What ammo do you shoot from a new, or new to you gun?

[J Miller]

I've read a bunch of posts here and on other forums as well as in the printed media where the owner of a new acquired or newly repaired gun will drag it out to the range and run some sort of reload through it as it's first ammo. Some of these posters and I'll bet some gun writers have gotten into trouble doing this too.

To me that is just silly. First off a new gun is a major variable. You do not know how it will shoot. Weather it will shoot straight or even function properly. Using hand loads only exacerbate this problem.

I hand load 99.9% of the ammo I shoot. I know my ammo, and how it performs in my guns. But, when I get a new gun, or a used gun that's new to me, or have a gun repaired, I always test fire it with factory ammo from the big three if at all possible first. I always try to use the most common loading for that cartridge as well.

Here is a couple of examples:

A couple months ago I finally got my Iver Johnson's imported Uberti Cattleman back from the gun smith after a rebuild. The stories are here if you want to search for them. Although I have lots of SAAMI spec hand loads available the first box of ammo shot from this revolver was Remington 250gr ammo.
Another example is my 1950 Win 94 I got several years ago. When I finally go to shoot it at the SixGuns/Leverguns get together in November of '06, the first two boxes of ammo fired from it were Winchester 150gr PP factory ammo.
I do this on a regular basis. I call it a tradition. I haven't fired a shot out of the Marlin MR-7 yet, but I have two boxes of Win 150gr PP factory ammo to shoot from it when I do.

Getting a new gun is a thrill to me, yet I acknowledge that things might not always be correct. So to remove as many variables from the equation as possible I shoot them first with factory ammo. That way if something goes wrong, it's not the fault of hand loaded ammo.
As good as hand loads can be, they are a variable. No two persons ammo will be the same even if they use the identical components and the same brands of equipment, so it's best to use factory ammo.

After that when you know that the gun is working properly and shooting straight, you can use the nice once fired brass to load up your favorite hand load.

Joe

[TedH]

I see no point in buying factory loads if I have the means to produce it myself, new gun or not. To me, my handloads are no more of a variable than different brands of factory ammo would be. Besides that, I'm cheap.

[Bruce]

I also shoot a few boxes of store bought through a newly acquired firearm before I work up handloads for it. I want to see what its potential is before I try load development. The Marlin 308MX and MXLR is a good example of why I do this. From my experience with both, I doubt that I can improve upon the factory ammo for this caliber. (It is less than MOA in my rifles) I may even have trouble matching the accuracy of the factory ammo and from what I have read, I probably can not meet the velocity of the factory ammo, due to the special blend of powder they use - which is not available at this time. My main goal with reloads is to develop a very accurate load which has a good for the caliber/bullet velocity - in that particular rifle.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I agree with TedH ,for the most part. I do fire a factory load first when I get a gun I have ammo for just to check funtion and a quick check of the chamber.
I do have quite a few guns that have never seen a factory load.

[TedH]

I should probably edit my first reply to say that I have, on rare occasion, bought some factory ammo to shoot for accuracy with a couple rifles that turned out to be problem children with any ammo. I could not find a suitable handload and then found factory ammo was no better that my handloads. They had some sort of gremlins that I couldn't iron out to my liking, no matter what. They found a new home. Don't think shooting factory ammo first would have made any difference in my process.

[WCF3030]

Whats factory ammo?

[JReed]

I shoot a couple of boxes of factory ammo threw my new guns. Just to break in the bore a bit before I start rolling my own. Also lately my new guns have been in chamberings that I dont already have so it is also a fun way to start my stock pile of brass.

[Old Time Hunter]

Depends as to whether or not I have dies, brass, bullets, and correct powder for my new to me gun. Other than maybe .30-30's, I generally do not load to full SAAMI specs. That, and 99% of my "new" to me rifles are at least 100+ years old and of not readily available factory loaded ammo. Would you trust Remington .45-70 300 Grain JSP's in a 1882 Winchester bolt?

[Blaine]

I shoot whatever I have on hand.....

[marlinman93]

With a rare exception I always shoot reloads through any new rifle I get. There's abasolutely no reason that factory ammo would or should be fired through a new gun as a baseline sample, because often factory ammo may not have the correct sized bullet, or best powder charge for that gun. This results in a poor baseline, and possibly a detour in your quest for a perfect load.
When I get a new gun the first thing I do after cleaning is to slug the bore. Then I do a chamber cast with Cerrosafe, and head to my reloading manuals. After determining what size bullet I need to purchase, (based on the bore size) I select several weights of bullets, and several mid to low range charges. After that I load bullets and charges in groups of 5 ea.
I take all the loads out to the range and start with the lightest loads, working my way up to the heaviest. When one group shows the best results for accuracy I go back home and load up another box of that load and make a second trip to the range. Occasionally I take bullets, powder, and my Huntington hand press to the range, and experiment with a few other charges based on data I get from the first loads.-Vall

[jnyork]

With the exception of rimfire stuff, I cant remember the last time I bought a box of factory ammo, must be at least 30 years.

[Freightman]

My cast bullets only as I am far to cheap and broke to use the high price store bought stuff.

[Sixgun]

With the exception of rimfire stuff, I cant remember the last time I bought a box of factory ammo, must be at least 30 years.

Ditto- I am often given factory ammo by people, either because they no longer want it or have no need for it. I shoot it up to get the brass.

I trust my ammo more than factory ammo because I can control the power of it, not to mention that a lot of the stuff I shoot has not been manufactured since the 1930's. (I know, I know, I've blown up a gun) ---------Sixgun

[airedaleman]

I see no point in buying factory loads if I have the means to produce it myself, new gun or not. To me, my handloads are no more of a variable than different brands of factory ammo would be. Besides that, I'm cheap.

+1 (I'm not cheap, just mostly broke...)

[AJMD429]

New gun = factory loads. One less variable to deal with, and if it blows up, at least I know the company isn't going to say it was my 'strange' ammo.

Factory loads also are the ONLY ones I use for self-defense, because if I ever had to pull the trigger in that situation, I'd not want some jackass lawyer to be able to claim that I was a psycho-killer just aching to use my hot reloads to maim some poor crack-head just because he was trying to kill me.

I also have used factory .44 Mags as my hunting ammo, because they work flawlessly (so do my reloads, though...) and my wife bought me 1,000 rounds of .44 Mag Winnie SP's a couple years ago.

[Hobie]

I only shoot factory loads to establish a baseline if needed. Some factory loads are so easily duplicated for pressure and pressures so low that having factory loads for that purpose isn't really necessary. I do do it for new to me cartridges, again, to establish a base line. Then again, I don't redline my handloads.

[huntershooter]

The only factory ammo I own is for self defense/carry guns. Oh, shotgun ammo as well. Only shotgun ammo I load is if I can't find it on the shelf-i.e. 12 ga. 1.5 oz. BB's.
I enjoy the process of load develpment/sighting in. I really appreciate working up a load that will shoot to the guns potential.
It's been at least 25 yrs. since I've fired a single factory rd. through a long gun (excluding "get out of town" guns-AR15's/AR10).

[adirondakjack]

Most of my centerfire guns have never seen factory fodder. No good reason NOT to use my own "tried and true" recipes when trying out a new gun.

[Old Savage]

Well I discovered I do have one 270 that has never seen a factory round.

[El Chivo]

I've only gotten one new gun since I started reloading, and I shot a factory round through it for luck (both my 336s hit the 100 yard gong first shot out of the box).

[Modoc ED]

Usually factory ammo for a new gun but have used handloads.

[Mike D.]

Factory ammo cannot be purchased for the beat up old Winchesters I usually acquire, so most of my cartridges are hand loaded one at a time. I have fired factory .30 WCFs and .45-70s a couple of tomes, but not a full box. I don't use any bullets larger than 350 grains in .45 caliber guns, as they are not needed for the elk, deer and pigs that we normally hunt. I have found that 300 grain bullets are best out here in the far west.

[Idiot]

You know Joe, that's a good question. I've certainly enjoyed reading the responses. I have no hard and fast rule and often use whatever I have available or can obtain first.

I like ammo just about as much as I like guns, so as a result I often buy ammo (lots of it) before I have a gun to shoot it in. However, when the cost per box of ammo is too high for a particular gun - over $40 - I usually resign to the fact that I'll likely only shoot handloads in it and buy all all the stuff I need to load. So, as I said I have no hard and fast rule.

As far as a baseline is concerned, I can load a factory equivilent load as easy as I can buy a box of ammo, so that has no bearing on my decision. However, I will say this, I usually test fire a newly acquired rifle or handgun with a factory equivilent load using a common bullet. This gives me a good idea of what the manufacturer expected to deliver in the specific rifle and lets me know other things about the guns such as recoil, sight regulation, etc.

I must be a tad touched, but I get just as much pleasure walking into my gun room and looking at all of the colorful boxes of factory ammo on the shelves as I do looking over my meager gun collection. To each his own I guess.

[Modoc ED]

Even though you're down in the "Lead Free Area" Mike, I hope you have plenty of LEAD/Jacketed with LEAD filler bullets on hand for non-hunting purposes -- i.e., plinking and general all=around shooting.

I took an inventory this morning and I think I'm a little shorter on powder than I want to be so I just ordered 8 Lbs each of H4350, H4198, and IMR3031 from USAMidway. Ordered it 3rd Day via UPS so I should have it by Tuesday.

[buckeyeshooter]

Other than a 308me for which no cases were available, I always fire my own manufactured ammo in a new or new to me firearm. From a realistic standpoint, self loaded ammo is every bit as good if not better than factory ammo. The bonus for manufacturing you own ammo is many things but at the top of the list are the ablitity to find the most accurate load for your particular gun, making bullet weights or cast loads unavailble to the factory and also making 'lower power' type loads for an old gun which may not function well or is hazardous with smokeless powders.

[Borregos]

TedH wrote:
I see no point in buying factory loads if I have the means to produce it myself, new gun or not. To me, my handloads are no more of a variable than different brands of factory ammo would be. Besides that, I'm cheap.

+1

Can't remember the last time I bought factory ammo other than 22LR

[Mike D.]

Even though you're down in the "Lead Free Area" Mike, I hope you have plenty of LEAD/Jacketed with LEAD filler bullets on hand for non-hunting purposes -- i.e., plinking and general all=around shooting.

I took an inventory this morning and I think I'm a little shorter on powder than I want to be so I just ordered 8 Lbs each of H4350, H4198, and IMR3031 from USAMidway. Ordered it 3rd Day via UPS so I should have it by Tuesday.

I'm OK around these parts with lead and jacketed, Ed, it's the San Benito ranch that has the unleaded restriction. I still have several hundred .45 lead and jacketed, as well as .406s, 379s, and what all else around the garage.

[revolverjunkie]

i usually run a box of winchester white box through it then out come the handloads

[kooz]

I see no reason to use factory ammo first through a new gun. I can't remember the last time I bought factory ammo, except for rimfire and shotgun ammo. I have never used factory ammo that was as accurate as my reloads and this is true in spades for my handguns. I also regularly carry reloads in my CCW gun.

[Old Savage]

One reason I start with factory ammo is an experience with the first centerfire I bought, a BLR 243. Using new factory Federal 100 gr within ten rounds it was flattening the primers.

What I found out: the chamber has minimum dimensions, the bore has minimum dimensions and on the suggestion of a gunsmith I aggressively scrubbed the end of the neck of the chamber with a bore brush with a patch with toothpaste on it in a rotating fashion. He postulated that there may be a build up of polishing compound at the end of the minimum chamber. This solved the problem. I fired the rest of the box of Federals with normal results.

The minimum chamber and barrel dimensions still make some near minimum loads max but it does not cause over pressure. How many of you start with MINIMUM loads in load development. I don't unless the factory loads show the rifle is touchy to loads.

This has only revealed a problem with two rifles out of the thirty some I have worked with but without this approach we might be dealing with the same questions and doubt that are occurring on the 25-35 thread.

The second rifle turned out to have a non concentric chamber that split two of the first 10 Federal factory loads. This did not occur with Rem or Win ammo - go figure. That rifle went back to Ruger. They put a new barrel on and it is a great performer.

[Borregos]

Old Savage, that is interesting and food for thought