How do you pick your ammo?

[Blackbart]

I'm not going to be loading my own so factory loads will be the way I go.

Now how do you guys pick which ammo you are going to use? Is it just a matter of picking something quality and trying different boxes on the range? Is it a friend's favorite, your favorite tv show uses it?

 

[JohnCushman]

I get a box of a couple of different brands and types of factory ammo and see what groups the best. Then once I find what groups the best I usually buy a box of different weights, but one higher and one lower. Once I find what my rifle likes, I stick with it, no matter the sponsor or what a friend says or what's popular on TV.

EDIT: I have asked for recommendations of factory bullets for a new rifle, and the consensus was a show sponsor..but I trust the guys here, so I will try it

 

[Gerald Martin]

I figure out what type of bullet I want to shoot(bonded or monolithic copper in this case) and then take the same approach as JohnCushman. I'm always happy if its a site or show sponsor, but in my case it turned out not to be.

 

[6mm Remington]

Blackbart tell us your rifle, caliber, and what you mainly will be hunting. The guys have posted solid information. See what your particular rifle shoots and if it's a good bullet then hunt away.

 

[406LIFE]

Choice Ammo is here in the Bitterroot and they handload. It is incredible stuff, plus they listen to you if you have questions or thoughts. They load a 180g Accubond for me in my 300WM that shoots 3200FPS at the Muzzle. I get submoa with it, we're talking keyholes in my Xbolt.

 

[MJE2083]

trial and error. Buy a few different boxes and see what groups the best. Depending on what you're using it for, and the caliber, will narrow it down.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Start with what you want to do with it. Deer, elk, or what? I've litterally done this: buy a box of ammo every other week - something different each time, and see what groups out of your rifle. I don't pay a great deal of attention to what friends say, I'll be honest, when it comes to specifics because every rifle is different and "likes" different loads.

Educate yourself, if you haven't already. There are all kinds of different types of bullets and loads out there that do different things. I generally look for controlled expansion. But that's just me, I like a solid wound channel through the animal I shoot, in which the bullet holds together and doesn't lose a lot of it's mass. Some bullets expand rapidly (called "rapid expansion" for a reason), creating a hand grenade-effect in the body cavity, but those don't generally penetrate all the way through the animal and tend to leave a lot of fragments that can crud up the meat.

 

[Lefty315]

I figure out what type of bullet I want to shoot(bonded or monolithic copper in this case) and then take the same approach as JohnCushman. I'm always happy if its a site or show sponsor, but in my case it turned out not to be.

Pretty much what Gerald says. One thing I will add, depending on your intended quarry, more money doesn't always mean better. I've had a rifle or two that I couldn't reload for better accuracy than what the plain Jane Remington Core Lokt would shoot.