[SeahawkDriver-R]

1) Must be cheap enough so you'd gladly shoot hundreds of practice rounds over the months/years, to sight in various optics, keep in practice, etc.
2) Have decent stopping power at short range (that is, not be going so fast as to penetrate with only slight target damage)
3) Have reliably predictable bullet drop out to 150 yards (that is, be good-quality, consistent ammo)
4) Exhibit reduced over-penetration of structures, compared with FMJ (being modest and realistic here - it is a high-power rifle round, after all - there will be some over-penetration)
5) Exhibit significant ability to batter down or penetrate cover/concealment and do real mechanical damage to ... whatever needs to be broken: engine blocks, windshields, door locks, etc. (why else have a high-power rifle?)
6) The round should not be seen as an overly exotic, SWAT-grade or malicious round in a court of law, in case one ever gets dragged there after actual use in self-defense (in other words, it is not wildly "over-kill")
7) Must be factory ammunition, commonly available, not a reload/hand-load - for the same reason as #6

Bill,

I am just at a loss for this loading your're looking for. With the stipulations you put up there, I'd recommend asking Lee Harvey Oswald what loading he was using, becuase you need the magical 3-way direction changing Kennedy bullet to get that sort of performance.


The first thing I'd say is take one HUGE step backwards. We are talking about a .308... a .308... There is NOTHING mysterious about what a .308 is supposed to be, or what it is supposed to do. It is a benchmark high powered rifle, designed and optpimized for RANGE and POWER. So for the things you describe, some of the stipulations are just unrealistic, and you should seriously consider a different caliber all together to meet these needs.

Stipulation #1, price. There is only one type of .308 you're going to be able to buy in bulk and thats M80 ball ammo, or a cheap FMJ equivalent... thats about it. Everything else falls into two categories: The "exotic" stuff, which are specialized cartridges optimized for defensive situations (very expensive), and the "hunting stuff", even more specialized cartridges optimized for uniform expansion and penetration in soft tissue (just as expensive). If you want cheap ammo, then its pretty much BALL or "plinker" ammo, neither of which are going to meet ANY of your other stipulations. And even the M80 ball stuff is 2x-3x more expensive than smaller, cheaper rounds.... BECAUSE ITS a .308!

Stipulation #2: Again, its a .308. There is no round on the market that is not going to penetrate "a few inches", its a LARGE BULLET, going VERY FAST. No loading on the planet short of a wax slug or paintball is going to suffer from under penetration at short range.

Stipulation #3 (consistency): Easy.. you want consistency, its called Match Ammo. Which is about 50% more expensive than cheaper ball and NATO loadings. You want it, its costs more... no way around it unless you want to do your own loads, and even then, the better bullets and powders will cost you more.

Stupulation #4 and Stipulation #5: These are exact opposites of one another. First one you say you want reduced over-penetration on structures, the second one you say want something that will punch through barriers. WHICH ONE IS IT? There is no bullet with in-flight terminal guidance that will decide which one it wants to do. Rounds that are designed to be frangible and fragment in tissue after a few inches of pentration are ideal for close engagements against soft targets. The bullets fragment and yaw which distributes the energy inside the wound channel, causes more terminal damage but over a shorter distance. The later series of bullets are designed to stay in one piece as long as possible to make it through light obstacles and cover such as windows, car doors, foliage, etc. When they do finally hit their targets they will typically hold together well.

If you want a bullet that reduces over-penetration, then I'd recommend the Hornaday TAP Urban 110gr. If you want a barrier bullet then look into the Speer bonded bullets and Hornady TAP barrier loads in 165gr.

Stipulation #6 (overly exotic). If you want something does all of these things, it will by default be considered "exotic". If you want plain-Jane ammo, then buy plain-Jane ammo.

 

[Woodpile]

I recently bought some of the 180gr corelocked bullets because I saw numerous recommendations against them for hunting because they threw out a large chunk of meat. I thought, hey - that is exactly what I want. Some suggested loading them light to reduce the destruction. I have not loaded them up for a trial yet. I also found some 170gr soft rounds to try.

 

[Woodpile]

Just a quick update, my first reloads with these were a complete success. I was a bit concerned about feeding after reading some other posts here - no issue at all. I have no impact or accuracy info yet.