I posted another thread about the difference between Blue and White box PPU/PRVI.  I see now that the spirit of my questions should have been more about what’s the best/accurate plinking .308/7.62 for the money these days.      I’m in a position to do a bit of bulk buying now.  Last time I did some bulk buying was at about .45c/rd.  It went WAY up and now is down.   Realizing we may not go much lower than we are today (low .50s/rd) and it’s just a matter of time before another scare/incident happens.

I have a decent collection of 20th century battle rifles and a day of fun for us is to sight em in on paper @ 100yds and then pound steel plates, clays and rubber cubes, etc, scattered at many ranges.  Sort of our own personal shooting gallery.   I’m not trying to nor am I presently capable of shooting 600+yds or making ¼ or ½ inch groups at 100yds.  I don’t currently reload but I am saving brass as I have a reloading rig I will set up one day.  No time or room for it right now.

What got me thinking about this was: I came across a guy on a local board that had 3k rds of various 762Nato he wanted to get rid of in one lot: Radway Green, South African, and Port. He wanted over $1,800 for all of it. I know some of that stuff has a great reputation for accuracy (as far as Milsurp goes) but to pay that price; and 2/3 of it being Berdan, was a non-starter for me. Plus I would have had to make a 3hr round trip into the stick and back. He had a Garand and wanted 30-06. My best offer was $1,300 cash and two 200rd ammo cans of CMP Greek. I thought it was fair. Never heard back from him.

So I broke out my ammo search engines and Google foo and tracked down the lowest cost stuff out there (under .60c/rd):

- White & Blue box PPU/PRVI
- Greek from CTD (just purchased 1,120rds)
- Turkish ZQI MKE M80 Nato stuff from Wally-World.

I prob wont mess with Wal-mart as I don’t go there much and not going to drive there for the five boxes they MAY have on the shelf. Last time I was there they had none.  I know for a few cents more per round I can prob get in to some Lake City but some folks report its not as accurate as it used to be.

So what’s the best bang for the buck (ar ar) .308/762 w/o considering match/premium ammo?

If you already commented on the other thread I understand not wanting to be redundant or not wanting to give up your source of The Good Stuff.  Can always PM me ;-)

IMHO:

Federal Lake City M80 - General use
PPU 168 gr White box - More long distance fun
Federal Lake City M118 when I mean business.

I have a FAL and an M1a and the Federal XM80 stuff I bought a year or so ago shoots nice in both rifles.

PPU runs good in my M1a but my FAL doesn't care for it.

I've had other ammo that runs good in my FAL but won't work in my M1a because of too slow of powder.

Short answer is I would go with the Federal stuff.   It's good ammo for the $$.

Maybe blasphemy,  but my 308 is a beater (DPMS gen 2 recon,  suppressed).  Run tons of Colt 168gr zinc coated through mine.  Not dirty, pretty accurate out to about 250 (as far as I can go)

The walmart Zq1 stuff is decent and you can save the brass and either sell it or reload it later. The tula and wolf stuff is ok, but still needs to drop in price to be comparative to the zq1 Stuff.

OP if you are going to be saving your brass for reloading then the Lake City stuff is your best bet. I have had nothing but solid luck out of nearly all their brass. PPU is also a solid choice though I'll still favor the LC. As far as ZQ1 its a cheap firecracker to squirt down range and its a pretty enough round to look at. I'm not sure I would put the brass at anywhere near the quality of LC or PPU. I think what everyone has posted above is good info, but If I were reloading I would buy as much for the initial shot as I would for the brass itself.

ZQ1 best bang for the buck for me, it also shoots better than LC out of my MATEN

For me zqi is the "cheap" plinking round.  One of the benefits behind living in a metro area is there are wallyworlds everywhere so I stop in regularly and stock up on the stuff....I also shoot at ranges that don't allow FMJ - so for that and for hunting I have Privi 150gr soft points.  I tend to buy a lot of that too especially when I find it on sale.

Went wi 1,120 rds of Greek from CTD and 1,000 rds of white box PRVI from AIM.  The ammo cans would have been nice from SGA but I don't feel like waiting to see if/when they get it back in.  If they do that'll round out my 3k rd purchase .  Or I'll spend up a little on some Lake City if I can find it again.

I just have a weird feeling were due for  another incident/panic.

I am curious, what is the condition of your ".308" Greek ?

I have seen some fairly un-faltering photos of some of it as well as some very good photos.

I am not a big fan of XM80.... the brass is not reloader friendly in MSR's. Loose primer pockets.... even if it is a good price. ( $11.99 / 20 )

My vote is for the Turk. or PPU... whichever shoots best from your rifle.

Does the ZQI 7.62 come 20 to a box, or 30?  At my Walmart it is $15 a box, so not cheap if only 20 rounds (as I believe they are).

Rob

I spot checked a couple boxes and it was spotless (as far as milsurp goes).  I will check a few more but not opening all of them.

I read on another board that Walmart just went up to around $15+ a box for that Turk.  I'll call the two near me and confirm.

These last 2 posts are distressing if true...it was a great buy at $9.97 a box...alot of other offerings out there better than it if they took the price up to $15.  I hope that is a YMMV.  Wish I had bought more if it's true..and yes Rob the 7.62x51 is 20 rounds.  The 5.56mm is 30 rounds per box.

Cant validate.  I called the two Walmart super centers near me and neither of them carried it.

I don't think it's in effect around me.  I stopped by 2 wallmarts after work.  One had 4 boxes left and the other sells only 3 boxes of anything per day per person.  So I added 7 more boxes to the pile all still at $9.97.

Earl

7.62x51 ZQI is still 9.97 here in Northeast Florida,I got 16 boxes.No .223 to be found at the 2 WallyWorlds I stopped in.

zqi will sell direct to the customer with the 308 fodder.

I've had good results with S&B NATO, out of 2 FALs, Sig 716 and REPR (not as good as heavier loads for the REPR)

My WM hasn't had any ZQI 308 in a couple weeks now and the sticker that's for it now reads 14.99/box. Even if they get more in, which there are rumors that they won't, it's not worth 15 bucks a box.

It's worth noting that federal m80 has a bimetallic jacket which is harder on a bore than a copper jacket.

I bought a case of ZQI at $9.97/box.  I haven't shot any yet.  I won't buy more if they move the price to $15/box.

I just checked their website and it's a lot more expensive than WallyWorld.Their best deal comes out to .71 cpr delivered and I just paid .53 cpr(and that includes Florida 7% tax)

I picked up another 5 boxes today and it was still 9.97.

Have had good luck with zqi. I also like the fact that there is no steel in the jacket.

I have been shooting a ton of the zqi Lately. It has functioned reliably in both of my POF rifles.  it groups around an inch consistently @ 100 yards for both rifles. Now what I have found to be very suprising is it shoots consistently around a 1/2" group @100 yards out of my bolt gun. It freaking loves that stuff. Now I haven't shot past 100 yards recently with it due to my range at my house only gives me a 100 yards max. Next time I get to the local range I'll give it a shot at longerror distances.

I didn't say it would be cheaper, i just said they would sell direct to the public.

My local wallyworlds have never had the zqi in stock 556 or 762.  The cheapest stuff i've found locally for  my 308 is the aquilla.

I use Federal XM80.

What about IMI M80?  Is the round consistent and is the brass any good?

In the end I went with two 560rd cases of the Greek from CTD (looks like they're out now) and two 1krd cases of white box PPU from AIM.  With the weather as crappy as it is here (in Nashville) prob gonna be several weeks before I can get out to the range and try.

With all the insanity surrounding .223 and now x39, it seems .308 is the round to stock up on now.

It looks like Walmart has a new brand of ammo in. I don't remember the name of it, but it was definitely new and in several calibers, including 308 for 14.99 a box.

Seems kinda high unless it has a good hunting projectile or excellent accuracy.

Go big or go home bro.


Just got his in from SG. Can't wait to pop off this weekend weather permitting.

Cha-Ching!

Nah, this is Cha-Ching!

Must be nice being single

Thankfully I'm not single

LOL, OK that is a cha-ching worthy photo!

Don't show  that pic to a Libtard.   They'll try and have you arrested for child abuse

Truth