Do you still buy factory ammo?

Yes the Federal American Eagle 150 gr loads for the Garand as well as M-1 .30 carbine rounds, not that I really needed the latter but did want the Garand ammunition to supplement reloads.
 
Rarely... I stopped shooting factory ammo but continued to buy when I ran across good deals. I had to stop buying anymore eventually because the stockpile was getting too large.
 
Not much. I found that you can buy factory Hornady 6.5 Grendel for just a little more cost than buying new Grendel brass. The factory rounds shoot as well as my best reloads so I buy factory get one firing then load the once fired brass. Only other factory ammo I buy has been when buying a new conceal carry pistol I buy the 20 and 25 round factory boxes for conceal carry. Most pistols have only ever had reloads shot in them.
 
Sure, why not? As others have mentioned, some of that factory ammo shoots really well now. I got a good deal on some Herter's 150 Grain .308 SPCE and it runs through my semi auto like grease through a goose. I have had issues with some soft point in semi autos over the years.
 
Yep.

I avoid it, but do find myself sometimes wanting to break in a new firearm with factory ammo; or running old SD ammo through a new SD handgun for break-in (necessitating replacement with more factory SD ammo); or any number of other factors.
And I do use Remington Core-Lokt ammo as a 'baseline' for several cartridges. When your baseline is factory ammo... you have to buy factory ammo.

Case in point:
I'm working on a long-abandoned-and-neglected-but-soon-to-be-highly-customized '69 Marlin 336 (.30-30) right now, that includes a barrel chop from 20" to 16.25" (horrendous rust). The project is being documented on another forum, and I wanted a 'relatable' benchmark for other members/readers to be able to understand for the barrel chop, as well as the results after I fire-lap the barrel.

So, over 50% of the ammunition run through that rifle has been factory ammo. I actually bought another $45 worth of factory ammo last week, so that I can do the same thing with another .30-30 project (a '70 Glenfield Model 30).

I probably wouldn't have bought more factory ammo, if my newly-discovered .30-30 pet load hadn't turned out to have been using a discontinued (and unobtainable**) bullet. But, such is life...
I hate buying factory ammo, but in situations like that, I'll bite the bullet. No matter what, I still only buy ammo that I'm willing to hunt with. It's good for testing. It's good enough for hunting (if left over). And, no matter what, I have some brass to work with. (My .30-30 stash is pretty ridiculous, though... probably 1,300+ pieces. :D)


**(The unobtainable bullet is the Speer Hot-Cor .308" 150 gr HCRN. It turned out to be an incredible performer in my testing. So, I went to order more... and quickly discovered that my 5+ year hiatus from the world of .30-30 had seen some changes... :( ---I can't put enough sad faces here to convey my disappointment at that time. :()
 
Yep.
22lr, 22 magnum, 9mm, 7.62x39 and 30-30 Winchester Power Points for deer hunting because that's what my rifle prefers.

The more expensive or harder to find ammo is the more likely I reload. Examples 6.5 Jap, 30-40 Krag, 444 Marlin...
 
I'm buying specific factory loads for SD and for a couple of AR's that seem to prefer the factory loads. By watching for sales and/or free shipping, I'm getting top notch ammo for about what it costs to load it myself. Anytime I can buy loaded ammo for 2X the cost of the bullet alone, I'm not spending time working up loads, processing brass, and loading.
 
I buy factory stuff to make brass for reloading. I don't need more pistol or 223 brass any more, but I do occasionally buy a box of 300 WSM factory loads.
 
I have new, unfired, over the counter factory ammo, I will not say I purchased it because I didn't. I have Government loaded ammo that has not been fired, if it is Government or factory loaded ammo I use it for reference when comparing. When a reloader finds his reloads will not allow the bolt to close he should try and determine 'WHY', nothing like comparing a round that will not chamber with a round that will not.

F. Guffey
 
"to make brass for reloading." :D

And Guffey, I do keep a factory round at the press for just that. And a gage for that caliber.
 
I stockpiled a ton of factory ammo for everything that I own, but it is a reserve. I have also stockpiled a ton of reloading components as well. Everything that I shoot for range use and hunting are my reloads with the exception of shotgun shells.

The tendency for "panic buying" nowadays is what led me to do this. From 2008 to now, several prolonged panic buying events occurred and I found myself with a safe full of firearms and hardly any ammunition to shoot through them. What I did have on hand I certainly did not want to shoot because it could not be replaced at the time.

I started reloading not because of this though. It was something I had always wanted to start doing, and I find it to be an extremely enjoyable and rewarding hobby.

I have enough factory ammunition and reloading components to outlast all but the longest ammo drought. If my reloading supplies were exhausted, I have thousands upon thousands of factory rounds to fall back on.

I stocked up over a period of about three years by buying 3-5 boxes of ammo a week, along with a pound of powder, primers, or reloading projectiles. I also bought several 1000 round cases of .223 and .308 online when I found them on sale.

I'm at the point now where if I use a pound of powder or 1000 primers, I replace them as needed to maintain a certain supply determined by the amount of shooting that I do for each caliber. I'm no longer building a stockpile of either factory ammo or reloading components, just replacing what I use.

I chose to do this so that I would never find myself in the position I mentioned earlier, with a safe full of guns and no ammunition to shoot. Lesson learned:D
 
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Just .22 (although it is still hard to come by). The last time I bought center fire was when I acquired a .32 H&R Mag revolver and wanted to try it out that week. Then ordered up 500 Star-line brass and that was that.
 
From day 1 of shooting I was always taught to save my brass. I have bought factory ammo, but for the most part it's for the brass. As Mr Guffey said, I hold onto some as reference points.

Some ammo is just so expensive I refuse to purchase Factory ammo. 45/70? I've only used my own reloads in my lever action. SD ammo though is purchased for my carry guns, and I run a few mags to test for no malfunctions, but generally I only use my reloads.

ohhh the oddball in the bunch is 300 Weatherby, I only use factory ammo because I can't approach those speeds personally in my reloads. But I do have reloads of that one also, the brass also just don't last as long! (luckily someone gave me several boxes of once-fired, so I doubt I'll ever truly run out of reloads.)
 
My AK74 gets factory ammo, and most of my SKS is factory too. About 3 years ago I bought some 308 Win. because I didn't want to wait for brass from an on line vendor. Seven years ago I bought a new 1911 and a box of ammo, just to see how it shot with factory stuff. I can't think of any more purchases because I usually got components before I shot a new to me gun (I know I haven't purchased any revolver ammo since 1990 and no .38 Specials since 1969)...
 
I still buy factory for .22 of course, and also for shotgun and centerfire rifle.
Not all that much savings to reload for them, especially since most of my shooting (and all reloading) is pistol caliber.
No need to buy any brass, either, as it seems most folks don't reload these days and leave all that free brass just laying there.
Must be all those shooters 2.0.
 
For the wifes 40 Im still buying until I get up to speed on reloading. A few of my rifles like the 303 I shoot VERY little, I just buy for those. Everything else gets reloads.
 
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