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Factory Ammo vs. Reloads: Which Is Best?

Annihilator

Annihilator

Emissary
Founding Member
Interesting read on ammo, factory vs reloads. I usually buy factory new, but also just to plink, I will buy factory remanufactured ammo, as for hand loads, if I do them yea, but I was always told never use or shoot someone else’s hand loads in your guns

gunmagwarehouse.com

Factory Ammo vs. Reloads: Which Is Best? - The Mag Life

You can never have enough ammo, whether you buy it from the factory or reload your own. Having a good stock is never a bad idea.
gunmagwarehouse.com gunmagwarehouse.com
 
Annihilator said:
Interesting read on ammo, factory vs reloads. I usually buy factory new, but also just to plink, I will buy factory remanufactured ammo, as for hand loads, if I do them yea, but I was always told never use or shoot someone else’s hand loads in your guns

gunmagwarehouse.com

Factory Ammo vs. Reloads: Which Is Best? - The Mag Life

You can never have enough ammo, whether you buy it from the factory or reload your own. Having a good stock is never a bad idea.
gunmagwarehouse.com gunmagwarehouse.com
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yeah, i like to reload some of my stuff, it gives me more plinking ammo, and not necessarily cheaper, but available for when i don't get out and buy new.

and NO...i do not give my reloads to others...they stay with me, in fact, if i let someone shoot one of my guns..??

factory ammo, just in case i have a bad reloaded round.....i don't want to be responsible for someone else's injury, if that were to ever happen.
 
I've been reloading for about 40 years now. I can tell you for a fact that reloading does not save you money. But you do get to shoot a lot more for the same cost. ;)
But with the current lack of powder and primers, you might as well buy factory ammo. I'm saving what reloading stuff I have for my harder to find and more expensive calibers.
 
i reload for the serenity it provides while doing the science, clear head and just me, the dillion, bullets, powder, primers and brass. its amazingly great mental therapy for me any way

plus at range we generally shoot reloads and harvest any bright shiny stuff once fired by all those shooting factory stuff
i will never run out of brass

out in the woods we carry factory loaded as main and 50 or so reloads as back up
 
I reload 38 special 357 mag and 45 acp and 45 Colt (and probably 32 S&W king soon) for range stuff

I use factory as well and always factory 9mm

I will say constructively (and I’d say the print restrictions kept the author from maybe touching on it) but one thing left out about factory is you have several different lines of quality.

The cheap cheap stuff a lot imported

The economy stuff from the major brands let’s use 9mm for example about anything 115 like WWB and Blazer Brass etc

The 124 and 147 fair a little better in their standard stuff then up a grade is the match usually 124-150 always heavier or standard weight more times than not

Then the premium self defense ammo

The higher you go the less QC issues (in general)

Of course like mentioned some guns don’t like some ammo I remember and was reminded by Mike Boyell on a pd cast he was on in the late 80’s when 147 9mm came to be HK out out a advisory not to run 147 in the HK P7 it just didn’t work 115 and 124 were great. BJSP even had some issues with heavy stuff and was the area Mine was involved in LE with so there’s oddities involved sometimes
 
Well, opinions are just opinions. I've shot more 230 Gr WWB then there are grains of sand on the beach. Literally tens of thousands of rounds and never had a single issue with any of it. And more recently I have shot ungodly amounts of 124 gr. Blazer Brass and never had any issues with it.

One thing I personally do not do and that is shoot reloads in semi automatic handguns. Every time I have broken my rule on this it has bit me in the ass. To me it's akin to shooting steel out of your AR. Yeah you can do it and usually you'll probably be fine, but life's too short to take chances like that.
 
Bassbob said:
Well, opinions are just opinions. I've shot more 230 Gr WWB then there are grains of sand on the beach. Literally tens of thousands of rounds and never had a single issue with any of it. And more recently I have shot ungodly amounts of 124 gr. Blazer Brass and never had any issues with it.

One thing I personally do not do and that is shoot reloads in semi automatic handguns. Every time I have broken my rule on this it has bit me in the ass. To me it's akin to shooting steel out of your AR. Yeah you can do it and usually you'll probably be fine, but life's too short to take chances like that.
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Some opinions expressed are from experience and that experience is gained from having failures!

While WWB works and I too have had decent luck and have no issues buying it it’s not on par with othe r”match” stuff

And some Blazer brass as well Monarch and others have issues with the jacket isn’t a real jacket and have seen for myself blazer pepper paper
Targets at 3 and 5 yards with particles from the bullet at Rangemaster Advance and Gon Givens pointed out it was an issue he sees in his classes with Blazer and other brands.

it does work but just stuff to be aware of. And like anything inspect your ammo no matter how match quality you get. Below is dusty ammo I found the we used on the range this was out of about 300,000 rounds in a 2 year period we shot up for qualification and training so it happens.

1 round no primer 2 with primer backwards and 1 9mm bullet loaded backwards looking like a wadcutter
 

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When it comes to blaster grade ammo, I think I a lot of people equate having one bad experience, with one box, from one lot of millions of rounds produced on one single day to mean that “X brand is crap”.

When you shoot enough, of numerous brands, you are gonna have an occasional bad round, or even a bad box…but it’s not always the ammo.

It is also, quite frequently, an issue with one particular firearm that they have. Look up “tolerance stacking”; it can be real issue when it comes to firearms & ammo.

Hand loading can eliminate this issue, but…for blaster grade, it’s questionable if it’s worth it, unless you have a serious progressive setup and can put out hundreds of rounds an hour. Easier to just switch to a brand that works.

However, if you are going for extreme accuracy, no factory load will compete with a hand load, because you can tune the load for your particular firearm, in your hands.
 
I reload in order to shoot more. Like someone said, it may not pay to reload rounds you can buy cheaply, but it does for more expensive rounds. Exception might be a hunter who shoots less than a box per year. .44 Mag., .45 Colt and .45 ACP are examples where you can save a ton.
Most of my reloading is for cowboy action shooting. You want a lighter load so the split times are smaller, but in case of knockdown targets, they need to be effective or you have heavy loads to pull out when a stage has them. It's too much bother for me to have multiple loads, so I just load something lighter that will take down the infrequent knockdowns. They are more economical, using less powder and a lighter bullet or shot. Bullets must be lead which are cheaper than FMJ or HP. My .45 ACP must meet a minimum power factor of 150 and I do a bit more so they will not fall under even in cold weather. I still have thousands of FMJ and HPs for .45 that I got from my doctor when he gave up reloading, but I've been shooting so much lead, I haven't gotten around to it.
Due to inconsistent supplies, I've had to change powders, bullet suppliers and primer companies. It gives me an opportunity to dial in loads and note what my findings are for next or another time. Reloading gives me something to do with my time in retirement.
If you do start to reload, I would start by getting several reloading manuals and get a mentor, if possible.
 
Like many of you I've been reloading rifle, pistol & shotgun for decades. Components are so expensive now I can purchase my practice ammo close to if not cheaper than handloads. Of course I enjoy reloading and often my loads are more accurate than factory stuff. May have missed it but using handloads for defensive use may get you in trouble with an over zealous prosecutor or in a civil case. Heck in the 70's I carried handloads in my duty revolver.
 
rcurtner said:
Like many of you I've been reloading rifle, pistol & shotgun for decades. Components are so expensive now I can purchase my practice ammo close to if not cheaper than handloads. Of course I enjoy reloading and often my loads are more accurate than factory stuff. May have missed it but using handloads for defensive use may get you in trouble with an over zealous prosecutor or in a civil case. Heck in the 70's I carried handloads in my duty revolver.
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The handloads for defense prosecutor concern is overblown. I have never seen an actual court action where that was a sole reason someone was charged.

The main issue I have against using handloads is no matter how long you have reloaded it’s really hard to beat factory premium defensive ammo line Critical Duty, HST or Gold Dot. You have more of a chance of winning the lottery than having a ammo issue at a critical incident.

And this isn’t ment towards you Rcurtnet but I wish I had a dollar for how many times someone clans their handloads are better quality than any factory then watch the same dude have 2 FTF and 3 FTE in the same 18 round IDPA stage!

Amazing! Just imagine the failure rate if those guys loaded billions of rounds a year like an ammo company
 
ECS686 said:
The handloads for defense prosecutor concern is overblown. I have never seen an actual court action where that was a sole reason someone was charged.

The main issue I have against using handloads is no matter how long you have reloaded it’s really hard to beat factory premium defensive ammo line Critical Duty, HST or Gold Dot. You have more of a chance of winning the lottery than having a ammo issue at a critical incident.

And this isn’t ment towards you Rcurtnet but I wish I had a dollar for how many times someone clans their handloads are better quality than any factory then watch the same dude have 2 FTF and 3 FTE in the same 18 round IDPA stage!

Amazing! Just imagine the failure rate if those guys loaded billions of rounds a year like an ammo company
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I do know people that choose to carry handloads in their defensive pistols, for the following reason—they know for a fact that the loads will be reliable; there is precisely zero % chance of having a squib or a light load. They also know that the load will be reliable and accurate.

Coupled with the fact that there’s only been one known instance of handloads being used against someone in court (involving a case that has some serious issues as to it being defense to begin with)…it’s a pretty solid argument in their favor.

That being said, and on the advice of an attorney that handles these cases…it will be easier for them in court (read: less expensive for you) if they never have to deal with it in the first place.

I choose factory ammo that I’ve thoroughly vetted for carry use; but I’m not going to condemn anyone for carrying handloads.
 
ECS686 said:
The handloads for defense prosecutor concern is overblown. I have never seen an actual court action where that was a sole reason someone was charged.

The main issue I have against using handloads is no matter how long you have reloaded it’s really hard to beat factory premium defensive ammo line Critical Duty, HST or Gold Dot. You have more of a chance of winning the lottery than having a ammo issue at a critical incident.

And this isn’t ment towards you Rcurtnet but I wish I had a dollar for how many times someone clans their handloads are better quality than any factory then watch the same dude have 2 FTF and 3 FTE in the same 18 round IDPA stage!

Amazing! Just imagine the failure rate if those guys loaded billions of rounds a year like an ammo company
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If you check again you'll see I wasn't referring to defensive ammo. While reloading is rewarding an incompetent loader is risking serious injury and at least faulty ammo. Over the years have competed in a variety of shooting disciplines using my handloads in all of them. I don't recall seeing a lot of failures with handloads. As far as liability goes why risk using reloads in your carry guns. In our current society you can probably be sued for spitting on the sidewalk.
 
rcurtner said:
If you check again you'll see I wasn't referring to defensive ammo. While reloading is rewarding an incompetent loader is risking serious injury and at least faulty ammo. Over the years have competed in a variety of shooting disciplines using my handloads in all of them. I don't recall seeing a lot of failures with handloads. As far as liability goes why risk using reloads in your carry guns. In our current society you can probably be sued for spitting on the sidewalk.
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Respectfully the talk of liability is overblown. Anyone can’t be sued for anything. Yes someone can make a claim however there has to be a “Cause of Action” decided for those that don’t know when you hear reports of a Judge allowing a lawsuit to go forward that is the cause of action being met.

I have been subject to several lawsuits. Only about 4 went farther than the cause of action and were thrown out. Out of the 4 2 of them were thrown out later and 2 ended up DOJ won (it was several of us being sued)

While you, and I are NOT recommending anyone use handloads for defense I’m simply stating it’s not about liability or what a prosecutor Reyes to say. There is way to much case law and if your shoot is so questionable your being tried for murder you got bigger issue to deflect ytan why bullet or type of ammunition you used!
 
ECS686 said:
Respectfully the talk of liability is overblown. Anyone can’t be sued for anything. Yes someone can make a claim however there has to be a “Cause of Action” decided for those that don’t know when you hear reports of a Judge allowing a lawsuit to go forward that is the cause of action being met.

I have been subject to several lawsuits. Only about 4 went farther than the cause of action and were thrown out. Out of the 4 2 of them were thrown out later and 2 ended up DOJ won (it was several of us being sued)

While you, and I are NOT recommending anyone use handloads for defense I’m simply stating it’s not about liability or what a prosecutor Reyes to say. There is way to much case law and if your shoot is so questionable your being tried for murder you got bigger issue to deflect ytan why bullet or type of ammunition you used!
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I'm not saying anyone would be prosecuted or sued just saying it is possible. Probably think most armed citizens don't use handloads in their carry guns. Definitely not telling folks to not use handloads that's to his/her own decision to make.
 
I used to buy reloads from a reputable company near me.
Problem is when reloading supplies got scarce he stopped selling to the public in order to fulfill the agreements with local police departments range ammo.
If these police departments trust his reloads, so do I.
 
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