Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Do you reload or buy factory for your deer hunting??

Reload.

Reload

Have not shot a deer/hog with factory stuff since 1975

I loaded my own for years, used mostly Hornady spire points for whatever cartridge I was using at the time, always new components. Moved and packed all my reloading gear and now just factory fodder, at least for now.

Hand loading hunting ammo since the early ‘70’s! It took several years to accumulate enough brass to start getting serious with my hand loading! memtb

I shot my first deer in 1965 with a borrowed .32 Win rifle and a factory bullet, and my first elk in 1966 with a borrowed .30-40 rifle and a bunch of factory bullets. Since then every big game animal that I've shot, here at home, in Africa, or anywhere else in the world that I've hunted, I shot with my handloaded bullets.

I bought my first centerfire rifle, a .30-06, in 1967, my first centerfire pistols, a .45 acp and a .357 mag, in 1969, and my first shotgun, a 12 gauge O/U, in 1970. Immediately after I bought each of these guns, I started reloading for them.

When I started my pistol reloading I also started casting my own bulllets. That also led me to start casting bullets for several of my rifles.

Shortly after I bought my first shotgun I joined a Trap shooting club, mainly to learn how to shoot my shotgun, but then I started to shoot in a Trap league, and eventually I shot in registered ATA Trap competitions and years later in NSSA registered Skeet competitions.

With my registered shotgun competitions I was shooting 10,000 shotshells each year and along with reloading all of those shells, I started making my own shot. At the height of my shotgun competitions I was making over 700 pounds of my own shot each year.

I reload and have never shot a deer with a factory round.

Started with Speer cup/core, then Nolser BTs, ABs and Partitions. I have used Hornady interlocks in .308 and .350RM when I couldn't get anything else.

The only factory loads I use for hunting are 10GA and 12GA steel and/or Heavy shot.

Mostly factory do load for a couple of rfles out of necessary like the 7x61s&h, and 35 wsl.

I’m the family ammunition source.

Handloads for the last baker’s dozen or so.

Reload or factory ammo depending on cartridge.

I have never shot anything but factory ammo.

I whitetail hunt with my brother back in Ohio. We use 870 shotguns---shooting 1 oz Winchester foster slugs.

Back here in Colorado. I've used both factory & hand loads for elk. Factory is so much easier & kills them just as dead.

+1
Casting boolits gives me the same satisfaction.

Several of my rifles have never chambered a factory round, obviously the wildcats but I'm talking plain ol 308, 260, 223 etc. Have only seen handloads.
I borrowed a 25-06 from my old man about 15 years ago to shoot an elk when I was home on leave. That was factory ammo I used I guess. Aside from that it's been 20 years for me since I used factory ammo to hunt, from a rifle anyway.

Reload.

Ron

I enjoy reloading. I started in 1972 using a mentor's equipment. Bought my own tools in '74. I'm not sure that I've ever shot a game animal with a factory round. Hmmm... I'll have to think about that....

For deer hunting I purchase ammo, just don’t shoot it enough. I do reload over 1000 rounds a year for benchrest and target shooting locally. I’ve got dies for all deer hunting guns so may start soom. Don’t reload shotgun shells, thinking about getting a 28 gauge for sporting clays. I would want to reload them

I reload rifle and handgun ammo, and have for about forty years. I don’t shoot a shotgun enough to warrant getting into loading my own.

The only rifle I shoot factory ammo in is my 6.5x55 Swede. It really likes the S&B load with the 131 gr bullet. It likes it so much I can't beat it with a handload and I laid in big supply when it was on sale for $9.99 a box (this was years ago) and I still haven't shot it all up. Someday I'll run out of factory ammo for it and have to reload for it but it is going to be years down the road.

Factory only. Never trusted myself enough to reload.