and up. Very deadly on large game at fairly long range as far as monolithic copper bullets go.
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  • I cannot see Hornady, Norma, Winchester as ex of other reputable manufacturers, any reason for that? I’m using a .308w ,Winchester xpr

    Thanks
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  • 2
    Thank you for confirming my suspicions. This is the last year that my M1 Garand will be seeing deer camp. There is a M1A loaded with the Archangel stock in 308 on order for next year. My days of trudging through the woods are over so I set up a shooting bench to watch the logging road in case a deer decides to come across. Few locations provide a 500 yard shot but some reach 700 yards. I was debating on 6.5 Creedmoore but your article makes me think that 308 would be every bit of what I need. My nephew will go completely wild when he finds that Garand under the Christmas tree. He is turning his hobby into a business venture and I know the Garand will be kept as a prize jewel.
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