First, I am a novice to the precision game. I ran into something interesting to me this weekend. I took out my new Rem long range 300 win mag to sight in. I have no room to reload yet so I am stuck with factory ammo. I started with hornady superformance. The shop only had one box of 180s so I figured its a start. Went back and started dialing in. 3 shots and I was where I wanted to be. In an effort to conserve ammo I shot 3 3 shot groups. 2 groups had all 3 shots touching and 1 had a called flyer but still under an inch. Alright im a precision shooter. I wasted the rest on tannerite and went to another town to pick up more ammo so I could shoot some 5 shot groups. All they had was fusion in 300 180 grain. Mistake. I went back and despite my best efforts my best group was just over an inch and a half. Average being around 3 inches. I hold better groups than that with my .17 out the truck window.That took the wind out of my sail. I couldn't get any 3 out of the 5 to even go 1.5 inches.I knew factory isn't tack driver ammo but damn.Lesson learned.

It depends on your rifle


Getting small groups isn't cheap.



You can get a small single stage press if you have lottle room and little money

I have no problem spending money. I just don't want to blow 500 on different factory ammo to find one that shoots. The hornady is good but I am saving brass for when I can start reloading and I keep reading about it being soft. Space is my only issue. I just want a factory round that can eek out an inch or a consistent 1.5. With this buckshot pattern it isn't even worth practicing. I am actually pretty decent at calling fliers. I couldn't even get what I would call a group out of this stuff and it made me really think about my next purchases. I also figured maybe some other new guys would have some of the same questions or frustrations. I knew deer ammo isn't precision ammo but I figured it better than 3 moa. It makes you question yourself when you are not the main problem.

 

Federal Gold Medal Match.
If your gun won't shoot this stuff, take the gun to a smith.
If your gun shoots this stuff, develop a load recipe that matches.

I could not have said it better myself.  Some loads your rifle will love others it will shoot terrible.

As others have said, it depends on your rifle.

Barrel length is an often overlooked factor, as is headspace and a number of other nuances.

For example, another shooter with a different length barrel might take that same Federal Fusion load, and it will bug hole for them, while the Superformance might group at 1.5-2".

This, my rifle likes Hornady Match Amax's too.

Where in SD do you live? If you're not far from me you're welcome to pick up some reloading components and I'll help you figure out a load using my reloading equipment.

Federal Gold Medal Match is my go-to standard for comparison.  Try some then start reloading your own ammo trying to duplicate it.  Locally I can get .308 for $27.99 per box at my LGS.

This is why i handload, buy the time I bought enough boxes of  different ammo to find out what my rifle shot well and to go back and try and find the same case lot of the same thing only to find I'm not to partial to the bullet in the first place because it may be an elk load. Save all your cases that were fired in YOUR gun thats the best start to  getting a custom load, handload. For a 300 one box of 20 will pay for a set of dies or really close,

FGMM works consistently in most guns I have shot it in.  Thanks for the reminder, I need to order some fgmm in 7mmRemMag.








Buying a magnum rifle is a noob mistake that a lot of us, including me, have made.  You would be able to afford more ammo for something like a .308 or .223 and there are huge selections of ammo for both.  But buying and shooting a lot of different guns is another noob mistake that i keep making.  It is probably best to practice a lot with one gun so you get real good with it.

What mort said, plus this to add:

Buy 2 boxes of the FGMM. Shoot 10 rounds at 100 yds, and then 10 more at 200 yds. Write down your zeros.  After 10 years of shooting smallbore precision rifle, & 300M rifle, I've learned to stop evaluating ammunition based upon a 5 shot group. If you have the time/money/inclination, shoot all 20 shots from the same distance & location, without changing your cheek or head position.

Shooting these larger group amounts, will allow a defined 'center' to form on your target. You will then know not only what your ammo is capable of doing, but your own skill and wind-reading abilities as well. Keep the brass for a rainy day, when you finally decide to make the big leap into reloading.

Once you find the ammunition that works well in your rifle, write down the lot number, and keep it with the rifle. The next time you decide to pick up ammo, try and find that lot number.

Best of luck!

-tc

Palmetto State Armory recently advertised FGMM .308 for $16 a box on sale.

I know - you said that "you don't have the space".  Perhaps you haven't considered or know what's involved, but I started loading in a 2-rm duplex 1981 after I got married and had no money for ammo OR space to reload.  I had to mount my press to a piece of wood and use C-clamps to mount it on our dinner table to reload.  All broken down, it all fit into a surprisingly small space.  Make "finding a way" to reload your number one priority and I promise you that your rifle will return satisfying results for your honest effort.

The sooner you can find a way to start loading the more time you'll have to find the perfect loads.  If you wait a couple years, it will still require you "start over" - which is where you're at right now.  You mentioned that you're OK with spending money, and that's good.  Do it while you can and it's not going to hurt.  Wait until you get married and it's much more difficult to break free those funds.  Just sayin'...

After 10-years of reloading, I thought it might become a "dead hobby", but when barky got elected president, everyone decided it was time to start reloading.  My point being, reloading has become a revitalized hobby (largely due to the last POTUS) and there are more components available than ever now that the press is off a bit  There are also still a lot of us old-timers who are more than happy to help our fellow loaders work up pet loads for our guns.

Lastly, in the interest of truth, I started reloading 9mm.  To load 300 winmag, you'll probably want a sturdier mount than a dinner table.  I actually reload .50 BMG on a small grinder stand I picked up from Harbor Freight.  I had to reinforce the top, but I can take the stand in the bathroom and reload while I'm "doing other business" if you know what I mean.  If you're creative and want to reload enough I'm pretty sure you could find a way, so give it some thought.

You don't need a lot of space to reload.
3' x 2' reloading bench >>>