Target practice?

Shotgun Shurley

New member
Was just wondering but when you guys go to the range to target practice do you shoot the same round that you're hunting with? Reason I ask is this is what I've been doing and I'm shooting V-Max and it's a little pricey just to be shooting at targets. Thanks
 
Yes I practice with the same ammo that I used for my hunts.

And I used the Hornady V-Max bullets too.

Now I'm trying out the M855 ammo. This ammo is what the AR15 20" long barrel was designed to use in the US Army. It's cheaper now and easy to buy. And I don't hunt for the fur on coyotes. My purpose for hunting coyotes is the reduce their numbers.
 
I too practice with what I hunt with and inexpensive loads that are as accurate.. I also shoot off my seat with my sticks as often as I can.

I do load some inexpensive bullets for shooting and practicing but never leave the range unless it is sighted in with my hunting bullet unless I'm working on load developement.
 
If I'm shooting just to shoot I'll shoot FMJ's because I'm not worried about paper running off. But I rarely shoot at anything that isn't alive. Prairie dogs and jackrabbits are target practice. So I normally when I'm "target practicing" I'll shoot an inexpensive,readily available varmint bullet.
 
All of the reloading equipment would or should fit into a large moving box from Home depot. I don't have a loading bench like some here. Its to hot for that here in Phx. I just clean in the garage and press in the garage, but weigh and prep in the house at the table.

reloading would save you a lot of money.. (haha theoretically)

But, like others have said, I practice like I want to play.. I also keep several boxes of cheaper FMJs for those that want to shoot and don't really need the accuracy of the good stuff.

 
When I shot hp rifle competition, for every round I fired on the range, I probably fired two or three in dry fire. MUCH can be learned from dry firing that is covered up by recoil on the range. Air rifle and/or .22 RF is also extremely beneficial practice, also due to less recoil.

Regards,
hm
 
Yep once I find a bullet I like for the intended purpose and range I intend to use it for. I always use that same bullet. So far Berger VLD has one my vote in most of my handholds.
 
There are so many factory loads using vmax and many factory manufactured with a good reputation for less cost.
Black Hills blue box, Ultramax, and HSM have done well for a long time.
It has been said often that Remington Premier AccuTips are Vmax bullets.
I also like Sierra Blitking that has a higher BC.
 
Originally Posted By: Tbone-AZ

reloading would save you a lot of money.. (haha theoretically)


what reloading does is allow you to shoot MORE for your shooting budget.

you can load a whole lot more for $500 than you can buy as loaded ammo for $500.

Quote:But, like others have said, I practice like I want to play.. I also keep several boxes of cheaper FMJs for those that want to shoot and don't really need the accuracy of the good stuff.

this is one of the big perks for me. At the price i load ammo for, i can shoot the same load for target practice and hunting.

with my blackout i have 3 different bullets that will shoot the same POI already. one is my Hunting load & the other two are close enough that within my effective hunting range with the load - i can use them inter changeably. I'm currently working on developing a plated plinking load that will come close to mimicking that loads performance as well. i think i should be able to drive them within 100 fps of my hunting load, and because they're a bit lighter match the POI for 100 yds easily - if i can succeed with that i will be able to shoot my blackout for nearly the cost of a 22 mag or 17hmr.


the other thing you can do to stretch your plinking load budget as a reloader - buy blems. the last batch of 55gr vmax i picked up on blem sale was about $0.11 each. i load the just like the "1st" grade stuff and really cant tell the difference, but i still hunt with the good stuff in case there's some kind of jacket defect or some nonsense.

these blem sales happen a couple times a year usually.

treat it like the "buy a box a week" plan - stash $10 or $20 every paycheck into a reloading supplies budget - by having a few $ set aside and be ready to jump and you can really score sometimes!
 
I do shoot the same bullets I hunt with, when I "practice", but I really don't practice with hunting rifles, except to check Zero. I have an M1A, and a couple of SHTF AR-15s, that are my "fun" rifles, and those have been through load development with inexpensive SP bullets. I don't load FMJs anymore. They can't be hunted where I hunt, so for the few pennies per hundred difference in price, I buy the Soft Point with Cannelure, bullets so if I need something to hunt with, my "practice" ammo can do that, too. Probably the main reason I don't "practice" with hunting rifles, is I shoot pistols competitively, so I get my fill of "practice" with handguns. Been thinking about 3-Gun, so that would put shotguns and rifles back in the practice mix.
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