Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Do volume shooters really shoot factory loads?

All this talk about the Creeds....factory ammo comes up again and again.

It just makes no sense to me. The only people I know that shoot factory ammo are the guys who expect one box of shells to last through five years of deer and elk hunting. Or those that must use factory ammo by Dept policy.

Heck, I even shot reloads through the Garand for DCM.

The Creeds were designed with long range accuracy in mind. It takes a lot of shooting to become proficient at long range.

This is the last place I would expect to see a box of factory ammo.

No.

None that I know.

Including myself.

Only those who are lawyers, retired lawyers and maybe judges, doctors and movie stars, shoot volumes of factory ammo.... The rest of us can't afford it and have to hand load..

I've seen guys shooting 6.5 Creed Prime 130gr and Hornady 140gr ELDs at local PRS style matches. I've also seen guys using factory Hornady 75gr .223 in other shoots.

One of the guys that shoots prime is quite good. I believe his reasoning was that as good as Prime ammo shoots in his rifle, he'd prefer to just buy ammo and spend his time shooting instead of loading. I can relate, but given my budget, I have to load to shoot as much as I'd like.

If money were not a consideration and very accurate/consistent match ammo were available for my rifle, I'd probably do the same.

If money is not a factor, I see no problem. It's hard to beat some factory ammo; I'm thinking Federal Gold Medal Match in the .308 and the Hornady 140 ELD-M for the 6.5 Creedmoor. Save about $.60/round by loading, but that does not factor in time, or amortizing the cost of the equipment which is not trivial. I load as a hobby.

I've seen many a volume shooter shoot factory ammo.

Of course thats why I think AMU teams have contracts with federal....

I suppose it depends on how you define high volume.Since retiring in April, 2016 I have fired about 2500 rounds of 308, 4000 rounds of .223 and about 9000 rounds of 9mm all factory loads. I never was a Dr., lawyer or movie star.

When my employer was paying for the ammo and my time it was 2-3 times the volume. I know quite a few people that shoot more.


mike r

Decades ago (1950's thru 1970's) when we were starting out 30-06 military G.I. ammo was available through the DCM to our clubs for 'practice'.

We got cans of it then free.

The clubs had Springfields and Garands loaned to us.

I guess I am a different kind of cat.

If factory ammo was free, I would still be shooting my own handloads. And keeping my son, SIL, and ten grandkids supplied.

Handloding is just as much fun as shooting.

The entire point of the 6.5 Creed appears to be a accuracy right off the shelf.

And even better accuracy handloaded.

I shoot the sheit out of factory 223 and to date have only shot factory ammo in my 6.5CM but I ain't exactly volume shot that.

Yes. Know lots of guys that buy 223,6.5 Creedmoor and 308 by the case..Usually 5 cases at a time.

I would like to do that with 17 rem, because I hate loading for it. But I'm just too cheap.

Come to think of it, I dont really like loading for anything anymore, but do.

I see lots of people opening fresh boxes of Hornady 140 ELD's at PRS competitions. I'd prefer to tailor a load to my rifle, but if decent factory ammo is consistently available, I can see why some are tempted by it.

Boy I can sure sympathize with that!

I used to never hit the range with anything but hand loads;not anymore. Some cartridges get noting but factory ammo.

Not a fan of reloading myself. I have enough tinkering around with other stuff to get motivated to spend time at the reloading bench.

I was just looking the Horn Precision hunter for the 3006..

A buddy at the range shoots only factory, and he shoots a lot, but mostly handguns. I have seen him with an AR. He's comfortably retired from running hs own business.

I've got a new AR on the way, and after seeing the results I got with affordable Fiocci .223 in my bolt rifle, I expect to use a good bit of it and maybe some others in the new gun. I'll still load for it for special purposes, but for high volume shooting, I expect to go with $.35-$.45 per round factory stuff.

I have several friends and relatives who are lawyers. They all wish they could make the amount of money that plumbers, electricians, welders, etc. make, at least around here. Of course the ones I know aren't big city folk like the lawyers you know.

I shoot around 50k rounds a year of factory ammo. Of course I don't have to pay for it. I'm happy to pull my ammo from a box.

The only reloading I do is for long range use and that's because no one made really good factory ammo for LR until Hornady with the 6.5 Creed. Their Precision Hunter line is shooting well, and with the advent of the 6mm Creed I'm probably all but done reloading.

In Durango, CO., there was a fella that did competitive pistol shooting, that always showed up on a weekday with a case of 9mm and a case of 40 S&W. He would usually shoot both cases using 4 to 6 different race guns. I asked him where he bought his ammo and he said his sponsers provided it. The few times I saw him, I always offered to sweep up the brass for him. I've got lots of casings to reload some day!