Ruger Compact .308 factory ammo results?

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mikem2

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Messages
124
Location
Northern Neck, VA
Trying a Ruger Compact in 308.

For me an ideal weight and size rifle for a day hiking in the mountains. Light and fast. Changing the standard recoil pad to a limbsaver or similar is a must. Mounted a Leupold 3x9.

The question is, has anyone found what factory ammo these like the best?

Tried Hornady 165gr and federal red box with good results.

Thanks
 

Greebe

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
313
Location
Way Up North
I have owned most Ruger's but never one of their bolt guns. Looks like a nice rifle. I reload for the .308 but haven't bought a box of factory ammo for it in probably 15 years, so I am no help there either. Overall I can't help you. :lol: Hehe. But I thought you might want to know that someone would respond.

Take care,
Greebe
 

mikem2

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Messages
124
Location
Northern Neck, VA
Greene - thank you for the response. I was wondering if anyone was out there!
I have a few of the bolt Rugers. And one of the compact models in .243, that is a great shooter.

The .308 with a grey laminate stock followed me home the other day to keep the .243 company. So far federal red box 165 nosler ammo shoots ok and hornady 165 does better. Just curious if anyone had any experience with what these do best with rather than an ammo trial situation.

I do appreciate your response!
 

Greebe

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
313
Location
Way Up North
From my experience with most guns is that most prefer a different diet regardless if they are the same model. This alone is a good reason to get into reloading. You can tailor a load or two specifically to your rifle and get the best accuracy possible. Some rifles like the bullet to be seated out further to the lands while others to not. Some specific bullets work better, while different powders can affect accuracy as well. This to me is part of the fun in shooting, is the reloading part.

I guess the main question about which ammo to try is what do you plan to do with it. Will you be target shooting, hunting, plinking, varminting, or perhaps using it for self defense against people or animals.

A good resource might be going over to MidwayUSA and reading their reviews of ammo. Follow this link: http://www.midwayusa.com/find?sortby=1&itemsperpage=20&newcategorydimensionid=15958

Don't overlook the Prvi Partizan .308 Winchester 150 Grain Soft Point. I bought a bunch of the Prvi Partizan in my 6.5x55 Tikka T3. I stocked up on it back in '08 and shot just one box and found it to be very good and quite inexpensive. Their ammo comes in nice brass too and this is a great way to get quality brass for reloading. THis is part of the reason I bought the Prvi in the first place is because it was one of the few that is actually spec for the 6.5 Swede. American brass is not to spec as it is built off of .30-06 blanks.

Here is a match ammo test done by Sniper Central:
http://www.snipercentral.com/matchammo.htm

Anyways I hope that helps a bit. Oh and by the way the .308 is a easy cartridge to reload for. By this I mean that it is one of the least finicky ones about loads density, bullet seating depth and so forth. Seems like they just work and are not picky about how you load them.

Take care,
Greebe
 

transalp1961

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Messages
358
Location
Ohio
I just purchased one of the Ruger Compact stainless in 308 myself. I handload and was real suprised with the results from the first load. Here is the link to my post: http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=164368
I used Speer 120gr hollowpoint over 38gr of RL7. I hope yours is as accurate as mine! Good Luck.
 
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Messages
5,195
Location
Southwest Washington
I bought a Compact 308 when they first came out. I shot 180 grain Remington factory ammo and it was exceptable accuracy wise at about 2" at 100 yds. A pleasure to carry. My Son owns it now as I have gone to Ruger #1's for hunting.
 

cmacrph

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 19, 2005
Messages
89
Location
Georgetown, Texas, USA
Mikem2,
I have both .243 and .308 in the older Frontier models and enjoy each greatly. Not sure of the difference between these and the compact model however both Frontiers have proven to be very accurate with factory ammunition. My favorites are:
.308 Hornady Superformance 165gr. SST @ 2840 fps
Nosler Custom 165gr. Ballistic Tip @ 2800 fps (one shot kill on my first Elk, taken last season in New Mexico)
Cor Bon 168gr. DPX @ 2600 fps Barnes Triple Shock
Black Hills Gold Win Match 168gr. Barnes Triple Shock @ 2650 fps
.243 Winchester 95gr. Ballistic Silvertip @ 3100 fps
Hornady Superformance 95gr. SST @ 3186 fps
Hornady Light Mag 95gr. SST @ 3100 fps
Varmint Rounds: Hornady Superformance 58gr. V-Max @ 3925 fps
Winchester 55gr. Ballistic Silvertip @ 3910 fps
I just completed accumulating equipment and will start reloading soon. Looking forward to learning this art and can appreciate the adventure in searching for the best loads for each rifle.
Good luck and good shooting!
cmacrph
 

kooz

Blackhawk
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
577
Location
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
I have a couple of the compacts in .308, one blued and one stainless.

-The blued model will shoot Fusion 165gr into .75 groups all day, also does well with 150gr core-lokt. This is the only factory stuff I have tried in this gun, I usually handload 165gr core-lokt and IMR-3031 and it will hold at or under 1" with that load

-The stainless gun likes "Nosler Trophy" 165gr Accubond for factory ammo. Also does well with 165gr Seirra Game King
 
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