The .308 Winchester is the one of the most popular rifle ammunition after the .223 Remington. The .308 has had a reputation of valuable quality for decades, and this is well deserving. Shooters who experienced the AR revolution that preferred an all-round cartridge chose the .308 because of its innumerable bullet options and its increased power. Most people picked the .223, 9mm, .308 Win and .45 ACP instead or a combination of these rifles. The .308 hasn’t attained a similar standard like the widespread AR-15 with its plug-structure. Some manufacturers are likely to have their design for AR-style rifles with chambers for .308 or the AR-10. It is also applicable to the series of differences in bolt action for generations. That aside, there are lots of independent rifle options you can choose. So, what will a new shooter gain from the .308 Win? The distinction between the .308 Win. and other rifles indicate why it is an excellent option for newbies. 

The .308 Winchester offers a great ballistic platform, good accuracy and more equilibrium. Until recently, the .308 Winchester caliber or 7,62x51mm was the most popular option for the military service round. 

A small historical background of the .308 Winchester ammunition is that it was first offered for sales to civilians before the military indicated an interest in the rifle. 

A beginner should know that a rifle isn’t just any typical instrument, it’s a different ball game altogether. In highlighting the features of the .308 rifle, we’ll consider the benefits it offers to a newbie in the shooting field. A new shooter can benefit the following using the—308 rifle ammunition. 

Widespread availability: The .308 rifle ammunition is standard everywhere and anywhere and is a trusted rifle brand. It’s effortless to get a good shell for your rifle that offers accuracy. 

Sufficient power for different hunting species: The .308 rifle ammunition is a sturdy cartridge that can take bullets more than 20gr and is effective for hunting. Many ammunition options are spanning from long-range match loads to import rifles that cost several dollars. There’s a .308 rifle with an answer to all your hunting needs. It is also easy with a long history of use in competition and match shooting. Therefore, there are lots of good hand load options with combinations of powder, bullets and brass. 

It has tested and Trusted weapon platforms: A good number of quality .308 rifles have a traceable military origin. The Remington 700 was used as a sniper rifle dating back to the Vietnam War and is still in use today.  

Match loads: It’s easy to buy .308 rifles as they are readily available and also efficient. For the .308 rifle, hunting ammo is the most prevalent type available. It is one of the commonest cartridges for game hunting, and many users subscribe to this rifle. The best products in this category are Remington, Winchester, Barnes and Hornady. 

Bulk loads: There is much military ammo available from different sources such as Wolf, Lake City, Tula, Bear etc., which make affordable ammo. There are different types of rifles chambered in .308, and they perform other functions. 

But what are the disadvantages of the .308 rifle for a beginner? 

The excellent .308 rifle has some downsides to it as a beginner. They include: 

.308 rifles vary in size: Some .308 rifle ammunition are larger and heavier than their counterparts, but with advancement, they are becoming lighter in weight. The result is a .308 that’s comparable to 5.56mm options. 

The recoil is more significant: The .308 belongs in a similar recoil group as other rifles like 7.62x54R and .30-06. These rounds lack a fearsome recoil but are way more than beginners. Thus,  new shooters can’t take on this rifle easily while shooting. 

The .308 rifle is more expensive: This ammunition is higher in price than smaller calibers and can also incur costs, especially when it’s in higher volume. Their prices are comparable to other rifles in the same category, but they have a distinct price difference between the AR-15 and AR-10. Also have difference the scope for ar-15 and scope for ar-10.

Choosing .308 Factory Match Ammo

How do you choose the best .308 ammo?

The best ammo for your .308 rifle is hand-loaded ammo that will suit your shooting style and needs as a beginner. 

What is “Match” Ammo?

“Match” ammo is another word for factory-loaded ammo with a bit more accuracy. It implies that the ammo was loaded and tested to build accurate ammo, the best possible. That’s to say that the manufacturer noticed some ammo was more accurate than others. However, the industry has no standard, as match means different things for a different manufacturer. 

Takeaway

The .308 is a long-range cartridge and also qualifies as a bolt action rifle with its setup. You can’t go wrong with a .308 cartridge, even as a beginner. Although there are new calibers, you can’t ignore the .308 rifle for a beginner because it can perform everything required of a gun. It is also widely available and very affordable. Get the best ammo for your rifle and enjoy the shooting experience. 

This is going to be a guide to help you select one based on price durability, quality, and overall feature set on these different red dots. A lot of people are getting into the firearm shooting sports as well as using these for personal protection and they want to know what’s what as well as is it worth the price. 

Let’s dig into some popular models and overall just feel of different style red dots and reflex sights and talk about why you might want to select one over the other. This is a great idea because the market is flooded with a wide variety of red dots and reflex sights for your rifles ar-15s and air pistols

Starting from the cheapest style red dots to the more expensive style red dots.

BEST RED DOT SIGHT

BEST BUDGET

• OTW Red Dot Sight,1x20mm 4 MOA Red Green Dot Sight Micro Rifle Scope
• HIRAM Green Red Dot Sight 1x20mm Micro Rifle Scope 4 MOA Reflex Sight
• Twod 1x22mm 5 MOA Red Green Dot Sight, Reflex

The first thing i want to talk about are those budget they’re truly budget red dots and that’s what i cut my teeth on and a lot of people will go to these red dots first.  They generally start around the 25 price point and work their way up to the 40 to 50 dollar price point and i’m going to label these in one category.  The representation i have from this category today is the Pinty red dot.  Now a lot of these budget red dots come with these picatinny mounts on the bottom and they sit really low to the rail system, meaning you’ll have to purchase an independent riser something like a UTG riser or something like that to lift it up to the height you want.  We talk a lot about co-witnessing red dots if you choose a one-inch riser, meaning a fairly high riser.  You’re going to have a lower one-third co-witness with your iron sights and if you choose about a 0.83 riser you’re going to have an absolute co-witness with your iron sights, meaning when your sights are flipped up the dot will be on the front sight post when you align everything up with a 0.83 riser and then again if you select a one inch riser your dot’s going to be a little bit higher and your post is going to be in the lower one third. 

These red dots are nice and a lot of them work but the issues you run into with these budget style red dots is mainly quality control in battery life as well as overall feature set.  I am not knocking these by any means. In fact i actually recommend a lot of these high value red dots, i really recommended this Pinty as well as the OTW,  the Hiram, the TWOD and the original field sport  i did the torture test on.  A lot of these can be found that are really durable but again the battery life can be an issue for some, as well as the image quality and the overall construction and quality control.  A lot of them advertise to be waterproof, some of them are, some of them aren’t. But this is a great option for overall range use to get something on your rifle just to begin shooting and have fun with, but i kind of stay away from these for personal defense because again the quality control issues and things like that.  But with that being said, if you get one you like it it’s reliable for you and it passed your test and evaluation and you feel comfortable with changing out the battery a lot, this is an absolutely great option for this price category.

ABOUT $100 TO UNDER $300

• Northtac Ronin V10 Red Dot Sight 1x35mm 50000 Hour 2 MOA Red Dot 
• Sightmark Wolverine CSR Red Dot Sight
• SIG Romeo MSR RED DOT Sight
• HOLOSUN HS403C Solar Power Micro Red Dot Sight, Black

Now i’m going to transition over to about the hundred, two hundred and fifty dollar price point and i know that’s a rather large jump but as some of the intermediate red dots we’re going to be talking about, those will be those turnstile optics.

One thing i want to bring up while i have the Pinty here is you can see the emitter on the bottom and you can see that kind of interfering with your view.  You can also see a little bit of a hue but honestly this one is pretty good meaning the glass clarity. 

So when you talk about jumping from this turnstile optic up to that hundred dollar price range or 75 dollar price range, you’re gonna start getting into the AT3 tactical turnstile red dots, The Bushnell TRS 25 and one of my favorites is this Anderson red dot.  This again may have an elevated price point but what you’re looking at between this and the Pinty is a way better build quality, a lot longer battery life they use a different led diode and system, so you can get up to about 20,000 to 30,000 hours instead of the about 4,000 to 5,000 hours with the Pinty.  

You get a little bit better glass clarity and overall again, a better build quality it’s kind of hard to see but the emitters are also buried a little bit better.  And honestly if you’re talking about personal defense or range use these are definitely a better quality than the Pinty but the overall feature set is about the same, the same color brightness red dot, the same mode of operations. I tend to stay away from that intermediate price point if i can, i like to spend a little bit extra and go to a push button optic like we’re going to talk about with the Hollow Suns, the Sig Romeos and the Truglos.  I think it’s a much better step to go to that because they have a much wider feature set, but if you’re just not content with the quality control on one of the Pinty red dots, stepping it up to the AT3 Tactical red dot.  

BEST OVERALLS

• Holosun HS510C 2 MOA Dot Or A 65 MOA Ring Open Reflex 
• HOLOSUN Military Grade Micro Red Dot Sight, Cd, Solar
• Aimpoint ACO Red Dot Reflex Sight with Mount – 2 MOA – 200174
• Aimpoint PRO Red Dot Reflex Sight with QRP2 Mount and Spacer – 2 MOA – 1284

The representation i’m going to use for this optics category is the Hollow Sun HS403B  but Sig has the Sig Romeo and Truglo also has a red dot that kind of compete with the Hollow Sun. Out of all of those i really do like the Hollow Sun. I’ve used a wide variety of them and they come in at a good price anywhere from 130 to 200 dollars for the traditional push button model. Now you’re going to see a wide variety of these red dots with different features, but a lot of the cool things about these is they have a nice side ceiling battery compartment, they’re fully waterproof and they will be waterproof, they have nice adjustment turrets, the dots automatically turn on, the glass is crystal clear, the emitter is buried and they overall function really well. They hold zero a lot better than some of those twenty and thirty dollar optics and you can truly depend on an optic on this category. This is where it transitions from range use to actual use for a personal defense or a duty use scenario, something like this is pretty slick. You’ve got a push button style optic on the top where you can adjust the brightness up or down, a shake awake technology a 50,000 hour battery life, something like this is pretty cool because you can mount it to a duty rifle or a personal defense rifle and when you go to pick up the rifle to engage your target, it automatically turns on and you don’t have to worry about fumbling buttons or turning a knob on this style optic. The other cool thing is it turns off the safe battery after it doesn’t detect motion for a certain amount of time.The differences in the Hollow Sun line where you can go all the way up to about 300 dollars that includes solar panels, protected turrets, a better build quality, better material quality and different style reticle features. But overall, if you’re looking for a good optic for that $150 price point, check out the very basic model of the Hollow Sun, the Sig romeo series or the Truglo series. Hollow Sun though seems to be my favorite out of these.

I get a lot of questions about a reflex style soght versus a tube style sight and these are the main differences. A reflex style sight has a large viewing window in a more open viewing window, whereas a tube style sight has a tube style. These seem to be more adorable than the reflex sights especially in the budget category, when you start spending over 300 dollars on a reflex style sight though, the durability is there. I would stay away from any reflex style sight and this is my humble opinion anyways. Under a hundred dollars, they seem to always fail on me or break on me, whereas a tube style red dot sight is very good for a hundred dollars at least when it comes to durability.

The reflex style sight offers a wider field of view and a wider field of view is nicer for engaging a target, this allows you to really kind of have a seamless transition, also if you move your head left or right you have a lot wider viewing angle than if you move the dot left or right. This allows you to not have your cheek placed quite as nicely on the rifle or have your head offset if you’re shooting around the car or in a personal defense situation, so you can see the dot longer and this helps you engage your target more because as long as the dots on the target, you’re going to hit your target within a slight variation. This allows you to have in under a stressful scenario in a three gun competition or a personal defense situation. A wider field of view to help you engage your target especially if you don’t have the proper cheek weld, the downfall though is you start to pay more for a quality one of these than you will for instance $150 – $300. The quality and durability is about the same on both of these optics but again you’re going to get a wide viewing angle but you’re going to pay for it.

With an led emitter on Hollow Sun reflex style sight, meaning it actually projects the led onto the screen. The problem with that is is you can block the emitter with dirt or debris which is a problem especially in a combat style optic. This one does have a solar panel which is nice a 50,000 hour battery life reticle selections, these are great options for a reflex style sight. But if you want to spend a little bit more, you can get a truly Holographic weapon sight. The Holographic weapon sight actually projects theirs with a laser, so it is much more crisp, the parallax meaning the adjustment left and right when you shift your optic is going to remain more true than on an led model style reflex sight, this one is completely enclosed so you can’t block the emitter with dirt and things like that, the downfall to a truly laser reflex style sight like an Eotech or some of the Vortex ones is the battery life is rather low you’re getting back down to about 1500 to 2000 hours again, something to consider and the price on this is quite substantial about $500.

I’m going to transition over now to the intermediate category of the tube style sights as well as talk about handgun reflex sights, i only want to bring these up because a lot of people i see put these on top of an AR-15 and they spend a lot of money on these to put them on an AR-9 and i feel like these are not worth the money on an ar-15, they’re primarily designed to be mounted to a handgun with an RMR cut and i feel like that is their place i would shy away from these micro reflex style sights on AR-15s. They don’t have the field of view, you’re paying extra so it can be mounted to a handgun but you’re not mounting it to a handgun, so i feel like you’re wasting your money if you pick up one of these for an AR-15, that is just my opinion.

Now let’s talk about that intermediate price point category and i’m going to call that intermediate price point category between the mid-range stuff and the top steer stuff of about $350 and pushing the limits to 400 and that’s where you start getting into the top tier Hollow Sun optics as well as some other good manufacturers like Trijicon. The Trijicon’s going to be a little bit more money and have a lower feature set but it’s going to be built like a tank and it’s going to be that trusted quality of Trijicon. Trijicon makes one with a slightly slightly larger front lens and rear lens than the traditional tube style dots which gives you a wider field of view but still protects.

The overall optic like a tube style dot versus the reflex style sight now these are very nice, but again you’re paying for that quality. They have a very long battery life, an easy to use operation protected turrets, they’re pretty slick. The Hollow HS530C does push the limits though even more, they include things like a kill flash, a solar panel, a titanium housing, an incredibly wide field of view, different reticle selections, a buried emitter, you are getting such a quality optic with very good drop and durability ratings a quick detach mount, a waterproof rating, all of this for right around that $350 price point or you can buy some of the military-grade tube style dots with the solar panels for right around $250 and i find they are %100 trustworthy.

CONCLUSION

I’m going to try to wrap all of this up because i know i’ve given you guys a lot of information. Where i draw the line between range use and actual duty use to trust your life with, starts at write about the Sig Romeo, the basic Hollow models and things like that with the auto on feature and the 50,000 hour battery life, that’s kind of my go-to.

I honestly shy away from things like the rotating anderson the at3 tactical the bushnell trs 25 because they don’t have that auto on feature and you have to crank the knob. It’s a little bit more difficult to engage your target rather quickly for a personal defense situation, but they do make quality optics and some of those other ones i mentioned are a little bit better than these basic budget ones.

If you had the extra money to spend and bump it up to about the $300 range, i would recommend either of these Hollow Suns 510C and HE530C-GR, and i’m really focusing on Hollow Sun because these are two of my favorite Hollow Sun options in this intermediate category. They come with solar panels, really long battery lifes, a wide field of view, quality construction and cutie mounts included in the box, and i’ve never had a Hollow Sun fail on me.

If i had to take it up to a top-tier optic for a truly personal combat style defensive use. Having a Trijicon MRO is a very nice option and honestly i don’t buy much of the Eotechs anymore. I’m not a fan of the battery life but i hope i explained a lot of different options and a wide variety of considerations when it comes to that glass clarity.

17 HMR rifles are widely used for Varmint hunting and small game at mid-range. These rifles are preferred for small-game hunting for various reasons. They feature excellent bullet accuracy and velocity ideal for small games. The 17 HMR rifles were designed by Hornady with assistance from Marlin and Ruger hence the name HMR.

Buying a 17 HMR rifle looks like a great idea when hunting small game at 2000 yards. However, 17 HMR handguns are also great choices. So what is the best choice when deciding between 17 HMR rifles and 17 HMR handguns? For example, when hunting at longer ranges of let’s say 200 yards, you use the 17 HMR rifle and a quality 17 HMR scope.

However, when hunting small targets at short ranges, you can use the 17 HMR handguns. You can read a great article here more about optic for 17 HMR.

So deciding between 17 HMR rifles and 17 HMR handguns can be challenging for most shooters. In this article, we discuss these two under different categories and see which gun works best in different situations.

Portability

The Ruger 77/7 and the CZ 455 American are among the most common 17 HMR rifles on the market. They are styled action rifles with numerous modern features. These rifles are both extremely easy to carry since they feature fixed swivel mounts. This makes it easier to trek with them underbrush with ease. However, the HMR handguns are the obvious winner when you consider portability. This is pretty obvious because of their size.

Most of the 17 HMR rifles are revolves and easy to carry with the right sling. If portability is your main concern, then hangs are your ideal choice. However, portability is not a major difference since the rifles are also lightweight and extremely easy to carry.

Hunting

Both 17 HMR rifles and 17 HMR handguns are suitable for hunting small game. 17 HMR rifles have excellent speed and accuracy. This makes them suitable for small game hunting. You can be sure of hunting rabbits, raccoons, and possums at ranges of up to 200 yards. However, the rifles produce pretty high energies that can be too destructive when hunting chipmunks and squirrels. This is important especially when you want to preserve your kill. In such cases, 17 HMR handguns are the preferred choice. However, if you don’t look to preserve the kill, then rifles are great choices.

If you’re looking to hunt bigger game like deer or coyote, then you need excellent shooting skills. You need a hell of a shot at 50 yards to kill a hog using a 17 HMR rifle. Moreover, the shot must be precise to the head or chest. You don’t want to try the same when using 17 HMR handguns.

As you can see, both weapons are excellent for small game hunting. Handguns can only kill small game at short ranges. 17 HMR rifles are good at short ranges and mid ranges but only for small game. Only hunters with skilled marksmanship can kill large game at mid ranges.

Choices on the market

You’re better off choosing the 17 HMR rifles since there are a variety of choices to consider. This cannot be said of handguns. There are limited to 17 HMR handgun choices with shooters having a few options to choose from. In fact, most available 17 HMR handguns are usually revolvers. A good example is the Taurus Tracker which is an excellent revolver. It is a durable revolver ideal for small game hunting.

However, if you’re looking for a quality 17 HMR rifle, then there are great choices out there for you to consider. We’ve already mentioned the two commonly 17 HMR rifles out there.

 Plinking

The 17 HMR is a suitable choice for plinking. If you’re looking to enhance your accuracy, then choosing the 17 HMR rifle is a great idea. The rifle is extremely affordable and balances that with accuracy and speed. However, it features a big limitation at long ranges. This is why 17 HMR rifles are not used for competition shooting. 17 HMR is highly susceptible to wind. The .17HMR bullet and 17 gr bullet with speeds of 10mph will drift around 3 inches at 100 yards.

While you can use both the rifle and handgun for plinking, the rifle stands out as a great choice. This is because it offers a better range for practice. However, when it comes to plinking, there are varieties of ammunition to consider.

Ease of use and control

Ease of use and control of any weapon is a great consideration when choosing any weapon. Most 17 HMR rifles feature contemporary styles and are pretty easy to use. Moreover, they are lightweight when compare to various other rifles on the market. The 17 HMR rifles usually feature stainless steel action and portable rotary magazines. They also allow for easy and quick mounting of 17 HMR scopes. There are included scope rings on most of these rifles for immediate scope mounting.

The rifles also come with fixed sling swivel mounts to allow for easy carrying. You can comfortably move around with the rifles on the field as you target the game. When you consider 17 HMR handguns, there are also portable and quite easy to use. Most revolvers feature nicely grooved grips to ensure a firm grip. You can be sure of making multiple shots without losing grip. They are also safe to avoid cases of unintended shooting.

Final thoughts

Most shooters are hunters are always on the lookout for ways to improve their accuracies. The 17 HMR rifles and handguns provide a perfect opportunity to practice that through plinking. The 17 HMR guns are also suitable for small game hunting. There is no better choice when deciding between a 17 HMR rifle and a handgun.

Before making any purchase, make sure you consider your needs and choose a matching choice. If you’re hunting small game at short ranges and need to preserve them, then choose a handgun. The rifle is also a great choice for small game at short ranges. However, the bullet speed can be too destructive for small game like a squirrel.