subsonic .308 ammo out the box

[extendor]

I am new to this forum and trying to plough my way through some of the old threads relating to a few things I want to research. Its proving to be very interesting and I can see many hours of staring at the laptop ahead of me. There is one question that I think might be better asked here as I don't seem to have found a recent answer.

How does one go about sourcing a subsonic .308 for target shooting without reloading. At this time I do not have the reloading equipment but I am prepared to buy a couple of hundred (or more) to tide me over until I get set up on the reloading and start to have some success.

I have looked at quite a few manufacturers and sent out several emails to the usual suppliers on the web. To date I have not had any luck.
My barrel has a 1:11 twist and I need to stay under 1600 feet/sec and less than 1400 ft/lbs.

If anyone has a contact I would be grateful.

Thank you

[tackb]

I'd say you'll need to reload , fyi 1600fps isn't subsonic

[Laurie]

True subsonic ammunition has an MV of 1,100 fps or less. (The speed of sound is nominally 1,126 fps under standard conditions, so ammunition manufacturers load subsonics below 1,100 to provide tolerance for production variations and different ambient conditions in use.) It is as common as hen's teeth normally as there is hardly any demand other than for military special forces. A Bullet weight ~200gn is the norm, Lapua having developed a variant of its D-series rebated boattail type in this weight specially for the purpose.

Lapua lists it as a factory round. The UK importer is Viking Arms Limited in Summerbridge, North Yorks so you could give them a try as to whether they have any in stock and if so order it through your local dealer as thjey are trade supply only. (I wouldn't hold my breath though as this particular product falls within its available only to order category.) All Lapua factory ammo is pricey, and I would think this is super-pricey, so make sure you're willing to pay for a couple of hundred rounds before committing yourself to anything.

Peter Lawman in Northampton's website lists 200gn RUAG (Swiss) subsonic, so you can try there too - no idea as to how up to date this listing is.

Odd batches appear very occasionally from various sources and this is the sort of thing people buy on a whim, fire 20 rounds and leave the rest in the cabinet for the next 20 years, so appealing on the various UK shooting forums in addition to this one might just unearth somebody with some spare.

I would learn to / take up handloading sharpish in your situation.

[DW58]

Lapua offer a subsonic .308 load for suppressed rifles.

[extendor]

Thank you for the quick feedback. I only quoted the range limits as that might have opened up the range of ammo available.

Reloading is the way to go as you all suggest and I have been given a lot of help in the club with one member actually building some for me. However, given commitments at work and needing to go away on business trips I am not going to get around to reloading for several weeks.

I have asked my friendly gun shop to see what they can do ref Viking. I will let you know what they come back with.

[dta europe]

You could also contact HPS, I know they have done some special runs of subsonic ammo, I dont know I am afraid what their minimums are though.

I have always found their ammunition to be excellent.

Ewen

[Dave 101]

T be clear about your needs , if it is to keep within the range limits your not in need of subsonic for the reason of noise reduction , is that correct ? If that is the case you just require a download , but you also need to remember what you do end up with is adequate for the range / distance you are shooting at .

Dave

[extendor]

Strictly speaking the noise is not an issue although I do want to be considerate to the others around me in the detail. The reason for looking for subs is because I thought they would be a bit easier to find. I will only be using these particular cartridges at 25 metre. I have just bought a brand new rifle and want something to put through it before we go to the longer range later in the month. I do not have time to get set up for reloading between now and the visit to the other range. I am sure you can tell its rather like being a kid with a new toy :)

[Maggot]

I have examples made by both Sako and Lapua.

The latter was marked 7.62x51, the former .308 win

[zanes]

You could also contact HPS, I know they have done some special runs of subsonic ammo, I dont know I am afraid what their minimums are though.

I have always found their ammunition to be excellent.

Ewen

+1.

I have a feeling their minimums aren't particularly high for custom loads in regular calibres.