[Sven]

Curious why reloaded ammo is (generally) more accurate than commerical loadings?

Is it something about the mass-production process that adds variance to batches?

Or is there something about that extra 'freshness' that comes with reloaded ammo?

;)

An enquiring mind wants to know!

-s

[Steve Smith]

I think that is mainly comes down to 1. manufacturing tolerances are smaller with handloads and 2. custom tailoring loads to your individual firearm.

[cratz2]

I think for spec chambers, there's not a whole lot of difference between handloads and the some of the better factory loaded ammo such as Hornady and Black Hills for reasonable priced stuff.
Many chambers are longer than spec so the bullet has to make a longer jump to get to the rifling these days than they did 15 or 20 years ago. This is very important for accuracy.

Or so I've heard... I don't really know anything about any of this.

[coonan357]

i think its has to do with the criticalness we put into homerolled ammo we are more cautious and pay more attention to whats going on when we crimp or fill and most of our stuff is faster than factory ammo except the big buck stuff .and when was the last time you threw a box of ammo on the floor ?? :scrutiny:the biggest factor handling .

[Double Naught Spy]

Funny question! It has been my experience that reloaded amoo is not more accurate and that compared against factory ammo, not as consistent in the charge. The reason for this is that some people have trouble maintaining QC while doing a lot of reloading whereas the commercial stuff is done by machines where fatigue is not an issue to the process.

I realize the question here is for accuracy and consistent accuracy is going to come from being very consistent in the powder charge. I have seen numerous problems with reloads including squibs, too little powder but enough to get the slug going down range, too much powder, etc. It can happen with commercial stuff, but it has been with reloads that I see those problems the most.

[jjmorgan64]

real simple, if it doesn't shoot well instead of complaining you change the equation, I was at the range the other day and low on 45 colt so I grabbed a box on the way, I was a bit surprised my reloads were much more accurate, It's the first time i've shot factory loads in quite a while.

[rick_reno]

My experiences are that good factory ammo today is more consistent than handloads. Their quality control systems must be fantastic given the way it performs.

[blowsomethingup]

I believe most standard commercial ammo is loaded pretty light.
the more expensive bonded core hollow points bullets are pretty accurate,but they shure charge you for it.

[FPrice]

IMHO it has more to do with the care with which the ammo is produced than whether it is factory loads or shooter reloads. A careless reloader probably will not get the best loads or results for his/her efforts. But someone who takes the time and effort to QC their loading process properly and develop a load which works well in their particular firearm generally gets good results. When I was reloading I was very careful about what I did and I got some good, consistent loads. Reloading produces very good results if done properly.

[Steve Smith]

cratz2, the reason for longer throats is so that you can use a longer bullet and still have plenty of room in the case for lots of powder. Instead of seating the longer bullet deeper, you seat it "long" and you still have all your case capacity. Most folks reduce the jump to .015" or less for best accuracy. Of course some guns will shoot better when jumped, but the average is for less jump.

[Standing Wolf]

My best hand loads are more accurate than most factory loads for the simple reason that I've done lots of trial and error work to determine which loads work best in certain guns.

Until I've figured out which load(s) a gun likes, my hand loads often aren't as good as factory loads.

I've noticed factory loads are considerably more consistent today than they were twenty and thirty years ago: manufacturing improvements, I'd guess.

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

The first and most basic reason for loading your own is reducing the cost of your ammunition so that you can shoot more and develop your marksmanship skills faster.

Also besides developing mastery over your body and mind control to to be compentent in a manly skill to be able to protect yourself, your family and if need be your country,

There is the fascinating art of understanding and creating your own ammunition that your suits your needs and is another skill of mind and body control.

It is like a Knight developing his skills as a warrior whether with a spear, sword or mace on horseback or on foot.

I especially enjoy obtaining scrap lead in the form of tire weights free and to actually be able to melt metal and to turn it into a functional and to me a beautiful part of a weapon is very satisfying. It is also like an ancient archer creating his own artistic and functional arrows that along with his mind and body mastery helps him to hit a bullseye or enemy accurately in defense of his home or feif.

There is such a multitude of components and designs of components and weapons to choose from that will suit you. From earning the money to purchase the best weapon you can afford based on much study, the equipment to use, the caliber chosen, the brand and capabilities of the powder, primers and bullets and lastly of all putting personal effort in creating ammunition that suits you and your weapon.

Back to the reduction of cost of your ammunition to be be able to shoot more with a product THAT YOU CREATED THAT YOU CAN HAVE FAITH IN helps you to win recognition of your peers.

Lastly the commercial ammunition manufacturers use cheap, soft lead whereas you can vary the lead hardness to grip the lands of your weapon barrel better, size the bullet you created to the diameter you choose and the velocity you choose and the result is that you have a very enjoyable and practical hobby to occupy your personal time in a very enjoyable stress reducing fashion.

The top Gold trophies and medals were won by men with the best equipment and components available and all of them have created their own ammunition during the development of their skills.

John Paul
Star Reloaders & Lubers Discussion and Support Group
http://www.topica.com/lists/StarReloadersGroup

[Sven]

John Paul et al.:

Thanks for the excellent posts.

Also besides developing mastery over your body and mind control to to be compentent in a manly skill to be able to protect yourself, your family and if need be your country

Great quote.

I guess I had somewhat of a half-cocked assumption that handloaded ammo was more accurate, based on what the high power guys are always saying. Seems this may or may not be correct, depending on my skills, my tools, my weapon, and which commercial ammo I'm using for comparison.

[Steve Smith]

Sven, I firmly believe that the mag length ammo that a serious and carefull Highpower handloader turns out is at least on par with factory match ammo...or vice versa. Despite this, it is still about 50-75% more expensive than what a handloader can produce. Since most competitors will shoot at least 3000 match quality rounds a year, its important to keep the costs down. In addition, there are applications that factorys do not load for, such as the .223 with an 80 grain bullet (an almost standardized 600 yar load). In order to shoot that, you have to make it yourself. We go ahead and take the extra step on this and adjust the seating depth to a sweet spot near the rifling for added accuracy.


I believe that you could take our ammo (at least the mag length stuff) and fire it in your rifle and it would be as accurate as any other match ammo you could fire. I may not be any more accurate, but it will be half the cost.

[Art Eatman]

IMO, and I'll support those above who've commented on this, it's the tailoring of a load to your own particular rifle. "It's the vibes, man!" :) You create a consistency in the way your package performs.

Fifty years ago, I think that the uniformity possible to a handloader contributed more than it does today, with today's factory equipment. For instance, I have always loaded my rifle ammo to the closest IMR granule. That's pretty doggoned uniform! And, the once-fired brass is fire-formed to my chamber, as well. The really nit-picky folks will weigh and segregate their bullets...

In the FWIW department, I get 3/8" to 1/2" groups from my handloads in my .243, using the Sierra 85-grain HPBT. I can shoot the Federal factory stuff with that same bullet in the factory loading and get equal groups. But my handloads cost less. :)

Art

[braindead0]

Anybody watched the History channel show on Snipers? I'm pretty sure that was the one where they did a segment on the Army high-power shooting team. Each rifle is hand built for the person, and all ammo is handloaded by one guy for that specific rifle. If you are willing to hand measure each load, I can't imagine the factory being that good...

[Steve Smith]

That is not necessarily true. The AMU develops good loads that work well in about 90% of the rifles for 200 and 300 yards. If they can use one of their standby loads for the other 10% of the rifles, that's ok. If they really have to work to make a rifle like a 200-300 load, they will toss the barrel and start over with that gun. They load way too much ammo to make gun-specific ammo for each gun for the 200-300 portion. For the 600 yard ammo, they DO do that, based upon already established loads that almost always work well. Basically the seating depth is what is adjusted for each gun.

[braindead0]

Point is, they handload it...

[Steve Smith]

You bet. I was just getting the details down. I know several folks in the AMU so I hear all about it.


Rhetorical question aimed and no one: Do you really think the AMU would trust an unseen hand to make their match ammo?

[Freedom in theSkies]

I saw a factory video from one of the leading manufacturers in the US and for their promo and lower end lines, they have up to 12 lines pumping out the same stuff. The loaded ammo off the lines gets combined for QA and then goes to packaging. This can cause variations in the performance because the setup by the tool push on the dies, trimmers and powder measures all vary slightly. The premium line is packaged after QA directly off each press, resulting in more consistant ammo, ie; COL, case trim length, better quality bullets and consistant powder throws.

I have tried measuring COL in factory Promo and Premium ammo, and the results seem to verify this.

[Master Blaster]

Handloads are more accurate, becuause you can custom tailor them to the gun you own, you cant do that with factory ammo in centerfire calibers.

If you go to a bullseye pistol match, and look at the high master class shooters not one of them is using factory ammo.

highpower rifle, benchrest, silhouette, all using handloads, no factory its just not as accurate.

All the national champions at Camp Perry? Handloads.

the service teams all handloads.

:cool: