Considering a switch from reloading to factory ammo
- Thread starter Glassaholic
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Sold my reloading a couple years ago. At my age there are more important things in life than to sit a bench. I spent a lot of time being selfish on my pursuits. The wife and I try to spend time together and as much time with grandkids as possible. As you age or at least for me, perspective of life changes. I would rather go pick up ammo and off to the range, shoot be home for movie and dinner in the same amount of time sitting at a bench just reloading for shooting.
As far as factory ammo, if you ever shot at boomershoot you know the distances with wind and target size up on the hill, factory ammo did its job right along side those with handrolled.
As far as factory ammo, if you ever shot at boomershoot you know the distances with wind and target size up on the hill, factory ammo did its job right along side those with handrolled.
I have been considering going to factory ammo for my 308, 6 creedmoor and 260 once my reloading components are gone. I have only shot a few boxes of factory ammo in about 6 or 7 years but I know that you aren't leaving much on the table. I don't load most of my ammo hot so I would give up very little velocity. I will still reload for the magnums and wildcats. I've chronographed friends rifles using factory ammo and some of the sd's have been impressive.
Different strokes for different folks. That’s great if it’s what fits for you! I enjoy the break away from all the other things in my life to get some time to reload.
This.
I'm about ready to make my accuracy comparisons between factory and handloads for my .223/5.56, and for my .308/7.62x51's. My health and the weather (my lungs cannot apparently tolerate cold air much anymore) have kept me inside over the Winter (yes, we have a significant Winter down here on the Border in the High Desert). Consequently, I've had a bit more time to spend at the loading bench, and to research a few factory loads. The final step has been to work up a testing plan, and that's finally coming due.
Ever since my health became intrusive, I've had to limit my outings to more preferable conditions, which makes them quite a bit less frequent. So they need to be more efficient and effective.
I also have a healthy aversion to hot loads, they are less necessary at appreciable altitude, and my barrels and brass enjoy more longevity.
I handload for my 260 because it's how I started with that chambering. I would like to finish developing a decent load for the 143 ELD-X, and am working on a moderate load for the HDY 95 V-Max, which should minimize drop differences between 100 and 300yd. That sort of load could be a lot fo fun on a KD SR/MR range. I'd shoot longer than 300yd, but those distances are proving harder to find and reach than I had initially anticipated on moving here to AZ. For now I'm stay within 300.
I have also standardized on several chamberings, dropping .280, 25-06, .30BR, others; the rifles now belong to my descendants, who can manage with factory ammo (the 30BR is a barrel only, and resides in my shop).
I see myself as a hobbyist shooter and reloader now, and am slowing down (some...) as age advances. Being able to shift some of the load onto factory stuff simplifies that process. But it still has to rather shoot well in my rifles.
Greg
I just knocked out 100 precision rounds of .260 for my new Tikka yesterday afternoon... I took my time processing all 100 through each stage, and spent a total of about two hours. Had I had less time, I could have broken that into three segments... the longest part of the process was charging the cases. Size and prime probably took about 20 minutes or so, as did seating the projectiles.
I can always find a spare bit of time to spend, if I can’t allocate two or more hours in a single block.
And starting July 1st, for those in Kommiefornia buying factory ammo is going to be more of a hassle and likely more costly. God bless out free States!
I can always find a spare bit of time to spend, if I can’t allocate two or more hours in a single block.
And starting July 1st, for those in Kommiefornia buying factory ammo is going to be more of a hassle and likely more costly. God bless out free States!
I like this discussion. I'm on the other side, I don't reload and buy match ammo for PRS fun, and cheaper ammo for plinking with fun guns (pistol and rifle various calibers). I'm setting up a reloading room but not in a hurry as I don't really NEED to load. I guess my motivation is to save a few bucks and not be affected by the the dry times resulting in the political winds shifting.
I'm building a gun room either way, so I'll have a nice big bench filling up one entire wall. That bench just won't have a press until I decide to jump in.
I'm building a gun room either way, so I'll have a nice big bench filling up one entire wall. That bench just won't have a press until I decide to jump in.
I'm on other side as well. I have time and space. I shoot often but since I am in a sportsmans club with basically unlimited access to a range for basically no cost-I shoot multiple times weekly but I'm not blasting through my ammo. Location is in between work and home so ideal.
A few things have held me back.
-Running rough/raw internet numbers I've never really been able to make it a whole lot less expensive than just buying factory ammo
-I feel like I would always be buying some component all the time and if I'm out of 1 component or something happens to supply etc I'm assed out.
-The internet has so many quality places to buy ammo for good prices it's almost unending.
-I mainly shoot gassers-LMTs which beat the crap out of brass-so I'd be buying new I think.
-Don't shoot bolt gun a lot-although that may change which would also change the entire equation.
-Factory match ammo is really good in all my rigs.
So who knows-I'm always reevaluating.
A few things have held me back.
-Running rough/raw internet numbers I've never really been able to make it a whole lot less expensive than just buying factory ammo
-I feel like I would always be buying some component all the time and if I'm out of 1 component or something happens to supply etc I'm assed out.
-The internet has so many quality places to buy ammo for good prices it's almost unending.
-I mainly shoot gassers-LMTs which beat the crap out of brass-so I'd be buying new I think.
-Don't shoot bolt gun a lot-although that may change which would also change the entire equation.
-Factory match ammo is really good in all my rigs.
So who knows-I'm always reevaluating.
I have definitely backed down what I reload for. At one point I thought it would be best to reload for every caliber I own but I was also young and didn't care what my time was worth. I quit loading handgun ammo, traded pistols around for all 9mm and can honestly buy ammo about as cheap as I could reload .45, .44, .357 etc.. for. I also used to reload for every oddball milsurp caliber I owned... 6.5 jap, 6.5x55, 7.5x54, 7.5x55, 7.62x39, 7.62x54r, 7.7 jap, .30-40 Krag, .30-06, .308, 8x57...... And honestly maybe 1 or 2 of the rifles saw any benefit at all over the cheapest surplus or steel-cased factory ammo available. Most shoot 3-6 MOA anyways.... And I've stopped shooting them regularly for the most part. I've also consolidated and re-focused the collection to just US, German, and Swiss rifles (the good ones, IMO... some Swedes might make it in there, too). The bulk of my shooting is .223 and 6.5 Creedmoor, and the .223 I've found (in a semi-auto AR-15) doesn't really matter out to 500-600yd beyond which I almost never shoot that cartridge.
So I'm left with 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 SAUM (basically a spare barrel at this point, and 1200 rounds through it), and starting up a new .300 PRC project. The 300 will almost demand reloads because the entire intent is to shoot well beyond 1000yd with it. The 6.5 SAUM I'll finish out the barrel reloading and probably be done. The 6.5 Creedmoor I can definitely see myself switching to Hornady factory match. I broke the barrel in and made cases with 200 rounds of 147gr match ammo and was floored at the accuracy. It was about 150fps slower than my reloads, but .6-.8" 10-shot groups were almost a guarantee. Good enough for me. I also shot a few matches with 140gr Hornady match and all-together between about 2/3 factory match and 1/3 reloads got 3rd place in a local competition circuit over the summer. Hard to argue there.
I think I've figured my time comes out to somewhere between $0.15-0.35 per round, depending on how much prep I'm doing, charged at what I get paid at work. So am I really saving money? meh.. kinda sorta.
I think it's going to go the way of I pick just a handful of calibers to load for (serious precision work and/or ELR, or goofy specific bullet types, subs, etc..), and influx a lot more factory ammo in my future.
So I'm left with 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 SAUM (basically a spare barrel at this point, and 1200 rounds through it), and starting up a new .300 PRC project. The 300 will almost demand reloads because the entire intent is to shoot well beyond 1000yd with it. The 6.5 SAUM I'll finish out the barrel reloading and probably be done. The 6.5 Creedmoor I can definitely see myself switching to Hornady factory match. I broke the barrel in and made cases with 200 rounds of 147gr match ammo and was floored at the accuracy. It was about 150fps slower than my reloads, but .6-.8" 10-shot groups were almost a guarantee. Good enough for me. I also shot a few matches with 140gr Hornady match and all-together between about 2/3 factory match and 1/3 reloads got 3rd place in a local competition circuit over the summer. Hard to argue there.
I think I've figured my time comes out to somewhere between $0.15-0.35 per round, depending on how much prep I'm doing, charged at what I get paid at work. So am I really saving money? meh.. kinda sorta.
I think it's going to go the way of I pick just a handful of calibers to load for (serious precision work and/or ELR, or goofy specific bullet types, subs, etc..), and influx a lot more factory ammo in my future.
I cannot disagree with much of what has been said, pro and con. I roll my own for everything I shoot except rimfire and the rare turkey gun. I enjoy some of it, loathe others. Buy there's a combination of things that keep me in it.
I do enjoy it when I have a good system unless it's loading thousands of rounds in a short time.
I can continue the cost, high or low, depending on what I am going to shoot - I don't need top end components to make good shots at 300 yards, and I am going to run the best I can starting at 800.
Where I live I may shoot in 10 degree or over 100. If my barrel like a certain speed I can control it as the temp changes during the year.
Stockpiling brass, primer, and bullets that can be used to find what works best in whatever I get next is easier on the wallet than stockpiling factory ammo that may not work with the next setup, assuming I even keep the same chamber.
I waste money to the extent that not every combo works, but at some point I go through the stuff for a different rifle, and past that if it's never going to work (RDF' anyone?) I make rounds for shooting old barrels just to get trigger time. Buying factory ammo that is not working results in a bigger waste of money - shooting expensive for nothing more than trigger time. Still, I doubt I am saving money some years when I decided to buy some high end thing to change up the process.
With all that, will I change back to factory some day? I won't say it'll never happen.
I do enjoy it when I have a good system unless it's loading thousands of rounds in a short time.
I can continue the cost, high or low, depending on what I am going to shoot - I don't need top end components to make good shots at 300 yards, and I am going to run the best I can starting at 800.
Where I live I may shoot in 10 degree or over 100. If my barrel like a certain speed I can control it as the temp changes during the year.
Stockpiling brass, primer, and bullets that can be used to find what works best in whatever I get next is easier on the wallet than stockpiling factory ammo that may not work with the next setup, assuming I even keep the same chamber.
I waste money to the extent that not every combo works, but at some point I go through the stuff for a different rifle, and past that if it's never going to work (RDF' anyone?) I make rounds for shooting old barrels just to get trigger time. Buying factory ammo that is not working results in a bigger waste of money - shooting expensive for nothing more than trigger time. Still, I doubt I am saving money some years when I decided to buy some high end thing to change up the process.
With all that, will I change back to factory some day? I won't say it'll never happen.
I use a chargemaster and a t7 Redding by the time Ive seated a bullet its time to seat another...I get single digit ES/SD and I can shoot calibers that arent exactly found at Cabelas. If you dont want to take the time to reload thats fine, get out there and shoot... But dont kid yourself factory rounds will never equal the consistency of a seasoned reloader's rounds.
Is factory good enough? Just like everything in life that depends on what you define as good enough.
Is factory good enough? Just like everything in life that depends on what you define as good enough.
Im so deep into reloading now with expensive dies, auto throwers and tricklers, micrometers and comparitors, blah blah blah, id never re-coop the cost. Plus i just build a nice bench for it.
Now, give me a time machine and Ill go back in time and tell myself to hold off on reloading.... and not marry my first wife.
Now, give me a time machine and Ill go back in time and tell myself to hold off on reloading.... and not marry my first wife.
There are plenty of guns that will shoot factory ammo just as good as reloads. Look at Tac Ops and FGMM ammo as one example. I have a 16" 308 that shoots fgmm ammo as good as the reloads I have made up for it. Factory ammo has come a long ways in the last few years. A friend placed 3rd at an elr match last year with Berger 300 norma factory ammo.
I started reloading to save money so I could shoot more. I found I really enjoyed it so I continue to reload for all my rifles. My handguns I just buy bulk ammo for since the savings just aren’t there for the calibers I shoot. If I ever stop enjoying reloading though I will probably switch to factory ammo. I would have to shoot a lot less though. I don’t really look at it As what my time is worth. I look at from the point of view of am I using my time for something I enjoy. If you don’t enjoy reloading any longer then I would say it’s time to make the switch back to factory ammo. Factory ammo is to the point now that as long as you find what your rifle likes the difference in it and handload is minimal.
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Never run across Tac Ops ammo. FGGM, really? They stopped improving before factory ammo got really good. Federal uses Berger or Sierra bullets in GMM depending on the load because they don't make a good enough bullet. QC on their own bullets sucks. Been riding on their coattails with GMM for way too long. Sure they are better than the average casual shooter cartridge, and better than someone that is reloading simply by going through the motions, but I would not say they are making high-end ammo in today's market.
Store bought flies will also catch a trout. Tying your own takes time, but to me tying and catching are both important.
Reloading is part of precision shooting for me. Tuning the ammunition to the rifle and getting the most out of it is part of what I love.
To each his own.
Reloading is part of precision shooting for me. Tuning the ammunition to the rifle and getting the most out of it is part of what I love.
To each his own.
I agree!! Now whats for sale I'm just getting ready to start reloading as soon as I get more necessary items. All kidding aside several things to look at are your time cost involved Vs cost saving true benefits of reoading Vs match ammo off the shelves. Only you can truly answer this question. For me I'm retired, fixed income maybe I will be saving a few cents.... I'm not doing PRS matches, I look forward to learning to reload as a hobby and stretch my 6.5creed and. 308 as far as I can here on the farm just for shits, giggles. Good luck with your decision.
Tac Ops is a custom rifle brand that is specifically tailored for FGMM and they are a great combo if that’s the direction you want to go. As far as your knowledge of Federal’s current match ammo offerings, perhaps you should do some research into what they are offering today before spouting knowledge that was good five years ago.
No matter what your opinion of Federal is (and I don’t care, so spare me), in the past three years they have been coming out with a bunch of new loads for many of the actual hot calibers that are loaded with bullets from the likes of Berger and Lapua. They have also come out with a number of new projectiles of their own, in calibers other than .308, that are arguably as good as any competitor’s.
If you didn't care you would not have quoted and countered. Not every comment in a public forum is a personal attack. Happy that you have an opinion.
I have been in communication with Mccourt (@FCS ) munitions and think I may have found a great alternative. My biggest issue with reloading is time, but the point has been made multiple times so far with this thread that right now we are living in "decent times" given the fact that just a few years ago there was a shortage on everything with the political scare that happened and store shelves were basically bought out everywhere. Anyway, I don't think I will just ditch all my reloading gear but keep the basics in stock in case another scare happens in the near future; however, in the meantime I think for my 6.5 Creedmoor rifles I'll be perfectly content to continue to shoot factory ammo and stock up on the cases, but for my other cartridges I think I may try out Mccourt's reloading as I think his prices are a reasonable enough compromise to my time and who knows, maybe his reloading techniques are better than mine and we'll even get a little better groups and then I'll have the best of both worlds - more time, better reloads, more hits downrange 
My opinions are all attacks, personal or otherwise. If I’m typing I’m attacking. ABA is my motto. Allways-Be-Attacking
So there’s that...
I’m laundry bitch in my house. Sunday nights, after I’m done reading stories and tucking in at about nine, I go down and reload while the laundry washes and dries. Not sure what else I’d be doing, but I don’t feel like it’s a time stealer. In the winter when I’m not shooting as much I tie flies. Usually I’m done with laundry before midnight and I can have at least a match’s worth loaded. I wouldn’t ever have time to do it in normal business hours, but this works for me.
Like many others here, I now find myself both using factory ammo and reloading. As my career goes on and I start making more money, while simultaneously having kids get older and get into music, dance, sports, scouts, etc., I find that I’m far more likely to buy ammo for 6.5 CM, 6mm CM, .308, .223, and the others that have very accurate factory offerings available. It’s a matter of time vs. money and I’d rather have more time for family and at the range than in the garage loading.
On the other hand, I still reload for my longer range stuff and for calibers that do not have factory ammo readily available - 300WM, 6.5 SAUM, and 300NM. If I’m shooting a long way I want to be able to better control the consistency of the ammo and particularly for the 300NM and 6.5 SAUM, my cost to reload is about 1/6 the cost of factory ammo.
I’ve never been a fan of reloading, but in the past had to reload in order to afford shooting as much as I like to shoot. Now that I’m making a bit more money, I find that If I don’t have to reload, I don’t want to.
On the other hand, I still reload for my longer range stuff and for calibers that do not have factory ammo readily available - 300WM, 6.5 SAUM, and 300NM. If I’m shooting a long way I want to be able to better control the consistency of the ammo and particularly for the 300NM and 6.5 SAUM, my cost to reload is about 1/6 the cost of factory ammo.
I’ve never been a fan of reloading, but in the past had to reload in order to afford shooting as much as I like to shoot. Now that I’m making a bit more money, I find that If I don’t have to reload, I don’t want to.
Great post! Lots of good information.
I consider this often, and decide according to Thursday’s of the round. I put together a .224V just because I wanted a fun long range cartridge to shoot that didn’t tax my time and that I could buy cheaper factory ammo and shoot. I’m having fun with it so far. Both Federal 75 and Hornady 88 shoot really well from this rifle and it makes me happy to shoot it.
However, I will continue to load for my match .260. Choices that we make. Balance.
To be clear, I don’t care about your personal opinion of Federal ammunition. I do care that you are not providing pertinent and up-to-date information in a thread that discusses the availability of quality factory ammunition for all good uses except for higher levels of accuracy competition.
That’s all.
For a good while, I used a decent outside reloading source and got very good results for decent prices. That company is gone, which moved me to reload my match ammo.I have been in communication with Mccourt (@FCS ) munitions and think I may have found a great alternative. My biggest issue with reloading is time, but the point has been made multiple times so far with this thread that right now we are living in "decent times" given the fact that just a few years ago there was a shortage on everything with the political scare that happened and store shelves were basically bought out everywhere. Anyway, I don't think I will just ditch all my reloading gear but keep the basics in stock in case another scare happens in the near future; however, in the meantime I think for my 6.5 Creedmoor rifles I'll be perfectly content to continue to shoot factory ammo and stock up on the cases, but for my other cartridges I think I may try out Mccourt's reloading as I think his prices are a reasonable enough compromise to my time and who knows, maybe his reloading techniques are better than mine and we'll even get a little better groups and then I'll have the best of both worlds - more time, better reloads, more hits downrange
I use factory for everything else at this point. One must consider both return on time spent and actual need. Add to that the personal choices we get to make for satisfaction of time spent and you get why some do more loading than others.
For those who like to shoot a lot, either for practice or just to shoot, I think there's a lot to be said for a good old 223 with thrown charges and a nice progressive press.
My time investment for loading 1000 rounds of 223, from dirty fired brass to clean loaded round ready to shoot is right at ~3 hours, that's spread out over probably a month or so.
Total cost per round for components and amortized brass life is right at $0.23 per round shooting Lake City brass and Nosler 77's. There's something to be said for having a bucket of ammo you can grab rounds out of and not care how much you shoot.
Even with some high ticket reloading items I'd say my own breakeven was within a year. I I were to put a $/hr number on it, right now I"m probably getting "paid" quite nicely to reload. The time to shoot that much ammo is far more than the time to reload it.
With a powder that meters decently you could pretty much do the same thing with a 6mm or 6.5mm on the progressive and make ammo just as fast.
My time investment for loading 1000 rounds of 223, from dirty fired brass to clean loaded round ready to shoot is right at ~3 hours, that's spread out over probably a month or so.
Total cost per round for components and amortized brass life is right at $0.23 per round shooting Lake City brass and Nosler 77's. There's something to be said for having a bucket of ammo you can grab rounds out of and not care how much you shoot.
Even with some high ticket reloading items I'd say my own breakeven was within a year. I I were to put a $/hr number on it, right now I"m probably getting "paid" quite nicely to reload. The time to shoot that much ammo is far more than the time to reload it.
With a powder that meters decently you could pretty much do the same thing with a 6mm or 6.5mm on the progressive and make ammo just as fast.
^^^ I hear what you're saying Sheldon, I've thought about going with a progressive system thinking it would save time...
I just had a great conversation with Andrew Mccourt, what a great guy, I learned a lot in a short conversation with him. In fact, I think I trust him to provide better reloads than I can ever hope to do on my own.
