Pakistani .308 surplus.

[UNIT 6639]

I picked up the last box VA arms had instock, I am just getting into precesion bolt action rifles so I am starting out with shooting the surplus stuff.

Anyway, I googled this ammo and saw a few threads saying this stuff is unsafe/ungood.

Va arms tends to NOT stock bad ammo so I assume its fine, they were out of the South African battle packs.

Do any of you guys use this stuff in your rifles, I know I am not the only guy that likes to plink on the cheap.

Robb, have you used any of this in your 700 or other .308 rifles you may have?

I am going to the range to break in my new to me Savage 10 so I will find out one way or the other how good this ammo is.

Anybody know how many grains the Pakistani .308 is, I dont see it on the box but google says the 1980's stuff is 147 grains, my scope was zeroed with 168 grain Black Hills so I am hoping I wont have any problems with its accuracy.

Would I have any problems shooting lighter bullets if my scope was zeroed with heavier loads?

Sorry for all the different questions, I am a newb to the precesion area. Thanks!

[UNIT 6639]

Robb, I actually wanted to PM you with these questions, but I have been PM'ing you alot lately so I'm trying to give you a break, thanks for all your help

[TOrrock]

I wil be the first to admit I might be wrong, but this is my personal view of surplus ammo.

I shoot a lot of surplus ammo in many calibers.

I will not shoot surplus ammo from a country that urinates in it's own drinking water........meaning no 3rd World surplus.

No Indian, Pakistani, Colombian, Chilean, etc......

They're production methods and their storage methods are such an unknown that I won't take the chance.

YMMV

[nyeti]

I never shoot anything but domestic Match ammo in precision bolt guns. I've run some junk in my old beater HK91 and a beater "econo" Scout (not my Clifton Scout), but never in a precision rifle.

[Milkman]

Am I the only one who sees the irony of posting Paki .308 ammo in the precision section?

[TOrrock]

Originally Posted by Milkman

Am I the only one who sees the irony of posting Paki .308 ammo in the precision section?

Nope.

Midway just sent out a flyer for some Winchester 147 gr. NATO headstamped 7.62x51mm, not cheap but fairly inexpensive high quality ammo.

[UNIT 6639]

Originally Posted by Milkman

Am I the only one who sees the irony of posting Paki .308 ammo in the precision section?

I was unaware that it would be uncouth of me to post a topic about Paki .308. Anyway, I took my crappy Paki to the range, it went bang everytime and didnt even blow up my rifle.

I will admit it was not as accurate as the more expensive stuff I had with me. But $5 a box was alot better than the $20 a box stuff.

Robb told me not to expect great accuracy from it, but I was not unhappy with it, I had fun at the range with it so I wont complain.

As soon as my local shop gets more in, I will buy it up! I am also waiting for the shop to get some more South African in so I can try that!

Thanks everyone for responding

[yrac]

Originally Posted by UNIT 6639

I was unaware that it would be uncouth of me to post a topic about Paki .308. Anyway, I took my crappy Paki to the range, it went bang everytime and didnt even blow up my rifle.

UNIT 6639 -

Just keep in mind that if you're looking for "blasting ammo," Paki .308 should do just fine. I think the humorous comments were due to the fact that folks who get seriously involved in the precision shooting game spend a lot of money on equipment and training to become very proficient at making accurate shots at long range. To realize the capabilities of the equipment, high quality ammo is a hard requirement. For this type of shooting, Paki .308 is just not up to the task. The $20/box stuff is pretty much the price of admission for precision .308 ammo, unless you handload.

Again, for plinking with no formal training purpose, use whatever floats you boat. For serious training, you will not derive the same benefit from Paki surplus that you would derive from using Black Hills or Federal Gold Medal.

- Bill

[UNIT 6639]

Thanks Bill for your response. When I bought the paki ammo I understood exactly what it was and a member here informed me what to expect from it.

I was not under the impression I would be making "Enemy At The Gate" shots with this ammo.

I just wanted something cheap to blast with to get my feet wet. I asked about the ammo after I read some stuff about it on google, some saying it was not safe/good for your rifle.

After that, I asked around, and was told it was safe but not to expect a whole lot out of it.

I took it to the range and all the rounds fired and all was well, I came home safe and happy.

I will admit, my box of Winchester Super X 180 grain soft points were WAYYYY more accurate than the surplus I began with.

I could not get into the black area of the target until I ran out of the surplus and began using the Winchester, although I think it was more my not being used to the gun and its recoil vs the ammo being that bad.

I am sure some of you guys could shoot better than I ever could with this same ammo. I need alot of practice to say the least.

I will continue to study and hopefully I will get a little better with more practice. Thanks everyone for responding.