Loading practice ammo

[Morgan321]

I know this is a loaded question(no pun intended!), but... I'm relatively inexperienced at long range shooting(long is relative!) I've tried various factory ammo and the best I can consistently shoot is 1.5moa. Most cheap factory hunting ammo gives me 2-3moa. I've gotten to the point where I can tell that I am the weakest link and cannot get what the gun/ammo is capable of. I need to work on my skill, and that requires lots of ammo and ammo is expensive. I have 100yd ranges and have occasional access to 400yd near me. I'm shooting 30-06 from a factory 700 barrel/action in a hs precision stock with a swfa scope.

Would it be a reasonable statement that, given that I only shoot a few hundred yards, bullet selection is less critical and the consistency of the load is more important? I want to try it but don't know if I will end up wasting time/money that could be spent buying and shooting the factory ammo that I have found works best for me.

Midway has 135, 155, and 190 matchking in stock and I have a few hundred m72 once shot cases all from the same lot. That makes the cost just under 50 cents/round rather than $1.8/round, so I could shoot more than triple what I do now.

Try it? Forget it? Maybe? Advice?

 

[buddy.223]

if you think its time behind a rifle you need get your self a .22lr its relatively inexpensive volume shooting and great practice. if you load poor quality ammo youl get poor results and yol wont see improvement in you marksmanship.

 

[milo 2.0]

if you think its time behind a rifle you need get your self a .22lr its relatively inexpensive volume shooting and great practice. if you load poor quality ammo youl get poor results and yol wont see improvement in you marksmanship.

I disagree with buddy. By all means load your own ammo, you'd have to be a nitwit to load shitty ammo! The 22 thing may help, but if the gun is not the same configuration as the 06, you're just getting trigger time and not quality practice. You'd be better off dry firing imho.

If you have reloading equipment already, the cost savings alone will get you more range time, and by the time you think you're getting good, you'll need a new barrel. And keep looking for longer ranges, if I was limited to a 100 yard range, I'd be bored shitless!!!

 

[Morgan321]

But if the ammo I load is not as good as the best factory ammo I've found then it is pointless as I will get nothing out of shooting the ammo.

That was the whe point of the question: given my needs(short range) can I simply pick a quality bullet and load ammo that will meet or beat the performance of the best factory ammo I've found? Without doing any load development? Ie. load-n-go?

 

[sierracharlie338]

If you have no reloading equipment and would have to buy the shooting match I would say stick with match quality ammo off the shelf.

Otherwise get to loading and start shooting more.


Sierracharlie out....

 

[buddy.223]

the simple answer is no. buy and study a good reloading manual the most basic load development you could start with is find which bullet head weight suits the twist on your rifle, you say you've shot a lot of factory rounds it must have shown a preference pick at least 2 of the most popular powders for your calibre, near the top of the list on your reloading manual and do a simple ladder test starting at the recommended charge moving up .5grn steps to you find an accuracy node. why the 30-06 its a lot of gun for 100yrd range work, expensive ammo and uses a lot of powder reloading that case. I currently own three 30 cals a cz hunting rifle rem700 actioned target and an ishapore enfield all .308s ,but completely different to reload for.

 

[dang472]

I went through a little phase where I loaded up some 147gr FMJ ammo for relatively inexpensive plinking ammo for my 308s. If you are actually shooting for groups, I suggest you go for known quality match bullets i.e Hornady AMAX, SMKs, Nosler CC, etc. You will be using nearly the same powder charge, same primers, and same brass fatigue shooting sub-standard bullets than with consistent target ones. I don't get to shoot much these days with having little kids, so when I do get out, I won't waste my time with crappy ammo. If you are the type of person who blasts milk jugs at 50yrds with your buddies with a semi-auto as fast as you can pull the trigger, then yes, you should load cheap ammo.

 

[Morgan321]

I appreciate the help guys, but my question remains unanswered. Dang: I specifically mentioned smk bullets and said nothing about "cheap" bullets. Buddy: because I already have the rifle. The best ammo I've found is a hornady match round that is 168 Amax and costs $35ish/box.

Ill try again: if I load 155 or 190 smk bullets with any reasonable powder will the accuracy be comparable to commercial ammo?

 

[oldfatguy]

But if the ammo I load is not as good as the best factory ammo I've found then it is pointless as I will get nothing out of shooting the ammo.

That was the whe point of the question: given my needs(short range) can I simply pick a quality bullet and load ammo that will meet or beat the performance of the best factory ammo I've found? Without doing any load development? Ie. load-n-go?

Well, you could try going w/o any load development and you might get lucky. Your rounds will be cheaper then factory - but. It isn't that hard to do an OCW work up and load ammo that shoots better then any off the shelf. It is all about developing a load that works in your rifle.

OFG

 

[milo 2.0]

Ill try again: if I load 155 or 190 smk bullets with any reasonable powder will the accuracy be comparable to commercial ammo?

The answer is yes, but you have to put forth a little effort.

 

[3-0-hate]

The answer is yes, but you have to put forth a little effort.

THIS.

You are going to have to put in effort mainly on brass prep. Once the dies are setup, they dont need much adjustment, but you should always check twice before loading volume. Powder charges are essential also. 1-2 tenths accuracy wont cause much if any deviation at 100-200 yards from what I have experienced, but I still weigh all my charges individually. A good auto-charge machine like the RCBS Chargemaster, coupled with a loading block and funnel will go a long way.

Its nice being able to buy 100 SMK bullets for the less than 20 loaded rounds of FGMM with the same projectile. Add primers and powder and its a big cost savings per round, in relative terms anyways.

 

[dang472]

I appreciate the help guys, but my question remains unanswered. Dang: I specifically mentioned smk bullets and said nothing about "cheap" bullets. Buddy: because I already have the rifle. The best ammo I've found is a hornady match round that is 168 Amax and costs $35ish/box.

Ill try again: if I load 155 or 190 smk bullets with any reasonable powder will the accuracy be comparable to commercial ammo?

Morgan, with the amount of load data on this site, if you choose a bullet like a SMK, a known go-to powder such as IMR4895, and you are physically and mentally capable of reading and following a reloading manual, you shouldn't have any problem loading rounds that are equal to or better than factory.

For example, I was given load data for my 308 when I first started into this from an old Camp Perry shooter. He told me to run a 168gr SMK and 41.0grs of AA2520. He has plenty of winning hardware on the wall for me to not question him. I loaded some rounds and they all shot good in every 308 I own, bolt and semi. I have since learned a lot more about BC and temp stability and have progressed to OCW and ladder tests. My bolt gun shoots 178gr HPBTs with 44.0grs of Varget better. Not drastically better, but enough. My gas gun shoots 168gr AMAXs with 42.0grs of AA2520 better than my old loads.

The bottom line is that the original, generic load given to me will still give me MOA-Sub MOA performance in all my 308s. I've just gotten pickier. I think you are worrying too much and once you get into reloading, you'll realize you can make some damn good ammo with a set of $30 RCBS dies.

Always approach the load data on this site with caution, but there are guys here that have been shooting '06s for 40yrs. If you notice 10 people having great results with IMR4895 and a certain bullet, back that data off a hair and load some up. This is how I started using Varget in 308. When hundreds of people are using it, it's pretty safe to assume it will work in your rifle.

 

[Big Z]

The 155 SMKs would be be dandy for what you're wanting to do, and so would several others. It doesn't take much to have some fun in the 1-400yd range, and it'll take very little thought and effort to get a reload recipe that shoots well, like your factory match ammo. Saving $1/shot, or more, to load your own is worth the time. Try to eliminate human error when testing your ammunition. Then, you can test yourself.

 

[Morgan321]

OK, I'll give it a whirl then. Now for the really stupid questions!

How to choose which powder? I have a varied assortment available locally. No varget or 4895, but rl15/17/19/22 and 4350 are available locally along with various others.

Which bullet? The Amax is the best factory bullet I've found, but midway is out. Will probably go 190 smk?

 

[Bear24]

RL 15 or 17 would both work I believe and Graf's has 155's 168's and 175's factory seconds in stock right now that should serve you very well and save you some money.