Are center fire rifles as pickey as rimfire?

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Pyd

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Just as the title suggests..
I always knew rimfire can be pickey with preferrable ammo, and was curious if centerfire was the same.
I am sure there are some that will shoot better than others, but is it as noticeable in a larger caliber gun?
Just added a .270 to our collection, bought a couple boxes of ammo (same), and was wondering if I should keep buying more ammo to try out?

Any info on ammo for this gun would be appreciated.
 
Not in my experience..

Of course there is a dependancy on the power of the cartridge to move the slide in a semi-auto. So the problem seems less with a bolt action or revolver rather than a semi automatic. Centre fire ammo have more reliable primers than rimfire.
 
It would be unrealistic to expect that all ammo will be equally accurate in your centre fire. Some cheap or milsurp won't group tightly in any gun I have tried, and even swapping out the projectile doesn't bring it up to the potential of the projectile.

As to whether any quality factory ammo wil shoot well, I'm too cheap to know. When I want accuracy, I hand load.
 
Handloading is in my future, just not today.
I have no intention of shooting inexpensive or bulk ammo, just trying to settle a curiosity in my head.
I always buy premium ammo, and when I accumulate some brass.. I will reload.
 
You won't need to buy another brand of ammo if the one you have bought shoots satisfactorily. I guess the key then is having realistic expectations.
 
Pyd said:
Handloading is in my future, just not today.
I have no intention of shooting inexpensive or bulk ammo, just trying to settle a curiosity in my head.
I always buy premium ammo, and when I accumulate some brass.. I will reload.
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I think it comes down to how much accuracy do you want and at what cost?

If you want to save money or you just want to reload for the skill it developes..

9mm as a baseline may only be cost effective to reload when you shoot more than about 5K rounds a year.

So what calibre, how often you shoot and at what accuracy is good enough are the keys..

Reloading just helps you shoot alot more, not just save bucks IMHO
 
Pyd said:
Just as the title suggests..
I always knew rimfire can be pickey with preferrable ammo, and was curious if centerfire was the same.
I am sure there are some that will shoot better than others, but is it as noticeable in a larger caliber gun?
Just added a .270 to our collection, bought a couple boxes of ammo (same), and was wondering if I should keep buying more ammo to try out?

Any info on ammo for this gun would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I don't have to read the replies here, to know what the majority will be. They will be about what your rifle "Likes."
My view is contrary to this, but it coincides with the view of many old time shooters.
Simply put, if you have a good rifle, rim or centre fire, well tuned and properly bedded, it will shoot all ammunition in accordance with the quality of the ammunition. Meaning good ammunition will make good groups, poorer ammunition will make poorer groups.
I have proven this many times, to my own satisfaction.
 
The best part of handloading, for myself at least, is the satisfaction of not blowing my head off :)
As well as the perpetual learning curve. I already have the sweet load for MY rifle, but there might be a better one just waiting for me to figure it out.
 
A friend of a friend had problems with the accuracy of his Browning BAR in .30-06 and asked me yo have a look at it. He said it would not hold a pie plate at 100 yards. I checked the rifle out and everything like bases and rings were tight. I bought a different brand of ammo than what he suppied to test fire. His ammo Remington Cor-lokt shot 12 inch groups at 100 yards. The cheap Winchester ammo I picked up shot 1 1/4 inch groups. Some rifles just don't like some types of ammo. Some rifles will shoot everything well. Just because the box reads "premium ammo" does not mean it will shoot really well in your rifle.
 
Also the rate of twist in some rifles will affect the accuracy. Slow rates mean that you need lighter then normal for calibre while quicker twist rates will handle heavier bullets.
 
Excellent information guys, thank you.
A box of the core lok was given to me, and it is not satisfactory.
 
check springs of the gun if there are feeding issues. ie I got a ruger mini 14 223 rifle for a give away price because it wouldn't feed right. I got a couple of wolf mini 14 rifle slide springs and replaced the factory one. Tried the various wolf springs and found the one that solved the problem. The factory spring was a few coils short.
 
On a modern bolt rifle, with a good setup you can expect about 2-2.5 inch groups at 100yrds with regular ammo and just around 1" with primo rounds. With a standard barrel length ~24" in standard calibers, ~26" in magnums generally and standard twist rate (varies from caliber to caliber) you could expect the best groups with bullet weights about in the middle of the normal offerings. The barrel variants will usually affect optimal bullet weight this way: barrel length goes up;bullet weight goes up(as muzzle velocity and rotational speed will be higher)/ and as mentioned already: twist rate goes up(say 1:10 versus 1:12);optimal bullet weight also goes up. But this is not absolute just a good starting point for your research and keep in mind cost efficiency (in my opinion) becomes important only when you target shoot, dont be affraid to experiment with higher grade ammo if, in the end, all is going to be shot is a few rounds a year while hunting... what is 140 $ a year compared to 40$?
 
Steelplink said:
On a modern bolt rifle, with a good setup you can expect about 2-2.5 inch groups at 100yrds with regular ammo and just around 1" with primo rounds. With a standard barrel length ~24" in standard calibers, ~26" in magnums generally and standard twist rate (varies from caliber to caliber) you could expect the best groups with bullet weights about in the middle of the normal offerings. The barrel variants will usually affect optimal bullet weight this way: barrel length goes up;bullet weight goes up(as muzzle velocity and rotational speed will be higher)/ and as mentioned already: twist rate goes up(say 1:10 versus 1:12);optimal bullet weight also goes up. But this is not absolute just a good starting point for your research and keep in mind cost efficiency (in my opinion) becomes important only when you target shoot, dont be affraid to experiment with higher grade ammo if, in the end, all is going to be shot is a few rounds a year while hunting... what is 140 $ a year compared to 40$?
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SO if someone is moving up from 22 cal at 50 yards getting 1/4 inch groupings with a CZ 452 and CCI standard ammo and want to move to 223 at 100-200 yards using common milsup ammo or slightly better about 60 gr etc. . What would the best compromise of twist rate to cost of rifle be that would allow 1 inch groups or better. Target so I shoot a lot each week right now 100 rds average..
 
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silverfoxdj said:
SO if someone is moving up from 22 cal at 50 yards getting 1/4 inch groupings with a CZ 452 and CCI standard ammo and want to move to 223 at 100-200 yards using common milsup ammo or slightly better about 60 gr etc. . What would the best compromise of twist rate to cost of rifle be that would allow 1 inch groups or better. Target so I shoot a lot each week right now 100 rds average..
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For a 223 I would go with 1:9 You can shoot 69- 70 grain bullets with that. My 223 is a 1:9 and I shoot 40gr all the way up to 68 on a regular basis. I have shot 77ge bergers as well with good results.
 
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