Hunters who handload

As a hunter do you shoot factory ammo or do you craft your own?

  • Factory offerings.

    Votes: 10 4.9%

  • Hand-loads.

    Votes: 193 95.1%
  • Total voters
    203
joe-nwt said:
Handloads.

Why not? They are developed to be more accurate than factory for starters. They usually have bullets taylored to the game being hunted.

And by loading a good supply at one time, the consistancy will be better than the lot to lot variations of factory ammo.

And most of all, they add just a bit more satisfaction to the hunt when you bag your game with "home cooked".:cool:
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AMEN!
 
using nosler ballistic tips, brand new brass, 45 grains of varget and a match grade primer my .308 handloads are equal speed wise to the federal premium load using that same bullet.
cost on the handload-.64 cents( gets cheaper when the brass is reused, but i like virgin brass for hunting loads)
factory load-$1.75, everytime.

i figured it out the other day, and if you invested in approx $600 to get set up with a decent set of loading tools. it would take only 550 rounds before the savings had paid for the setup. for a lot of shooters thats way less then a years worth of shooting.
 
Where is the option fo both?
I just started handloading and will continue to handload 7mm-08 and 22-250. I also shoot some of the 22-250 walmart ammo as it is accurate and a good source of brass. I odn't plant to reload 30-06 as of yet and doubt if i will ever reload 30-30 (LeverEvolution is awesome)

As far as shotgunning, I used to but I can buy target and upland loads for almost a cheaply as reloads and I am not set up for waterfowl loads.
 
I reload all my ammo, but also use all my own bullets, no jacketed for me, most of my guns have never had a j-word bullet through them. I do however find that at the shop, factory loads outsell component bullets 10-1, this may be a location thing as many customers are from remote reserves, and they do not reload.
 
I have started reloading to put me into next level in regards of accuracy and efficiency. My first caliber was .30-06 and first press Rock Chucker Supreme.
 
Handloads

I've been making handloads for 33yrs.In a pinch I might try factory,but that hasn't happened yet.I'm always loading when I'm down to 30-40 rnds,and I load 100 at a time.I've looked and shudder when I see the prices for premium bullets off the shelf.But if I had to buy them,premium it would be.:
 
I'd change the poll and add more choices.

I do both, although I prefer to handload if possible. I'm not set up for shotshells very well yet and obviously not at all for my rimfires. I bought several 40 round Winchester .223 value paks from Walmart so I could get the brass, but I'm pleased with the factory rounds. I seen a box of .338 in Walmart for $20 so I snapped that up too. Some calibers I rarely use I won't bother reloading for. I've been waiting months for .375 H&H brass so maybe I'll be forced to shell out $60 a box for factory rounds.
 
the only thing i ever use factory loads for is to "prove" the gun- see whether or not it works properly, and if i already have something else in the same caliber, sometimes not even then- i usually have virgin brass, and that's really what matters- and over the years, i've ran into factory stuff that won't go boom right out of the box-typically a "dead" primer-or no flash hole
 
I have hand loaded all of my hunting ammo for over 15 years but for this season and last season I used factory. Why... the rifle I used last year and this year took less common brass (7.62x39 and 6.5x55) so I bought some factory federal blue box ammo to unload at the range and then use for brass. However, on unloading the ammo I discovered that in both rifles it shot under 1 moa. Given that I've been short on time to work up new loads I said screw it, the factory is good enough in these two cases.
 
Silverado said:
While my experience is the same; everyone I know uses hand loads, here's my theory...

People like us on CGN are what may mildly be called enthusiasts. We like our guns, hunting and everything related to it. Birds of a feather stick together...

I'd wager for every enthusiast out there, there are probably 3 or 4 hunters who see the range once or twice a year, buy their ammo at Canadian Tire, and get their deer/moose/whatever.

It's this time of year when the brass bucket and garbage cans at the range are full of non-premium brass and boxes in the usual: 270, 30-06, 7RM, 300WM etc.
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X2.
I think we are looking through rose coloured glasses if we think that most guys that hunt also handload.
I really think that more hunters shoot factory than handload, like Silverado said, we usually hunt with those that handload, and hang with the same!:rolleyes:
Cat
 
prosper said:
odd. I trust ammo that I've assembled myself much more than some ammo that's come off an unattended automated machine, and is only QC'd in small samples
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I've had failures in the past few years with primers - two
different brands. I've been handloading for over 40 years.
NEVER had a failure with any CCI mind you.
I handload for many hunters, and the the only time I had these failures I quit using that brand of primer.

My father worked as a ballistician in cartridge investigations early on in his carrer with C.I.L., and told me that nothing is perfect, be it a car , rifle or cartridge.
There occasionally are failures in all.
Cat
 
I handload for my own and my girlfriends rifles. I like the versatility of loading my own.

I also help an older fellow out by loading up a batch for him for each season. I know that he doesn't have too much money or time to reload and I have the dies already. He provides the brass and a few double doubles and I load up about 20 rounds for each season. It was kind of fun loading up for a rifle I don't own as it was quite easy to match the cheaper factory stuf he was using before. He got the surprise of a lifetime when he found out how well his rifle shoots with the right load.
 
I put factory loads in my 280 this morning when I left the truck for my deer hunt (first time Id put factory centerfire ammo into my rifle during a hunt since 1996 :D)
 
I don't hunt...YET. But by far most of the hunters I know do not belong to a gun club, do not reload and do not shoot more than 5 or 6 rounds a year. And most of them have never heard of a little website called Canadiangunnutz. I see most of the guys here voted for reloads; probably most of the guys here are a lot more dedicated to guns and hunting than most people I know.

As far as reloading though, I just recently got my setup together with a buddy and started reloading. I find it fun and rewarding and intend to reload once I get into the hunting scene.
 
Handloads for me

I use only hand loads in my .270 Win. I have used cheap factory stuff in it for practice, but for hunting I only use my own hand loads. For me, hand loading adds satisfaction, as someone else mentioned it's like catching fish with flies you tied yourself.

George
 
Since 1965 (the year I bought reloading equipment) I have shot one big game animal with factory ammo. The other "who knows how many" have all been shot with ammo I developed and loaded myself. Additionally, several tens of thousands of reloaded rounds have been shot at varmints, paper, in competition, etc, etc. during those 40+ years. There is a real satisfaction in taking game with home-cooked fodder, particularly if one had to take a shot that was on the long side, or if the bullet used performed spectacularly even though the animal's presentation was less than ideal. Yes, Factory ammo is sure a lot better these days than it used to be, but I still like my handloads best. Regards, Eagleye.
 
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