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Factory Loaded Ammo Do you use it


Dewey Cheatem, SASS #75620

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How many shooters use factory loaded ammo? If a manufacture offered loaded ammo what caliber, grain bullet would you want. Not looking for every caliber but what main 3-4 would you want. 38 cal in 158,125,110,95? 45 Colt in 250, 200, 185? 44 Special? 32?

 

Im posing this question because there is talk of a manufacture producing a revolver/lever gun specific ammo for shooting sports. So im looking for honest input from those who shoot factory loads. Obviously many reload and this line would not really apply to them. Just trying to see what key calibers, bullet weight the SASS community would want.

 

Thank you for any input on this.

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When I started shooting CAS I always bought loaded ammo from a local ammo manufacturer at gun shows. As I shot more and more the cost rose to an uncomfortable level. Plus the ammo (45 Colt) was a tad hot for our game. Guys used to joke I was shooting 45 magnum. Needless to say I now reload my ammo. BUT, if I could have bought ammo in the neighborhood of $12-15 per box of 50 I might have just kept buying that ammo, especially if the rounds were not so hot. I use either 200 or 250 grain RNFP and either would have suited me.

 

Now I am looking for factory ammo once again in 45 acp for a different shooting venture. Mainly to NOT get into more reloading. But I'm choosing factory also because I do not plan on needing vast amounts of it so the occasional factory ammo purchase should suffice. When I plan to shoot 45-70, 30-30, or 44 Colt or 44 Special BP, I do so infrequently that I just buy factory.

 

Ammo I would purchase now for my cowboy action shooting would be in 44 Special or 44-40. Black powder would be 44 Colt or 44 special only because I only do that maybe a couple times per year. All of this is predicated on affordability. Most of my shooting is done with 45 Colt which I reload but the other calibers I shoot infrequently enough to just stick with factory cowboy ammo.

 

Whether or not I purchase factory ammo or choose to reload ultimately depends on the frequency which I would shoot that particular caliber every year.

Edited by Dantankerous
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I was a commercial reloader for cas shooters.

I only load for cas.

Here is my 2013 ammunition break down on what was loaded.

=======================

38 sp s = 75.94% bullet used was 125TC

357 mag = 8.67% bullet used was 125TC

44 sp = zero

44 mag = .11% bullet used was mix of 200RN and 225RN

44-40 = .09% bullet used was 2o0RN

45 Colt = 14.77% bullet used as 20RN and some 250RN

45-70 = .43% bullet used was 405 FP three lube grooves.

 

Total rounds reloaded was a little of 200,000.

 

There where 32-20 with 119FP but I did not include them in the data.

There where maybe 2000 of these made for two shooters.

There were also 38-55 245FP. Maybe 500. Mostly for me.

 

My personal ammunition is not included above. 357 125Tc & 45 Colt 200FP.

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I understand that you can reload cheaper. What im trying to figure out is what percentage of shooters use factory ammo. Also what caliber, bullet weight would be idea for those shooters.

 

DC

 

Those would be some pretty tough numbers to verify. I'll go out on a limb and GUESS that factory ammo shooters are in the vast minority. 10% maybe? Again, that's a total guess.

 

My second guess would be the caliber percentages. Not sure why but my gut tells me it would be about a 50/50 split between 38 Special and 45 Colt. Yeah, you'll have a few other calibers thrown in there but I think they'd be statistically insignificant.

 

Final guess would be bullet weight. I'll guess 38 Special would be overwhelmingly 125 grain since I think that's the most common. I've never bought 45 Colt factory ammo so don't know bullet weight availability there. When I loaded that round I used 200 grain bullets.

 

All SWAGs folks so don't have a hissy fit if you think I'm way off base. ;)

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Well I guess if Shooting Bull can give his SWAGs I will too :D

 

When I started, I used 'factory' ammo, Well, I bought it from Cliffhanger.

 

I think the percentage of CAS shooters using factory ammo would be less than 10 percent, maybe 5.

 

The real target market for CAS factory ammo would be those just getting started, and 38 spc 125 TC or RNFP and 45 LC 200 would be what I would be looking for, was I looking. The split between calibers I'd guess 59 percent 38, 39 percent 45 LC and 2 percent everything else..

 

In my mind a good factory round would be kinda middle of the road one size fits most kind of thing.

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The only factory ammo I've seen shot are .22 long rifle, smokeless shotgun shells and ammo someone won off a prize table. Some of the shooters at EOT who fly in from overseas buy factory ammo for pickup at the match. I agree with Shooting Bull that 38 Specials loaded with a 125 grain bullet would be a good choice - just load them long enough to cycle reliably in a Marlin. You could sell black powder shotgun shells if you could get your price well below a dollar a shell.

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Only buy Winchester Low Noise Low Recoil 12 ga. shotshells Hardly have time to load my .44-40 ammo, but never have loaded shotshells and don't plan to. I have 550 rounds of .44-40 brass (W-W) on my loading bench, which I hope to finish reloading this winter. Should last me for quite awhile at the rate I'm not shooting lately. :(

 

Happy Holidays, Pards!

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When I started shooting CAS I always bought loaded ammo from a local ammo manufacturer at gun shows. As I shot more and more the cost rose to an uncomfortable level. Plus the ammo (45 Colt) was a tad hot for our game. Guys used to joke I was shooting 45 magnum. Needless to say I now reload my ammo. BUT, if I could have bought ammo in the neighborhood of $12-15 per box of 50 I might have just kept buying that ammo, especially if the rounds were not so hot. I use either 200 or 250 grain RNFP and either would have suited me.

 

Now I am looking for factory ammo once again in 45 acp for a different shooting venture. Mainly to NOT get into more reloading. But I'm choosing factory also because I do not plan on needing vast amounts of it so the occasional factory ammo purchase should suffice. When I plan to shoot 45-70, 30-30, or 44 Colt or 44 Special BP, I do so infrequently that I just buy factory.

 

Ammo I would purchase now for my cowboy action shooting would be in 44 Special or 44-40. Black powder would be 44 Colt or 44 special only because I only do that maybe a couple times per year. All of this is predicated on affordability. Most of my shooting is done with 45 Colt which I reload but the other calibers I shoot infrequently enough to just stick with factory cowboy ammo.

 

Whether or not I purchase factory ammo or choose to reload ultimately depends on the frequency which I would shoot that particular caliber every year.

check out these guys for 45 ACP. I shoot 4-6 WB matches a year, so really did not want to start reloading another caliber. found these, and they have worked fine. Zero failures in my Remington R1 1911.

 

https://goodtogoammo.com/product/45-acp-230-gr-red-viper/

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Whenever I got any kind of a gun, if I didn't already have ammo, I would buy a box or two of new ammo. This was especially true for *some* of my SASS guns, because I couldn't find brass any other way. Not had to do that in a long time though.

I have found that even "Cowboy" commercial ammo is much hotter than I like it to be.

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Even though I reload, I still buy commercial for the bigger shoots, just don't trust mine. I normally buy 1,000 rounds in the spring when I can find them. 38 spec 125 TC.

 

I do load 45-70, 38-55, 45LC, 45 acp and 6x47 lapua.

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Thank you for the input so far. I did expect the number to be low (I was thinkning 20%), but was trying to get a idea of what the real need is. I would think most would reload at the cost, but I also think that the ever so often shooter may opt to use factory since they may not shoot enough to get setup on reloading. I was thinking 38 SPL in 125 Gr, and 45 COLT in 200 Gr with a velocity in the 700-750 FPS might be a good average but still just throwing it out for the shooters of SASS.

 

DC

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.22

I load everything else.

Just saying :-)

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The last time I looked at commercial ammunition, .45 Colt cowboy ammo was $49.99 for a box of 50 by Magtech, 32-20 cowboy ammo was $55 for a box of 50 by Winchester! So one local match would cost me well over $100 just for the ammunition! Even though I'm comfortably well off, that's a big pill to swallow. I know there are other manufacturers who can sell me the same ammunition for significantly less, but I'm not able to really afford to spend $50 a weekend for a game. At this point, the only store bought ammunition I use is Winchester AA shotgun shells.

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Hey Dewey!! Merry Christmas from me and Hatfield!!

 

Every year I order 1,000 rounds custom made for me from a gunsmith with a manufacturer's license. The price varies, depending on whether and what I supply.

 

I suspect that the price point will be the deciding factor. Since many of us are patient and shop extensively for bargains, our reloading costs come in way below what someone could manufacture ammo and sell it for.

 

Still, I'd be interested in seeing what a .38 spl. 125 gr. TC and a 160 gr. and 180 gr. RNFP .45 Colt load would cost!!

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I know of people who admit that they have more money than time, and they have no interest in the savings available from rolling your own. I can respect that, so I hope this thread proves useful in filling that need. If there are 35,000 SASS shooters and 10% of them shoot factory loads at 10 - 6 stage matches a year, that equals over 4,000,000 rifle and pistol rounds. Might be worth the effort, even for a minority?

 

CR

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When I got in to this game 15+ years ago I bought .38 Sp ammo. My marlin did not like it so I had to start loading powered down .357 ammo because I could not find anything commercially. Once I started down the reloading path I never bought commercial ammo for CAS again.

 

I really don't like reloading all that much but it allows me to get exactly what I want to shoot. And, know what I am getting. One of the top WB shooters at EOT match DQd because his purchased ammo did not make power factor. Considering he went to the expense and hassle to get himself and his gear into the US from Germany, this is a monumental failure on the part of the ammo maker.

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Cliffhanger's post looks pretty close to what I was ready to guess.

The middleman is the real challenge. Retail ammo prices seems pretty competitive. Which dealers are gonna carry such specialized loads, even though they could be shot in nonCAS guns?

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When my son and I first started I bought CAS factory ammo from GA Arms. 1000 pcs of 125g 38 spcl @ $260.00. By the time we went through our second case I picked up a Dillon and started reloading. The GA Arms ammo gave me the brass to reload and I'm still using it today. Also bought some 45LC from them as well. Nice folks.

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The only 'factory' ammo I buy is .22 Long Rifle.

Grits, just finished hand loading yesterday - 150 rounds of 22LR with BP to the existing stash using a new Old West 3X 40gr mold that casts like a dream! Believe I'm going to load a 100 or so with smokeless just for S&G's. I've got it down 35 minutes per a box of 50

 

For the other 21 calibers - all reloads including shotshells

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I spent the first five years of CAS shooting miscellaneous brand factory new as well as bulk reloads from Miwall and Ten-X. Eventually I settled in to sending all my empties to Ten-X for them to fill. Since I didn't really have a safe place to reload this was the next best thing. I was probably paying $16-20 per fifty rounds average for .45 Colt. Not the most cost effective system but it suited my circumstances at the time. Like others have said that stuff was pretty hot and hard to shoot fast (at least that's my excuse). The most important thing I always did was to save every piece of brass I ever emptied. Now over the last year as I have ramped up my reloading I am employing some of that brass I have been carrying around for years.

 

Back when I was shooting that factory stuff I aspired to reload, I just had to wait for circumstances to align. I think that anyone who takes a shine to this game also aspires to reload as it is the only cost-effective way to play, and it can be a fun activity in and of itself. Science, math, flammables and explosives: what's not to like?. I imagine that factory ammo will only appeal to the newest shooters who have a lot to absorb, the last of which might be the art of sorting out their favorite load, and perhaps a few like me who just didn't have the infrastructure in place for reloading.

 

My .02 cents. Worth what you paid for it.

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Fortunately I was a reloader before I found SASS. I have never fired a commercial rifle or pistol round in SASS competition.

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I have a friend that works at Choice Ammunition and they have some cowboy loads. Have not tried any since I reload my own.

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I'm with Noz! I reload everything I shoot, regardless of caliber. I have owned rifles for 20 to 30 years and longer, that have never seen a factory round.

 

The economics are simply not there, and reloading gives me the exact loads I want. With the exception of 22 Rim Fire, I'll continue to reload as long as I continue to shoot.

 

DLM

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How many shooters use factory loaded ammo? If a manufacture offered loaded ammo what caliber, grain bullet would you want. Not looking for every caliber but what main 3-4 would you want. 38 cal in 158,125,110,95? 45 Colt in 250, 200, 185? 44 Special? 32?

 

Im posing this question because there is talk of a manufacture producing a revolver/lever gun specific ammo for shooting sports. So im looking for honest input from those who shoot factory loads. Obviously many reload and this line would not really apply to them. Just trying to see what key calibers, bullet weight the SASS community would want.

 

Thank you for any input on this.

Most popular loads in 38 are likely 125 and 105 g truncated cone. In 45 likely 200 and 185 g.

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