If you couldn't load your own ammunition...

[sdkidaho]

If you couldn't load/reload your own ammunition, what would you buy off the shelf?

I'm not at a point that I can start to load my own stuff yet. I don't have any of the equipment, nor do I even know how to use any of it. I'm wondering what some of you would do if you suddenly could no longer reload your own stuff and had to buy off the shelf to use for hunting.

I've got a few I'm looking at but thought I would wait to see what some of you said. Thanks for your time.


Darby

 

[NomadPilot]

Do you mean which chambering or which factory load in a given chambering?

 

[britz]

depends on what you were looking to do with it. some of my top choices would be 223, 308, 300wm, 270, 280, 7rm.

 

[Mikecr]

if you couldn't load/reload your own ammunition, what would you buy off the shelf?

buckshot...

 

[J E Custom]

If you couldn't load/reload your own ammunition, what would you buy off the shelf?

I'm not at a point that I can start to load my own stuff yet. I don't have any of the equipment, nor do I even know how to use any of it. I'm wondering what some of you would do if you suddenly could no longer reload your own stuff and had to buy off the shelf to use for hunting.

I've got a few I'm looking at but thought I would wait to see what some of you said. Thanks for your time.


Darby

If your talking about ammo I would recomend buying one box each from different ammo makers
(Rem ,Win , Fed, Hornady ETC. and try them in your rifle to see which ammo it prefers.

Pick the bullet weight you would like to hunt with and stay at or near that weight while testing.

Some times you can find a brand of factory ammo that realy performs in a particular rifle.

J E CUSTOM

 

[catch-34]

i would try hsm ammo The Hunting Shack Ammunition or gunwerks ammo Gunwerks - Long Range Ammunition both use the berger vld bullets

 

[winmag]

+1 with J.E., pick whatever shoots best out of your rifle in the given bullet wt you want to shoot.
That being said, I personaly have had great results with Federal Fusion in everything I tried them in. They are a great bonded bullet. Ive used them for deer bear and elk and have 0 complaints on thier performance in the field.
Id also look into Hornady Superformance and Hornady ''Custom'' ammo. All three IMO offer great bullets for hunting, and are priced less than some of the other premium ammo. Nosler Custom is rumored to be pretty good too.
Invest in loading equipment asap, as its cheaper, and usually alot better for accuracy than off the shelf stuff, but if your in a tight spot, I personally would look hard at the 3-4 brands mentioned.
Good luck, and let us know what you wind up with.

 

[sdkidaho]

Do you mean which chambering or which factory load in a given chambering?

Which factory load in any given caliber.

Lets say you want to hunt using 180gr bullet weight. What factory loads would you look at: Winchester, Federal, Remington, HSM, etc...

I understand the concept of "use what your rifle likes best", but at $40+ a box, I kind of want to have an idea of which ones to try first, so that I'm not having to spend $200 on ammo just to give it a whirl.

Or is it essentially going to be the same stuff no matter who manufactures it?

 

[Mikecr]

It's a crapshoot.. And there is no way in this cosmos anyone can presume what will work well in your gun.
This, and cost, is why we reload.

Anyway, start with the cheapest crap you can find, as it could shoot better than anything else in YOUR barrel.

 

[MachV]

A box of shells last some guys a decade or more while others will go through a box a day.The trick is to not only find a box of shells that shoot good but to find enough of the same lot so your not reinventing the wheel with every every box!
Just like powder/primers and bullets its nice to have a barrels supply........otherwise as much as you can afford so once the load is found you can spend your time learning the wind and not the load.

 

[Autorotate19]

I would either go with hornady custom ammo which has shot well in all of my rifles or the nosler ammo.

 

[briar rabbit]

I have had solid performance from shooting the Nosler ammo and have good luck reloading with their brass. Nosler usually has random ammo on Bivwak (online auction) that you can get shipped directly to your house, usually with no freight cost.

 

[royinidaho]

If you couldn't load your own ammunition... I'd quit and take up archery w/a bow and cross bow. I'd then make my own arrows and bolts.gun)

 

[winmag]

So far it looks like lots of good advise: Fed Fusion, Nosler Custom, Hornady Custom, Hornady Superformance, and the good ol' cheapo's Rem Core-Lokt's. Ive only owned 1 rifle (a 30-06) that would consistantly shoot moa or less with Core-lokts. I killed alot of critters with ''the deadliest mushroom in the woods'' but never got consistant performance with the core-lokt bullet, and never trusted them completely. I swiched to a bonded bullet, (Fusions) and even on a BIG black bear at 27 yards out of a 270wsm. Hit bone and sitll stayed togather. Good overall accuracy for factory ammo on everything Ive tried them in. I have shot them for accuracy at extended ranges and was quite impressed, but dont know how they perform on game at long range since I hand load now, but Im very pleased with bonded bullet performance on game, So they would be my personal first choice on a factory go to bullet in a reasonable price range if they shot accurately from your rifle.