Looking for special .308 win Ammo Recommendation

[aorams]

In 1978, my dad went to Ernst in Issaquah and bought his first hunting rifle; a Remington 788 scoped with a Redfield Tracker 2x-7x scope. He had it until 2013, when he decided it was time to upgrade. Being pragmatic and frugal, he decided to sell his 788 in order to fund his new rifle purchase, and just like that, my father’s rifle was gone.  I’m not a very sentimental person, but this loss hit me more than I expected and some years later I decided to track it down. Lo and behold, I finally tracked the owner down last year, and after a generous offer, I managed to buy the rifle back!!  The gun is sweet. 18.5” barrel. Straight comb, still as immaculate as my dad had kept it!  So there it is in my safe, and I’m holding an unnotched deer tag with late buck a week away. My plan is to spend the four days still hunting timber looking for a mature blacktail.  I’d love  some factory ammo recommendations for this gun from you seasoned blacktail rifle hunters!  Thank you in advance!

[Bango skank]

.308 ammo is in extremely short supply right now.  Finding anything can be very tough.  Finding something that gun will shoot well and getting it dialed in right before season, probably wont happen.  Id personally use something else this year.  Save that gun for next year when youve hopefully had time to find some ammo to test out and get it going proper. 

[aorams]

.308 ammo is in extremely short supply right now.  Finding anything can be very tough.  Finding something that gun will shoot well and getting it dialed in right before season, probably wont happen.  Id personally use something else this year.  Save that gun for next year when youve hopefully had time to find some ammo to test out and get it going proper. 

Thank you!  What would you recommend for ammo next year?

[brokentrail]

I'm a hunter, not a target shooter, and I am not looking for sub-moa results.  That being said, myself, and my 3 boys, all shoot .308 win's.  A couple of those rifles are even 788's.  We have had good luck with Winchester Super-X, 150 gr, Power Point.  We did not have great experiences with the Winchester Extreme Point ammo even with really good shot placement.  Hope that helps.

[dmoua]

Back in the day when I still shot factory ammo out of my Remington 700 .308. I had the best results with 168gr ABM Classic Hunter ammo. Now I believe they are just called Berger bullets. I also got MOA accuracy with most Hornady ammo in the 160gr range.

[hunter399]

Don't shoot factory 308 never have always reload.
But will say 150 grain is where 308 shines ,velocity ,knock down energy .
If you can find some ammo in 150 grain that groups well in your rifle that's what I would shoot.

[Angry Perch]

I have never bought a box of factory ammo that didn't provide sufficient accuracy for hunting at average ranges. 30-06, .35 Whelen, a couple .243. Some certainly shoot better than others, but odds are if you find a box on the shelf that'll work for what you are planning to do.

[Dan-o]

I'm thinking for that classic old rifle I'd stick with old school ammo like the Pointed soft point in the green Remington box.

I'm sure the rifle shoots ultramodern ammo fine, but it kind of rains on the sentimentality of the hunt with dad's old rifle to feed it ammo dad never could have gotten.   

The deer wont know the difference. 

Have fun.

It's cool to appreciate the rifle due to heritage ,

[Dan-o]

On the other hand, if I found that it shot Hornady Superformance best, I would shoot the best ammo for the rifle.   

 

[aorams]

I'm thinking for that classic old rifle I'd stick with old school ammo like the Pointed soft point in the green Remington box.

I'm sure the rifle shoots ultramodern ammo fine, but it kind of rains on the sentimentality of the hunt with dad's old rifle to feed it ammo dad never could have gotten.   

The deer wont know the difference. 

Have fun.

It's cool to appreciate the rifle due to heritage ,

I found a green box of 150 gr core-lokt today in fact! 

[jasnt]

Core locks would be my choice if in your shoes

[HntnFsh]

Core locks would be my choice if in your shoes

Yep. Most likely shoot well. And Core locks have killed an amazing amount of animals.

[The Big Game Hunter]

In 1978, my dad went to Ernst in Issaquah and bought his first hunting rifle; a Remington 788 scoped with a Redfield Tracker 2x-7x scope. He had it until 2013, when he decided it was time to upgrade. Being pragmatic and frugal, he decided to sell his 788 in order to fund his new rifle purchase, and just like that, my father’s rifle was gone.  I’m not a very sentimental person, but this loss hit me more than I expected and some years later I decided to track it down. Lo and behold, I finally tracked the owner down last year, and after a generous offer, I managed to buy the rifle back!!  The gun is sweet. 18.5” barrel. Straight comb, still as immaculate as my dad had kept it!  So there it is in my safe, and I’m holding an unnotched deer tag with late buck a week away. My plan is to spend the four days still hunting timber looking for a mature blacktail.  I’d love  some factory ammo recommendations for this gun from you seasoned blacktail rifle hunters!  Thank you in advance!

Pickings are slim right now for .308 ammo, but Lucky Gunner has some Black Hills ammo with 168gr Barnes TSX bullets in stock.
https://www.luckygunner.com/308-168-grain-barnes-tsx-hp-black-hills-gold-20-rounds#rid=bghb
Like many of the other commenters, Remington Core-Lokt or Winchester Power Point ammo would be my first choice with your Remington 788. That said, the Barnes TSX is also a GREAT bullet and should serve you well for deer, black bear, and even elk if you were so inclined.