Is premium Ammo Worth the Dollars?

arnott1t

arnott1t

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Just wondering if the premium factory ammo is worth the extra cash. I have been buying different brands of the cheap stuff for my new Mossberg 30-06. I was out yesterday pounding paper and was able to get a group of 1.25" at 100 yards with some cheap federal ammo. Most ammo averaged about 1.5". I thought these goups seemed pretty good all things considered. It was -25 or so and I am a fairly new shooter. Would I be better off getting my trigger worked and rifle bedded or should I simply spend the money on better ammo. This year for Mule Deer Hunting I used a friends 30-06 and got a nice deer using the Rem Core Lokt Express ammo. Deer was at about 60 yards and bullet was caught up in other side of the hide. Thought it seemed to perform ok. Can you normally see an increase in Accuracy when shooting the primo stuff.

Or should I just save all my pennies up and buy some reloading equipment. I have zero exp. reloading and don't really know anyone that reloads so I'd be all on my own.

Thanks,
 
Depends on your use.

If you are punching paper, in the back 40, surplus ammo is likely fine.

If you are shooting 200m bench rest and trying to get your holes to touch, you're going to have to start hand loading.

If you are hunting at 100 yds your group is fine. At 300 yds it's not so good.

Pick your game and you'll soon know your needs.
 
"Premium" ammo doesn't usually mean better accuracy but better bullet performance. Every rifle has it's preference and one might be more accurate with the "regular" stuff than with "premium".
 
It is worth it for bigger animals when shooting them at not so perfect angles.They will hold together busting bone and penetrating to where it counts.Premiums are not needed but do give you better odds on the shoulder shots on moose,elk,and big bear.I like the better odds.

For deer with your 30-06 there is no need for premiums at all.Your Cor Locts will do the job each and every time busting through bone or not.No need to spend the extra for deer size game.

I do prefer premium bullets for deer when I am shooting smaller cals(6mm and 25s).Partitions and Scirrocos being my favorites.

Premium does not mean better accuracy.
 
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A 30-06 will not launch a 165gr or 180gr bullet fast enough to justify needing a premium bullet construction. The Coreloct, Win soft point, Hornady interlocks will all drop any game at any hunting distance you will likely encounter.

I don't do Texas heart shots and I prefer to eat shoulder meat. Although any of the bullets above will easily make a hard quartering or shoulder shot.

Whatever you decide as your max distance, test your ammo there. You need to know that your ammo will hit your kill zone at any engagement distance. 100yds groups do not necessarily indicate 300yds performance.

Always tune your rifle for the best performance you can. I bed my rifles as a rule and get the smoothest, lightest safe trigger I can.

As long as you can consistently (that means everytime) hit a milk jug size target at your max range under the position and conditions you intend to hunt, you have a hunting rifle.

Jerry
 
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you may find accuracy improve with premium ammo when they're loaded with a bullet such as the Sierra Gameking (federal), or Nosler Ballistic Tip (fed, rem, win) or Accubond (fed/win). a-frames & bear claws usually arent the most accurate bullets, they were designed with impact in mind
 
At 60 yards, most of the lower cost name brand stuff like Remington's
Cor-Lokt, Winchester's Powewr Pont and Federal's Pwer-Shok will work well enough on deer to get the results you got last fall. Stretch that range out to a couple of hundred yards or for elk or moose, you may not get the superior penetration and performance that something like an Accubond or Partition premium bullet will give.

In the meantime ... bang away with the cheap stuff, but invest in the good
ammo for your "once-a-year" shot at game. Just be sure to spend a little time sighting it in properly.

An 1-1/4 - 1-1/2" group is quite adequate for most big game out to 200 yards. If you're looking to tighten your group sizes up by half, you would be better off to start with a little more quality on your basic rifle/optic package, rather than investing all kinds of money on gunsmithing. Lots of Remington
700's and Tikka T-3's that will go under an inch right out of the box with good factory ammo.
 
worth the money?

arnott1t said:
Just wondering if the premium factory ammo is worth the extra cash. I have been buying different brands of the cheap stuff for my new Mossberg 30-06. I was out yesterday pounding paper and was able to get a group of 1.25" at 100 yards with some cheap federal ammo. Most ammo averaged about 1.5". I thought these goups seemed pretty good all things considered. It was -25 or so and I am a fairly new shooter. Would I be better off getting my trigger worked and rifle bedded or should I simply spend the money on better ammo. This year for Mule Deer Hunting I used a friends 30-06 and got a nice deer using the Rem Core Lokt Express ammo. Deer was at about 60 yards and bullet was caught up in other side of the hide. Thought it seemed to perform ok. Can you normally see an increase in Accuracy when shooting the primo stuff.

Or should I just save all my pennies up and buy some reloading equipment. I have zero exp. reloading and don't really know anyone that reloads so I'd be all on my own.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
By all means spend the extra money on getting the trigger improved and the rifle properly bedded! The animal you hit will not be able to tell the difference between a Remington Core Lokt and the most expensive bullet you can buy. All factory ammo has much greater accuracy than any hunting condition requires and the high priced stuff will not be loaded to any higher pressure (velocity) than any other factory ammo. Bear in mind that all ammunition from the factories is loaded to lower velocities than it was 50 years ago. It's all about liability and getting sued. The same applies to the loading books. They all give less amounts of the same powder for any given load than they did years ago.
 
This is an excellent, informative thread for us guys that don't shoot / hunt everyday like a lot of you folks. From what I've read on numerous threads, the Win Supreme Accubonds would be a great all-around factory choice for my new Browning BPR in 30-06 that I will use for deer and moose (if I'm ever drawn again).
 
H4831 said:
The animal you hit will not be able to tell the difference between a Remington Core Lokt and the most expensive bullet you can buy.
Click to expand...

If that core-lokt comes apart on the shoulder, I guarantee the animal will be able to tell the difference.
 
I load my own, but I've gone to shooting premium bullets when I hunt all the time, but cheaper bullets for practice at the range.
 
I am looking to tighten my groups a bit so I can get them sub inch. At 200 yards I can groups within 3 inches pretty easily. My groups have been as tight as an inch and a half at 200. The groups I metioned above were all 5 shot groups. I should post a pic of my targets. I'm also looking for advice on how to tune my rifle a bit. I plan on attempting a bedding job some time with some devcon putty and some Pam to see if that helps. The fit seems good now. With the action screws loosened I can't feel any play. My trigger could also be lightened a bit I imagine. That might help too. The biggest improvements have come from the mental side of things though. Focussing on the trigger pull. I did alot of shotgunning this year and seem to really yank the trigger sometimes. So aside from practice what the best way to get some more accuracy out of my gun.
 
I reload

that way you get the choice of bullet and you can tune your ammo to your rifle.

Initial startup cost for reloading might seem high but then what does 5 or 6 boxes of premium ammo cost.
 
With the quality premium offerings that are available today, why not use them? Its still the cheapest part of your hunt.;) Use the cheapies for target shooting and the premium for killing, as long as you sight it in with the premium before hunting. What's $40 a year for top notch ammo?
 
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