Premium vs Regular Ammo for hunting?

I think some of this "premium" stuff is over-rated marketing. I reload and seldom shoot factory ammo anymore. I just finished reloading 60 rounds of 7mm rem mag using 160 gr Sierra Game king BTSP's. It cost me approx. $40.00to load what I will call a Premium round - one that is not only a bullet that matches the game I intend to take, but one with a consistant powder charge for guaranteed accuracy. I found 8 bullets of what I will keep as an un-named premium brand manufacturer. Here is the charge weights from 8 bullets I carefully pulled and weighed the powder charge:

1. 67.6grs
2. 68.3
3. 68.0
4. 68.6
5. 67.7
6. 67.9
7. 68.2
8. 67.5
Folks let me tell you - you can not get sub MOA accuracy with those variations on a consistant basis. These variations are due to the nature and size of modern extruded powders, and not that of the manufactures - which is why I have a hard time justifying paying $40+ a box for so called premium rounds. Premium, high dollar ammo tends to imply accuracy - which you may or may not get, depending on your firearms tollerance for these variations. I hand trickle my charges to the exact weight on every shot - they go where I aim. (apparently sometimes I must not aim at the right spot - especially on large tropy animals! :D)
 
That's a large enough variable to dramatically affect group size accuracy. When I was bench rest shooting my load development trials would be half an inch different between what the rifle liked and what wasn't working as well and that's a few tenths of a grain difference.
 
Premium = more $ per box and sometimes better accuracy.
Standard = less $ per box, and a bunch of critters have been taken with those Core Lokt's, and IMO, they are standard insofar as, they can be had pretty much anywhere and, are pretty darn good for straight off the shelf.

Yes, you can load your own for less, but if you are not loading, not a thing wrong with Core Lokt.

I do load and you can "tweek" that load whereas factory is loaded within a +/- tolerance that is supposed to chamber and work in any manufacturer's gun. Which it does and generally shoots acceptable, just maybe not sub.
 
Here's the cost for my 7mm Rem mag breakdown. It's almost 4:1. i.e. I can load 4 rounds for the cost of 1 round using same bullet - i.e. Federal premium 160 gr. Sierra Game King 7mm Rem Mag - cost 39.99 BTW -(not the bullet I pulled - I will not disclose the manufacturer of those bullets - My experience is same with other brands)

My hand loads - per shot break down:

powder .25
primer .03
bullet .26
Brass - free (I collect it for 7mm mag - easy to get)

total cost per shot .54
cost per box of 20 $10.80 vs. $39.99 for factory ammo

That's some expensive premium ammo!:D Each charge is exactly 64 gr. of H4831SC. I shoot sub MOA @100 yds with this using just a towel and a bench for a rest.
 
If shooting factory ammunition its best to try a variety of brands, both "standard" & premium, to see what shoots best in your particular rifle.
I went to the range yesterday to sight in my new Sako Bavarian 308.
I had winchester super-x, remington core lokt, Federal premium & Lapua match ammunition.
The winchester super-x was shooting 2 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards.
Federal premium saw groups around 1 inch.
With Lapua I achieved several half inch 3 shot groups.
Remington core-lokt gave several 3 shot groups that measured just over half inch.
As the Remington core-lokt is a better hunting round than the premium Lapua, I will stick with the core-lokts.
It should be noted that the Winchester Super-x that was giving me 2 1/2 inch groups in this rifle, will group under 1 inch in my other Sako 308.
 
Seems to me, regular factory bullets are so good now days that premium really isn't needed for hunting. I preffer federal powershock, used to be the federal "classic" line. Remington core-lokt and winchester powerpoint are fine as well. Unless I was hunting dangerous game then I wouldn't bother with premium ammo.
 
My new "premium" bullet of choice is the Federal Fusion. Great bullet, decent ballistics, but sells for not much more than the economy bullets.
 
i bought a box of Hornady 130 gr gmx to try $ 35.99 @ academy. i normaly shoot wal-mart specials ( federal 130gr soft point) $ 14 a box . i shoot them out of a Remington 700 .270. with the Federals i can shoot 5 rounds touching @ 100 yd . the best i could do with the GMX was 2 1/2" @ 100. the extra 140 fps the GMX gives is not worth that proformance in my book. next time i need ammo it's Wal-mart here i come!
 
I have a 25-06 that has taken plenty of deer. I hunt big bodied northern whitetails. It usually takes 230 pounds or more to win a big buck contest. (Dressed weight)

With the quarter bore and my Dad's 243, yes premium bullets are worth the price. We do not have many deer and might have to take a shot the is not 'through the slats'. 7mm and 30 caliber? Cup and core are just fine.
 
Now that my deer season is finished for this year, I will take my 110 back to the range and prove those 130 grn SST's. I was particularly tickled with their groups. I recently went to Dicks and found them on sale for 25.00 for first box, get second for half price so I bought two.;) And if my calculations hold true, they will tighten my groups to almost 3/8's inch at 100 yds!! I'm really pretty excited, because this old rifle has plenty of life left in it, and if it likes the Hornadys than I'll keep feeding them to it!!It also lighter than my Weatherby, which makes a big difference to me, anyway.;)
 
you gotta love that

"shoot it daddy, shoot it"


For typical whitetails, I think the standard cup and core bullets are fine. The exception for me would be if a premo shoots/groups significantly better, say cutting a group size in half.

Whitetails under 200 yds. Heck, I'll bet most are killed under 100. Well, in the south and east anyhow.
 
Just for the record, I pulled some 7mm rem mag Winchester supremes - less the variance was very little - .2 of a grain average, and from top to bottom on ly a .5 gr variance - the difference I'll attribute to the powder - They use a ball powder instead of an extruded powder, which will get a more consistant measure on factory processes.

The charge was 72.5 gr. and pretty darn consistant over the 8 bullets I pulled with the 150 gr. bullet.
 
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