Is Reloading vs Factory really needed/Today

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Spruster

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Does your hunting rifle need it nowadays ? Let's leave out the supply issue in todays market at this time ..
I have used factory ammo for over 50 years and in the last 15 or so my buddies home cooked can't beat the new factory loads . For accuracy and in some cases velocity
Namely
Federal -Terminal ascent
Federal -Trophy Bond , old partition , accubond
Barnes - Vor-tx
Just to mention a few .I believe the factory ammo , is used by more than 75 % of hunters , and is dialed in with their style of hunting and gun .
I have 3 WSM 270, 300 and 325wsm . When they first come out no one could match the velocity and the critics hit the web . Truth is Winchester used a powder blend and would not reveal anytime soon .
Are you re-loading as a hobby or necessity....Maybe factory loads work just fine
 
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I don't shoot factory ammo especially in my .303.
They don't make factory TSX ammo- not that I would buy it anyway.
I never have to hunt for ammo in a store , I just make it as I need it .
Cat
 
I think in modern, common calibers it is probably true! That said I started reloading g when I got my 9.3x62 and my 8x57 cause the factory offering was is pretty weak(at least what is available in Canada) couldn’t find anything loaded with premium bullets either!
If I was in Europe it would be most likely different! Right now I’m waiting for a custom in 7x65r and 9.3x74r and these are pretty hard to find up here and plus they are mainly loaded in break action rifles that are somewhat weaker than the action I’m getting so I should be able to load at a bit higher velocity and tailor them to my barrels!
I’ve been happy the last 35years with factory loads in my different 30-06’s!
The other advantage of reloading is reduced loads for plinking or for new shooters!
 
Accuracy is more about the shooter than the ammo, regardless of source.

Shot placement is still the key to hunting success.

A game animal successfully harvested doesn't know the difference between a 100 to 200 feet per second difference in velocity of the ammo that took it or if it was premium ammo/bullet combo or a handload constructed with a generic SP or HP.

If it floats ones boat to pay the current going rate for factory ammo, I say go for it.

Or if it floats ones boat to roll their own, I say go for that, too.

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NAA.
 
This morning. Good luck in the factory ammo search. You can do so much more as a hand loader. The options are endless really.

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Factory ammo has its place for sure. For those who stick to closer range shots ( under 400 yards) chances are good factory ammo will do the job.
When you stretch out the shots finding factory ammo with a bullet of the correct construction or weight to do the job is waaay harder if not impossible to find, then handloading is pretty much the only option.
The ammo manufacturers are slowly getting with the LR program but the offerings are still scant in many respects.
338 Lapua comes to mind. When the cartridge first broke out finding factory offering of greater than 250 grain was to say the least difficult. Now several factory offering include a 300 gr bullet.
Others like 7 Rem Mag are still hard to find anything in a 190 grain ULD style bullet. 160s and 175 in conventional hunting bullets are available but not much else.

The overall quality of today's commercial ammo has improved to be sure, but handloading still offers the shooter options in bullets and rote accuracy that the factory offerings simply do not have.
 
Buckmastr said:
Reloading is an enjoyable hobby that complements owning guns and shooting. But it’s not for everyone.
Click to expand...

This is true.

Reloading is most beneficial depending on what you shoot and how much you want to shoot. The "One Box a Year" 30-06 shooter need not bother.
 
It’s nice to have a rifle and a decent supply of factory ammo that that rifle likes so you don’t necessarily need to handload everything in your cabinet.
My coyote rifle, a M7 223 Rem is one. Fiocchi 40gr Vmax factory ammo has killed a ton of varmints. No need to handload sometimes.

kQ5HMpzl.jpg
 
iron cat said:
I don't shoot factory ammo especially in my .303.
They don't make factory TSX ammo- not that I would buy it anyway.
I never have to hunt for ammo in a store , I just make it as I need it .
Cat
Click to expand...

Likewise fer me. I've been loading & using hardcast boolits in most all my centerfire rifles since the 70's. Sure, I've used some factory stuff back in the day, but mostly for initial testing & sighting in on a given rifle.
 
I handload and use factory ammo depending on the rifle and barrel combination I’m using. I shoot RWS Factory match ammo in a 6.5x55 swede cause its lights out for target but I like mono lithic projectiles for hunting inside a certain range. Barnes does supply for most calibers but never every manufacture does and I like to test the LRX vs TTSX vs E-Tip vs CX etc (Sometimes I will include a Lapua Naturalis if I can get them)

6.5PRC ammo is just annoyingly difficult to find although I do see that more is coming in monthly from different manufactures. However my handloads do provide a tighter group and most consistency than factory has in the rifle. Also my rifle loves the 150gr ABLR an I don’t believe thats a factory loaded option.

As for 338 RCM Not even worth it to use factory based on what options exist (1 that I can find and not a personal bullet of choice)

Pretty much what was said by Alberta Tactical Rifle a few posts above.

Plus it allots me to take all sorts of cool photos :)

Cheers,
B
 
Cast/reloading lets me make what I want, when I want, how many I want. I can burn through 50-100 30-30 or 308 without the slightest thought about cost.

Young/inexperienced shooter? I can put together a milder round.

Goofy Sheit, can can load a BB with next to no powder for rodents or small birds.

Hey, how about wooden bullets for shooting crap around the cabin? Sure, no problem.

Hunting, sure I can even load a few copper clad.

What I love about reloading is flexability to do what I want.
 
I started loading in the late 50's...

It was way cheaper back then and for the next 50 years than shooting factory ammo... and if you were into accuracy competitions shooting factory loads didn't cut it and still don't.
 
Only ammo I shoot today that I didn't roll is 7.62x39 and 7.62x25, and only because it was cheap as dirt surplus.
Never had any factory ammo shoot near my hand loads for accuracy.
 
I tend to shoot unusual cartridges, that are difficult to source as factory loaded ammo. European stuff like 7x64, 7x57R, .30R Blaser, 9.3x74R and 9.3x62, and less popular cartridges like .222 Remington, .375H&H, and .450-400 3" Nitro express. I would not need to handload for my .308 or .30-06 or .223 rifles, but for the rest, hand loading allows me to shoot at practise targets a much as I want and I'm also able to go hunting with the best bullets available. It's also a great hobby. Winters are long.
 
I've been loading for 50+ years now; And with the price and availability of factory ammo I will keep loading my own. I have lots of supplies to likely last me the rest of my life. And like I said prices on factory 7STW north of 150 for 20 cartridges; Ya I'll roll my own.
I don't remember the last time I shot factory ammo in any of my rifles except for 22LR
 
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Spruster said:
Does your hunting rifle need it nowadays ? Let's leave out the supply issue in todays market at this time ..
I have used factory ammo for over 50 years and in the last 15 or so my buddies home cooked can't beat the new factory loads . For accuracy and in some cases velocity
Click to expand...

For accuracy and velocity? I have never handloaded for those reasons. Especially in terms of accuracy, I think the idea that handloads are inherently better than factory is greatly exaggerated.

So no, if your criteria are accuracy and velocity, handloading is in no way necessary.
 
Most hunters don't shoot much so not a real practical reason for them to handload. Lots of deer and moose have been killed with 2 or 3 or more MOA ammo and guns. But I don't recall the last time I hunted using factory rifle ammo.

And some people like to shoot more than others. FWIW I have 3 single stage presses, a turret press, a hand crank Dillion 750 progressive and an automated Dillion 1100 and an automated Mark 7 Revolution. Depending on the cartridge and firearm I will use different presses for different applications.

If someone is a "box a year" hunter/shooter there isn't much point in getting a reloading set up.
 
I have been loading my own ammo since the early 60's, and see no reason
to "go factory" Much of today's factory ammo is superb, so reloading may
not be a necessity, but, considering the price of factory offerings, and the
ability to tailor a load exactly to my rifle and needs, will keep me rolling my
own for as long as I am shooting. EE
 
I would say I shoot 90% handloads.
I have some factory ammo that mostly came with a rifle or was purchased as I probably didn't have dies and components yet. Rimfire is obviously all factory.
I tend to like the "less popular" chamberings so handloading ensures a steady supply of ammo, and is cheaper as well.

With the price of components today, I'm not really sure if you save anything over handloading, but you get the exact ammo you want, with common calibers.
 
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