Let's talk about your favourite commercial hunting ammo...

I don't shoot much centerfire rifle factory ammo, but there are several loads I've never really been able to beat by reloading.

22 Hornet - Sellior and Bellot
22-250 - Federal Premium with the 55 gr Sierra Gameking.
32 Special - Federal.
 
I bought a lot of Double Tap rebranded as Advantage Ammo on clearance at Canadian Tire. I mainly bought it because of the price (under 1$ per round) but it's actually quite good, although it's loaded hot. I should have enough for several years.
308 win 165 gr accubond
270 win 130 gr accubond and 150 gr partition
270 wsm 130 gr accubond and 150 gr partition
3006 165 gr accubond, 180 gr accubond and 180 gr scirocco
243 win 100 gr interlock

Back when Rampartcorp used to sell Norma for 30$ a box, I loaded up on 300 win mag with the 150 gr TSX and 170gr tipstrike to get some good brass for reloading. I should have bought a bunch of other calibers too as it performs very well.

I use PPU / PRVI for 9.3x62 and the PSP in 7.62x39. Great ammo for the price

With the recent Sako 20$ mail in rebate promo I bought quite a bit as well but have not had a chance to test it out. Purchased it specifically because of the price and as a source of brass.
 
The last animal [Moose] I shot with factory ammo was back in 1996.

I was shooting the Norma 180 grain Dual-Core out of my
308 Norma Magnum. I still have the recovered bullet.

I hunt and shoot practically exclusively with my own reloaded ammo.

That being said, there are some excellent offerings out there today.
Regards, Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
The last animal [Moose] I shot with factory ammo was back in 1996.

I was shooting the Norma 180 grain Dual-Core out of my
308 Norma Magnum. I still have the recovered bullet.

I hunt and shoot practically exclusively with my own reloaded ammo.

That being said, there are some excellent offerings out there today.
Regards, Dave.
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:)Now there's ammo that brings back memories from my youth, and probably not too far from where you're at, in the Wells/Barkerville area. Early to mid 60's I;) 'graduated' from my sporterized 303 Br Lee Enfield to a Parkerhale in 308 NM. At the time, I was paying roughly $3.50 for a box of C.I.L./Dominion 303 Br. Bit of a shock when I now had to pay $8.10 for the Norma dual core 308 NM ammo. Still have a 308 NM, my favorite 30 cal, in a model 65DL Schultz & Larsen.
I believe I still have one or two boxes of that ammo tucked away on the back shelf:d.
My best reload accuracy has been using the 200gr Sierra BT, pushed by a top end load of IMR 4350. It's worked well in past on a couple of Moose hunts;) in the B.C. central interior and a Mule Deer hunt on draw in Alberta.
 
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what makes the hornady 45/70 so hard on you ... i had to shoot 8 or 10 1895 in that caliber with each a box of the same ammo in one session and i have still 2 shoulders lol ...
 
i always purchased a box of commercial ammo for any rifle im buying (certainly as a cushion for the discussion) but never used one factory ammo in a long time now ...

i can t even imagine shooting factory ammo when we did the 9.3x62 bullet test lol ...
 
Fisherguy55 said:
My 300 absolutely loved hornady PH 200gr eldx, zero experience with it on game though. I liked it more under $60/box too
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Do you require further reason to acquire reloading gear. Commitment to reloading starts at about 20-30 for a Lee loader expands to infinity. Get a decent press, scale, calipers, trimming solution......upgrade from there. Your true cost and limitation is components. Right now, primer. If you come across primer now, buy it. Hold.your nose doing it, if you must.....but buy it.
 
When my friend with reloading gear was still alive and healthy we made up loads for my 300 WM with 180 grain NP bullets. Accuracy was acceptable and I killed moose, elk and black bears with it.

When he quit loading I tried Winchester Power-Point silver box loads and they were even more accurate than the handloads, so I use those.

He gave me a rifle in 280 Remington and after a lot of experimentation I settled on Federal Trophy Bonded tip loads. The last three animals I shot with it died.

If I recall correctly Federal Fusions were accurate too, but I'm still unsure abut their capability on game.
 
Those EVO bullets are accurate and technically sophisticated, I bought a bunch of RWS ammo loaded with them for my .30R Blaser Krieghoff single shot. Haven't taken them hunting yet, so I'm curious - any field reports Kurgan?
 
I have a bunch of 291 grain RWS EVO ammunition for my 9.3x74, it’s regulated for the 293 grain Uniclassic so I’m taking a gamble and hoping that it will shoot well with the EVO.

I haven’t been able to find the 293 grain uniclassic load in Canada.
 
Best I've ever seen were the Winchester Supreme Elite, 130 gr in 270 WSM, absolutely perfect mushrooms. The bullet kind of bulges out behind the mushroom petals every time. Don't know if it's still available or if the bullets themselves are sold as components but I would buy them
 
I reload a pile but I'm. Pretty fond of federal factory with the trophy bonded tip I also load that same bullet a bunch I also do like the factory nosler 280 AI stuff at least the 140 gr accubond very good ammo I'm my rifle anyway
My son uses the federal fusion factory in his 7400 280 Remington very accurate ammunition
That's about the extent of my prerolled ammo
 
The S&B 8x57 196gr FMJ's deliver virtually the same factory rated muzzle energy as Hornady 45-70 325gr FTX: 2849 vs. 2886 ft lbs. I usually have some on hand for the range. I've had very good results with K98's... not yet tried with my 24" barreled CZ 557. I suspect much better accuracy.

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Also picked these up... No experience with Norma Vulkan... but Oryx has been excellent. Anybody with first hand medium/large game hunting experience??
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The Kurgan said:
Also picked these up... No experience with Norma Vulkan... but Oryx has been excellent. Anybody with first hand medium/large game hunting experience??
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Cup and core with a fancy name. I've had them pass through caribou, experienced a jacket separation on a black bear and another bear where it held together. The recovered bullets mushroomed quite well and were nearly identical, animals didn't go 10 yards. I still use them in my handloads.
 
The Kurgan said:
Also picked these up... No experience with Norma Vulkan... but Oryx has been excellent. Anybody with first hand medium/large game hunting experience??
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The brand name is one of my favorites as well. The adequate stash/supply of factory ammo I have on hand to feed my Schultz & Larsens in Super 7x61, 308 NM and 358 NM is of an;) older vintage.
 
In the 9.3 the Norma Vulkan came apart on me, the jacket broke into many pieces which were found while butchering and a piece actually made it into the sausage which I was not happy about. The lead core exited. This was on a WT doe.

Only necessity would get me to use them again.
 
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