At the risk of what may come, I'd ask your preference for .308 combat loads.
If you were going into combat carrying a .308 rifle and had your selection of any premium brand commercially available ammo, what would you select. Price is NOT a factor.
Consider that you'll never be sure what you engage, when or where - so one minute you may need penetration, next shot may be on soft flesh with no barriers at close range. One hour you may be walking a suburban street with up to 300 yards line of sight, the next you find yourself engaging in a stand of woods in that same community at much shorter ranges.
Remember, the objective is to drop the target, right now.
My tendency (in all calibers) had always been for the heaviest hollow point with the biggest powder charge - until I had the honor of chatting with the legend Lee Jurras in email a few times.
Yes, I know placement is the most critical factor.
Barrel is 18.5 inches.
Anyone have an all-around favorite?
Kerodin
III
In my experience with .308, penetration is typically not a problem unless you use super fast expanding bullets like the Vmax. I have shot .308 Remington Core Lokt through 12" trees. Any open tip match type bullet in 150-175gr. will kill quickly and make most any cover into concealment. The Barnes TSX is a great option as well if added toughness with good expansion is needed. All this said, I went back to 5.56 after a 2 year very expensive affair with .308 AR Rifles. -55six
ReplyDeleteWhy'd you go back?
DeleteK
Good question.
DeleteAfter studying ballistics for some time I concluded that for 2 legged targets 5.56 does everything as well as 7.62 (except punching very heavy cover) and some things better. My tribe has some long range bolt .308s if needed but for most engagements the smaller fragmenting poodle shooter drops people quicker than the bigger heavier cousin (in the type of engagements carbines are used for, if you want to snipe at 500 yards a .308 AR with glass is a fine choice)
The average FMJ .308 will not upset in a human but typically passes right through. Sure it will kill, but we want people to drop right now. The fact that the quick upsetting 110 TAP loads are so popular now shows that the heavier typical .308 does not work to satisfaction always if the target is simply a human body. A 110 grain varmint type round in .308 against a human is a violent and incredible thing. The problem is that you lose some of what you would want the bigger gun for in the first place. Penetration and destroying cover. Make no mistake, 7.62 kills, but so does an arrow or anything else that pokes holes. I would never take anything away from it, it is a fantastic cartridge and I love it, but I have decided the advantages are outweighed by the smaller rounds advantages is a semi-auto carbine carried all day every day.
The 5.56 in it's M193 variety is cheap, frags out to around 100 yards in a carbine and killed a ton of Vietnamese. The SS109 punches hard cover better but is unreliable in fragmentation (which is the main killing mechanism of note with the 5.56) and is responsible for the poor performance against Somali fighters back in the day (it performed much like FMJ .308 by just punching through).
The newer heavy open tip match 5.56 loads frag faster, frag out to much farther and carry much more energy out at distance. 75-77 grain TAP or SSA has a great reputation as a stopper, not just a killer. The fact that 5.56 is much smaller, lighter and recoils so much less than 7.62 rifles makes the AR15 the better choice FOR ME and my tribe.
Try running a carbine course or shoot house with a .308 carbine. Besides the weight and recoil difference the muzzle blast alone is almost disorienting to anyone close including your team.
Dead is dead. I experienced the .308 carbine and it is a heavy pig with 3 times the recoil and 10 less rounds in the mag to boot. While devastating to cover, the times I would need to shoot through brick walls would be less important to my immediate safety than having less weight to hump and a carbine that is quicker to shoot with less weight and more ammo in each mag.
Hope this helps. If you want a specific recommendation on a .308 load with zero cost consideration I would suggest 150gr. TAP. -55six
Length of barrel doesn't matter much, Sam. It's the twist of the rifling that affects the accuracy when using different bullet weights and velocities. I do prefer a 150 gr bullet though and am partial to Hornady boattails.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kenny - 1:10 twist
DeleteDo you prefer hollow, soft tip or ball for combat?
K
Ball ammo for combat. Ensures penetration - if it zips through one body and hits the person behind him, that's a bonus.
DeleteAnd while I've never used it in 7.62 I'm thinking something with a steel core (armor piercing) would be the way to go in that situation. It can be ordered at bulkammo.com
ASYM Precision with the Barnes TSX.
ReplyDeleteThe TSX bullets work very well for the .308, also work well in 5.56.
ReplyDeleteSold my M1A 3 years ago though, couldn't afford to feed it enough to be worth keeping. .223/5.56 is a lot cheaper for practice ammo, and a gun that actually gets used enough to be proficient is a lot more valuable than a more powerful one that collects dust.
the trophy bonded bear claw is an excellent all around bullet. The nosler accubond loaded by Silver State Armory is a good all around load. I'd avoid the match hollow points. Although they are very accurate, they tend to hang up in some battle rifles and they do not expand, the simply snap into two pieces. They are designed for punching paper not people.
ReplyDelete168 grain TAP from Hornady. The 110 grain load in the TAP works well out of the short rifles too.
ReplyDeleteI've used the 168 grain Hornady AMAX to kill wolves, whitetail deer and elk. Ranges varied from 50 to 300 yards.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very accurate bullet and the expansion seems much more predictable than the BTHP or OTM bullets.