ok guys and gals Im sure that this has been asked a million times but I am new into deer and varmint hunting and I have a 308. What is good ammo to use that is not crazy priced? Looking for something that I can go to academy and pick up.

There are so many choices out there and I am just curious on what everyone uses and what grain.

Depends on what brand & weight shoots best out of your rifle.
You'll probably have to try a few to see what it likes best.

Mine shoots Federal Premium 165gr SGK the best of store bought hunting ammo.

Mine likes nosler 165 accubonds from nosler or remington with 165 swift sirocco. Loads shoot yo the same point of impact at 100 and within an inch ay 200. My other one is sighted in with estate 150 gr loads which shoot good enough for hogs or deer and are cheap compaired to the others

+1 for the Federal Premium 165 gr. SGK

I've not ran production ammo out of my .308 but I did load that bullet over H-Varget. I shot a buck with that bullet in 2010. I recovered it while skinning, and it was 3/4" in diameter and weighed 142 gr. Outstanding expansion and weight retention in my book.

anyone have any opinions on the fusion ammo?

I am a ammo freak and tried almost all of them and am now handloading. I still have a couple boxes of reminton corelokt 150gr that I use for hogs and coyotes. I shot my buck this year with one and he didnt make it 30 feet. Good cheap and proven bullet.

core-lokt is good, and cheap, it will let you shoot more and you will have more fun!

Fusion is good, it's lead is bonded to the jacket, so it retains weight and punches deeper and stays together better.

a core-lokt, alot of times, will explode/fragment at under 100yds, just because its going so fast that when it hits, it is too much energy for the bullet to stay together and will alot of times, not exit and you wont find a bullet, just fragments.

Slayden457-I think I am going to try out fusions on my .308 next year. I have read tons of reviews on them and most are very positive and at the worst I have read they are okay. The thing that has me sold on them is I have read they have very consistent grouping for a cheaper bullet. The other two bullets I am considering are Federal Premium SGK and Accubonds. I have never anything but amazing things about Accubonds. To be honest they will probably be my first choice but I am still going to try fusions.

http://www.fusionammo.com/technology.aspx

have a buddy telling me that all he shoots is 180 grain out his weatherby.. I think its a little overkill myself for hogs and deer. Your thoughts?

For factory ammo, all of my 308's like Black Hills with 175 Sierra Match Kings.
Hornady 168 Amaxes are next best.

I think it's all about finding what your gun likes, and that takes time, money and patience. Only try ammo that is good for deer sized game; any soft point, no fmj and only otm 168gr and up. If your twist is 1:12, that will also be limiting factor; if that's the case I would not waste my money going over 168gr.

fwiw - I use a 1:12 and it likes 175 anywhere between 2600 - 2650.

Slayden457-My cousin shoots a 180 Accubond out of his .308 and swears by its performance. Personally I can't really find the justification in using a 180 gr bullet on a whitetail.

A 308 with its' short case is not exactly the best forum for 180
grain projectile, even though the military uses a 175 grain in their sniper application. I shoot handloads so I use 130 Barnes
X...loaded at about 3000fps...but my Rem. 26in heavy varmit will
shoot 150 and 165 grain projectiles just fine and is not particular...If budget is your concern..get Rem Core Loc in one
of those weights...DD

I get good groups from both the core-lokts and Federal's vital-shok. The Federals are about $15/box at Wallyworld.

How in the world do y'all get Core Loks to group?

I've tried them (before I started rolling my own) in .30-30, .22-250, and .308 and I've never had a rifle that wouldn't shoot better than 2 MOA. I vowed to never purchase them again because of the consistant crappy results. I'm glad others have success with them but I never could.

I shot the fusions and was pretty happy with the results. I am going to still explore some other ammo just to see what results I get out of them.