Reload for Hunting

[oldhunter1954]

Just a question. I assume that reloading 6.5 Grendel is for people that want to shoot competition. I have priced cases, bullets, powder, etc, etc. I don't see any real savings compared to factory ammo I buy in bulk. My last purchase I paid approximately $0.69 per round. I will use my Grendel for hunting so I feel that factory ammo works well for hunting.
Would like to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks,
Jerry

[imaguy3]

I'm the opposite. I found factory ammo didn't shoot well enough for my hunting needs. Now I hand load it to make a load that shoots good enough to hunt the way I hunt.

[A5BLASTER]

I have found several factory ammo choices that shoot good for hunting ammo.

But I have never found one that can touch the groups my hunting ammo handloads can do.

[1Shot]

Hand loading is cheaper after you take the price of the case out. I can tune my load to each rifle with hand loads. To start off I bought 100 rounds of Hornady 123 SST ammo. This was to see what the capabilities of my first rifle was as well as to use to break in the barrel and then have the cases to load afterward. Turned out that the BCA upper I bought had a junk barrel that had to be sent back and replaced. While this was going on I decided to just build another rifle using a Oden Works barrel. Turned out that neither rifle would shoot this Hornady 123 SST ammo very well and later would not shoot the 123 SST bullet in any of my hand loads very well. Both rifles will shoot sub MOA with 120 Sierra pro Hunter and 120 Speer Gold Dot with my hand loads. I have killed deer with both BANG FLOP. I have been hand loading for 40 years and have not seen many factory loads that I can't surpass for accuracy with my hand loads.

[oldhunter1954]

Thank you to everyone that replied. I have no experience with the 6.5 Grendel yet. I purchased mine from Grendel Hunter dot com. Unfortunately the Corona Virus has shut most things down so I have not been to the range to site it in yet. Therefore I have no idea how well it will function with different types of ammo. I will look into reloading as well.

Regards,
Jerry

[FLshooter]

If I take the price of the case out ,it probably costs around $.50 to reload ea rd for the 6.5 Grendel. But they are quality bullets such as SMK. The type and amount of powder are what that particular gun likes best.
You do not reload to save money. You do it to get better performance out of your rifle. Back in the day you would save a ton of money reloading ,compared to factory ammo. Now I am lucky just to break even.
Reloading is a hobby within itself for me. It gives me as much enjoyment as shooting and probably occupies more of my time than shooting.I sit on the porch with my dog and trim cases. And I prime cases on the couch while I’m watching TV.

[VASCAR2]

If you already own reloading equipment like I did it was better for me to reload. There are times where the factory 6.5 Grendel ammo was sold out. If you don’t own any reloading equipment then using factory ammo for hunting might be cheaper. Not all 6.5 Grendel brass is created equal but Lapua, Hornady, Starline brass get good reviews. The newer PPU brass which uses small rifle primers and Remington 6.5 Grendel brass haven’t been out long enough to know how many reloads you can get but look promising. Federal 6.5 Grendel brass is probably the least desirable but if you can get one reload it is good for reloading once for hunting where you might not be able to recover your brass. Selling once fired factory brass is a way to recoup some expense of shooting 6.5 Grendel factory ammo. Once fired brass is commonly sold on this forum.

[tdbru]

oldhunter1954,
if your rifle likes a hunting load you can buy off the shelf, and you're happy with the performance of said bullet on game, and your only interest is in hunting, then it probably doesn't pay to reload.
the advantages i see for reloading, as pointed out by many so far, is you can tailor the particular bullet and powder charge to get the tightest accuracy in your individual rifle. if your rifle already shoots the hunting ammo you like to use under 1 MOA you may not consider tightening the groups further to be of any more value for big game hunting. if you can't find a particular bullet you'd like to use for hunting, then of course you'll have to hand load. if you live in the communist republic of Kalifornia, then you have to use non lead bullets to hunt with. i am not aware of a factory non lead bullet hunting load yet. so you will have to load them yourself. and even so there may be other hunting bullets you'd like to use, like the 125gr. Nosler Partition, for example, that aren't loaded as a factory round as far as i know. if on the other hand, Hornady SST, Federal Fusion, Remington Corelokt work for you and your rifle and you can find them, then you may not need to reload. buy a case of whatever it is you like and you'll be set for life in terms of hunting ammo. and if you really start enjoying plinking, there is also plenty of factory ammo for that too, if you don't want to reload. as pointed out above as well, reloading is a nice hobby too. once you have the empty cases, re-loading them does save some cost, though not as much as it use to.
have fun
-tdbru

[se3388]

Like most I think factory hunting ammo is USUALLY adequate for MOST hunting but I like most like that little bit of accuracy you can get with handloads and the satisfication of 'roll ur own'. My handloads in my Mini MkX will do 1/2 to 5/8 inch at 100 yds.

Steve..........

[1Shot]

In my former post I assumed that the OP already had loading equipment. If you don't already own what it takes to hand load then by far it is cheaper to purchase your ammo. Problem is with the current situation will be finding any ammo to purchase. It is nuts right now. I have hand loaded for 40 years so I have recouped my cost of equipment. I also have a few calibers, wildcats, that if you can't hand load you don't shoot.

[BCHunter]

As others have stated if your happy with factory ammo for hunting, stack your favorite load deep, resell the brass and enjoy.
I started reloading because i have multiple calipers i shoot, i like to shoot and can shoot more with reloads then with factory, i can tune loads to gun, and setup loads you don't find commonly, ie varnmint loads in 7-08 and 6.5CM. And i enjoy the process of getting the best performance for each firearm.
You don't save money reloading, it's an expensive rabbit hole you go down, but I'm not worried about running out of ammo or getting priced gouged in the current situation. Also ive never seen the price on factory ammo go down, so reloading is a bit of insurance against inflation.

[Javman]

Just a question. I assume that reloading 6.5 Grendel is for people that want to shoot competition. I have priced cases, bullets, powder, etc, etc. I don't see any real savings compared to factory ammo I buy in bulk. My last purchase I paid approximately $0.69 per round. I will use my Grendel for hunting so I feel that factory ammo works well for hunting.
Would like to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks,
Jerry

Depends on what your hunting situation is such as game and distance. Also you didn't mention what Ammo your considering for hunting use? That would help with the appropriate responses from all the knowledge add on this board. Just saying.

[oldhunter1954]

Thanks to all. I like the comments about fine tuning the ammo to the gun as well as not being at the mercy of the market or suppliers. I plan to save my brass and look deeper into what minimum equipment would be required to start hand loading. I have noticed that certain types of bullets are only available to people that hand load. I would look at this as an investment in the future.


Regards,
Jerry

[oldhunter1954]

Depends on what your hunting situation is such as game and distance. Also you didn't mention what Ammo your considering for hunting use? That would help with the appropriate responses from all the knowledge add on this board. Just saying.

I have joined a group that goes hog hunting in Florida. Average shot is taken from 50 to 100 yards. Plan to site the rifle in at 100 yards. I have a 3 x 9 scope on the rifle. I have only purchased 3 different brands of 6.5 Grendel ammo so far.

[imaguy3]

I have joined a group that goes hog hunting in Florida. Average shot is taken from 50 to 100 yards. Plan to site the rifle in at 100 yards. I have a 3 x 9 scope on the rifle. I have only purchased 3 different brands of 6.5 Grendel ammo so far.

I'd sight in at 50 ish then personally...

[grayfox]

For an AR with the scope 2.5" above bore level, IMO I would do 100 yd zero. That gives you a zero at 35 yds also, +/-.
Makes the flight path pretty level out to 125 yds.

[imaguy3]

For an AR with the scope 2.5" above bore level, IMO I would do 100 yd zero. That gives you a zero at 35 yds also, +/-.
Makes the flight path pretty level out to 125 yds.

All of the cantilever scope mounts I have (and 2 others I mounted for friends) on my AR's put center of scope tube at 2.75". This goes for the Vortex one, Burris PEPR, GGG mount, and a cheapo Vortex clone from Amazon. A 45yrd zero has me within 2" high/low from 10 yards out to 220yrds.

Oldhunter - Take your measurements of when you get your scope mounted up, along with velocity and bullet BC... and use a simple ballistic calculator to get a ballpark estimate to find your preferred mpbr.