Portuguese .308 NATO Surplus

federal

Im not sure if im answering your question but you said something about .308 match grade ammo, Federal Gold Medal makes a 168 grain boat tail round, its considered a match grade round and they shoot great. I have heard stories and seen pictures of shooters putting 10 rounds through the same hole at 200 yards with this cartridge.

It fires a Sierra Match King BTHP Bullet, has a muzzle velocity of 2,600 fps.

chris

I have no personal experience with the Portugese ammo, but if it is NATO surplus i assume that it is NATO M118 sniper ball. This should yeild acceptable 100 yd accuracy, but if you want true precision, go with Chris's suggestion of the Federal Gold Medal match with a 168 gr bullet. Tha stuff just cant be bested!

It certainly is not M118, as M118 uses a 173gr, not the 147 mentioned. I am very curious to find out some specifics about this ammo....

MEL

Ah yes, Mel my man, small oversight on my part. So, who would use such a light bullet for match purposes, if that is indeed their intended purpose? Bullets around 150 grains are perfectly suitable for battle rifles like the FN FAL, it would seem, but the heavier, 168+ grainers are just so much better at bucking the wind. And you'll certainly have to let us folks here know if you do find out any specs for it.

according to my Federal catlog:
@ 500y, 10mph corsswind:
American Eagle 150 gr FMJ: 20.4" drift
Gold Medal 155gr HPBT: 19.4"
Gold Medal 168gr HPBT: 23"
Gold Medal 175gr HPBT: 20.8"

I think this is M80 equivalent. It should be a 147gr (3gr +/- NATO std.) at around 2890fps and 2670ft lbs. The age and condition may have an effect on this performance. Ballistics will be comparable to a 150gr flat base, but you'll still need to do some range testing. One thing is for sure, it is NOT match grade ammo. You might want to look at some of the surplus ADI 144gr 7.62 NATO ammo that's been showing up lately. I think Cheaper Than Dirt has a good supply. This is good clean ammo and is newer manufacture than the Portugese stuff I've seen. It's also much more consistent, but it is still not match grade. I've seen it for about $29 for a battle pack of 160 rounds. My M1A manages about 1MOA with this load. Not bad for cheap ammo.

K2