Finding the "right" bullet for your gun without breaking the bank

[PokeEm]

Every bullet seems to shoot a little bit different in every gun. I have an old Remington 700 .30-06, and when I got it, my dad gave me about 10-15 different boxes of ammo, each a different make/model. I found one that clearly shot the most consistently through my rifle, but now that model of ammo is discontinued.

So, given the dozens and dozens of ammo choices out there, how do you pick an ammo that shoots best in your rifle without breaking the bank and spending $400 on ammo as part of an experiment? Any ideas?

 

[ohiohunter]

Reload.

Buy partial boxes or pick up friend's left overs. Start with proven consistent high end ammo or even have someone reload for you.

Speaking of partial boxes, I have several partial boxes of 7mm mag and 300 win mag.

 

[Rick Richard]

I agree. Reload.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

I'd reload as well if you liked it that well. I plan on trying to recreate the load Remington discontinued that my 7mm liked so much in the near future. Lucky for me my gun agreed with federals Nosler partition load as much as it did with Remington swift a-frame laod.

 

[roninflag]

what scope? what are you shooting at?

 

[Mike 338]

Do you cook at home or go out every night? Reload. Like cooking, you gotta buy the pots and pans and spatulas and ingredients but before long you'll be making better food that what you can get at a restaurant and it'll be affordable.

 

[Garycrow]

If you don't reload it's just a crap shoot. If you reload then pick a bullet you'd like to shoot and work up loads with it. I've rarely found a bullet I really want to shoot that I couldn't make shoot acceptably by switching powders and tuning seating depth. If it wouldn't shoot it was a bad rifle instead of a component problem.

 

[Cornholeo]

Reload, if possible. I started reloading about four years ago so I could shoot my 1911s and new(then) gasser in .308. Like one of the other fellas said, you gotta buy the tools for it but if you shoot with any frequency, it will pay for itself big time. The other side of the equation is you get to tune the loads to your weapons, which helps with accuracy, which makes shooting even more fun. If you can, jump in, its the best way to find the right bullet, over and over for different weapons, without breaking the bank.

 

[WildRose]

The shortest route to success that I've found other than asking others here "What's working for you" is to try several types of factory ammo and then pick the bullet that is working best in the factory loads and start my handloading with that bullet.

As someone else stated, if a gun will not shoot fairly well with factory ammo it's probably a problem with the gun and not the bullet.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Do you cook at home or go out every night? Reload. Like cooking, you gotta buy the pots and pans and spatulas and ingredients but before long you'll be making better food that what you can get at a restaurant and it'll be affordable.

Thats a helluva parody, best I ever heard.

 

[4xforfun]

+1 on the whole reloading deal. Roll your own and never look back.

Now. to save money at the loading bench, find out what the experianced shooters are using. Spend some time on this (or any) fourm and you will have a pretty good idea who the real experts are. I have saved countless amounts of time and money by bypassing a bunch of testing and trusting the experts....every time I build something in a caliber I have never owned. I would like to think that even I have helped someone out at least once!!lightbulb

Good luck,
Tod

 

[rhouser]

If you don't or can't reload, then, assuming you know the make and model of the bullets it did like, I would try some the following:

Get the grain and general description of the bullet your gun liked.
Get the factory stated velocity of the bullet your gun liked.

Review offerings by the same or other companies and see if there is something comparable to what has been discontinued (by bullet type, bullet weight, and velocity). You could also call the 800 numbers at these companies and ask what might be comparable.

This could narrow it down some.

Other than that, I would follow the suggestions already given on borrowing or buying a couple from each of your shooting partners or even at a range (factory loads only from strangers or suppliers of unproven reliability).

Just my 2 cents. rch

 

[FearNoWind]

Because you're asking how to test an assortment of factory bullets everything about reloading doesn't seem germane to the core of your question. You don't mention whether you're a hunter or target shooter but I'm guessing you're probably more interested in hunting than in competition.
Sure, you could reload; maybe not. If you visit a local range and you know a few people you might try posting an inquiry on their bulletin board.
Here' an idea ......

Wanted - 30.06 Bullet Selection Experimentation Team.
Objective: Test a range of factory loads without breaking the bank.
Scope: A team of four members, having met and reached consensus between team members, each purchases a different 20 round box off factory ammunition for that rifle.
Team meets at the range on pre-arranged date and the ammo is divided equally (20*5 provides five rounds of four different types of ammo for each shooter.)
Expected Benefit: Each shooter has tested four different types of ammo without purchasing an the entire range of ammo needed to do the tests individually - which would mean he would end up paying for ammo he may never use.

 

[SidecarFlip]

back on thread... Finding the right bullet without breaking the bank, I would assume that applies to handloading in as much as it states 'bullet', not cartridge.

Unless you have a large wad in your pocket, stay away from Bergers. They shoot fine, problem is load laddering them If you adhere to Erik Steckler's recommended loading regimen to find the 'sweet' spot. I will cost you dearly in not only pills, but powder, primers, brass and time. I know, been down that road and I agree, they do shoot and shoot well, but getting there will be expensive.
... and there aren't any shortcuts either.

There are less expensive and just as good as Berger pills out there. The Berger designed long tapered secant ogive requires serious tuning to work in any bolt rifle and that equates to many dowbrange shots...and money.

The other gremlin is the amount of rounds fired to tune the round to your particular rifle.

If you rifle is a high velocity barrel burner you may well expend 1/4 of it's useful life just building a loas that shoots. Thats not good either.

Bullet choice is personal thing so I don't recommend anything but I do recommend taking a hard look at what the cost versus accuracy is when loading Bergers.

Of course thats my opinion. I load Bergers but I don't think there are the best choice, in fact, there are many others...