ORIGINAL: James B
How many here test a new rifle with factory ammo before starting to reload for it? Many years ago it was next to impossible to find factory loads that would rival a good handload. I have found that with the ammo companies using more and more premium bullets, that many times now its hard to beat the factory stuff.
You are certainly correct, the factories have made giant strides in providing good ammo!
However, about theonly time I'll fire factory ammo is when that's the ONLY way to get empty brass so load development can begin. This only happens these days for oddball cartridges for which no new empty brass is available.