Hunting ammo: premium, low buck or hand loads
- Thread starter hifiwasabi
- Start date
I handload everything I shoot, except 20ga. I use quality brass and premium bullets, carefully assembled and tested at the range for accuracy.
I learned a long time ago, that the cheapest part of the hunt is the cost of the cartridges, so I make every effort to have the best. The animal may not know the differance, but I do. I like the peace of mind that good ammunition provides.
If you don't handload, then I would spend the time and money to find out what my firearm "likes" best, by brand and bullet weight. Buying the same brand each year won't guarantee consistant accuracy as lot numbers change and so does the "Point of Impact"
My .02 cents,
Mike
I learned a long time ago, that the cheapest part of the hunt is the cost of the cartridges, so I make every effort to have the best. The animal may not know the differance, but I do. I like the peace of mind that good ammunition provides.
If you don't handload, then I would spend the time and money to find out what my firearm "likes" best, by brand and bullet weight. Buying the same brand each year won't guarantee consistant accuracy as lot numbers change and so does the "Point of Impact"
My .02 cents,
Mike
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
Handloads, primarily with Nosler bullets. All Winchester brass except for Remington in 35 Whelen.
I handload for all my centerfire hunting rifles. Like many of the other people that have replied to this thread, I prefer to use Barnes TSX bullets & Nosler partitions. I get a lot of satisfaction from using ammunition that I carefully handcrafted. If you are hunting deer, they are not hard to kill. As others have said, practice with your chosen ammo. Shot placement is key to quick dispatch of game animals.
"I only ask because I have only had an opportunity to get out for turkey, so when I do get a chance to get north for a rifle hunt, what gives the most confidence for a clean kill?"
Shot placement and being confident with your firearm of choice...
Premium ammo may not always preform well in what one has in his/her battery of choice.
Also one does not need to spend thousands of dollars to determine what works in their choice of game and firearm.
It boils down how satisfied you are with results obtained with some experimentation.
Rob
Shot placement and being confident with your firearm of choice...
Premium ammo may not always preform well in what one has in his/her battery of choice.
Also one does not need to spend thousands of dollars to determine what works in their choice of game and firearm.
It boils down how satisfied you are with results obtained with some experimentation.
Rob
Republic of Alberta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- ,location, location
Some of the "cheap" (a better description would be "standard") ammo is actually better in some applications due to the rapid expansion and fragmentation of the plain jane bullets used in it. Just because a box of ammo is label "premium" does not automatically mean it is better for everything. It just means it has a specialty bullet loaded in it.
- Location
- West Quebec
And premium has lost it's meaning in a lot of instances..at least handloading you know what you get
That about sums it up. Specialty bullets may be better for certain uses and worse for others. Suitability for purpose can have little to do with price, and some traits that the ad-men are most proud of can actually work against you.
I'm fairly new to hunting and have only killed 3 white-tailed deer so far. All of them were one shot kills with cheap Federal blue box soft points. 2 of those kills were with a .308 Win using 150 gr bullets and the other was with a .243 Win using 80 gr bullets. The .308 bullets both exited the other side and the .243 bullet fragmented with some smaller pieces exiting. Cheap factory ammo using cup and core soft points seem to do the trick on deer in my experience, I have no experience using them on larger game so I can't comment on how they perform there. I'm now set up to reload for most of my rifles so I expect I'll be hunting with my own hand loads from now on.
Go with what works for you and your gun, heck even at $5 a shot, after 15 for sighting in and 5 for hunting(likely 3-4 left if your careful) it will still be one of the cheapest parts of your hunt!(unless you shoot them off the deck or out the barn door!)
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
I have not bought a factory load in many many years. Loading your own 'extends' the season. Lets you play with your firearm all year.
All you need is one bullet failure (separation of jacket, bullet fragments all over, ruined bloodshot meat) to let you know that it might be worth it to take advantage of the better bullet engineering available to the modern sportsman. A lot of R & D by the major ammo companies has gone into making better bullets that expand consistantly with good weight retention under a wide variety of conditions.
Why would you NOT take advantage of that in order to ensure that your hunt is as successful and humane as possible. Just because up to now you haven't had a bullet fail with your Canadian Tire Specials does not mean that you won't in the future. It's just that your odds are a lot less with a well designed premium brand. That's ultimately what you're paying for.
Use good well designed bullets with a proven track record that shoot the best out of your carefully zeroed in rifle and that's several variables you won't have to worry about. I've never regretted spending a bit more on quality ammo (factory or reloads) for my hunting.
Why would you NOT take advantage of that in order to ensure that your hunt is as successful and humane as possible. Just because up to now you haven't had a bullet fail with your Canadian Tire Specials does not mean that you won't in the future. It's just that your odds are a lot less with a well designed premium brand. That's ultimately what you're paying for.
Use good well designed bullets with a proven track record that shoot the best out of your carefully zeroed in rifle and that's several variables you won't have to worry about. I've never regretted spending a bit more on quality ammo (factory or reloads) for my hunting.
Let's see, I have not bought a commercial round for my rifles in 30yrs. I have been quite happy with Sierra game kings, Remington bulk PSPs, and Hornady interlocks. However, I fell into my first elk hunt 3yrs ago and decided to go with "premium" bullets so I ordered a box of Silvertips. I wanted to give myself the best advantage since I had to drive 6hrs each way, set up a camp, groceries, etc. never saw an elk. Used those rounds on deer when that season rolled around. Did NOT notice any difference from standard cup and core I had been using for years.
This past season, I got set up with my regular bullets, sighted in my rifle. Had a hard chambering and the bolt stuck. Tried to rap the bolt handle with a piece of wood. Tore out the extractor and detent. NO PARTS AVAILABLE! Wife though my hunt was over. Like THAT would happen! Simply grabbed another rifle that I had bought just for the scope more than the rifle, but hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it. Guy gave me 4 boxes of corelokts with it and said that it was sighted for 165s when I bought it. So I just grabbed that, a box of bullets and sighted in. 2 weeks later, I get a shot on a nice buck. 364yds. Bullet passed between two ribs, destroyed a lung, half of the other, and pencilled through the other rib, THEN expanded and blew out the off shoulder! That dang deer ran for 3 hours until it finally died. NOT impressed!
This past season, I got set up with my regular bullets, sighted in my rifle. Had a hard chambering and the bolt stuck. Tried to rap the bolt handle with a piece of wood. Tore out the extractor and detent. NO PARTS AVAILABLE! Wife though my hunt was over. Like THAT would happen! Simply grabbed another rifle that I had bought just for the scope more than the rifle, but hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it. Guy gave me 4 boxes of corelokts with it and said that it was sighted for 165s when I bought it. So I just grabbed that, a box of bullets and sighted in. 2 weeks later, I get a shot on a nice buck. 364yds. Bullet passed between two ribs, destroyed a lung, half of the other, and pencilled through the other rib, THEN expanded and blew out the off shoulder! That dang deer ran for 3 hours until it finally died. NOT impressed!
