Handloads vs. Factory Loads?

Question

A friend of mine swears that handloads are more accurate than factory loaded rounds. Does this have any truth, or is it just prejudice against large-scale production? His dad put him on to the idea.

Answer 1

Any thing that the question says always or the statement says always is false.  

Answer 2

Yes, Yes, Yes it is true.*

Answer 3

G'Day mate reloading is more accurate than factory loads  only if the user knows what they are doing.But i will admit factory's loads are starting to take on the re loader's.Re loaders bring the the bullet out close to the rifling to also gain accuracy where now factory loads have started crimping witch holds the bullets so casein builds up more pressure when fired.They do sell crimp die set's to re loaders but factory loads are not that bad they are still accurate but still cost more money where reloading don't cost that much just say a box of 308 core lokt in Australia for $24 me reloading my own cost me about $5 a box .There is always going to be computation with factory and re loaders for accuracy

and re loaders are winning.But i don't now how long for but 4 price it will never be beaten.cheers mate

Answer 4

They can be, when the maker is experienced, educated, and knows how to dial in the round for the weapon. Every weapon fires a little differently from the next one, and handloads can be made to best take care of those quirks. But for accuracy from gun to gun, factory loads are hard to beat.

Answer 5

I would say that usually hand-loads are more accurate than factory loads.

I've shot more rounds from a bench than I can even think about estimating.  In all my rifles, only once have I ever had factory ammo shoot better than handloads I made for the rifle.

Rifles are like people.  Each one seems to like something different.  Some like certain types of bullets, others a certain brand of primer, and others like powders of certain burn rates.  What handloading can do is fine tune the myriad of variables to something that works exceptionally well in a particular rifle.

If I were just to pick a load out of a bullet manual at random and fire it through a firearm, it would be a 50-50 chance that it would be more accurate than factory ammo.  Also, a handload that is a tack driver in one rifle might shoot terribly in another rifle.  However, if you take the time to tweak different variables, a handloader can almost always get better results than factory ammo.

For the record, the factory ammo that I couldn't outperform was Winchester Supreme 100gr boattails in a 243 Win (I don't think they make this load anymore...at least I havent seen it in awhile).  I was able to consistantly shoot under 1 inch groups at 200m with factory ammo (with my best being a 0.5 inch group at 200m).  I was able to get close to that with handloads, but I never was able to do any better.

Sorry for the spelling (in a hurry)

Answer 6

Yes they are ALWAYS more accurate when they are reloaded for the same bolt action they have been shot out of.And only the neck is re-sized this is due to the case being fire formed to the chamber of the gun. But reloaded ammo that was new or used brass and needed to a full re-size will be as good but not all that better then store bought ammo.

Answer 7

Always is a big word. The point of handloading is to tinker until you get what you want, so once you have one "worked up" it can be very accurate. The starting load is not likely to be super-accurate, but if you want accuracy, you can certainly get it.

Answer 8

ALWAYS is such a woman statement!!!

He sould try to avoid those ;0)

I think it has to do with the care taken by each individual.  They can be more accurate, but I've heard of accidental double loads.  My BIL has the set up and isn't known for his, um, attention to detail, I think he's both over and under loaded!  

Answer 9

I would have to say not always more accurate, but most likely most of the time because you get to put the special care into each bullet. Now reloads on the other hand can be quite dangerous at times, and lots of times may misfire after so many uses. I personally dont have the time i just shoot cheap wolf ammo in my ak

Answer 10

That's like saying a Ford or a Chevy would be better if you made it yourself.  Obviously, there is NO truth to that statement and little truth to the claim by your misguided friend.  Quality is a wide ranging standard when one considers the interests and lack of interests among some of us who like to "load our own".  As with any art, artists have standards uniquely their own.  Some are good.  Most are poor.  And only a RARE few ever become known as masters.  The same is true of those who choose to load their own ammunition.  I have seen the results entirely TOO often of injuries to guns and gunners as a result of poorly loaded ammunition created by people with the same kind of attitude as your friend.  I have made my decision based on years of experience as a game warden, former hunting guide/outfitter, and a lifelong outdoorsman to NEVER again shoot ammo from anyone who rolls his own.  I choose NOT to become another statistic among the horror stories your friend has never heard or chooses to ignore.  I would advise you to be very careful when you consider his poor advice.

Answer 11

Re-loads CAN be more accurate.  It all goes with the care in assembling the ammunition.  Also, you can tailor loads to a gun.

Answer 12

Truth is, he's sort of right and sort of wrong.

These days, factory ammo is better than it has ever been.  In days gone by, it was easy to handload ammo with greater velocity and better accuracy than any factory ammo.  In these days of Premium and Match-Grade factory ammo, it is not as easy to improve on the overall performance of factory ammunition.

However, with handloads, you can tailor the bullet weight and velocity to suit your firearms preferences.  Not all firearms shoot the same load as well as all other firearms of the same type.  If you handload, you can load ammo to suit your firearm and get better accuracy than you can with most factory ammo.

When your friend said:  "He says they are ALWAYS more accurate, no matter who makes them." he is totally wrong.  Ammunition assembled by someone who takes their time to create uniform cartridges, with every step as uniform as possible, the ammunition will be top quality, and if the load suits the firearm, it will be accurate.  However if the ammunition is carelessly loaded by a person making no attempt to uniformly seat primers, weigh powder charges and carelessly seats and crimps bullets, accuracy will be a hit-or-miss proposition.

FWIW, I heartily encourage you to take up reloading.  It won't really save you any money, but you'd be able to shoot more for the same money.

Doc