Is Reloading vs Factory really needed/Today

I'm a long term hand-loader and it's a pretty rare thing for me to shoot factory hunting. That still adds up to more animals than most people will evr shoot in their life. I'd probably keep loading even if it cost me more, and if I couldn't beat the accuracy and velocity of factory ammo esp as the range got longer I'd be pretty embarrassed.

Having said that though, most hunting is done at ranges that aren't that long, at animals that aren't that big (or that small), and practically none of them are all that tough. For most of the people, most of the time, if they can't do it with relatively boring factory ammo they probably couldn't do it in the first place.
 
No, not necessary at all, but it’s:

1) fun,
2) easier to find something that shoots really well instead of just okay,
3) good for getting practice and having something to do the rest of the year,
4) fun
5) did I mention it’s fun?
 
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
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 shoot factory ammo only in my .22 rimfires. I can tailor my loads to what I want, not what someone else thinks I want. I can tune loads for accuracy as well. With factory, we hope we can find a good load; next year, we may have to start the search all over again.
 
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
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
Click to expand...

Then your buddy is doing it wrong. Generally, handloads are more accurate than factory. - dan
 
vagrantviking said:
What else you going to do 8pm February 10 when it's-36 out?

Also, where do I get 25-20, 44-77, 32-40, 11mm French ord, 50 Army, 44 Merwin and Hulbert etc?
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Exactly, I conduct most of the load development during the winter and early spring months. However, -36, I'll wait until it's a bit warmer. LOL!!! I always watch for temperatures and wind conditions for the ideal shooting.
 
This is the hunting forum, so many people likely aren't chasing 1/3 moa or trying to reach out to a mile. If you only put 10rds through your rifle a year it makes zero economic sense to reload.

But if you shoot alot, shoot wildcats, shoot big cartridges, compete, or want ammo that's better than standard 1.5 - 2.5 moa hunting fodder, reloading becomes mandatory.

As for economics, I just did the math on two of my bigger cartridges - 300 PRC and 338 Lapua. These are ELR/long range precision rifles, but there are plenty of big, expensive hunting rounds that can cost as much.
Costs below are actual all-in costs to me, including shipping and taxes.

300 PRC
New Lapua brass - $2.27/rd
N570 - $0.75/rd @ 82gr
215 Bergers - $1.12/rd
210M primers - $0.07/rd

For my very first firing on virgin brass, I'm at $4.21/rd.
Once I reach 10 firings per case (1000 rounds), which should be conservative, my average drops to $2.17/rd.
Compare that to factory 225 eldm match ammo. The cheapest I can find is $75/box of 20 ($3.75/rd) not including tax or shipping. By the time I get to 1000 rounds in 2-2.5 years I'll have saved at least $1500.

With 338 Lapua the savings on the first 1k rounds pays for all of my reloading gear and then some.

338 Lapua
New Lapua brass - $5.00/rd
N570 - $0.84/rd @92gr
300gr bergers - $1.76/rd
215Ms - $0.07/rd

For my first firing per box of 100 brass I'm at $7.67/rd. My average for 10 firings (1k rounds) will average out to $3.16/rd. Factory ammo is over $9/rd currently, so reloading 1000rds of 338LM saves many thousands of dollars.
It should be mentioned that I have all the components on hand for both to get past 1k each, so my costs are fixed. The savings will only increase as inflation jacks up factory ammo costs.

I also have other cartridges that have zero factory ammo available, and other like 308, creedmoors etc that I shoot in enough volume to justify reloading before I picked up the big boomers.

Comparing factory match ammo to my reloads, in my factory Tikkas (223 varmint and 6.5 creed CTR), I saw between 0.2-0.3 moa improvement with handloads compared to the the best match ammo I shot through either. Consistently, seen through many 5x5 and 3x10 groups. And ES/SD was literally 1/3 what I saw with the most consistent factory ammo I chrono'd.
With my factory Sako 7 rem mag, I'm nearly 0.4 moa tighter at 300m shooting with handloads (160 NABs, RL22 at 3k) than the best factory ammo I measured. Never calculated the cost savings for that cartridge, as it only sees 60-70 rounds a year, but it's probably not insignificant.

Reloading is certainly not necessary for alot of people, but it really depends on volume and accuracy expectations.
 
Its hard to find premium bullets in some cartridges right now, so reloading is the sure fire way to obtain quality ammo, assuming you can source the projectiles.
 
One might consider one's age. I started reloading around mid 20s. I bought a rock chucker press, and made .222 ammo that shot real .5 inch, from a Sako with an 8 power scope. Back then the rifles were worse, and I think the varmint class record in bench rest was something that most people in my club seemed to have no difficulty matching... Would I set up for it for purely practical reasons, now that I am 65, almost. Probably not. It does spread nicely over a career, though.

Today, I do it for a variety of reasons, and don't shoot that much so I kinda fit the OP's profile question. I still want custom ammo built just for what I want, which is fairly classic, combustion wise. I am OK with modern rifles, had a glass stock before almost anyone else, but I don't want short barrels, or to make magnums out of standards. That sorta means I am on my own.

I got a new caliber a while back, the Bonanza bench rest dies off ebay, cost me about what 20 at Canadian tire would. After that, 50 or 100 cases, and my premium bullet choice, and I am making money, possibly by the second box.

I was shocked recently, to see a YT video where the guy was running all the most esoteric bench rest presses through their paces, and threw in a Rock Chucker. It turned out to be on par with the best of the rest. So a few bucks in the 80s and I have had great gear every since. I have a lot of hobbies, so I really don't need this one, but it just isn't that much trouble to run 50 cases through a load. I make something standard and keep it simple. I am still ahead.
 
If you looking at at reloading as a cost saving exercise then you are missing the point also even though the quality of factory ammo has improved it is still not near the quality and nor does it reach the accuracy of a hand load
 
struff55 said:
If you looking at at reloading as a cost saving exercise then you are missing the point also even though the quality of factory ammo has improved it is still not near the quality and nor does it reach the accuracy of a hand load
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Granted that you have to reload some amount of volume to recoup the cost of your reloading equipment but I've been reloading for 45 years and many different calibers so I've paid for my set up many times over. And I can load a box of 308 for about half the cost of factory ammo.
 
track said:
I don't know the difference (accuracy/terminal/velocity performance) between factory and handloading; I haven't purchased factory ammo, hence 1981, other than shotgun shells. There is something other than handloading, it's the love of the journey, from start to finish. There is also great reward to custom make a reloaded cartridge that shoots very accurate. There is also another great reward, that it kills the game a person pursues.
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To retract a bit from my first response, to answer the question from the original poster. For the application to hunt big game, handloading was not required to achieve the velocities, accuracy or terminal performance. The reason, between my son and I, we have killed over 450 big game animals, whereas, the average kill distance was 100 to 125 yards. Factory ammunition would of achieved our goals with all big game animals. Ammunition manufactures know how to produce their product well, especially in recent times and believe that most big game have fallen to the factory ammo than the handloaded. Personally, handloading is a journey to achieve the utmost combination of velocity and accuracy between hunting rifle and cartridge, however; was never required.
 
I think there is an other great reason to reload and it’s to make reduce loads, my hunting buddy’s daughter turned 12 yesterday, she is super keen on hunting(she’s been coming with us the last2-3 seasons for our 9 day trip) and my buddy decided it was time that she get her first big game hunting rifle! So I found her a nice Husqvarna 308 carbine, with a 3200 3-9 scope, a solid cheap rifle and I decided to make a few reduced loads for her so she an practice and get ready for caribou hunting this coming fall! 150gn hot-cor over 29.5 grains of H4895 and you get the perfect load for a light recoil experience! Yesterday we went to the range and after some 30 or so dry firing she let go her first 3 shots ever with her new rifle, 3/4” @ 50m, then we moved to 100m and she did 4 shots @1.5 “! Not too shabby for a little 12 years old kid! Something she would have not been able with a full power load!!
 
9.3mauser said:
I wouldn't shoot a 9.3x62 if I had to rely on factory ammo. Likewise for the 7x57. Getting a reliable supply of ammo for a .250 Savage is what got me started in handloading back in the early '90's.

If you're content with common, bread & butter array of calibers, like .30/06, .308, 7mm RM, .270, etc, then you can probably get along quite satisfactorily without loading your own. For me, I'd rather load up a batch of 50 or 100 and know I have essentially the same lot number with no surprised waiting.
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Yep, 9.3 x 62, 7 x 57, and 6.5 x 55; load what I want, how I want; and now with some brands of 9.3 x 62 selling for $100.00 for 20 rounds, it keeps is less unaffordable. LOL
 
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