Do guns reall "like" some ammo over others?

[apache12]

Can this be real? Seem like some many factors can play into this that it'd be hard to prove. Having said that my sons 223 savage seems to shoot a little better with slow/cheaper ammo, the Hornaday Superperformance seesm to fly a little bit.

 

If guns do like certain ammo, and any one has a Weatherby Vanguard 270, Savage Axis/edge 223 or a Savage 110 Accutrigger in 30-06 and has found an ammo the seem to have the most success for hunting loads I'd be interested in what they are.

[Coach]

To answer your question, yes. As a hand-loader for years, learning what I could from my dad, every *great* gun is fickle.

 

On the one hand, there are so many great guns out there and so much incredible ammo available it's almost hard to not put something together that shoots really well.

 

Weatherby, Howa, Savage and Sako all have rifles now with guranteed, sub MOA, with factory bullets.

 

As a hand-loader, I can tell you that little things like the primer you use, the powder you choose, the bullet, the brass, whether you crimp or not, little things like "throat spacing" all make a huge difference. Some guns like the bullets right up in the lands, some do better with a little gap.

 

Rifles are more fickle than girls, in my experience. These days you can buy a good rifle off the shelf, put a good scope on it, buy a box or two of ammo and start shooting groups.

 

But if you really get downn and dirty, you'll find every really great rifle has a preferred load, and that's down to the primer, powder, brass and bullet.

[Red Rabbit]

For factory ammo, I have noticed more consistent accuracy with the Federal Premium with Accubonds, Federal with the regular Hornady SP, and Fusion ammos. One could spend a fortune trying them all.

[gotcoues]

I am way behind when it comes to gun knowledge. But for what it's worth, I have done my own experiment and came up with different results per bullet grouping. I tried out 6 or so different types of ammo for my Weatherby Vanguard 300wsm and found that indeed it preferred one ammo over another. Groups actually varied quite a bit. All my testing was done at 300 yards off of a rock solid cement bench with a lead sled to secure the rifle. I cleaned and let the rifle cool between each ammo and repeated everthing twice. I found the results were very similiar the second go around, matching the first.

 

I ended going with federal premium 150gr nosler ballistic tip for my round of choice. There was one other that shot well, but I thought the federal premiums would be easier to find in a pinch if I was out hunting somewhere. Some of the ammo did shockingly bad in comparisons

 

A good friend of mine who I consider a gun guru absolutely thinks ammo is everything. He reloads for all his weapons and trys out all sorts of combinations for alot of them.

[echo co.]

To answer your question, yes. As a hand-loader for years, learning what I could from my dad, every *great* gun is fickle.

 

On the one hand, there are so many great guns out there and so much incredible ammo available it's almost hard to not put something together that shoots really well.

 

Weatherby, Howa, Savage and Sako all have rifles now with guranteed, sub MOA, with factory bullets.

 

As a hand-loader, I can tell you that little things like the primer you use, the powder you choose, the bullet, the brass, whether you crimp or not, little things like "throat spacing" all make a huge difference. Some guns like the bullets right up in the lands, some do better with a little gap.

 

Rifles are more fickle than girls, in my experience. These days you can buy a good rifle off the shelf, put a good scope on it, buy a box or two of ammo and start shooting groups.

 

But if you really get downn and dirty, you'll find every really great rifle has a preferred load, and that's down to the primer, powder, brass and bullet.

 

 

+1

 

My weatherby vangaurd 270win likes barnes TSX 130gr &140gr reloads my younger brother has both savage rifles the axis in 223rem & the 110 30-06sprg fr the 06 reloaded barnesTTSX very accurate and also he gets factory remington CL &hornadyGMX shoots 1"-1.5" which works fr him,fr his axis 223rem he will get federal premium loaded w/barnesTTSX 55gr its accurate & is his hunting round

[Coues&Bass]

I have had great success with Remington Express. I know it is not the most expensive ammo but it does work with all my rifles. My kid just shot her deer with a Savage 243 youth model with RE ammo with one shot one kill at 175 yards .

I have though changed to reloading for my 7mm mag and noticed how much more knock down power my Sierra Game Kings do to an animal when they make contact. I will never go back to factory ammo out of my Ruger 7mm. One shot on a bull elk and deer is all it took to create the damage needed. So take it into consideration when you buy or load ammo. I did see an ad for ammo called doubledown and they claim it has very high standards for shelf ammo. Although I have never used.

 

My 2 cents

[billrquimby]

My old 7 mm Remington Magnum probably shoots tighter groups with bullets from other makers, faster and slower speeds, and lighter weights, but I handload for it with 175-grain Nosler Partitions moving at about 2,850 fps.

 

Bench-rest accuracy is not needed for hunting, and I like the way this bullet performs on game at all ranges. My 175-grain reloads have taken everything from 15-pound grysbok to elk, eland and moose, and a whole bunch of critters between those extremes.

 

I tried Nosler ballistic tips on my desert sheep hunt, but wasn't pleased with the way they blew up inside the animal, destroying way too much meat. If sheep meat tasted better, I still would be bad-mouthing those bullets. As it was, they saved me from having to force down a couple of meals of it.

 

Bill Quimby

[apache12]

OK, I have a follow up. Do you do most of your shooting at Ben Avery? Because, while that seems logical, it takes so long to get anything done there having to wait to go down range. And, the last two visits I was was sure the guy who brought is hot little girlfriend (thanks by the way) was going to get me killed while she waved around whatever he thought to bring to the range. So, is there another spot to go, or anyone care to share there secret deset spot? I live on the north end of town. I have a led sled and lead bag to have a steady rest. My buddy and I have just got into loading our own, but we are rookies for sure.

[apache12]

To answer your question, yes. As a hand-loader for years, learning what I could from my dad, every *great* gun is fickle.

 

On the one hand, there are so many great guns out there and so much incredible ammo available it's almost hard to not put something together that shoots really well.

 

Weatherby, Howa, Savage and Sako all have rifles now with guranteed, sub MOA, with factory bullets.

 

As a hand-loader, I can tell you that little things like the primer you use, the powder you choose, the bullet, the brass, whether you crimp or not, little things like "throat spacing" all make a huge difference. Some guns like the bullets right up in the lands, some do better with a little gap.

 

Rifles are more fickle than girls, in my experience. These days you can buy a good rifle off the shelf, put a good scope on it, buy a box or two of ammo and start shooting groups.

 

But if you really get downn and dirty, you'll find every really great rifle has a preferred load, and that's down to the primer, powder, brass and bullet.

 

 

Thanks for all the detail, impressive. Except for the fickle girl thing, I'm not sure I understood most of the terms, but it gives me something to learn.

This question came up because my 12 yr old has a coues hunt in two weeks and wants to shoot his little 223 savage. I know that's questionable, but i won't let him shoot past 250 or 300, I have a tag too and will carry my 270. Anyway, he has been shooting PMC cheap ammo and the groups were great, but I wanted him to shoot Hornaday SP in 53grm for the velocity and less drop, but his groups were kinda crazy. Someone said the ammo can be to fast for some rifles.

 

Any thoughts??

[rcdinaz]

The ammo is usually to fast for the barrel twist rate which causes it to be unstable. There are a number of factors such as the weight of the bullet as well. As was described above try out a number of brands and pick the one that shoots best, inside 250yds you are most likely not going to have any issues with bullet performance in regards to a clean kill if the shot is placed well. Unless you are shooting farther I would not beat yourself up over one kind of ammo being better than another, shoot what your gun likes.

[AxisWorks LLC]

+1 for shooting what "YOUR" gun likes. In the OP you asked if anyone who has the same rifle as you has found a factory load it likes. Unfortunatly it dosnt work that way. You can buy two of the exact same rifles, in the exact same calibers, sitting next to eachother on the shelf and they can both like a differant factory load. Being a handloader and my brother and I buying a pair of the exact same rifles as described previously I have witnessed this first hand. Just keep a log of the groups you are shooting with factory loads and find out what she likes.

 

Speedy.

[ThomC]

I even wonder if a rifle shoots different on a bench, on a lead sled, or on my pack out in the field. The best way to check is to shoot one shot per day using field conditions.

[AxisWorks LLC]

I even wonder if a rifle shoots different on a bench, on a lead sled, or on my pack out in the field. The best way to check is to shoot one shot per day using field conditions.

 

I have befinatly noticed a big differance shooting from lead sled VS shoulder. I only use my lead sled during load development. Once I have chosen a load the zeroing is done from the shoulder.

 

Speedy.

[roninflag]

factory rifles tend to picky. my remington 700 with krieger barrel shoot everything good. real good.

[apache12]

I even wonder if a rifle shoots different on a bench, on a lead sled, or on my pack out in the field. The best way to check is to shoot one shot per day using field conditions.

 

I have befinatly noticed a big differance shooting from lead sled VS shoulder. I only use my lead sled during load development. Once I have chosen a load the zeroing is done from the shoulder.

 

Speedy.

 

 

Interesting info. I shoot of a sled when zeroing and then make small adjustments when shooting of my pack or tripod as I would in the field. But isn't the difference from sled to free hand just my poor habits effecting the shot? Always wondered that.