hornady factory loads v. handloads

excellent post, dakota. it's good to see some of this here on bsb!

i am just about to start "messing" with 160-grain sierra gamekings for my 7x57. also on one of the burners is a little development for my .308 (i like the 150-grain hornady btsp, but am thinking of stepping up to 165 partitions) and some experimentation with my .30-30 (cast boolits - just wanna get my feet wet!).

once again, thanks for posting your results!

I have seen at least a couple of articles on accuracy of factory ammo in the past few months.  Basically . . . what it does . . . and this is just fine . . . reduces reloading to a hobby.  No real evidence that reloads are any better than factory ammo.  But, I will still do it.  The flexibility is important to me.

Facts are that there is a HUGE selection of loaded ammo out there . . . I hate to call it "factory" ammo.  Even the big guys produce "premium" loads with very fine bullets.  And don't overlook the "little" guys either.  I have bought ammo from a relatively small outfit in Montana . . . Hunting Shack Munitions . . . good stuff . . . accurate and reliable . . . consistent.

The best?  Well . . . if I was heading for Africa [pipe dream!] I would have a hard time not selecting Weatherby or Norma.  Of course, in that case, I would be tottin' a couple of Weatherbys. 

Whoops . . . didn't answer the question!  Never have used Hornady ammo, but I use their bullets . . . excellent stuff. 

in this instance i used the custom (headstamp on the brass says 'match').

when i get my load development finished up (meaning i feel i've extracted every last grain of accuracy from the vls), i will put my loads head-to-head w/ other factory stuff. expect i'll compare federal gold medal match, hornady light mag, and win ballistic silvertip.

if there is something you have a hankering to see compared, lmk, we'll see if i can afford the overpriced, underpowered, inaccurate stuff!  btw, i do not handload for levers, autos, or pumps...

at any rate, i just picked up an 8# can of varget, and just got done prepping 55 pieces of brass. hoping to finish load development in the next couple of weeks (brother coming into town this weekend, staying for a week - means i'll not have much opportunity for development work until after the 4th).

after that, i'll be working on a model 7 in 243, and a 700 bdl in 25-06 (at least the 'smithing work is done on the 25). also need to get serious about the 223 and 22-250... thank goodness the 7 mags are done... doing development work on a pair of 7rem mags will really tax the shoulder. breathe in, breathe out, now say 'decelerator'.  60 shots per day from these will color a shoulder!

anyway, those are the calibers lined up for this summer. taking requests, and will post results as i get to them, if there is much interest (is it possible to wear a chrony out?? on my 3rd battery now, and she's still tickin' great).

funny you ask that... i am usually very, very brand aware. not so on my chrony. i think it is a 'pro-chrono', but could very well be mistaken. it is not an oehler, though, that much i do know.

i do put a lot of faith in my chronograph and would not do load development without one. kind of amazing what a chrony will tell you about your loads, and the deductions you can make from that...

kind of ironic, too, that i bought the chrony to help me tune my bow. never really cared to shoot rifles and handguns over it. here i am today, and have never put an arrow over the chrony, but have slung a lot of lead over the top of it...

i just put together some loads for the 243. might get out to the range this afternoon... s'posed to have t-storms this evening, so it depends on if the wind will cooperate.

anyway, i loaded some testers up using cci br-2 primer, win brass, and sierra 85 grain bthp gameking. one batch is loaded w/ varget, and one w/ h-4350.

my initial testing tests for pressure as much as anything else. we'll see how it goes, and look for a little promise from the powders above. i'll let you know what i find.