Nomercy

Now I'm rolling my own, but before, I'd buy a box of everything I could that had a bullet that claimed to do what I needed, then test everything.....with winchester proving to be best almost everytime. You just have to remember, rounds are cheap for a reason, it's cheaper to make them than the premium stuff, so you know something isn't up to snuff in them, be it the raw materials, or the machinery, at any rate it's not good enough.

Start with a reliable maker, someone you've always heard of, and test and test again.

Screw the 10 ring, keep them in the zero!!!

litework

I handload some for some of my guns, and I look for similar bullets in those calibers that I don't reload. For example, I have had good luck with Sierra Game Kings. I don't reload for my Nagant (7.62x54R) but found Sellier and Bellot makes a 174 gr bullet based on the Sierra BTHP.

Portage

Getting in late on this. It bothers me when someone makes assumptions about "cheap ammo." What is more important to me is accuracy and dependable results no matter what the price.

When I bought my 308, the shop owner handed me a box of Core-lokts free. Proved to be extremely accurate in my rifle. Over the next 10 years or so, I proceeded to kill a load of deer, black bear, a moose, caribou, coyotes, and fox. Funny thing, I'd squeeze the trigger and they would fall over dead.

Then I was told that they were "cheap" and not very good. Well, I'm game to try things so I bought several boxes of Federal Premiums. Not as accurate as the Core-lots but certainly acceptable. I like the preformance of the Gamekings and would recommend them. Over the next 8 years, I proceeded to kill a load of deer, black bear, another moose, coyotes, and fox. Funny thing, I'd squeeze the trigger and they would fall over dead.

However, I'm paying double for a box of Federals with the same results.

smokepoledoug

I roll my own from IMR powder and Hornady spire point bullets in both my .270 and .30-06.

Colorado Bob

There have been a couple of times when I went back home to hunt whitetails with my dad in PA. We could not find a box of 300 Savages. It seems the big retailers like to handle the large volume sales of the 06,270,308 etc. Some stores will order a small quantity of stock so it will turn. So I ordered about 6 boxes from my sporting goods store here and gave them to him for Christmas.

rochelle

I shoot core lokt out my rem 700 for deer and there very accurate.but for an Elk hunt Ill shoot a premium bullet just because its a little tougher.

James B

I have been an avid hunter since I was six years old. I started hunting with a Daisy BB gun which my Grandpa bought for all the grandsons on thier 6 th Xmas. When I was 10 my Dad bought me a 22 cal. Pellet gun which I used until I was 12 when Dad gave me a 20 GA shotgun and Grandpa gave me his old Pump 22 rifle. I have sort of kept a log of the Ammo I used, how it worked in different conditions, What didn,t work well and so on. I have been lucky enough to learn most of this stuff from expierance. I have been a combat shooter, silhouette shooter, hunting guide and ran my own gun store for about fifteen years. I have sort of logged what my hunters use and feedback from cusomers. Thanks to the good bullet companies which have kept raising the bar of bullet quality, most factory ammo has had to do the same to compete. I love to reload and with all the target shooting I have done, I had to to keep cost down. This said If I were to just hunt, I would never find the need to relaod with all the quality ammo we now have. My favorites are Winchester Silver tips and Hornady custom ammo. I have had good luck with Remingtons good ammo as well And Federals Premium stuff is FANTASTIC. As someone else here said, it is a good Idea to buy several boxes at once with the same lot numbers. Hope I didn't tell you twice what you wanted to know.



Edited by - James B on 01/03/2003 21:35:57

skeeter 7MM

I buy only Premium ammo off the shelf. I match the bullet style, gr, etc to the game I plan to hunt. I always sight in and fine tune between different bullet styles, manufacturer, grains and even lot numbers of the same bullet I may have picked. I let my gun or guns decide what bullets I chuck at game. To me it is absolutely essential to know my gun/load is where it has to be before I take to the field. I love shooting, practicing and playing around with different bullets...it definitely makes me a better shooter. The more I practice, the better I get. I always say confidence is often the hidden factor in hunting. If I am confident in my load and gun that is one less thing to factor in for getting my game and ultimately being successful.

CalNewbie

I think I'd have to count myself as someone who'll take ammo price into consideration for future rifle purchases. I recently picked up my first rifle, a Browning A-Bolt 270WSM, and wished I'd looked around at the ammo situation a bit more before buying. I did quite a bit of lurking on this and other boards, checked out a number of articles, and kind of got "swept up" in the short magnum idea after settling on the 270.

A friend was in the same boat, looking at the same time, and I recall that on the way to look at some rifles I suggested we stop by Wal-Mart and check out the ammo price and availability. He kind of dismissed the idea, I dropped it, and off we went. Our rational was, as far as a hunt went, the cost of a box of ammo was almost insignificant. At the gun store I fell in love with the Browning Classic Hunter, and took the plunge. My friend ended up getting the same rifle and caliber.

Now that I've picked up the rifle, mounted the scope, and made a trip to the range to sight in, I've grown more and more frustrated with the ammo price and lack of availabiltiy. I end up seeing four or five types of 270 ammo and can only find the WSM ammo sporadically, and never at a local store. In reality, the apples to apples on the ammo, 130 grain BST in 270 vs 270WSM, the price delta was only a couple dollars a box, if I could find it. But there were a lot of other types of 270 ammo that weren't even available for the WSM. What I failed to take into account is the amount of practice I'd want to/need to do to become proficient. I've been taking my pistol to the range for years and know that without some practice the chances of putting a slug in the boiler room at 200 yards is close to zero.

I finally gave up and ordered 200 rounds of 130 grain BST on the Internet from MiWall (www.miwallcorp.com). The price ended up being around $22 a box after tax and shipping, saved around $90. I also picked up four or five of the popular books on reloading and have been studying up. I plan on starting to handload soon. Availability of some of the WSM reloading components is starting to seem as frustrating as ammo availability, so I'm glad I have a case to tide me over.

All that being said, by the time I make my next purchase I'll probably already be handloading. If not, and maybe even if I have started, I'm certainly going to take a good look at ammo price and availability before taking out the credit card.

seattlesetters

This may sound weird, but the only rifle I buy factory ammo for is my .270 Wby Mag. And obviously, I don't buy it because it is cheap. It is horribly expensive, but I can't seem to beat the Weatherby factory by handloading when it comes to both accuracy and velocity. I still enjoy developing my own loads for the gun, but I guess I'll be paying $51 a box until someone can develop a load that beats the boys (and girls) at Weatherby. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

Good Dogwork and Good Hunting