Case length and case weight are important to be consistent if you want velocity to vary as little as possible.
Keeping your cases within 0.5 grains of each other after sizing and trimming, weighing your bullets and ensuring consistency within 0.5 grains before seating, and using a powder trickler to guarantee powder weight to 0.1 grains accuracy are all tricks that long-distance shooters use to keep the velocity consistent within about 10 feet per second.
Otherwise your velocity can vary as much as 50 or 75 feet per second. That translates into several inches at 500 yards or more.
Make sure you get a full length sizing die. Some die sets only come with a neck sizing die rather than a full length sizing die. A full length die allows you to re-set the shoulder of the case.
Hornady makes a 168gr BTHP similar to the matchking that sells for about $15/100 from midway. Nosler sells a 155gr BTHP match bullet for a similar price. Hornady FMJ 150gr is about $12/100, or Winchester FMJ 147gr is about $9/100.
Remington sells a 150gr hunting bullet for $10/100 at midway. The 165gr equivalent is about $11/100.
Every now and then, midway will have a sale on premium bullets. I picked up 50 150gr Combined Technology Partition Gold Moly-coat bullets for $5 one time, not knowing what they were. Now they are about $25 for 50.
Keep your eyes peeled and you will find a good sale. Until then, midway is the way to go as long as your orders are at least $100-$150 and light enough that shipping isn't exhorbitant.
When weighing your brass, make a decision that all brass of weight x will be for 168gr bullets. All brass of weight y will be for 150gr bullets. All brass of weight z will be for 180gr bullets. That way, when you order brass and out of the 100 you ordered, 75 are in the range of x, 10 are in the range of y, and 15 are in the range of z, you can use them all depending on if you are hunting elk with heavy bullets, varminting with light bullets, or match shooting with 168gr match bullets.
I am getting into the same boat as you and have done a lot of research on this so far. I just ordered a digital scale to easily weigh brass and bullets, a case tumbler to consistently clean my brass, primer pocket swager, flash hole deburrer, etc. I have accumulated about 300 pieces of 308 brass for my rifle and this weekend will sort my brass and bullets by weight.
I originally only had a 308 die set from RCBS, which only had a neck sizer die rather than a full length sizer. So I ordered a 308 die set from Lee. I will use the seater die from the RCBS since I like it better, but I will use the sizer die from the Lee as well as the Lee crimp die. I shoot an M1A so I have to put at least some degree of crimp in my ammo. Bolt action shooters probably don't need to do this.
I shoot foreign surplus from my 18" M1A Scout with iron sights in about a 5" group. I do have some vision problems, so a 20/20 shooter could probably get 3-4" groups from this same ammo and rifle.
My homebrews with Winchester Brass, WLR primers, H4895 and Remington 150gr spirepoints get me about 3-4" groups right now.
I have a batch of 168gr Hornady match bullets on order. Once I get time to weigh brass, bullets, and reassemble some really good stuff then I think I can hit 2-3 inch groups with this gun on iron sights. With a quality scope, I think I can expect sub-MOA with it.