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Dahonis wrote:Me again sign85

How many rounds to you normally shoot on a range day, non competition stuff.

Reason I ask is I will be wanting a .308 but trying to work out the overall cost for ammunition, i.e is it cheaper to use factory loads rather than a new re-loading set-up. I have no idea of how many rounds people use....in the military it was never a problem !

I usually shoot between 75 and 100 rounds in a half-day session (or in a couple of hours on 300m electronic targets). My component cost shooting .308 155gr SMKs with N140 or TR140 is currently circa 43p per round. Factory ammo prices would scare me off from visiting the range.

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...and of course I haven't factored in the costs of the reloading kit (press, dies, scales etc.).

I think in general terms you'll find that once you start to shoot regularly it just becomes less and less sensible to shoot factory ammo. As you become immersed in the sport you'll soon discover that maybe 50% of the talk is about the hardware (rifles, scopes etc.) and 50% is about the loads (bullets, powders etc.). I suspect that a straw poll of Full-Bore posters would indicate that very few shoot factory - those that do maybe being competition TR shooters who are compelled to do so by competition rules.

Watcher wrote:...and of course I haven't factored in the costs of the reloading kit (press, dies, scales etc.).

I think in general terms you'll find that once you start to shoot regularly it just becomes less and less sensible to shoot factory ammo. As you become immersed in the sport you'll soon discover that maybe 50% of the talk is about the hardware (rifles, scopes etc.) and 50% is about the loads (bullets, powders etc.). I suspect that a straw poll of Full-Bore posters would indicate that very few shoot factory - those that do maybe being competition TR shooters who are compelled to do so by competition rules.

I have a general rule, if I can buy ammo at less than the cost of reloading it I do, otherwise I reload .308 and 7.5x55 (except for 1000 yrds where I buy PPU as it saves having to worry about hot loads, and gives me a stock of brass in reserve) .223 I don't bother with reloading, as I can buy cheaper that meets my needs.

On a long range day at Barton Road I usually shoot at 800 and 1200. Might get through 30 total. 5-8 at 800, then the rest at 1200. I normally sit 1000 out. I use the 800 to get my head around what I am doing and then 1200 to shoot. On a good day I group them nicely, bad day when my head is somewhere else I dance too much around the black area.

All reloads. No choice, shooting a wildcat.

I have however acquired a .308 and with this rifle I can buy factory ammo.

I do not see reloading as a saving, more a means to be more accurate.

I think I will have to go along and see for myself, but thank you all for your comments.

It's steered me in the right direction !

Chris.

Dahonis wrote:I think I will have to go along and see for myself, but thank you all for your comments.

It's steered me in the right direction !

Chris.

Does that mean we can welcome you to the dark side tongueout

Typically no more than 25 in 308/303. That would be 2 sighters then 10 on target to score, shooting twice. Competitions would be with the 303 and are usually about 40 including 3-5 to zero.

Providing your loads aren't too vigorous case life can be between 10- 20 reload cycles ,thus discounting the cost of reloading .I have just retired my .308 cases which I have reloaded many times.For steel plates I use 7.62 nato ammo which comes in at £42 / 100 and the GGG stuff I am using just now is very accurate in my P-H M82 sniper rifle.
Mostly suppose I reload for the pleasure I get from doing it ,the technical aspect of "getting it right " for my rifles ,plus of course the economics over buying factory ammo,if it weren't for reloading I couldn't afford to shoot as much as I do.
Just bought some 175gr .308s from Cristel & Co 317 quid /100 ,Privi Partisan ,they aren't SMKs but having weighed and measured them there's not a lot of difference and I will enjoy finding a load that works with them.
This is what reloading is REALLY about I think , the satisfaction of shooting the perfect 100 with ammo I put together .
I load for 6BR because as Cristel says ,you can't buy it off the shelf .

I just noticed on a box off 175 gr privis labelled by Hunry Kronk actually says "BULLET HEADS " sign01 .The rot has spread to suppliers now , well, Cronks anyway ! Bullets are simply BULLETS ! There is no such thing as a bullet head!

Rant over sign01

waterford103 wrote: I just noticed on a box off 175 gr privis labelled by Hunry Kronk actually says "BULLET HEADS " sign01 .The rot has spread to suppliers now , well, Cronks anyway ! Bullets are simply BULLETS ! There is no such thing as a bullet head!

Rant over sign01

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