Topic: Might be a dumb question

[Swift6Six]

So guys, this might be a little stupid, but i'm curious non the less:

I've always shot pretty much whatever is cheap and available in my Ruger M77 .223 bolt gun, and my .22's.  Recently picked up a 308 for tac/long range shooting, and have been thinking about shooting what has been highly recommended for my barrel/gun.  AMax 168gr match.  It's a bit more than $1 per round.  Which is fine for hunting, but I really want to shoot more often than just hunting.

So here is my question - do you guys ever practice with cheap ammo, saving the better stuff for when it counts, OR do you always practice with what you shoot seriously?

I am tempted to suck it up and spend the cash, but I'd like to have several hundred rounds on hand, just because, and that's a great hedge again inflation, but it's hard to see that much cash sitting there.  I also believe that perfect practice makes perfect, and you train how you want to play, so why would shooting be any different? 

Open for discussion.

[Jeff]

Personally, I reload the good stuff and shoot that.  The FAL gets the cheap stuff. 

[Swift6Six]

Reloading is something I'm open to.  I suppose even if I haven't shot the brass, I can find 308 brass relatively cheap and bulk up my supply.

[fj40mojo]

Reloading is where it's at. It will open a whole new world of shooting up to you.

[e11charlie]

Well shoot the good stuff to zero it in for best accuracy then go to the cheap stuff for targets.

[Beamncoke]

I load most all of what I shoot.  It's all "the good stuff".  I do however load lots of blasting ammo with cheaper components.  Bulk buying is where the savings are at.

[RGinIdaho]

Reloading is the way to go. You can have accurate and cheaper. Even with today's component prices at retail rates you can come in at about .50 per round for match grade 175smks in .308. Assuming you have brass. A little cheaper if you shop around or buy in bulk. Compare that to about $1.75 per round for FGGM.

Having said that, I remember helping a friend zero a new Savage in .308. He had 165gr Ultramax(cheepies) with ballistic tips. He is a fairly green shooter to boot. The first two rounds fired were all we needed to get enough info for a 100yd zero. He shot a 3/4" group at 100yds with the 3rd through 7th rounds ever fired through the rifle.

[NoviceHunter]

I don't reload.  I find something cheap that approximates the real stuff, and shoot cheap until I'm bored or run out, then run a few of the real thing.

Cheap stuff all the way.

[Nealio]

I shoot cheap ammo if I'm not in the mood to be that accurate, otherwise I shoot my handloads if I need to neuter a tick at 100 yards...  Also if I'm out of the good stuff, I will just roll with some bulk crappy stuff.


Oh and there are no "dumb questions", just dumb people and dumb answers..

[luvmy45]

The answer is... it depends...

If your going to shoot 100 to 300 yards, relatively close targets and steel and not going for precision... then shoot whatever you can afford to stuff in there.

If your going to be shooting long distances, by that I mean out to 1000 yards... you probably need to look at shooting the same stuff all the time, so that you can gather dope for your rifle... know where your bullet is going, if your shooting cheap stuff your gathering dope for the cheap ammo, then you switch to the accurate stuff and your dope that you have gathered is worthless, different BC's, different velocity's, different Zero, etc...

I prefer to handload, and I use my 308 as a precision LRTR setup... it only see 175gr SMK that I load and over the last few years, have gathered dope so that I know where they are going.

At least that's my opinion. 

[sheepdog1]

give your rifle what it deserves. FN use So African or some surplus. For good Savage or mod 700 use nice 168 or 175/178. the only advantage to heavier bullets are they handle the wind better and with the right load will stay supersonic longer. I have found no difference from 168/175 seirra or Hornady's. What I dont understand are folks that screw around @ 100 yds/meters.  Waste of time unless your shooting 100 yards . We test @ 200, 400 and 600 yards.  Horizonal spread shot group is shooter or wind and vertical is inconsistant powder load or the shooter. I can run 10 shot groups @ 600 at 1/3 MOA . I dont care what they do @ 100 , I want to know what they do @ 600. SD1 accual

[adrewiske]

Reloading all the way. I used to think the same thing, shoot cheap stuff at targets and varmints and "save" the good ammo for longer distances. UNTIL i started getting misfires in my factory ammo. I sat down and pulled a box of twenty apart from an unnamed company only to discover three different powders.
The more you shoot the cheaper reloading is compared to buying factory ammo.

[Grumblecakes]

I make other people buy 'the cheap stuff' when they go shooting with me. Then i keep the brass and make the good stuff for me. If factory ammo is on sale, around 40c a round, i buy some for the brass. the brass seems to be about half the cost of the round.

[Lt Smoke]

My 2 cents here is this...Reload for the LRTR rifle...Buy 500 rounds of Lapua brass and find a powder, primer and bullet your rifle likes and enjoy what it was designed to do. I buy the cheap ammo to have fun with my Cetme in .308.