This discussion about factory vs reloads has piqued my interest. I've reloaded for the last 30 years, so I dont have much reason or need to buy factory centerfire ammo. A couple of years ago, I picked up a Brno Zkk in 270 Win. The bedding was off, so I glass bedded it. Its a mauser style action, which I've done before, so I was reasonably confident with the work.
At the time, I wasnt set up to reload for 270, so I went to the LGS and bought a box of Winchester standard cup and core bullets (Power-Point??). Went to the range, zero'd the rifle at 50, then proceeded to the 100 y line. Took 5 shots, walked to the target, and saw a shotgun style pattern that covered a 16 inch circle. I called it a day, went back home, checked the usual suspects, and changed the scope to a known-to-be-good Leupold VX III. Went back to the range the next day, and the results were the same.
I mentioned this matter to a buddy of mine, and he announced that he had the reloading gear for 270 Win. I went to his place with my fired brass and loaded up a dozen rounds with Hornady SP Interlocks and a modest charge of H4350. Back to the range I went, and proceeded to shoot several very nice groups, generally 1 -1.5 MOA, which is good by my skill level. I then went back to the Winchester factory ammo (same bullet weight BTW), and shot miserable groups.
Needless to say, I will stick to reloading going forward. As others have stated, I enjoy the load "tuning" process, and find it very satisfying to get the full accuracy potential out of a rifle. Today, when I go to the LGS and see all the "premium" ammo with names spouting superlatives such as ultra, precision, maxi, etc I tend to think that ammo marketing has gone the way of beer and feminine hygene products. And if they can sell this stuff at 60$ a box, then their marketing dept deserves a medal.
