Factory versus reload

Reloads are also generally assembled to tighter tolerances. Powder charge and cartridge OAL the same for each round, brass trimmed to the same length, same resizing/seating die used for every round etc etc. More consistent variables equals more consistent groups.
 
In general terms...I'm a sophomore at reloading but what got us hooked is the accuracy increase.

Groups became consistent over Federal blue box and Federal Fusion ammo. (premium $50/box factory we've never used) We could adjust 12 clicks and watch the group move around as it should on paper using our first reloads. Seems trivial, as it may be to many, but to us it was inspiring.

For hunting...for us there is no better satisfaction than a harvested animal using your own home rolled ammunition, especially when the terminal performance is quicker more humane kill in our case. I can't equate a value or price on that.

Your situation may be different.

FWIW

Regards
Ron
 
Most are going to say no.
I load multiple thousand of rounds every year and I enjoy it and have had good/great results in personal and comp shooting.
That being said if I had money and or no time to load my own I would not hesitate to buy Lapua or Nosler factory loads for competitian or hornady for varmints.
 
As a young kid I had always assumed that reloading gave you an inferior round! Guess I just figured that factory was better. But being around here and reading I've been thinking otherwise. Just wanna here it
 
Why would you end up with an inferior product when you control everything in regard to content and quality, over some production line factory assembled item? IT's almost universally the same result, regardless of product.
 
It depends a lot on the bullet you reload with. If you reload using cheap bullets, you get results no better than you would with cheap factory ammo. If you reload using quality bullets, you get results at least equivalent results or better than match ammo, but the price saving isn't so large.
 
I did a demo for a newby friend at my range. He asked me why do I reload. Aside from all the fun, I took one mag of Federal Gold Medal Match and one mag of my home rolled for both him and I each. The results were proof positive that groups shrank by 1/2.

Then I showed him a box of .45 acp with a price tag of 66 cents/rnd and then told him I reload at 10c per round.

Cost, quality and a very satisfying diversion. Reloading makes the sport so much more enjoyable.

Ive reloaded enough to more than offset the gear acquisition. Also starting to cast so costs only go down. and volume only goes up.
 
Kingjenky said:
Is there anything that makes factory ammo better quality wise or worse than reloading or visa versa. Thanks
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Factory ammo is generally good. They have full control of the bullets, powder, primer, and quality control. They may even use powder that is not available to the public. I find in general they are loaded quite hot. Most people that use factory ammo are not all that sophisticated in their expectations. If the Winchester load does 3400 fps, and the Remington load does 3200 fps (according to their claims), they will most likely select the Winchester. It is a marketing issue where accuracy may be compromised for performance.

Handloaded ammunition of course gives you much more choice of bullets, and you can determine the velocity you want to shoot. You may have high velocity loads, and also most accurate loads. Factory loads have to fit in every gun of that cartridge and will usually fit quite loose in the chamber. Handloads can be carefully resized to fit a specific chamber very closely, where as factory cannot.

In general factory ammo is good, and safe. A skilled handloader probably can always produce a cartridge that is more accurate, and sometimes with better (faster) performance.
 
As most have said here, you can customise a load for your your gun by reloading and gain accuracy, you can change bullet weights and configurations when you want, and you can save money.
Recently a good friend of mine who is a fairly "green hunter and rifle shooter" bought a new .308, he took it to the range and made a nice 3 shot group at 100 yards with factory ammo. When we got talking I tried to explain to him that he could get more out of the rifle with reloads which he was quite hesitant believing. So we went to the range the following weekend, him with factory loads and me with factory and reloads for an experiment. We set up targets at 100 and 200 meters, he shot a nice group again at 100 and when he shot at 200 had about a 6-8 inch spread. I pulled my rifle out .308 as well and shot the same distances with factory ammo and achieved similar results as his. Then i pulled out the reloads I have worked up for my rifle and shot at the same distances again, he was shocked as hell when the 5 shots at 100 were pretty well in the same hole and the 5 at 200 were all touching. Long story short I ended up building a load for his rifle as well.
 
one other point- there's a LOT of perfectly good rifles that use obsolete /hard to get ammo for that can only be reloaded- we all don't shoot "modern" cartridges- rifles can be passed from generation to generation, but the ammo companies only make what's profitable and popular
 
t-star said:
one other point- there's a LOT of perfectly good rifles that use obsolete /hard to get ammo for that can only be reloaded- we all don't shoot "modern" cartridges- rifles can be passed from generation to generation, but the ammo companies only make what's profitable and popular
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^^^^ Good point
 
I found out for myself how playing around with a few loads can really get your gun shooting more accurate and consistantly. I'm sold on it now.
 
Only one other person has touched on the aspect of cost. To buy factory 303 british ammo it will cost around 1.25-.150 for the cheap stuff or I can reload for .70 cents a bullet. That's about the same as 7.62X54r in bulk has been going for. The cost is the only reason I switched to reloading
 
Gnome75 said:
Only one other person has touched on the aspect of cost. To buy factory 303 british ammo it will cost around 1.25-.150 for the cheap stuff or I can reload for .70 cents a bullet. That's about the same as 7.62X54r in bulk has been going for. The cost is the only reason I switched to reloading
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Other than the costs to setup that's the way to go..
 
Great stuff nutz, I'm planning to be reloading by the spring. I'm also looking to cast my own bullets as well and poly coat them. I want to be able to shoot and have fun with the family I'm sure I won't save a great deal from what you guys have said but I won't be dipping into the stash of factory ammo I've squirrelled away. 9mm -45acp -762x39-458socom and 50cal is what I'm looking at reloading. Any comments on gaschecking cast bullets! Is reloading 12 gauge worth it? Does anyone here reload 22 lng? Thanks a bunch for your comments and advice.
 
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