Factory ammo

[Wildstreak]

Who shoots factory ammo for hunting? Let me be more specific, 500 yards or less? I was looking around my garage tonight and realized all the money I had tied up in reloading equipment, components, etc. I dont shoot PRS or F-class and have no intentions of it andI have a self imposed limit of 500 yards on animals.

Edit. I am not only looking at the money invested but whether or not its even needed given my objective.

Am I wrong?

 

[Wildstreak]

If you already have everything. You arent going to save a dime, by going to factory ammo

Understood. A whole bunch of stuff would be liquidated.

 

[Tmac]

I use factory ammo for hunting and have a number of combo’s that are good to 600. The one suggestion I’ll give you if you go this way, once you find that load, stock up and always keep at least a 2 year hunting buffer, better yet 3-5 years. Ammo supplies can get crazy.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

How often do you go out to just shoot for practice or fun. If you shoot a lot, it may be worth it to keep doing your own reloading, If you can find components you need. I reload all my own shotgun shells. I saw the problem of availability of components coming, so I stocked up. As for rifle, I shoot factory rounds and have taken game out to 500 yards with no issues. I go out every few months practicing, just enough to stay sharp, so I don't go through a great deal of ammo.

 

[30338]

For me it would depend on the cartridges you primarily use. I shoot a lot of odd stuff so I'll always reload. If I owned a 223 remington, 6.5 creedmoor, 30-06, or 270 win, I'd just stock up on factory ammo and call it good.

 

[sbaker0029]

I always find a factory load that shoots satisfactory and then stock pile that particular round. Usually buy 200-500rds of the same lot#.
I narrowed my guns down to almost the exact calibers above; .223, .243, 6.5 creedmoor, and .30-'06 so I'm only having to stock up on 4 calibers.

 

[ianpadron]

I don't have the time to reload. Between work and year round outdoor pursuits, a time consuming task like reloading never really appealed to me until the ammo shortage of the past year or so...BUT

After running a mix of Hornady Precision Hunter and Federal Premium through my rifles the past 5 or so years, I highly doubt I'll ever get into it, even with the shortage...

My 270 WSM will sit on the bench in favor of the .308 and 6.5 this year until ammo comes back in stock, and I'll be no worse for the wear.

The only thing I'm losing out on by shooting factory ammo is some extra top end velocity, but there is no additional accuracy to wring out of my current rifles, so I'm going to save the headache of load development and keep my free-time dedicated to hunting/fishing/skiing.

 

[ianpadron]

I always find a factory load that shoots satisfactory and then stock pile that particular round. Usually buy 200-500rds of the same lot#.
I narrowed my guns down to almost the exact calibers above; .223, .243, 6.5 creedmoor, and .30-'06 so I'm only having to stock up on 4 calibers.

I've taken a similar approach.

.243, 6.5CM, .308, and soon a .223

Only "odd-ball" is a 270 WSM and up until last year I could always find cases of that as well.

 

[Bolt]

Let me know if you plan on getting rid of your reloading equipment. DM me location and what you have.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Wildstreak]

How often do you go out to just shoot for practice or fun. If you shoot a lot, it may be worth it to keep doing your own reloading, If you can find components you need. I reload all my own shotgun shells. I saw the problem of availability of components coming, so I stocked up. As for rifle, I shoot factory rounds and have taken game out to 500 yards with no issues. I go out every few months practicing, just enough to stay sharp, so I don't go through a great deal of ammo.

Thats the thing, seems like the last few years I just dont have time to shoot much. Matter of fact I find myself usually only making time to shoot when I am prepping for a particular hunt. I started loading shotgun ammo in the early 90's and would keep that stuff. I would really like to get back to shooting clay birds.

For me it would depend on the cartridges you primarily use. I shoot a lot of odd stuff so I'll always reload. If I owned a 223 remington, 6.5 creedmoor, 30-06, or 270 win, I'd just stock up on factory ammo and call it good.

Most of my calibers are pretty common. 243, 6.5CM, 7mm mag, 300 win mag. I do have one thats a bit difficult to get factory ammo for, a 280 ackley but it is soon to be rebarreled into a 7mm mag.

I don't have the time to reload. Between work and year round outdoor pursuits, a time consuming task like reloading never really appealed to me until the ammo shortage of the past year or so...BUT

After running a mix of Hornady Precision Hunter and Federal Premium through my rifles the past 5 or so years, I highly doubt I'll ever get into it, even with the shortage...

My 270 WSM will sit on the bench in favor of the .308 and 6.5 this year until ammo comes back in stock, and I'll be no worse for the wear.

The only thing I'm losing out on by shooting factory ammo is some extra top end velocity, but there is no additional accuracy to wring out of my current rifles, so I'm going to save the headache of load development and keep my free-time dedicated to hunting/fishing/skiing.

Yea, thats the thing. I work 12 hour swing shifts. 5A-5P a few days, off a couple then 5P-5A for a few days. My off days are usually occupied with other family related activities. My youngest kid just graduated high school. I keep thinking things will slow dwon but that just keeps not happening.

 

[Mt Al]

I have all the reloading stuff and went to buying factory ammo for all the reasons above. It works fine for as far as I'm going to shoot, don't have time to reload and don't shoot as much.

If I ever get enough time, I'll load years worth of each of the three calibers I shoot and be good with it. No plans on selling any of it.

Factory ammo is fine for most of us.

 

[Z71&Gun]

Seems like you figured it out. Let's all be honest, the pros make better ammo than 99% of us do. The savings are probably not enough to make up for your time. Sell that shit, do load development with factory loads, buy a stockpile. Done. Then just buy a box here and a box there. You'll be better off financially and have better ammo.

 

[Z71&Gun]

Seems like you figured it out. Let's all be honest, the pros make better ammo than 99% of us do. The savings are probably not enough to make up for your time. Sell that shit, do load development with factory loads, buy a stockpile. Done. Then just buy a box here and a box there. You'll be better off financially and have better ammo.

Scratch that. Keep the reloading gear just in case.

 

[DenimChicken]

I used to reload a lot but got busy with life including work and kids and would rather spend what little free time I have shooting or hunting, not reloading. Can I shooter better groups for cheaper with my own reloaded ammo? Absolutely. Is it currently worth my time? No. That being said, I'm keeping my reloading setup for when life settles down a little bit.

 

[30338]

I'd sell the 280 AI and buy a 7mm PRC if doing factory ammo. There will be a ton of support for that round in the future I think.

 

[displacedtexan]

I'm not a good enough shot to need better than a good factory round that my gun likes.

I've got a few years of the same batch in my shop cabinet.

 

[sbaker0029]

I've taken a similar approach.

.243, 6.5CM, .308, and soon a .223

Only "odd-ball" is a 270 WSM and up until last year I could always find cases of that as well.

Sometimes those odd-ball rounds are all you can find in stock during certain times.

I had a superlite tikka in 308 and 6.5, identical setups. It was hard but I eventually decided to just keep the 6.5 even though ammo can be a tad more expensive than 308. Both are pretty close and saying one is better than the other is just splitting hairs at a certain point. Plus I bought the 6.5 for my daughter to eventually use.

I'm almost in the same boat with .223 and .243. I'm always going to have .223 because of my AR. Gaining some in the 243 but not tons over 223 to make it an easy choice.

Hard to cull out calibers to just three or four when you like guns.

 

[CCooper]

Call me a prepper, but having the know-how, gear and components to roll your own for a long while if shit hits the fan again is part of the appeal. I refuse to buy/build a rifle I don’t have all the components on hand first to toast the barrel.
That being said, I just built a 6CM with the hope it shoots something factory well for a trainer rifle because it’s the easy button. But I still have dies, primers, brass, powder, and bullets to cover the barrel life just in case.

 

[Stillness0039]

Personally I've moved over to Federal Premium for everything. I realize it's not the most accurate out there, but it does everything I need. I don't really enjoy target shooting, and similarly impose max shot distance.

Seems like every physical retailer stocks it, and can even be found online for $30/20 rd box for magnum loads. I have really enjoyed eliminating the variable of worrying about ammo.

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[KenLee]

"Hard to cull out calibers to just three or four when you like guns."

Dang right it is. I'll cull one and here comes a new one I want to try.