Most accurate ammo for L579 .308 Forester

[opee]

Have owned a very nice Sako .308 Forester made on my birthyear in 1961 and inherited from a family member about 25 years ago. At first I had issues getting it to group at all. After much frustration, I took it to a gunshow to trade it for a Remington, or some other rifle, until this old man convinced me that getting rid of the Sako would be a mistake.
I finally found some ammo that would give me Sub MOA shooting at 200 yards. It was called the Winchester Ballistic Silvertip in 150 grn bullet weight. The casing is made of nickel, or is silver in color, and the bullet is black with a small silver polymer type tip. Have taken a number of deer with it, and even took a large hog a few days ago. I am having a hard time finding the ammo in stores, and have been reading that this particular bullet tends to break up on certain game and leaves many hunters tracking their game long distances. I have not had this issue, but wanted to ask the question of other .308 Sako L579 hunters which commercial round do they find works best and most accurate (MOA) for animals like whitetail, hogs, etc. With so many marketers of ammo these days, its hard to find one and stick with it before they change something. Prefer the 150 grain bullet, but would like to get others opinions on accuracy of a reliable hunting bullet in the 150-175 grn class.
Thanks, Opee in TX

 

[misako50]

Opee- I also found that to be the best bullet for my .308s. I use it for reloading and the casings are real nice to size and chamber. I have these as Nosler made bullets in the .243 and .308-Misako

 

[sakojim]

Opee- Good advise from Misako. You have a strong action and fine rifle in a very good caliber. Don't know if you reload or not but this is a good time to start if you don't. I believe the best way to face the ammo shortage is by loading your own and it will help you get the best results possible from your Sako. I have enjoyed many years of shooting a Vixen in .308. I use the 150 grain Nosler Ballistic tip or Accubond bullets and enjoy good accuracy and results to 300+ yards. I have recently found that in some calibers I get an increase in velocity of about 80+ fps with Barnes TTSX bullets in my Sako's using the same powder loads. Have not had a chance to test expansion results on game yet so can't recommend them for hunting. Sakojim

 

[opee]

Thanks for the advice. I do reload for my Swedish Mausers. Typically use RL22 and the SMK 142 grain bullet with great results. What powders and bullets do you guys reload with for .308?
Also, if anybody else has found a good commercial ammo that's works, let me know. I really don't shoot enough to justify reloading. I am mainly an archery hunter for deer, but bring out the Sako, when its time to fill up the freezer with venison. Opee

 

[stonecreek]

Federal loads the 150 grain Ballistic Tip in .308 Win. It is number P308F in their Vital Shock line. I can't promise that these would duplicate the performance of the Winchester ammunition you've been using, but it is the same bullet (except for the mostly cosmetic "Lubalox" finish on the Winchester version.)

By the way, there is no better bullet for game the size of whitetails.

 

[sakojim]

Opee- I need to make a correction to a typo error from yesterday. Old age I guess. My previous post stated Vixen .308 and should have been Vixen .223. I have enjoyed many years of hunting with two Savage 99F rifles in .308 before I retired them in favor of the Sako L61r in 7mm and later the 7mm STW. I did load up to 165 grain spitzers for the .308s and I always felt that it came close to .30-.06 performance in a lighter rifle. The 150 grain bullet has always been my favorite for all around use. Sakojim.

 

[Stu_bo]

Hello guys. Looking for a bit of advice and I stumbled across your forum. Looks like a wealth of knowledge here. I'm looking at getting a 308 Forester. I'm told it's in "great condition". Sure you've heard that before. Anyway I've got a few questions and was hoping someone here could help me out. Any idea what the barrel twist rate is? The seller doesn't know for sure but thinks it's 1:10. From what I've read that sounds unlikely. I can't see the rifle at the moment to check for myself. Next question: how do they handle heavier bullets? From the posts above it looks like most people shoot light 150gr bullets. For bushveld here in South Africa I prefer hard hitting 180gr. Lastly, what specifically should I look at when looking at a second hand forester to assess the condition? Thanks in advance.

Sent from my SM-P605 using Tapatalk

 

[stonecreek]

Sako twists were metric and only approximated 1-10" or 1-12" or whatever, so you won't find them to be exactly "on the money" in terms of Imperial measurements.

Regardless, there is far too much emphasis being put on twist these days, presumably coming from the paramilitary shooters who, for whatever reason, are shooting extremely heavy-for-caliber bullets in their .223's.

A Sako Forester .308, whatever its twist, will adequately stabilize any conventional spitzer up through 180 grains. It might not do well with one of the new extreme high ballistic coefficient bullets with extra long, pointy noses and long boat tails, and it also might be inadequate for a 180 grain monometal (copper) bullet which is much longer than a lead core bullet of the same weight. However, I'd be surprised if you could get any 180 grain bullet to tumble or yaw from a .308 Sako.

There is nothing special to look for in a used Sako that you wouldn't look for in any used rifle. If it is fired with the action screws loose it can crack behind the tang. If some joker took it apart and reassembled it without seating the magazine box properly then the bottom metal can be bowed (fixable). If it has a factory recoil pad it may be deteriorated and need replacement. The stock finish can craze (hairline surface cracks in the glossy finish), but that is merely cosmetic. Front sight hoods are often missing, but again, that is mostly cosmetic. I once had a Forester delivered to me with a broken extractor claw, but that was easily replaced with an aftermarket one made to convert a Remington to Sako-style extraction.

 

[dodgyrog]

I reload ammo for mine using Hornady 130gr soft points and Vihtavouri 140 powder

 

[JonG]

I shoot 180 gr Barnes TSX ( Sellier & Bellot ) ammunition through my .308W heavy barell. My rifle easily shoots 5 shot groups of under an inch with this ammunition and has proven to be deadly on plains game in South Africa. The two bullets in the photograph were recovered from a Hartebeest and Waterbuck and show almost text book expansion

 

[stoneybroke]

If you do decide to reload the 308, avoid the slow burners like 4350 & 4831. I find that IMR 3031 & 4064 work well with 150 grain bullets. Varget and Reloader 15 meter better and give very good accuracy in my .308 rifles.