Cheapskate's guide to cartridge selection

[17remhunter]

You're looking at ammo cost as the limiting factor. I'm looking at time as the limiting factor. Time is money, unless you're retired and dont have wife/kids with needs from you.

Finding factory ammo that shoots inside 2 MOA with 10+ round groups is common. Actually being able to shoot inside 2 MOA from common field positions with a hunting rifle is uncommon.

It's almost 2026, aint no driving to town to buy ammo. It gets delivered to the front door.

Here's some groups shot from a factory barrel with $1.1/ea creedmoor ammo. Suppose a guy could load up something similar for $0.85 in components and save $0.25/rd. How many rounds an hour are you loading and what's your time worth?
View attachment 393826View attachment 393827

$0.60ea factory 223.
View attachment 393828

My time is valuable thats why i reload. I reload for a lot less than 85 cents. The biggest cost is brass but with over ten reloads its super cheap. Next is bullets but buying in bulk cuts that way back I shoot small rifle primers for everything including my 6 creedmoor. During the ammo scarcity I didn’t even notice and believe me it’s coming again.

 

[17remhunter]

You're looking at ammo cost as the limiting factor. I'm looking at time as the limiting factor. Time is money, unless you're retired and dont have wife/kids with needs from you.

Finding factory ammo that shoots inside 2 MOA with 10+ round groups is common. Actually being able to shoot inside 2 MOA from common field positions with a hunting rifle is uncommon.

It's almost 2026, aint no driving to town to buy ammo. It gets delivered to the front door.

Here's some groups shot from a factory barrel with $1.1/ea creedmoor ammo. Suppose a guy could load up something similar for $0.85 in components and save $0.25/rd. Said guy could also likely recoup most of that cost gap just by selling ounce fired brass. How many rounds an hour are you loading and what's your time worth?
View attachment 393826View attachment 393827

$0.60ea factory 223.
View attachment 393828

How much time do you spend in front of a TV. For me a TV is a total waste of time plus 90% of its insulting to anyone’s intelligence. Thats why I dont own one I have a lot of quality time. TV time isn’t quantity time its mostly indoctrination time and dumbing down time. Time is valuable use it wisely and intellectually

 

[mtmuley]

TV time isn’t quantity time its mostly indoctrination time and dumbing down time.

Watching football is quantity time. Quality too. mtmuley

 

[17remhunter]

Watching football is quantity time. Quality too. mtmuley

Thats an opinion. A bunch of overrated overpaid entertainers. I will make an exception for college but the NFL, Not a chance in H…..L. Once those jackasses took a knee during the National Anthem They should have been rounded up and deported to a salt mine in Russia Totally disgusting and anyone who watches them. Well……………… birds of a feather. My boys fought in Iraq for that flag and my youngest died defending that flag. Watch those pieces of S……..t. And in my opinion …………. Dont make me say it. I will let you conscience tell you. Did the NFL come out and apologize make a public nation wide apology??

 

[17remhunter]

Handloading is beneficial for a number of reasons but 99.9% of hunters are limited more by their competency than they are by factory ammo. Nearly all of us would be more lethal if all of the time spent reloading was instead spent becoming better rifleman.

The reason so many guys dont spend time becoming better riflemen is because they dont reload. Id bet guys who are very proficient shooting reload. Benchrest shooters as well as 600 and 1000 yard shooters ALL reload. Hammer bullets?? You have to reload. A- Fram, Hawk, Black Hole. You have to reload. I shot 30 grain berger bullets out of my 22 Hornet. Had to reload. 30 gr in a 17 Remington. Yep reload. Nickel plated 5 1/2 shot or Nickel plated 7, 7.5, 8. Reload. Premium Trophy ammunition is so expensive unless you reload. Reduced loads for your son , daughter, wife, yep reload

 

[grizzly63]

But the .223 is boring

and it will never be a 300wm

 

[17remhunter]

and it will never be a 300wm

Good. I hunted once with a 300 WM

 

[17remhunter]

You're looking at ammo cost as the limiting factor. I'm looking at time as the limiting factor. Time is money, unless you're retired and dont have wife/kids with needs from you.

Finding factory ammo that shoots inside 2 MOA with 10+ round groups is common. Actually being able to shoot inside 2 MOA from common field positions with a hunting rifle is uncommon.

It's almost 2026, aint no driving to town to buy ammo. It gets delivered to the front door.

Here's some groups shot from a factory barrel with $1.1/ea creedmoor ammo. Suppose a guy could load up something similar for $0.85 in components and save $0.25/rd. Said guy could also likely recoup most of that cost gap just by selling ounce fired brass. How many rounds an hour are you loading and what's your time worth?
View attachment 393826View attachment 393827

$0.60ea factory 223.
View attachment 393828

Whats the size of the targets 2”. I shoot prone but always carry a rear bag. Accuracy is everything to me. I dont skimp on my components. I buy Lapua or Nosler match grade brass. Match grade bullets usually Berger or Sierra and either 205 match or 7.5 primers.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Whats the size of the targets 2”. I shoot prone but always carry a rear bag. Accuracy is everything to me. I dont skimp on my components. I buy Lapua or Nosler match grade brass. Match grade bullets usually Berger or Sierra and either 205 match or 7.5 primers.

Those are 1” circle stickers.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

My time is valuable thats why i reload. I reload for a lot less than 85 cents. The biggest cost is brass but with over ten reloads its super cheap. Next is bullets but buying in bulk cuts that way back I shoot small rifle primers for everything including my 6 creedmoor. During the ammo scarcity I didn’t even notice and believe me it’s coming again.

Maybe pea shooters with cheap bullets are less than 85 cents or at prices from years gone by. You say you use premium components? Berger bullets are going to be over $0.40 Ea. 40 grains of powder at todays prices is about 35 cents. A 205 primer? Call it 7 cents. That's 82 cents without any brass cost.

 

[noharleyyet]

 

[Wild Bill]

Thats an opinion. A bunch of overrated overpaid entertainers. I will make an exception for college but the NFL, Not a chance in H…..L. Once those jackasses took a knee during the National Anthem They should have been rounded up and deported to a salt mine in Russia Totally disgusting and anyone who watches them. Well……………… birds of a feather. My boys fought in Iraq for that flag and my youngest died defending that flag. Watch those pieces of S……..t. And in my opinion …………. Dont make me say it. I will let you conscience tell you. Did the NFL come out and apologize make a public nation wide apology??

Chill out a bit.

 

[17remhunter]

Chill out a bit.

Chill out??? Cut those jackasses some slack? Im still wait for them to get on their knees and apologize for their disgusting behavior You want to keep watching them supporting them go ahead and kiss their butt

 

[17remhunter]

Chill out??? Cut those jackasses some slack? Im still wait for them to get on their knees and apologize for their disgusting behavior You want to keep watching them supporting them go ahead and kiss their butt

What Americans wont do for entertainment. Totally disregard Anti American behavior. Does anyone take a stand anymore or are you protesting against ICE!!

 

[17remhunter]

Maybe pea shooters with cheap bullets are less than 85 cents or at prices from years gone by. You say you use premium components? Berger bullets are going to be over $0.40 Ea. 40 grains of powder at todays prices is about 35 cents. A 205 primer? Call it 7 cents. That's 82 cents without any brass cost.

I shoot squirrels in alfalfa fields every spring. I purchased my primers 10,000 at a time everything in bulk. And i did that long before price increases Five shot group. Thats why I reload. Your groups are good for a factory but for me id be asking “ Whats wrong is it me or my setup”

 

[17remhunter]

I shoot squirrels in alfalfa fields every spring. I purchased my primers 10,000 at a time everything in bulk. And i did that long before price increases Five shot group. Thats why I reload. Your groups are good for a factory but for me id be asking “ Whats wrong is it me or my setup”

5@ .159. If my rifle was shooting over 1”. TS Customs would be asking me to send it back so they could find out what was wrong

 

[PRO MO]

i think i'm going to open an ammunition store and buy ammo that i can guarantee the lowest prices on and solely advertise online. its amazing what a rip-off ammo can be if you don't shop around.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I shoot squirrels in alfalfa fields every spring. I purchased my primers 10,000 at a time everything in bulk. And i did that long before price increases Five shot group. Thats why I reload. Your groups are good for a factory but for me id be asking “ Whats wrong is it me or my setup”

Your stances seem to be based on patting your own back more than an objective look for the layman. What you paid for components years ago has no bearing on an objective current handload vs factory ammo eval.

This is hunttalk, not ShootTiniestGroupProneorBenchTalk. Load dev and shooting tiny groups at a bench is less valuable than focused practice not prone or on a bench. Doesn't matter if your gun is capable of putting every bullet through the exact same hole, you are not. Basically nobody is capable of keeping rounds inside 1 MOA from typical supported field positions with a hunting rifle so logic would suggest becoming a better shooter from those positions makes someone more lethal than more time at the load bench or trying to print the smallest group on paper from the most ideal shooting position.

I dont practice what I preach and spend way too much dicking around with load development and shooting paper from ideal positions. I'm primarily just making an argument for guys who are on the fence about handloading or want to be better rifleman but overvalue load dev and pure mechanical precision of the setup. Us shooters are still the weak link for near everything beyond shooting the smallest groups from a bench at 100 yards.

 

[17remhunter]

I didn’t shoot those groups from a bench. I shot them off the tailgate of my truck out in the desert exactly the way i shoot in the field Not much difference than when im shooting squirrels in an alfalfa field or pronghorn antelope. Super tight groups just show you what your rifle and handloads are doing. If a rifle is shooting 2 moa at 100 then whats it shooting at 400. So many rifles are not good past 400. However if your rifle is shooting.159 your rifle is easily capable of long range shooting Your 10 shot groups were excellent im sure with reloading you could improve them Reloading isn’t about time its about getting the maximum performance out of your rifle. Another however, assuming guys can shoot you can, most guys cant. Reloading also allows you to far exceed factory ammo. Factory 17 Hornet loads velocity is around 3650 my reloads exceed 3800 and in my factory CZ im getting .368 average groups. I had a CZ 527 in a 17 Remington that with my handloads out shot my friends 17 Remington Cooper with factory ammo blew him away. It really comes down to what you want. Most guys are happy hitting a 8” circle at 100yds

 

[grizzly63]

5@ .159. If my rifle was shooting over 1”. TS Customs would be asking me to send it back so they could find out what was wrong

So you spent a lot of money on a rifle but you save on ammo. Only half a cheapskate then. Keep on rockin!