So, with .22lr, I have a good grasp of what I'm buying as far as decent vs cruddy. Federal is good bulk for plinking. CCI Minimags for semi autos. CCI SV for inexpensive target. Eely or Wolf match for pricey target.
But I have no idea about .223.
I'd like to find something cheap for plinking and something a bit nicer for working on target shooting (I'm not talking match or fancy handloading level of "target"). Essentially something on the lines of Fed bulk for plink and CCI SV for target.
Bulk: Tula or Wolf steelcase? Reman stuff from somewhere like freedommunitions.com? Surplus?
Target: ?
Re: Rank me some 223 for plinking and some for target?
2I've had good luck with the Freedom remanufactured stuff- I can't shoot wolf/tula/etc here in SoCal really, but shot a lot of it back in Colorado- it's dirty, but cheap and functional. I don't have a bolt action 223, so no real opinion on that, but my reloads shoot much better than the stuff I get from the stores. Federal performs fine, the Hornady stuff is good too.
Economically though, for a bolt action, a cheap press setup will get you great quality ammo for far, far less in price. Some of the good ammo out there is nearly $1/round, and if you get into reloading you can make as good a quality as you can buy off the shelf, tuned to your rifle, for $.20/round instead. Makes it cheaper than even the russian surplus stuff.
Economically though, for a bolt action, a cheap press setup will get you great quality ammo for far, far less in price. Some of the good ammo out there is nearly $1/round, and if you get into reloading you can make as good a quality as you can buy off the shelf, tuned to your rifle, for $.20/round instead. Makes it cheaper than even the russian surplus stuff.
Re: Rank me some 223 for plinking and some for target?
3Given the free shipping they have this weekend, I'll probably order some of the Freedom.
Absolutely. And I already have a reloading setup (though I have only done handgun ammo thus far). And I intend to start learning rifle reloading with the .223.
But I know I need a lot of trigger time with a rifle if I want to learn to shoot well. So having some accurate, but not fancy match, ammo I can buy off the shelf in the meantime would be a bonus.
shinzen wrote:Economically though, for a bolt action, a cheap press setup will get you great quality ammo for far, far less in price. Some of the good ammo out there is nearly $1/round, and if you get into reloading you can make as good a quality as you can buy off the shelf, tuned to your rifle, for $.20/round instead. Makes it cheaper than even the russian surplus stuff.
Absolutely. And I already have a reloading setup (though I have only done handgun ammo thus far). And I intend to start learning rifle reloading with the .223.
But I know I need a lot of trigger time with a rifle if I want to learn to shoot well. So having some accurate, but not fancy match, ammo I can buy off the shelf in the meantime would be a bonus.
Re: Rank me some 223 for plinking and some for target?
4Cool. If you're already setup to reload, rifle is a little different (don't forget the lube!) but definitely worth doing. Since you'll be shooting far less of it through the bolt action, cranking out 50 rounds for a days shooting is a snap.
Re: Rank me some 223 for plinking and some for target?
5I like PMC for practice. Clean and reliable.
"il corporativismo è la pietra angolare dello Stato fascista" Translated, this means: "boom-shacka-lacka-lacka,-boom-boom-boom.
Re: Rank me some 223 for plinking and some for target?
6I have a S&W Sport II - it's a great rifle -
So I shoot decent ammo out of it -
I mean why shoot junk out of a quality rifle.
I like American Eagle -
AE Rem at Walmart ( black box ) is reasonable and good stuff... sealed primers.
AE 223 at Dicks ( black box ) is more expensive and doesn't have sealed primers.
I'd stay away from steel and cheapo ammo -
So I shoot decent ammo out of it -
I mean why shoot junk out of a quality rifle.
I like American Eagle -
AE Rem at Walmart ( black box ) is reasonable and good stuff... sealed primers.
AE 223 at Dicks ( black box ) is more expensive and doesn't have sealed primers.
I'd stay away from steel and cheapo ammo -
Re: Rank me some 223 for plinking and some for target?
7I tried out Hornady Black 62 grain .223 this week. Shot clean and cycled well in my AR. Managed to find 9 boxes for $8 each, shipped. I've been using Winchester white box, and while that's worked for the past 10 years in my Glock 9mm, my XDs 9mm and my AR didn't like it so much. But it could work great for you in a bolt gun.