This thing has turned out to be accurate, even in a cheap OEM stock with a 4x hunting scope. This is probably due to the barrel, a Remington sporter contour at 20” in length. Like a lot of sporter-weight barrels, it starts to behave like a bull barrel when you cut it short. At some point I’ll get it into a better stock, mount a stronger scope, and test accuracy handloads but for now it’s more accurate than I am.
Loads in this rifle average 57 fps slower than in my 22” Model 700. Some run faster than advertised, others run slower. On the slow end are Federal’s blue-box 180-grain softpoint at 2,464 fps and Remington’s 180-grain Pointed Soft Point CorLokt at 2,475 fps. The high end is the Barnes 130 TTSX at just over 3,000 fps—neck and neck with 130-grain factory 270 Winchester loads. Factory 150s go from 2,653 fps to 2,784 fps. Factory 180s average right at 2,500, about like some factory 30-06/180 loads in carbine-length barrels.
After zeroing, I tested loads without changing the scope to compare POI. Many 308s put different bullet weights close together. In this rifle, those loads include:
• Barnes Vortex 130 TTSX, Federal 150 TTSX, and Fiocchi 150 SST
• Fiocchi 180 SST and blue-box Federal 150 softpoint
• Remington 150 CoreLokt, Federal 180 Fusion, Norma 150 Whitetail, and Federal lead-free 150
• Federal blue-box 180 and Remington’s 180 PSPCL
That matters because most 308 loads have all but identical trajectories to about 350 yards IF you zero for the same maximum ordinate. The trick is to find loads whose terminal ballistics differ enough to make it worthwhile and that have the same 100-yard POI.
Loads in the second group fit those criteria in this rifle. Zeroed 2.5” high at 100 yards, they stay within an inch or so of each other to 350 yards. The 150 is a cheap and a good choice for a deer and hogs. It would likely drop an elk if properly placed. The 180 is better if you specialize in bigger animals or if the wind picks up. The loads in the bottom three groups are close enough that you could probably use them with the same zero to about 200 yards.
So why bother with all of this?
Airlines.
Those bastards will lose your ammo bag when you least expect it. But you can find good 308 ammo in a big-box store 30 minutes before closing time on a Tuesday night without having to rely on the slack-jawed teenager behind the counter.
Just know your zeros and you’ll be OK with almost anything.
Okie John