How many of you test factory ammo ?

[ford8nr]

I ask this question because a relative new shooter at work was proud he got a good deal on 2000 rds of Independence 55gr .223 ammo. I asked if he ever shot it before or tested a box before he bought it. His reply was it's factory ammo why would I. I went on to explain why and he said never thought ammo could be that different.

 

[M1key]

Sometimes, unless I know it to be good from past experience.

M

 

[ford8nr]

Couple weeks back I ran out of .223 reloads 1-1/2 weeks before a Tactical match. Not having time to reload I went and grabbed 5 brands of .223 / 55gr FMJ ammo to test in my AR and Bolt guns. Best brand grouped just over 1", 5 shots at 100 yds. Worst grouped right around 4". Quickly picked up 1000rds of the better to tied me over.

 

[LoonWulf]

For blasting ammo, which is the only ammo id buy in bulk I dont really care as long as its min of pie plate at 100, and pretty much anything made these days will do that (tho not always it seems).
I buy a couple boxes of "decent" factory ammo to test every new/newtome rifle, and record the information from that, but thats a little different than the question asked.

 

[22250Rem]

Sometimes I've tested some rimfire ammo before buying a bunch but pretty much all my centerfire ammo is handloaded to what I've found to be the right combo for my rifles or handguns. Occasionally use factory ammo to chronograph and test and record information like Loon Wulf mentioned. Blasting ammo for me consists of a bunch of steel case 7.62 x 39 for a couple SKS's but over the years I've found that it's all pretty much consistent velocity wise and minute of paper plate at 100 yards and I've never had a FTF, (yet). But I never bought bulk quantities of it until I knew what I was dealing with.

 

[bullzeye8]

For cheaper ammo I don't really bother testing before getting a larger amount. For rounds and guns I want more accuracy out of I definitely test before bulk purchase.

 

[JO JO]

For range ammo not so much, if it is self defense type ammo you bet I do

 

[Jackal]

Independence is made by Federal, it goes bang just fine.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Hmmm I could be bass ackwards here, but I will more likely test my new guns to the cheapest ammo available on the theory that if it won't chamber or function with brand X, then its too finiky to stay in my apocalypse armory- you'll have to run what's available when the zombies come......
That said if its a brand (or surplus) that has known issues, I would stay away in the first place. Some that come to mind are post war Turkish 8mm, Tulammo Brassmax, or anything powered by Winclean. In my experience, you can't go wrong with Federal for cheap stuff.

 

[SwaneeSR]

Good Question.

I had not considered testing factory ammo. I have considered all of it "plink able" but not for use in hunting or anything where precision is required.

I work in factory automation. I understand that the ammunition is produced to a specification and should be consistent. Problem is I have no control of who made what factory ammo in what batch, on what day, with what operator on what shift. I would think if I tested factory ammo over a longer period of time, maybe I could be confident.

I have a buddy that purchases the same ammunition types and matches them to his hunting rifles. Even same caliber rifles get different ammo. Hornady Superformance for the Abolt only..... If I could just get him to handload...

I will be starting to reload .223/5.56, upto now I have purchased bulk and whatever on sale for the ARs in my life. My only rule is brass cases. The stuff would work for the coming zombie infestation.

I could easily put the chrony out at start testing different brands. Now we are in August, it is time to get ready for Fall hunting season.

Swanee

 

[fpgt72]

Some interesting things here.

I have found lately that I am chasing the itty bitty group.....and anything that does not move me forward of that goal I get frustrated with. I don't hunt, but I do kill cans and punch holes in paper....I want to hit what I aim at...right where I aim at. I want that hole in the "o" of Coke at 100 or I get angry. Now on the guns with open sites....my eyes are not the best anymore so bright colors on the steel and whatever else is a must. I want to hit it, If I know I can hit it when that rifle had glass on it, then I want to hit it with my old eyes.

I test all the ammo....and it is not all great.....I think a great deal of it comes down to quality control.

In my reloads I am very anal about it, I weigh out the bullets and sort them...depending on where I am in the load workup process I may weigh every finished round.....I also weigh all the brass.

I know you are thinking...."I ain't got time for dat" but it is really my decompress time, just sit in the basement, and fiddle....it calms me, relaxes me....and I do get good results. Not quite to the point of those guys that use the same case over and over again and the guys that move the paper behind the target to make sure all 5 got shot at the target...but close.

 

[Reloadron]

His reply was it's factory ammo why would I. I went on to explain why and he said never thought ammo could be that different.

The reason I like to roll my own is because I would be hard pressed to find factory ammunition, especially on sale inexpensive factory ammunition which would deliver the groups I like. Your friend is in a learning curve and it is nice of you to mentor them. On the bright side he now has hopefully 2,000 pieces of re-loadable brass regardless of how the stuff shoots. When I see a good price on ammunition having quality brass I consider buying it just for the brass.

Ron

 

[ford8nr]

The reason I like to roll my own is because I would be hard pressed to find factory ammunition, especially on sale inexpensive factory ammunition which would deliver the groups I like.

And that's why I usually reload

The responses have been interesting but not surprising.
I've never been a blasting ammo or pie plate accuracy acceptable kind of guy. If I'm shooting paper I want small groups. Otherwise I shoot a lot of competitions, 3 gun, Tactical, rim and centerfire Silloutte. Pie plate accurate off a bench won't cut it. The Tactical match has you shooting kneeling at a dessert size plates at 100yds. Ammo has to be consistant. That being said I did find some $ .28/rd .223 that'll shoot just over an inch groups at 100yds, close enough in a pinch..

 

[jmorris]

Depends, I test lots of stuff when I need or want certain things out of it. That said, it would be a lie to say I always tested before buying in bulk. In the case of .22's, for example, I have bought different kinds of "bulk" ammunition, just to test them against one another.

 

[fpgt72]

Depends, I test lots of stuff when I need or want certain things out of it. That said, it would be a lie to say I always tested before buying in bulk. In the case of .22's, for example, I have bought different kinds of "bulk" ammunition, just to test them against one another.

And some of that "cheap" bulk stuff can shoot real well.....22's seem to be picky....one may love one ammo and the other may hate it.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I guess the problem is, if you buy, say, one box of ABC premium ammo, test it, and love the results enough to order a 1,000 round case, there's no guarantee the bulk ammo will be from the same lot, month, or even year of production! Even the case could be filled with boxes from different lots. As with any mass produced item, at some point you will have to trust their QC, but new don't always mean good.....

 

[Mauser lover]

It depends. I haven't yet purchased a bulk amount of more expensive ammo, so I have never yet tested anything like that.
For carry ammo I generally just buy "reputable" (although I have carried ball on occasion) ammo, and I haven't been disappointed yet with my group sizes at self defense ranges.

I purchase on price point for my "blasting" ammo. Which is pretty much all I purchase. Handload everything else... and cheap blasting ammo gets me brass!

 

[jmorris]

And some of that "cheap" bulk stuff can shoot real well.....22's seem to be picky....one may love one ammo and the other may hate it.

Yes, I bought all I could find of a lot of Winchester dynapoint bulk box years ago when I found it to be more accurate than a lot of much more expensive "target" ammunition. That was getting close to 20 years ago now and I still have thousands of rounds of it left.

 

[Flatbush Harry]

I ask this question because a relative new shooter at work was proud he got a good deal on 2000 rds of Independence 55gr .223 ammo. I asked if he ever shot it before or tested a box before he bought it. His reply was it's factory ammo why would I. I went on to explain why and he said never thought ammo could be that different.

I test all factory rifle ammo that I consider using for accuracy and velocity through the rifle in which I intend to use it. Simply put, I have, like many others, found rifles to be idiosyncratic in terms of performance with various loads. As an example, my Ruger #1 in 6.5x55SE consistently produces 0.75" 100-yard groups with Remington 140 grain CoreLokts while my Ruger 77 RSI in .308 Win produces shotgun-type patterns with CoreLots and better than 1 MOA groups with Federal Premium ammo. A box of each caliber to test what my hunting rifles like best is a simple insurance policy.

Now, when it comes to my precision rifles, I use Federal GMMs as benchmark comparators for all three; if my handholds cannot at least match them, the load is discarded.

YMMV.

Harry

 

[hdwhit]

ford8nr wrote:
How many of you test fire a sample of factory ammo before buying a bulk amount?

I'm afraid I don't understand the question.

If you mean, do I buy a box or two of ammunition in the same caliber and bullet weight produced by that manufacturer and try them before buying a bulk lot, then I would say that would be the most prudent thing to do. But, of course, if the couple of test boxes didn't come from the same lot as the bulk purchase, I may not know anything more than I would have had I just made the bulk purchase in the first place.

If you mean, do I ask to take a box out of a case and run into the back room and fire off a few rounds to see if I like it (like trying on clothes in a dressing room), then I don't know of anyone with those kinds of facilities, but would really love it if someone did.

In general, I don't trust ammunition that I didn't assemble to perform as I expect it to, so I rarely buy factory ammunition.

 

[Bbear]

Last factory ammo I purchased was some Lapua 6.5x55. I think I've shot about 25 rounds of it just to get empties to reload. Other than that, I have some bulk ammo I purchased in a package with an AR that went down the road several years back.

 

[MCMXI]

I recently tested four factory loads from Hornady shooting 32 5-shot goups of 6.5 Creedmoor ammunition i.e 160 rounds. 27 of the 32 groups were sub moa at 100 yards. Of the five groups that were over 1 moa the worst was 1.26 moa. To be fair I've shot quite a lot of Hornady ammunition so I have a fairly good idea as to what it will do in a good rifle.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/new-kimber-open-country-6-5-creedmoor.824081/

 

[Speedo66]

I buy for price. The guns I'm buying bulk ammo for are not precision instruments.

 

[Llama Bob]

While I reload for pretty much everything, I also try to find functional factory ammo for every rifle so if I don't feel like reloading I have options. To my mind realoading is really about precision or using bullets and achieving energy levels not seen in factory loads. It isn't any good for saving money if you value your time much. With the exception of my .45-90, I've got factory loads that work well in every gun I own.

I test for accuracy, and chronograph for velocity and extreme spread.

 

[bassjam]

This depends on the purpose of the gun. With my bolt actions, I'll absolutely test. With an AR, no.

One is meant for precision hunting where quality>quantity. The other for "SHTF", where quantity>quality.