Best .308 / 7.62x51 Ammo for Hunting, Match & Range
Table of Contents
🎯 What You'll Learn
- .308 Winchester vs 7.62x51 NATO — are they actually interchangeable?
- Best hunting loads by game size: deer, elk, bear
- Best match/precision ammo for long-range shooting
- Budget range ammo that won't trash your barrel
- The 168gr vs 175gr Sierra MatchKing debate settled
The .308 Winchester is the most versatile centerfire rifle cartridge in existence. It hunts everything from whitetail to moose, competes at 1,000 yards, serves militaries worldwide as 7.62x51 NATO, and feeds through semi-autos, bolt-actions, and belt-feds equally well. It's not the newest, flattest-shooting, or lightest-recoiling option — but it does more things well than any other single cartridge.
That versatility means .308 ammo choices are overwhelming. Hunting loads, match loads, training loads, barrier-blind tactical loads, subsonic loads — the options run into hundreds of SKUs. We'll cut through the noise.
Quick Picks
| Use Case | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Deer Hunting | Federal Fusion 150gr | Bonded core, devastating expansion, affordable for hunting ammo |
| Elk / Large Game | Federal Premium 180gr Trophy Bonded Tip | Deep penetration, weight retention through heavy bone |
| Long-Range Match | Federal Gold Medal 175gr SMK | Sierra MatchKing, sub-MOA from quality rifles, the benchmark |
| Range / Training | Federal American Eagle 150gr FMJ | Clean, consistent, brass case, ~$0.70-0.85/round |
| Budget Range | PMC Bronze 147gr FMJ | Korean-made, reliable, often cheapest .308 available |
| All-Purpose | Hornady American Whitetail 150gr SP | Hunts deer, accurate enough for informal competition, moderate cost |
308 Win vs 7.62x51 NATO
The short answer: .308 Winchester and 7.62x51 NATO are functionally interchangeable in modern firearms. You can safely shoot 7.62x51 in a .308 chamber and .308 in a 7.62x51 chamber.
The technical difference: .308 Winchester is loaded to slightly higher SAAMI pressures (62,000 PSI) than 7.62x51 NATO (60,191 PSI). The NATO spec also has marginally thicker case walls, which slightly reduces internal case volume. In practice, this pressure difference is within the safety margins of any modern rifle and is smaller than the variation between ammunition lots from the same manufacturer.
Where it matters: some older military surplus rifles with worn chambers or questionable metallurgy should stick to mil-spec 7.62x51. Any modern bolt-action or semi-auto from a reputable manufacturer handles both interchangeably.
Best Hunting Loads
Federal Fusion 150gr Bonded Soft Point
Federal Fusion was designed from the ground up as a deer hunting bullet. The electrochemically bonded jacket-to-core construction ensures the bullet holds together during expansion — no jacket separation, no fragmentation, just a large wound channel with deep penetration. At ~2,820 fps from a 24-inch barrel, the 150gr Fusion is devastating on whitetail out to 300+ yards.
At roughly $1.20-1.50/round, Fusion is the best value in premium hunting ammunition. It's significantly cheaper than Nosler or Barnes hunting loads while delivering comparable terminal performance.
Check Price →Federal Premium 180gr Trophy Bonded Tip
For elk, moose, and large bears, you need a heavier bullet that penetrates through heavy bone and muscle without fragmenting. The 180gr Trophy Bonded Tip starts at ~2,620 fps and retains 95%+ of its weight through expansion. This is the bullet that professional hunting guides carry as their backup — when a client's shot doesn't anchor the animal and you need to put it down now, this does the job.
Check Price →Best Match / Precision Loads
Federal Gold Medal 175gr Sierra MatchKing
The 175gr Sierra MatchKing is the most widely used long-range competition bullet in .308. Federal Gold Medal loads it with exceptional consistency — velocity standard deviations of 10-15 fps are common from the factory. From a quality bolt-action, sub-MOA groups are the expectation, not the exception.
The 175gr SMK was also adopted by the U.S. military as the M118LR sniper round, replacing the older 168gr load. Why? The 175gr bullet maintains supersonic stability past 1,000 yards, while the 168gr goes transonic (and becomes aerodynamically unstable) around 800-900 yards depending on conditions.
Check Price →168gr vs 175gr MatchKing
The 168gr SMK is still an excellent bullet for distances under 800 yards and is slightly more accurate than the 175gr at shorter ranges in some rifles. If you never shoot past 600 yards, the 168gr Federal Gold Medal is a perfectly valid choice. Beyond 600 yards, go 175gr for guaranteed transonic stability.
Best Range / Training Ammo
Federal American Eagle 150gr FMJ
Clean-burning, consistent, brass-cased range ammo from Federal. At ~$0.70-0.85/round, it's not cheap in absolute terms (this is .308, not 9mm), but it's the most consistent and barrel-friendly option for regular training. The brass cases are reloadable if you get into handloading.
Check Price →PMC Bronze 147gr FMJ
Korean-made brass-case ammo that's consistently the cheapest .308 on the market (~$0.60-0.75/round). PMC's quality control is good — not Federal/Hornady level, but entirely adequate for range training. The 147gr bullet weight is slightly lighter than standard, producing marginally less recoil. Runs reliably in semi-auto platforms like the AR-10 and M1A.
Check Price →FAQ
Can I shoot .308 in my AR-10?
.308 vs 6.5 Creedmoor — which should I buy?
Is military surplus 7.62x51 safe to shoot?
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