Range Test: Black Hills Gold .308 168-gr. ELD

By Alan M. Rice

Posted in
#Gear

Owned and operated by Jeff and Kristi Hoffman, Black Hills Ammunition has been in business for over 40 years. Jeff, a former police officer, handles the technical side of the business. Kristi, with a background in business and accounting, handles the necessary business operations such as human resources, bookkeeping, payroll and more.

The author tests Black Hills Gold .308 Winchester 168-gr. ELD Match ammunition on the range. Here, is he is shown prone at 200 yards. Image: Harrison Rice

The Black Hills Ammunition of today began as Black Hills Shooters Supply in 1981 in Rapid City, South Dakota, by a local police officer. As part of its business model, it produced police training ammunition. At the time, Jeff (and other officers) worked for the company part time. In 1982, Jeff and Kristi bought into the business as partners and, in 1988, the company became Black Hills under the exclusive ownership of Jeff and Kristi.

In 1996, Black Hills Ammunition placed (and won) its first bid to supply ammunition to the U.S. military. This helped cement the company’s reputation for making highly accurate and reliable ammunition. Since then, military contracts have been a large part of Black Hills’ business. U.S. Government specifications are very exacting, and Black Hills uses the knowledge gained from government contracts to produce high-quality ammunition for legally armed citizens and domestic law enforcement agencies.

The Process

Jeff shared that Black Hills operates an “assembly plant”; albeit a very precise one, but still an assembly plant. What this means is that they use bullets, brass, powder and primers from various manufacturers to produce the very best ammunition they can. Using components from different vendors allows Black Hills to make the very best loads for each caliber.

Black Hills Gold .308 Winchester ammunition box and cartridges loaded with 168-grain Hornady ELD Match bullets. Premium Black Hills .308 ammo featuring 168-gr ELD projectiles for precision rifle shooting. Black Hills Ammunition Gold line 308 Win cartridges with Hornady ELD Match bullet technology. Rifle ammunition from Black Hills company in Rapid City South Dakota showing 168 grain ELD loads. Black Hills Gold .308 Winchester ammo represents high-quality hunting and target cartridges. Box of Black Hills .308 Win ammunition with 168-gr Hornady ELD Match bullets for accuracy testing. Precision rifle cartridges from Black Hills Ammunition featuring 168 grain ELD projectiles. Black Hills Gold 308 ammo loaded with ELD Match bullets delivers consistent velocity and tight groups. — Black Hills Gold .308 Winchester ammunition loaded with 168-gr. Hornady ELD Match bullets represents precision rifle cartridges from a trusted manufacturer. Image: Black Hills Ammunition

Commercial manufacturers, like handloaders, face supply chain problems. To work through these inevitable shortages, Black Hills has developed strong, multi-decade relationships with their suppliers. Additionally, the company keeps data from over 105,000 ammunition tests on file; this data allows them to change components as needed and keep producing quality ammunition.

Black Hills employs four full time lab technicians who test for accuracy, uniformity and standard deviation (SD). SD is a measure of how consistent a lot of ammunition is based upon the difference in velocity from the slowest to the fastest cartridge. The lowest possible SD is desirable for consistency and accuracy. The company will not produce a cartridge that does not adhere to its high standards and if a cartridge does not perform well, they will redesign it and try again.

Benchrest shooting setup showing rifle and Black Hills Gold .308 Winchester 168-grain Hornady ELD Match ammunition ready for 100 yard accuracy testing. Black Hills .308 ammo boxes visible with precision rifle positioned on sandbags for group shooting. Testing configuration for Black Hills Gold 308 cartridges loaded with 168-gr ELD Match bullets at concrete bench. Rifle supported by front and rear bags during Black Hills Ammunition .308 Win evaluation with 168 grain projectiles. Shooting station arranged for accuracy testing Black Hills Gold .308 168-gr ELD ammunition at 100 yards. Black Hills .308 Winchester ammo with Hornady ELD Match bullets positioned for benchrest shooting session. Proper rifle support and Black Hills Gold 308 ammunition setup ensures consistent results with 168 grain ELD loads. Benchrest view of testing equipment and Black Hills .308 Win cartridges with 168-gr ELD Match projectiles. — Testing the Black Hills Gold .308 168-gr. ELD ammunition required a stable shooting platform and consistent technique at the bench. Image: Harrison Rice

A product that Jeff is very proud of is the MK 262 MOD 1-C, MIL PACK. This is a precision 5.56 mm cartridge that was first produced at the request of the U.S. Navy in 1999. Jeff shared with me that for many of their 5.56 mm loads, the company uses a standard M41 primer. Handloaders (myself included) were under the (mistaken) impression that the M41 primer made the cartridge “to hot” and group size would suffer. Black Hills testing shows that their MK262 load will consistently shoot 2 inch groups at 300 yards or an incredible 0.64 MOA!

The Product

I was very interested in trying out some of their products for myself.

For this review, I decided to conduct accuracy and velocity testing with Black Hills Gold, .308 Winchester, loaded with a 168-gr. Hornady ELD Match bullet. I conduct ammunition testing on an outdoor range in New Hampshire. My goal is to shoot in a manner that replicates how a typical gun owner will use their ammunition. However, I try to avoid shooting on hot and humid days as well as rainy days because those conditions could make even the best ammunition perform poorly. Ballistic laboratories are interesting places that remove all variables. Laboratories do not mimic how people shoot in the field.

Author shooting Springfield Model 2020 Waypoint rifle in prone position during Black Hills Gold .308 168-grain ELD ammo review at 200 yards. Testing Black Hills .308 Winchester ammunition loaded with 168-gr Hornady ELD Match bullets using stable prone shooting technique. Springfield Armory Waypoint 2020 rifle paired with Black Hills Gold 308 ammo featuring 168 grain ELD projectiles. Precision rifle testing of Black Hills .308 Win cartridges with 168-gr bullets at extended range. Shooter evaluating Black Hills Ammunition Gold line .308 168 grain ELD Match loads from prone position. Springfield Model 2020 bolt-action rifle used for accuracy assessment of Black Hills .308 ammo. Range test showing Black Hills Gold .308 Winchester 168-gr ELD ammunition performance at 200 yards. Author conducting comprehensive Black Hills 308 ammo evaluation with Springfield Waypoint rifle and prone shooting position. — Shooting prone with bag support allow the author repeatable point of aim when conducting his Black Hills Gold .308 168-gr. ELD ammo review. Image: Harrison Rice

I shot the ammunition through a Springfield Model 2020 Waypoint Rifle on a late summer day when the humidity was low, and the temperature was about 75 degrees. Springfield guarantees Waypoints will shoot .75 MOA or better, which makes them a superb platform for testing ammunition. I topped the Waypoint off with a vintage Leupold 8.5-25x Vari X III. The ammunition was tested at 100 and 200 yards.

At 100 yards, I shot off a solid concrete bench and used a rear bag and supported the rifle’s forend with a Lyman Bag Jack Combo. These tools, as well as the high magnification scope, helped me to ensure that I used a consistent and repeatable point of aim. I put up an Action Target rifle sighting target and used the small diamond aimpoints in each corner.

A Garmin Xero was used to measure the muzzle velocity and calculate standard deviation. The average of the first ten shots was 2,580 feet per second (FPS) with a standard deviation of 7.9. This closely mirrors the advertised velocity of 2650 fps because the Waypoint has a 20” barrel, and Black Hills’ test barrel is 24”. At 100 yards, my best five-shot group was 0.95”, with the best three rounds coming in at 0.655”.

When I shot groups at 200 yards, I fired from the prone position. As is my usual practice, a Lyman Bag Jack Combo was used to support the rifle’s forend, and I used a rear bag to help support the buttstock. The prone and bench rest positions are the most stable and allow the shooter to use a repeatable point of aim for each shot. As I did at 100 yards, an Action Target Rifle Sighting Target was used. At 200 yards, the large diamond in the center was the aiming point.

At 200 yards, my best five-shot group was 1.90”, with the best three rounds measuring 1.29”.

Two hundred yard test target showing groups fired with Black Hills Gold .308 Winchester 168-grain Hornady ELD Match ammunition. Accuracy results at extended distance demonstrate Black Hills .308 ammo with 168-gr ELD Match bullets maintaining precision. Target displaying Black Hills Gold 308 Winchester cartridge performance at 200 yards with five-shot groups. Best group measuring 1.90 inches with Black Hills .308 Win ammunition loaded with 168 grain ELD projectiles. Long-range testing of Black Hills Ammunition Gold line .308 168-gr ELD Match loads. Action Target rifle sighting target used for 200 yard evaluation of Black Hills .308 ammo. Target shows Black Hills Gold 308 Winchester with 168 grain Hornady ELD bullets delivering consistent downrange accuracy. Extended distance test reveals Black Hills .308 Win cartridges with 168-gr ELD Match technology perform reliably. — Black Hills Gold .308 168-gr. ELD ammunition produced impressive groups at 200 yards during prone shooting evaluation. Image: Harrison Rice

My best 200-yard group size was slightly smaller (when MOA is calculated) than any of my 100 yard groups. I attribute this to the difference between shooting prone and seated at a bench. The Black Hills Gold and Waypoint Rifle did what they were designed to do.

During a recent conversation, Jeff told me that Black Hills, as a company, focuses on what they are good at: making precision ammunition that includes military specialty ammunition, law enforcement sniper ammunition and specialty ammunition such as authentic Cowboy Action Ammunition in 13 different calibers. After my range session, I can confirm that Black Hills Gold, .308 is truly precise. I am confident that the other calibers the company produces are just as good!

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