Which bullets for PSA Gen 3 .308 18" upper?

[Idaho45guy]

Ordered a new PSA Gen 3 18" upper in .308 to use for general plinking and hunting. I bought a bunch of the Hornady Interloc 165gr, some 150gr target bullets, and some 175gr Speer ballistic tips. Using Varget powder.

I was talking to my brother who has a couple of bolt guns in .308 with the same 1:10 twist as mine, and he says the 150 grain varieties aren't nearly as accurate as the 168gr and above. Of course, his rifles have longer barrels, so...

Was wondering if anyone else has found a preference in the AR platform for a certain grain of bullet. The bullets I did order all have good reputations for accuracy.

[Idaho45guy]

Wow. 71 views and no one has any idea. Guess I'll just have to figure it out.

[Texas by God]

What are the 150 grain target bullets? And Speer doesn't make ballistic tips. Nosler does. You will have to figure it out yourself because all rifles are different. Unlike your brothers guns, your .308 might prefer 150s over 168s. Shooting is the only way to tell. Varget is a solid choice for powder.

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[Idaho45guy]

What are the 150 grain target bullets? And Speer doesn't make ballistic tips. Nosler does. You will have to figure it out yourself because all rifles are different. Unlike your brothers guns, your .308 might prefer 150s over 168s. Shooting is the only way to tell. Varget is a solid choice for powder.

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I've bought so many components this week that I lost track. You're completely correct. I have a box of Nosler Ballsistic Tips. The 150 grain bullets are Hornady FMJ BT. Paid $40 for 200 of them. https://www.buffaloarms.com/308-150-...llets-hor3037b

I've only reloaded for pistols, and am well aware of the individual preferences for pistols. Didn't know if it applied to rifles as well. Sounds like it does.

Thanks!

[Texas by God]

The .308 is easy to get good results from. Every one of the many I've owned shot well. Be sure to check a loaded round for chambering in your AR-10 before you complete the batch.

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[charlie b]

Even two different rifles with same length barrel might like two different weights of bullet. Some like 'light' some like 'heavy'. Same with velocity.

I'd just try what you have and go from there.

[MrWolf]

Don't look to me for info. I haven't put mine together - yet.

[popper]

The accepted 308w 1:10 is 168gr but you will find 150 to 170ish work fine. 168amax was the cheap target bullet. Pulled fmj are ok. My ar10 likes the amax but many others work too.

[Idaho45guy]

Got the rifle put together and gave it a camo job for the woods. This thing is a heavy pig! Still waiting on a couple jugs of Varget to arrive in the mail before developing loads for it. Also waiting for the virus thing to clear up so I can feel comfortable using my dad's range to work up loads. Don't want to expose him unnecessarily.

I removed the flash hider and installed a thread protector to shave off an inch or so from the length and put on a more compact and lighter Magpul stock. It's shorter overall than my normal hunting rifle, but it is just over 10lbs with a loaded 10-round magazine, scope, and sling.

Attachment 260002

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got a psa propped up against the wall brand new and a bunch of loads to try. Just waiting for the snow and the corona virus stuff to thaw. As to 150s I had a dpms ar10 years ago and the best shooting load in it was a 150 sierra pro hunter fueled by 4895. It shot 150s much better then 165s.

[Uncle Grinch]

Not being an AR fan, I have no idea what a PSA is! My only semi-auto is a Garand.

[Lloyd Smale]

palmetto state armory. Just a business that caters to ar15 builders.

[Uncle Grinch]

Thanks Lloyd. That sounds familiar.

[Earlwb]

What is the rifling twist rate? Barrels with a faster twist rate tend to like heavier bullets while those with a slower twist rate tent to like more light weight bullets. But venturing a guess I would say that bullets around 180 grains would probably work really well.

[Idaho45guy]

What is the rifling twist rate? Barrels with a faster twist rate tend to like heavier bullets while those with a slower twist rate tent to like more light weight bullets. But venturing a guess I would say that bullets around 180 grains would probably work really well.

It's a 1:10 twist.

I just got in a box of 178 grain Hornady ELD-X bullets that were a bit spendy, but get rave reviews for accuracy.

[popper]

ELD-X real spendy! Found 3 boxes of Amax in the cab yesterday, they work good for my 24" & 16" LR-308.

[Idaho45guy]

Shot the rifle for the first time today. I was going to go to my dad's range and use his fancy bench and sandbags and rifle rests, but, we had some wind recently and dad needed me to go to the family cabin 70 miles away and check on it. Decided to bring the rifle and some ammo to at least function test it while I was down there.

It was still a little breezy, but I decided to at least sight it in and shoot a couple of groups in the limited time I had.

Between the crappy rest, wind, and first time firing it, I have no idea how accurate it is or what it likes. I estimated 100 yards and shot off the cabin deck.

Attachment 260824

Sighting it in with factory Federal 150 grain PowerShock loads was very promising. Bore sighted it and was just off the paper with a 1" 3-shot cluster, then walked it up to where I was happy and the last two rounds were almost in the same hole...

Attachment 260825

Then I tried a couple of groups using my handloads. First was the Nossler Ballistic Tips and 44 grains of Varget. Compressed load using PPU brass. Not pretty...

Attachment 260826

Was late for dinner, so only did another group using Hornady 150 grain boat tails and 44 grains of Varget. First two shots were centered and about an inch apart, but the last three shots were low and right and touching.

Attachment 260827

So, lot's more range time using a solid rest and no wind is necessary to really see what the rifle can do and what it likes.