r/canadaguns • u/ClubDeTirDeMontreal Club de Tir de Montreal (Verified) • Apr 29 '26

Gun and gear reviews MRA Maverick .308 Win. 20" Barrel

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u/CurlyWurly61 Apr 30 '26

As a .308 owner, I agree 😂 shooting nearly $1.50 on the cheap end, per round hurts a little

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u/CryptidWorks CryptidWorks Apr 30 '26

✨reloading is the solution for .308✨

If you're just after plinking rounds you can absolutely throw reasonable rounds together for less than a buck each. Just takes time, patience watching for sales, and the initial setup cost.

Even my high end ammo is only $1.50/Rd. At the moment and that's 178gr ELD-X in Lapua brass over Varget. The cost for the brass is spread over the number of reloads, and mine last 10+.

To buy something comparable it's about $4/Rd (Hornady Precision Hunter)

If you want cheap, re-used factory brass + campro bullets + whatever bulk powder is on sale. I got 8lb of H335 for $300 not too long ago. That's 1300 rounds worth, roughly, making the powder cost $0.23/Rd. Campro bullets are about 0.30/ea, primers are 0.08. total cost not including brass is $0.61/Rd.

Suddenly comparable to cheap brass cased 7.62x39/5.56.

They won't be match grade, but if you're looking for cheap shit to burn at a 100yd plinking sesh, it's easy on the wallet.

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u/CurlyWurly61 Apr 30 '26

This is huge... wow. I'll have to eat the start up costs... but I typically spend 2 hours at my range. I'd be getting my money's worth in no time...

If I were to reload .308 I think i'd send 100+ down range

Did you start with a "reloading kit" and buy the extras, or did you source out every part?

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u/CryptidWorks CryptidWorks Apr 30 '26

I picked up stuff as I found it on sale. Gun shows, for example, are awesome for cheap, lightly used dies.

Dies Haven't changed much in the last fifty years, and a lot of old dudes who reload a box a year eventually kick it or downsize. The result is common caliber dies show up at gun shows for like $15-20/set. They're normally about $100 new.

If you're going to regularly burn through a ton of ammo you'll want to look into something like a lee auto-indexing turret press, a progressive press if you want to get real fancy (but they're pricey), or just be ready to sit down and spend about an hour and a half in a given session with a single stage. An automatic powder dispenser (I use a Lyman gen6) will greatly assist with both speed and your sanity. When you get the rhythm going a single stage isn't bad.

You could probably find a starter kit with most of what you need, minus caliber specific dies.

Excel sheets will be your friendnfor calculating costs and planning materials.

Start saving all your brass now.