Ammo Selection: Practice vs Hunting

[WrongHanded]

My foray into hunting hasn't gone quite to plan so far (the past two seasons), but I've got another question for you guys who choose factory ammo rather than handloaded hunting ammo in your rifles.

Do you practice with the ammo you intend to hunt with, or do you use something similar but more affordable? How do you approach practice ammo for your hunting rifle, and why do you do it that way?

 

[bearcreek]

I don't shoot my hunting rifle enough to justify buying cheaper ammo for practice. Basically gets less than 20 rds a year through it. A couple to reconfirm zero, 5-10 to reconfirm that I'm good with it off hand, then one per deer, with very rare exceptions. Now, if a person doesn't regularly train and practice with their fighting rifles, regular practice with their hunting rifle becomes more important.

 

[Barbaroja]

My hunting and target rifles are one in the same so i shoot them year round.
I have been using Speer soft point boat tails for practice in .243 and 7mm rem mag. They are only around $20/100 and shoot sub moa with the proper load.
I step it up to a tougher bullet for hunting. I would shoot a deer with the Speer 100gn .243 spbt but I would be worried about fragmentation if I got a close shot with one out of the 7mm so I load accubonds for that.

Due to wanting to shoot rifles more I bought a savage 340 in 30-30 for the purpose of shooting cast bullets. I’ve got some loads that are definitely capable of taking game but mostly load them light for softer shooting all day kinda fun

 

[IdaD]

I don't shoot my hunting rifle enough to justify buying cheaper ammo for practice. Basically gets less than 20 rds a year through it. A couple to reconfirm zero, 5-10 to reconfirm that I'm good with it off hand, then one per deer, with very rare exceptions. Now, if a person doesn't regularly train and practice with their fighting rifles, regular practice with their hunting rifle becomes more important.

I'm similar with my hunting rigs. I have several rifles but I only hunt with three of them with any regularity, and I wouldn't say that I even use all three very often within the same year. I basically verify zero (most years but not all if I'm being honest) and then hunt, so once I find a load I like that's what goes through that rifle unless I have some reason to change. I've hunted and shot hunting rifles since I was a kid (I'm in my 40's now) and I don't think I need to practice much with them to be plenty accurate enough for hunting purposes at hunting distances.

I do use various types of ammo in my ARs but I don't hunt with them, and wouldn't short of necessity.

 

[Varminterror]

Don’t overthink it. “Practice” with your hunting ammo enough to know what you need to know for how you hunt.

If you are shooting a lot with something else throughout the year to sustain your marksmanship proficiency and you’re only hunting at short ranges (0-300yrds), then “practice” becomes a matter of function confirmation so you know the firearm and ammo are still behaving as expected. For me, sometimes that’s a matter of taking three to five shots at 100yrds. If you are not shooting anything else to sustain proficiency, then you’ll need to be firing that rifle for marksmanship practice - but if you’re still only hunting short range, it might not need to be high volume practice, and you can probably use any ammo you want for practice, with only a handful of shots of your hunting ammo to confirm zero and catch some “just past MPBR” drop data.

Alternatively, if you’re planning to hunt long range, then you need a lot of practice with some rifle, and certainly substantial practice with your hunting rifle and sufficient evaluation of your hunting ammo to develop your data book for your hunt.

I’d not grab a new box of ammo from a shelf and head afield without confirming velocity and POI/zero, and certainly wouldn’t change ammo without rezeroing and checking velocity, but there’s no sense in burning extra cost just for practice.

I’ll also say here - I have a far lower standard for my general hunting fodder than I do for most of the other shooting I do. Conventionally, standard distance hunting is a rather menial task, and many, many ammunition can accomplish it soundly.

 

[sage5907]

When you hunt big game with a rifle it needs to be sighted in with the most accurate and effective ammo that you have so you can place the scope on the animal and hit where you aim. That being said, shooting at a paper target is a whole different situation. If you are strictly a hunter you can practice with any kind of ammo and it doesn't make any difference where it hits on the paper target the only thing that is important is the size of the group. If the practice group fired hits 5 inches to the right and 3 inches low that is entirely fine because what you are doing is holding the rifle still, making a good trigger pull, and having all the bullets hit in one place. I had a friend that would always change the scope to hit the center of the bull with his target ammo and then he would waste good hunting ammo getting the rifle back to his hunting zero. Doesn't make much sense.

Another practice that some novice shooters do is to change the scope every time they go to the range to hit the center of the bull. You have to realize that the point of impact changes just by holding the rifle different, if you shoot prone or upright, the temperature, and many other factors. The best thing to do is to get a good zero and expect a slight deviation in the point of impact from day to day.

 

[WrongHanded]

To give some more detail on my conundrum:

I stopped shooting rifles for around 5-6 years, then got interested again a few years back. I have only 3 rifles chambered in center fire bottle neck cartridges. One is a scoped Mini 14, from before my break. The other two are relatively new. A Ruger Scout in .308 with a scout scope, and the Tikka T3X that is my hunting rifle. The Tikka is chambered in .30-06 and I just put some new glass on it which I need to spend more time with (it's not even properly zeroed yet).

I'd been shooting Remington 180gr Cor Lokt because it's cheap but apparently still does the job well. Unfortunately, I don't know the status of production for Remington ammo, and I might end up needing to switch to another option. But as the Tikka isn't terribly similar to either of my other center fire rifles - bolt action and conventional scope setup - I think I need to spend time behind it rather than just pull it out and check zero before hunting season. Though I doubt I'll be shooting past 300 yards on any game.

I'm thinking about future purchases because the Cor Lokt I have in the basement won't last too long if I keep shooting it.

 

[sage5907]

When you go to the range just shoot 3 rounds with your good ammo and adjust your scope as needed. Then finish your practice session with any kind of cheap ammo so you can practice holding the rifle still and pulling the trigger. You can save ammo just by dry firing without any ammo in the rifle. Dry firing will tell you if you are holding the rifle still when the firing pin falls. Keeping your eye on the target and watching the scope will tell you the point of impact when the firing pin falls. The term for this is "calling the shot."

 

[Random 8]

I was in the OPs boat before I started handloading. My first 8 years of rifle hunting were factory only. My dad was notoriously cheap, and even though I bought my own rifle, it had to be in caliber .308 Win. The reason for this was the plentiful and cheap surplus ammo on the market at the time. Storebought hunting ammo was rationed to a round, but surplus ammo purchased dirt cheap at the time was pretty much fair game for practicing and shot close enough for government work to the same point of impact as the 150 grain soft points reserved for hunting and LITERALLY 2 or 3 sighting shots prior to season.

A similar situation can be had today, or should be once ammo availability comes back to normalish. Inexpensive ammo of same bullet weight is available in most popular calibers. Not as cheap as surplus ammo from a bombed out bunker was back in the 80's, but still much less expensive than premium hunting ammo. Another option is to just hunt deer with an inexpensive soft point round and practice with same. The price of Hornady, Fedchester, PRVI soft point ammo in common calibers rivals even the cheap "plinker" grade stuff.

ETA. To the OP, if you like the performance of Rem Core Lokt, check out Hornady interlock factory ammo. Good stuff.

 

[horsey300]

To give some more detail on my conundrum:

I stopped shooting rifles for around 5-6 years, then got interested again a few years back. I have only 3 rifles chambered in center fire bottle neck cartridges. One is a scoped Mini 14, from before my break. The other two are relatively new. A Ruger Scout in .308 with a scout scope, and the Tikka T3X that is my hunting rifle. The Tikka is chambered in .30-06 and I just put some new glass on it which I need to spend more time with (it's not even properly zeroed yet).

I'd been shooting Remington 180gr Cor Lokt because it's cheap but apparently still does the job well. Unfortunately, I don't know the status of production for Remington ammo, and I might end up needing to switch to another option. But as the Tikka isn't terribly similar to either of my other center fire rifles - bolt action and conventional scope setup - I think I need to spend time behind it rather than just pull it out and check zero before hunting season. Though I doubt I'll be shooting past 300 yards on any game.

I'm thinking about future purchases because the Cor Lokt I have in the basement won't last too long if I keep shooting it.

Hornady american whitetail or federal fusion make for good cheap blasting ammo that also doubles for good hunting, warning, if you use fusion, break a bone, it expands slow/hard. Also, wolf makes for good blasting ammo. When we were factory shooters, we'd grab a few different brands/styles of ammo that fit out terminal criteria, shot several groups of each, then picked the favorite and stocked up a good few boxes. If more than one type shot well and to same point of aim, we'd stock up the cheapest for blasting and rebuy every few months.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I practice with the same ammo, but I reload, so I'm only into a 20 round box of .30-06 ammo for about $11. And I really don't shoot all that much with hunting rifles. Maybe 50 rounds a year between closing and opening of hunting season.

 

[WrongHanded]

I practice with the same ammo, but I reload, so I'm only into a 20 round box of .30-06 ammo for about $11. And I really don't shoot all that much with hunting rifles. Maybe 50 rounds a year between closing and opening of hunting season.

That cheap huh? I haven't had much enthusiasm to begin reloading bottle necked rifle cartridges, but perhaps I'll have to consider it some more.

 

[horsey300]

That cheap huh? I haven't had much enthusiasm to begin reloading bottle necked rifle cartridges, but perhaps I'll have to consider it some more.

O yes, it's like that, we save roughly 50% on everything we shoot. Load stuff like Speer sierra and Hornady and it's easy to double the range time.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

That cheap huh? I haven't had much enthusiasm to begin reloading bottle necked rifle cartridges, but perhaps I'll have to consider it some more.

That's not factoring in the cost of brass.

Powder - $30/lb - 120 rounds per pound = $0.25 per round
Primer - $5/100 - $0.05 per round
Bullet - $32/100 (SGK BTHP) - $0.32 per round

Total per round - $0.62 per round x 20 = $12.40


It is a little more than $11 with todays component prices, but still allows me to shoot as much as I want. Factory stuff when you can find it is over $30 a box with that bullet.

 

[horsey300]

That's not factoring in the cost of brass.

At only 5 loadings, cost of brass puts total cost still at 50% for my wsm.
.243 is right at %50, bulk .223 is only 25%, premium slightly better, stw well over 50% saved, and the 6.5c is right about 50% as well. Premium loadings cost vs factory premium increase the gap.
Eta .22-250 at 50% as well.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

At only 5 loadings, cost of brass puts total cost still at 50% for my wsm.

Man, only 5 loadings. I've heard that's common in the WSMs to not get a very long case life.
I expect 8-10 loadings out of .30-06, and thankfully it's common enough I can usually find some at the range to supplement what I buy.

 

[LoonWulf]

Man, only 5 loadings. I've heard that's common in the WSMs to not get a very long case life.
I expect 8-10 loadings out of .30-06, and thankfully it's common enough I can usually find some at the range to supplement what I buy.

Ive actually had more issues with split necks in 06s than my belted mags or the few WSMs ive loaded for, thats what usually kills my brass.....if i dont loose it first.


To the OPs question.
Im lazy and don't really like reloading, but i like using specific types of bullets so reload my hunting ammo.
I often practice with what ever is the cheapest ammo on the shelf at the store. In field positions i cant usually tell a poi difference at 100yds. If i can i simply adjust poa to correct for it, same as i would if a shot missed in the field.

 

[MCMXI]

My foray into hunting hasn't gone quite to plan so far (the past two seasons), but I've got another question for you guys who choose factory ammo rather than handloaded hunting ammo in your rifles.

Do you practice with the ammo you intend to hunt with, or do you use something similar but more affordable? How do you approach practice ammo for your hunting rifle, and why do you do it that way?

I only hunt with solid copper bullets so I either shoot Federal Trophy Copper for factory, or work up Barnes TTSX or LRX handloads. Either one is a relatively expensive proposition compared to cup & core bullets so I do try to work up practice loads and hunting loads that offer very similar peformance. For example, I built a Proof barreled Kimber 84M as a lightweight "tactical" and hunting rifle. I worked up a 178gr A-MAX load for practice or "soft targets" and a 175gr LRX load for hunting. Those loads use the same brass, same powder and same primers and have similar internal/external ballistics with the major difference being terminal ballistics. This is my preferred approach for every hunting rifle.

 

[MCMXI]

Ive actually had more issues with split necks in 06s than my belted mags or the few WSMs ive loaded for, thats what usually kills my brass.....if i dont loose it first.

Get yourself an AMP annealer and you'll never have that problem again.

 

[horsey300]

Man, only 5 loadings. I've heard that's common in the WSMs to not get a very long case life.
I expect 8-10 loadings out of .30-06, and thankfully it's common enough I can usually find some at the range to supplement what I buy.

Count 5 cuz that's all the longer I've had the gun, I'll let you know in another 5 hopefully no issues so far

 

[LoonWulf]

Get yourself an AMP annealer and you'll never have that problem again.

Lol, ive thought about it, just havent made the dive yet.
I do hand anneal the expensive brass.

 

[caribou]

Hunt with the same ammo and rifle you practice with. That is the most accurate way.

I used to Plink alot and odd ,spare or old ammo was fine for that , as just plain shooting is great practice.

 

[Captcurt]

Hornady american whitetail or federal fusion make for good cheap blasting ammo that also doubles for good hunting, warning, if you use fusion, break a bone, it expands slow/hard. Also, wolf makes for good blasting ammo.

I was impressed with Fusions. Last year I bought a Savage 10 in 338 Federal and bought some 200gr Fusions for sigh-in while I waited for my dies to come in. The box stated 2700 fps with the 200 gr. When I started working on loads nothing came close to that. Most max loads were 100-150 fps slower. While checking velocity with my chrono I shot a few Fusions just for kicks and giggles. They weren't 2700, they averaged 2750. That is the only other factory loads that come close to what they claim besides Weatherby.

 

[FL-NC]

I shoot quite a bit (less rounds lately due to you-know-what). But I don't really "practice" much at all with my hunting rifles. Just prior to the start of season, I will take all of them to the range and check the zero and make the required adjustments. I may fire a couple of rounds offhand. Of course, all of this is done with the ammo I hunt with. This year I did this with 4 rifles: a 6.5 CM (3 rounds fired) 243 (6 rounds fired) 300 BLK (6 rounds fired) and a 308 (3 rounds fired). This satisfied the requirements for zero and test firing. They won't be fired again unless I am either killing a deer, or if one gets dropped or something during the season and I feel I should re-check the zero. After season is over, they will be cleaned and put away until next fall.

 

[IdaD]

To give some more detail on my conundrum:

I stopped shooting rifles for around 5-6 years, then got interested again a few years back. I have only 3 rifles chambered in center fire bottle neck cartridges. One is a scoped Mini 14, from before my break. The other two are relatively new. A Ruger Scout in .308 with a scout scope, and the Tikka T3X that is my hunting rifle. The Tikka is chambered in .30-06 and I just put some new glass on it which I need to spend more time with (it's not even properly zeroed yet).

I'd been shooting Remington 180gr Cor Lokt because it's cheap but apparently still does the job well. Unfortunately, I don't know the status of production for Remington ammo, and I might end up needing to switch to another option. But as the Tikka isn't terribly similar to either of my other center fire rifles - bolt action and conventional scope setup - I think I need to spend time behind it rather than just pull it out and check zero before hunting season. Though I doubt I'll be shooting past 300 yards on any game.

I'm thinking about future purchases because the Cor Lokt I have in the basement won't last too long if I keep shooting it.

180 grain Core Lokt’s out of a 30-06 is good for deer or elk out to 300 yards no problem. Probably moose too although I’d prefer something like a Partition. In any event there are better bullets and better long range options, but for what you’re looking to do I see no issue with the old green and yellow stuff as long as it holds a decent group in your rifle.

I haven’t had a chance to experiment yet but I do keep intending to give copper bullets a shot for hunting at some point. I was going to do it last fall and then everything went sideways and I was left picking through limited options at premium prices so I decided to punt for another year.