FYI, check your factory ammo

Hard H2O said:

Nothing to "blame". They have their test barrels and he has his rifle. Not unusual for a rifle to be over or under the published data on factory ammo. It is just a fact that he will not got the same results as the factory published.

Do you blame the manufacturer of your vehicle when you do not get the same gas mileage that was on the window sticker when you bought it?

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You don't think they could say his chronograph is bad? I said equipment not rifle, I've never used a chronograph so I'm not sure what the norm for muzzle velocity fluctuations is. I would think with today's technology that 400 ft/s discrepancy would not be acceptable.

.300 Dakota said:

And I'd be out that many bullets, charges of powder, and the all-important primers. And my BIGGEST issue is I'd have had to have taken those several hours of careful workup and repeated the process in what would likely not have duplicated my original data, since the volume would have increased significantly, so I'd have had to have done it a THIRD time.

I get 1 day off every 2 to 3 weeks, and in that day, I have to get haircuts, oil changes (I drive like 1000 miles a week), Dr appointments, vet appointments, honey-dos, etc. I have 1 day to go back to the range before hunting season opens (and then I have 1 day to hunt this month), so whatever I do has to be complete and final on that day. I drive between 45 minutes and 90 minutes to a range, depending on which is available at the time. My choice may seem irrational to some, but unfortunately, it's the best I can do. And if I'd have done it the correct way, I wouldn't have gotten to post this lovely thread so folks could take time out of their busy day and tell me what an idiot I am. It's real important to me to know I'm an idiot. I need to know others see it, too.

If it matters at all, I'll tell you what you already know: YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!!

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You still have to fireform it and now you've wasted all this time with Remington when you have no intention on using their product in the end since you are going to handload.

Bang4theBuck said:

Il semblerait également important de leur dire que votre carabine possède un canon de 8" !

Je plaisante. Ce message est une preuve supplémentaire et une raison de recharger. Comme d'autres l'ont dit, il est courant de voir des gens dans les champs de tir publics et de camper avec un mélange de munitions de différentes marques/types/âges... certaines personnes ne comprennent tout simplement pas.

Merci pour l'avertissement.

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8 inch

Varmint Hunter said:

We all do things differently and probably for good reason.

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Agreed!

Varmint Hunter said:

I'm not criticizing the use of factory ammo for break in. I just never gave that a thought.

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I, too, do not usually use factory ammunition to do barrel break-ins. I won a 6.5 CM TC Compass for $20 in a 2018 raffle. I slapped on the scope and purchased a couple of factory ammunition, 125g Winchester Deer Season XP (different lot #s for a reason) boxes for sight-in and barrel break-in. For all my off-the-shelf choices, Winchester is my choice of brass and was $10 cheaper than the rest.



(Lot # 40N71 - 4-shot group at 200Y).

(Lot # 44NC82 - 3-shot group at 200Y).

As you can see, lot #s can make a difference. So, I went back and purchased all they had on the shelf. Since then, I have harvested 2-3 deer under 300Y every year, not counting friends that have used my rifle.

This week, my first-time hunter troop harvested a WT buck and doe using 150g Winchester Deer Season XP out of a Savage. He was getting a .5 MOA group at 200Y.

I just shot my first 3 rounds of factory ammo in 30 years. I am helping diagnose an accuracy issue for a friend's brand new 7 PRC. 175gr bullets advertised at 3000fps... 24" bbl average 2730fps.

Now he's even more disappointed

But it met my expectation exactly.

Monteria said:

I just shot my first 3 rounds of factory ammo in 30 years. I am helping diagnose an accuracy issue for a friend's brand new 7 PRC. 175gr bullets advertised at 3000fps... 24" bbl average 2730fps.

Now he's even more disappointed

But it met my expectation exactly.

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That seems to be the norm for the 7 prc. Well with the Hornady anyways .

mtank said:

That seems to be the norm for the 7 prc. Well with the Hornady anyways .

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Mine was almost exactly as advertised in 7 PRC. It's probably an older box from when they were first introduced, though.

We'll find out about the Remingtons soon enough.

Received my certified test ammo yesterday. I've got the old ammo in question packaged and labeled, but I can't get it to a UPS until tomorrow.

As I told Sandra with Remington, I have a box of the same ammo in 165 grain 30-06 that I tested back in August. It lists 2820ft/s as the velocity. I averaged 2734 ft/s with a 20.4" barrel right about sea level. EXACTLY what I'd expect, if not a smidgen better. 17ft/s spread on that ammo. No issues whatsoever. Gun didn't like it, but it didn't like any of my handloads either.

This thread wasn't intended to bash all factory ammo, rather to point out the need to check it before taking the listed data on the box as gospel and ruining the long range hunt of a lifetime. We check our handloads, why wouldn't we test factory if we're going to hunt with it? Don't we trust our own abilities more than we trust mass production?

Incidentally, I couldn't resist checking some old Federal blue box 243 80gr SP ammo in this same .243. With a fast twist, I thought the 80gr bullet might not survive. 3224 ft/s and did not separate. 2" high and 1" right of POA. 103GR ELD-X about 2890 ft/s (handload) dead center. I have 2 rounds of that 80gr left. Been in my garage for some years now non-climate controlled and subjected to high heat, below freezing, and LOTS of moisture. 1 of them MIGHT find their way into my chamber on the morning of the mandatory doe harvest...js.