will the balistics of a bullet made by winchester(or whaterver company) be the same as a bulllet that has been hand-loaded??
If the
true Ballistic Coeficients of the respective rounds, being factory and reloaded, are the same and if the velocity is the same, the ballistics will be the same. I say
true, because just because a B.C. is claimed, that doesn't make it so. B.C. is derived by comparing the performance of a projectile to that of a theoretical projectile called the
standard bullet. The standard bullet has a B.C. of 1.0. Most small arm projectiles have a B.C. of less than 1.0. A few exceed that figure, they go as high as 1.1.
Most of the factory loaded projectiles are available to the reloader, or are made available when the novelty wears off the latest offering. So, to answer your question simply, if you load the same projectile to the same velocity as the factory, they will be ballistic equals. The factories usually don't give out their commercial load data, and identifying powder by sight can be tricky. To duplicate factory offerings, it is best to work up your own loads using a chronograph.
is it better to hand-load or buy bulk/surpluss ammo?
That depends. How much do you shoot? What are your needs, what are your goals? Can you make the investment in time and money that reloading requires? You have to shoot a number of rounds to realize a return on the investment in your equipment. Also, learning to reload and reloading is time consuming. Do you have an area with the needed space to set up for reloading?
I can tell you this. Milsurp ammo is at best plinking ammo. A skilled reloader can custom load for his rifle(s), and make better ammo than the factory. But, it doesn't happen overnight.
If you are interested in reloading, you should get a comprehensive manual and read up on it. I would suggest Lyman's 47th or the 48th edition.
Good luck!