Africa hunting ammunition use

[JPbowhunter]

I like to reload as I feel it just adds another level of satisfaction to the hunt and you can generally work up good loads.
Having said that factory is generally good these days

 

[PARA45]

I'm in the same boat. I reload for all the rifles & pistols I own. Hunting and successfully getting the animal I'm after with my own reloads is very rewarding to me. Factory ammo today is very, very good, with many choices to choose the one the rifle likes. This is true for those who do not reload.

 

[meigsbucks]

Other than shotguns with slugs, I’ve only shot one animal using a factory load.
I do generally buy two boxes of “basic” factory loads for barrel break in and getting on paper. It also generates 40 pieces of once fired brass for starting load development. I also usually purchase 300 pieces of brass for each new gun.

 

[BobT]

I reload all of my hunting ammo for my centerfire rifles and pistols. Shotguns I usually shoot factory stuff although I do have the equipment to load shotgun ammo. I have never attempted to load rimfire ammo but I have pulled .22 magnum bullets and replaced them with 40 grain Sierra Hornet bullets.

 

[Bruce]

ONLY factory Ammo.
For all game

 

[Goose Cracker]

If I can find factory ammo that has the components I want and shoots, I use factory ammo. My Nosler M48 35 Whelen is a case in point. Shoots factory Federal 225g TBBC better than MOA. I’m unlikely to improve that. But my CZ 550 FS doesn’t shoot anything Factory particularly well, so it’s 140g Swift Aframes loaded to 2.5350 CBTO over 44.5 grains of IMR 4831 at 2650. Same with everything else I own. If factory works well, so be it. If not, handload!

 

[Newboomer]

I use my own handloads exclusively for hunting. I've got some factory stuff for rough sighting in but go to my hunting loads for final sighting. I want to know exactly where I'm hitting in the bush.

 

[fourfive8]

Haven't shot a factory rifle round at a game animal since about 1969. No excuses from me about poor bullet or ammo performance.... yadayadayada. Have spent a lifetime at this and expended a huge effort on this education.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Factory ammo ( Federal ) for my 10 gauge Browning semi auto .
Factory Ammo ( Norma) for my .375 H&H Magnum pre war Winchester Model 70. Though , l got a slightly better grouping in my Winchester recently by using Kynoch 300 grain round nose solids. So l may change to Kynoch soon after a few more experiments.

 

[Goose Cracker]

If I can find factory ammo that has the components I want and shoots, I use factory ammo. My Nosler M48 35 Whelen is a case in point. Shoots factory Federal 225g TBBC better than MOA. I’m unlikely to improve that. But my CZ 550 FS doesn’t shoot anything Factory particularly well, so it’s 140g Swift Aframes loaded to 2.5350 CBTO over 44.5 grains of IMR 4831 at 2650. Same with everything else I own. If factory works well, so be it. If not, handload!

I should have noted my CZ 550 FS is chambered in 6.5x55.

 

[ikeda]

I can't remember ever shooting an animal with factory loads.
Of course I've hunted most of my animals with antique Winchesters.
Not too many factory loads available out there for 38-72, 40-82, 50-110, 33 Winchester, 577/450, etc.

 

[tarbe]

I have been hunting big game since 1975 and I have not taken a single animal with anything but ammunition I have loaded myself.

I love to hunt, but loading, experimenting and shooting are a huge part of the whole exercise for me.

 

[Timbo]

As @tarbe says, reloading forms a big part of the whole hunting and shooting experience. For me I won't use anything else for hunting if I can avoid it - even though today's factory ammo (most brands) are of a high standard.

But to a reloader, it's very satisfying to find that "sweet spot" where fine tuning your rifle, sights and carefully reloaded ammunition, all come together to shoot for the purpose and accuracy you want.

And that's why - for me anyway - it's very satisfying to hold that projie which I've just dug out of my trophy: knowing it went where, and performed exactly how, I wanted. As @tarbe says - it IS a big part of the experience.

 

[JimP]

I shoot nothing but reloads and have for most part of the last 40 years. But when I purchase a new rifle I'll pick up a couple of boxes of factory stuff.

For those that don't reload and are on a budget you can really cut the cost down by doing it yourself. My .340 Weatherby loves Barnes 225gr TTSX bullets but factory round come to around $10+ a shot or $120 for a box of 20 I can load the same load with the same bullet for under $2 a shot. Simple economics, plus I get the satisfaction knowing that I loaded the round myself that took out the animal that I was shooting at.

I might be a little off on the factory price but I do know that a box of 20 is on the + side of $110

 

[JPbowhunter]

I shoot nothing but reloads and have for most part of the last 40 years. But when I purchase a new rifle I'll pick up a couple of boxes of factory stuff.

For those that don't reload and are on a budget you can really cut the cost down by doing it yourself. My .340 Weatherby loves Barnes 225gr TTSX bullets but factory round come to around $10+ a shot or $120 for a box of 20 I can load the same load with the same bullet for under $2 a shot. Simple economics, plus I get the satisfaction knowing that I loaded the round myself that took out the animal that I was shooting at.

I might be a little off on the factory price but I do know that a box of 20 is on the + side of $110

When i was in melbourne the other day getting some cheap factory to run in my 9.3x62 I noticed that 250gn ttsx were $150 for a box of 20!

A set of dies, norma brass and a box of 250gn ttsx pills would be almost cheaper than 2 boxes of that. And by the third box you're already behind with something that may or may not shoot great out of your rifle.

If that's not a reason to reload I don't know what is!

 

[Trout Tracker]

Been to Africa 3 times: 34 animals with a Remington Model 700 .280 Barnes 140 factory ammo. Zero problems.

At home in US. Factory rifles and reloaded ammo- well over 200 big game animals with mostly reloads....

 

[Rickmt]

Factory Nosler trophy grade 300 wsm 180 grain accubond is my elk, deer ,plains game choice.

 

[John Torcasio]

I aways use factory ammo for my 416 WBY on big game hunt's i play it safe, Especially if going to dusty areas like Africa

 

[curtism1234]

With as many bb guns and 22lrs I shot growing up, I don't feel the necessity to waste time and money target shooting - take my rifles to the range 1-2x a year, shoot 5-10 rounds, and they / I am good to go for general hunting use. But I am a hunter, not a shooter.

I will spend some extra time with a new gun or if I am going to be going on a trip