Best 308 ammo for Savage 12 Palma

[Grego]

Hello Gents,
I am considering a Savage 12 Palma in 308 Palma. Am I limited to a strictly Palma round? I currently do not reload, and the only manufacturer of Palma ammo I can find is Hornady. I realize the primary difference in 308 palma is the smaller primer, but can I shoot standard .308 commercial ammo without putting excessive wear on the gun?

Thank'ee

[geezerhood]

My recollection is that the throat is shorter on chambers cut specifically for the 155 grain 308 Palma load. Small rifle primers are also used on most the 308 Palma ammo and brass sold. There are more than one type of 308 Win Palma reamers out there, with slightly different specs. You might ask which one Savage uses. Whether the one they use might cause unsafe higher pressure in the Savage Palma, with other factory ammo loaded with heavier bullets, I do not know. Again, call Savage perhaps for more information, unless someone here is up on all things Palma.

[Robinhood]

That is a very nice rifle. Do you shoot competition? My thoughts are the Palma is a racehorse for one type of racing. A very expensive factory rifle that will never reach it's potential without hand loads.

Small Rifle Primers are used in Palma due to the amount of powder(pressures) needed to get the 155 grain bullet to the velocity needed for long range competition.

[charlie b]

I would assume that you are going to shoot in Palma matches. You can start reading about articles and gear in here:

https://www.accurateshooter.com/competition/palma-basics-in-usa/

If you aren't going to shoot in matches I would wonder why you would want such a rifle? Just the challenge of shooting 1000yd with open sights and a 'minimal' cartridge?

[Grego]

Thanks for the valuable information, gents. I had forgotten that Palma matches are shot with open sights. At my age and eyesight that will never work. I was aware of the ammo limitation. Also, it seems many .308 rifle types can shoot in a palma match. I saw pics of shooters who put the open sights on a picatinny rail. Nevertheless, the open sights are still a problem.
Another big problem for me is the availability of a 1000 yd range. My club in southcentral PA has a 600 yd range, but that's the limit.
After careful consideration I ordered the 12 Benchrest model in 308 from Savage. I think that will be far more versatile for my purposes and I'll be able to participate in several matches at my club.
Thanks again to you all for the valuable input.

[cwmoss]

Grego, You will love the rifle you ordered. I got one about 6 months ago and have shot nothing but Federal Gold Medal Match 168's thru it. It is so accurate. It is a bit heavy, but all of my shooting is off the bench so that doesn't matter. I had one in 6br a few years ago that I had bought used. It was a hammer. Got a wild hair for a different caliber, so I had a chance to sell it and regretted that I did. I took care of that today and have ordered a new 6br Benchrest. Hope it's as accurate as my first one.

[CTShooter]

178gr Amax at 2690 fps gives me 1/2 or less groups at 200. 4064 is the powder and use Hornady match brass

[AlexisPineda]

You should consult a gun store for advice.

[charlie b]

Good pick. I wish I had gone with that or the Fclass instead of the BVSS.

I do not compete, just shoot quite a bit. I have had decent luck with the 175SMK at 1000yd. For shorter ranges (out to 600yd) I prefer the 155ELD match and Berger 155 Full bore. The 155ELD surprised me at 1000yd, but, is not as consistent as the 175.

For commercial ammo Federal Gold Medal is reasonable. Black Hills is good. Lapua of course. Some search out the military sniper loads, but, there are some of those to avoid. There are some less expensive ones but they are not as consistent.

https://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html

[Dave Hoback]

You should consult a gun store for advice.

No Alexis. A gun store is very typically a place to get a load of very BAD advice. And very regularly the advice recommended is what they need to sell! Research is the answer.

THIS is the place for questions like that. Not a gun store.

[charlie b]

You should consult a gun store for advice.

Welcome to the forum. Many of us have not had good luck with advice at gun stores. Too many just want to sell what they have and know very little about guns. There are exceptions.

[Dave Hoback]

There are yes… But you have to do your homework, just like online.

You should bump over to the “Introduce Yourself” forum here & tell us a little about yourself.

[MacauleyBernard]

For the Savage 12 Palma, you should try out some Hornady 308 Palma ammo since it's designed explicitly for that rifle.

[Dave Hoback]

:welcome: