Practice Ammo: How to Choose? ( 223, 243, 308)

[TOLeary]

I am essentially new to shooting and wondering how to think about and choose practice ammo. Also, specifics for what everyone is using in the 3 cartridges above?

Are you trying to find a cheaper ammo that is as close to bullet weight to your hunting ammo? I shot over the weekend with one ammo that I would practice with (100gr) and then shot my hunting ammo (95gr). Wildly different when I switched. I am new. I do suck. It’s most likely me. But I was much more consistent with the practice ammo.

I’ve seen here and there that certain cheap ammos are unpredictable and that others are consistent. How can you tell if it’s consistent ammo?

Appreciate the input

 

[Browninglover1]

You have to determine, what is the purpose of your practice?

For me, I don't feel I need to make a practical improvement from the bench for my hunting needs. So I want a rifle I can get into the field to get real world practice in. Knowing the limits of your rifle can help you establish a realistic scenario.

I typically like to hit targets that are twice the precision of my rifle. So if my rifle is a 1 MOA gun, I'd start my practice out with 2 MOA targets. The point of my practice isn't near as much group size, it's about hitting the dang target. There have been times in my life I was shooting phenomenal groups at distance, but struggled to get onto the targets with the first shot. Conversely, I had times where it felt like I couldn't ever miss the target even though subsequent group sizes were often larger. As you get more comfortable you can shoot smaller targets.

I'll tell you this, ringing the target every time is more valuable than shooting a tight group in the wrong spot, even though it's not near as sexy when you shoot a 10" group at 800 yards compared to a 5" group with a few misses before you found the plate.

Right now a 223 is my primary practice rifle. I have it shooting 75 ELDM and have used it to kill rock chucks at over 1200 yards. It is not the rifle I want to take for big game, but it gives me excellent trigger time all year long at a fraction of the cost of my big game rifles. The lessons learned in target acquisition and wind reading transition nicely to my other rifles. In a pinch I'd use it to hunt big game, but I just prefer the larger bullets of my 6.5mm, 7mm, and 45 cal barrels

 

[bnewt3]

Lots to unpack here.

In general: a rifle shoots some ammo well and doesnt shoot other ammo well. There usually isnt much rhyme or reason to this. You typically just have to try some different stuff to see what it likes.

"Cheap" ammo could be consistent, expensive ammo might not be but there is a better chance more expensive ammo is more consistent.

the cheaper the ammo, the more likely it is to be inconsistent. Inconsistency could be due to many factors but for simplicity, lets say that they are inconsistent because the factory does not control how much powder goes into each cartridge very tightly. Therefore you get velocity inconsistencies. inconsistent velocity at the muzzle equates to different impacts vertically downrange.

So one might hit the bullseye, 2 might hit low, one might hit high.

But like I said there are other factors as well. All add up to bullets not hitting the bullseye.


Also, do not expect that 100gr ammo from brand X will shoot the same as 100gr ammo from brand Y.

And all of that assumes you are perfect behind the rifle.

Because you are new, you need to be working on fundamentals.
Breathing, trigger squeeze, proper sight alignment, proper setting yourself up to the rifle, and the list goes on and on.

 

[RockAndSage]

I am essentially new to shooting and wondering how to think about and choose practice ammo. Also, specifics for what everyone is using in the 3 cartridges above?

Are you trying to find a cheaper ammo that is as close to bullet weight to your hunting ammo? I shot over the weekend with one ammo that I would practice with (100gr) and then shot my hunting ammo (95gr). Wildly different when I switched. I am new. I do suck. It’s most likely me. But I was much more consistent with the practice ammo.

I’ve seen here and there that certain cheap ammos are unpredictable and that others are consistent. How can you tell if it’s consistent ammo?

Appreciate the input

OP, one of the bigger challenges of sucking, is not knowing what's you sucking, vs what's the gun/ammo/optic, etc. Very few people have actually ever shot a legitimately sub-MOA gun, and even fewer are capable themselves of shooting sub-MOA consistently. Because of this, trying to figure out how consistent a given ammo loading is in your gun can be challenging if you're missing some bits of info.

Take a look at this post - it's my attempt at translating and condensing some key concepts that you'll need to have nailed down in zeroing your rifle properly and understanding what it, you, and a given loading are capable of.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

Take a look at the cost differential between your hunting bullet and a practice bullet. It may be worth the extra cost to stay with the hunting bullet for practice sessions. (Edit. Using your hunting bullets for practice might come after you have become more accomplished. So, sure go practice with some less expensive ammo if cost is a consideration )

 

[TaperPin]

A fairly good chunk of the cost of ammo is the reloadable brass, so I always stick with the brand I wouldn’t mind to use reloading even if it’s not the absolute cheapest. Even if you don’t reload, brass has value so what you do with that is up to you, either toss, keep or sell. If they were spit out as quarters or dimes, would you pick them up? How about nickels?

I like to use plinking ammo that shoots close to hunting ammo so the gun doesn’t need to have major zero changes. It’s even better to just have different rifles for practice vs hunting so neither zero needs to be changed.

Some feel like they are curing cancer by using the same bullet for practice or hunting, but I’ve never felt that way.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I believe in using the cheapest ammo that performs adequately. Every decent rifle will have at least a couple of factory loads that group 10 shots into 1.5” or less. It’s a matter of finding the right one(s).

After that, I do like to find practice ammo that has the same trajectory and hits to the same POI as my hunting ammo, but since I record my data and don’t use bad scopes, I don’t mind adjusting my scope to match the ammo.

And, for some rifles, I just use hunting ammo as practice ammo, since the prices are so close that it makes no meaningful difference.

I could make recommendations and tell you about reputations, but ultimately it comes down to whether or not the ammo shoots acceptably in your rifle.

 

[TOLeary]

You have to determine, what is the purpose of your practice?

I was moreso speaking to the ammo used for practicing. My practice is simply just to be shooting more; to get comfortable and figure out good form.

If I were to equate this scenario to archery, which is what I’m familiar with, I would tell a new person to set their bow up to fit them and then tune their arrows to the bow. Otherwise they’re not going to know if it’s the setup that’s not working properly or their form. Which is why I was asking about which ammo is good to practice with. I could spend a lot on quality hunting ammo (I’d rather not spend a lot if I don’t have to) and know it’s going to behave as it should. Or I could buy inconsistent ammo and I’d never truly know if it’s me or the ammo. And for rifles is that going to even be a thing? For a bow I’d never use anything other than full hunting arrow setup to practice. Hoping that’s not the case for rifle

 

[TOLeary]

In general: a rifle shoots some ammo well and doesnt shoot other ammo well. There usually isnt much rhyme or reason to this. You typically just have to try some different stuff to see what it likes.

Appreciate all the feedback!

 

[TOLeary]

OP, one of the bigger challenges of sucking, is not knowing what's you sucking, vs what's the gun/ammo/optic, etc.

That’s why I’m trying to narrow down the excuses haha. Got the gun and scope narrowed down and need to start shooting some more

Take a look at this post

Appreciate this!

 

[TOLeary]

Take a look at the cost differential between your hunting bullet and a practice bullet. It may be worth the extra cost to stay with the hunting bullet for practice sessions. (Edit. Using your hunting bullets for practice might come after you have become more accomplished. So, sure go practice with some less expensive ammo if cost is a consideration )

Great point. Kinda what I’m hoping to do

 

[TOLeary]

I believe in using the cheapest ammo that performs adequately.

Is this just trial and error for you?

After that, I do like to find practice ammo that has the same trajectory and hits to the same POI as my hunting ammo

Is this trial and error as well or are there ways you can tell from ammo specs?

 

[EastHumboldt]

I was moreso speaking to the ammo used for practicing. My practice is simply just to be shooting more; to get comfortable and figure out good form.

I could spend a lot on quality hunting ammo (I’d rather not spend a lot if I don’t have to) and know it’s going to behave as it should. Or I could buy inconsistent ammo and I’d never truly know if it’s me or the ammo.

Expensive ammo may be more consistent in terms of mfg. tolerances (maybe not), but your rifle might not like it, which means you won’t have consistent point of impact. You should practice with ammo that your rifle likes ( meaning relatively consistent POI) even if it’s cheap inconsistent crap. My .243 likes federal blue box and even better Norma whitetail both 100 grain. They’re cheap compared to say Hornady Precision Hunter. So I’m gonna practice with the cheaper ammo. If I get an antelope tag, very well may try a box of the Precision Hunter, or other spendy stuff. But wouldn’t use it unless it shot as well as the cheap stuff. Ive been rifle hunting for about 35 years and I’ve killed a lot of deer with cheap ammo.

I also reload and will save and re-use my cheap brass. I’ll try to find a projectile to load that is similar to the ones that come out of the factory ammo.

All this is to say… usually you get what you pay for, but sometimes you don’t need or want the good stuff. When it comes to ammo, the good stuff is whatever your rifle likes regardless of what it costs.

 

[EastHumboldt]

It’s trial and error.

 

[EastHumboldt]

IIRC didn’t you say in your first post that you shot better with the cheaper 100 grain practice ammo?

 

[UnckleBob]

At my range, FMJ ammo is banned. I learned to reload so I could shoot more for less. On my old AR, I built up a decent load with 55g Hornady SP's and TAC power.

Now, I use my Tikka 223 for practice. I am gradually burning off the old ammo while developing a 77g TMK load. Assuming I find a load I like, it will be my practice ammo.

Reloadinging would not save me any money if I shot cheap fmj ammo, but saves me quite a bit once premium bullets are used.

My 6ARC bot gun (which I problably shoot a thousand rounds per year) is not picky with ammo. I generally shoot 105g BTHP match factory seconds I get from midway.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Is this just trial and error for you?



Is this trial and error as well or are there ways you can tell from ammo specs?

Yes, the proof of the pudding is in the cake. The only way to know how well ammo shoots in a rifle is to shoot ammo in the rifle.

When I get a new rifle, unless I already have ammo for it, I buy several boxes of ammo in a variety of bullet weights. I shoot each box from a bench and try to carefully measure groups and record the data. I use a chronograph for every bench shot.

If I already have ammo, then I try the stuff I already have first. If it doesn’t produce acceptable results, then I try out other ammo.

“Acceptable results” means a 10-shot group that is 1.5” or less.

The key is to shoot large enough groups that you get a statistically significant result. There’s no such thing as wasting ammo as long as you aim properly and learn something from each shot. It’s a buy once, cry once approach.

Once I determine what shoots well in the rifle, I buy at least 200 more of that. Once that’s gone, I buy 200 more of that. I plan to spend 10-20 rounds per 200 confirming my zero from a bench. The rest is spent hunting or shooting from field positions.

I don’t expect ammo to shoot to the same POI from lot to lot, but I do expect it to shoot consistently within each lot. I’ve yet to have ammo that shoots acceptably in one lot fail in another lot, but that’s always a theoretical possibility.

I have almost no brand loyalty (I do love ADI .223 though) and I try to avoid fixating on what I want to work.

I won’t buy someone else’s reloads, but I also refuse to buy “expensive ammo.” If factory ammo gets up above $2/round, then reloading becomes more attractive to me. Likewise, I absolutely won’t reload anything that’s less than $1.50/round. Life is too short to reload .223.

Any hunting rifle, that I know is properly set up, that can’t put some factory hunting ammo into a 10-shot group that is 1.5” or less gets sold without any representations as to its accuracy. Or sold to someone who knows that I found it unacceptable.

For really cheap practice ammo, I am okay with anything under 2” 10-shot groups.

I don’t shoot as much as some folks around here, but I try to get to the range every week and I have established goals of shooting 10,000 rimfire, 5000 .223, and 1000 “hunting rifle cartridges” per year.

 

[Speaks]

Start with something similar weight.

For example in my 223 I wanted to shoot black hills 77 tmk for hunting. 75g aac black sabres were about half the cost per round so I bought a few boxes.

First most important thing is I want exact same 100 yard zero, if this works you can do 100 yards drills without changing your POI (can live with it being different and memorize the dial but its easiest to have it match). Then I look at velocity and see how far out I can just call it the same.

In this case 200 yards is a match, 300 yards is nearly half a mill off. At this point you can either dial it differently or switch over to your main stuff. I just start adding a half mill to quick drop at 300 and call it good but I also shoot my good stuff for longer range work.