This article takes all of the performance data collected from my massive ammo test based on 1,000+ rounds of live fire and shows us what the best rifle ammo for the money is. It takes the hit probability from 400 to 1,200 yards for each of the 19 types of ammo and the average price for a box of ammo and calculates which provides the highest value per dollar spent. Check out which brands are offering a ridiculous value to the shooting community – and which are not! There are more than a few surprises!
Read More »6.5 Creedmoor Ammo Test Summary: Hit Probability At Long-Range
If you only read one article in this series, MAKE IT THIS ONE! This article takes all the data collected over months of live-fire research and sums it all up by ranking each type of ammo by hit probability from 400 to 1,200 yards! After all, the size of a group on paper at 100 yards or the muzzle velocity our chronograph spits out doesn’t really matter – at least not directly. For long-range work, all that actually matters is if our bullet impacts the target downrange. Precision and velocity affect that, but so do a lot of other factors! So this article is like the grand finale and ranks which ammo gives us the best odds of connecting with long-range targets.
Read More »6.5 Creedmoor Ammo Test Part 5: Live-Fire Group Sizes & Precision
Welcome to Part 5 of the results from my massive 6.5 Creedmoor ammo field test! This article will cover the results from over 150 five-shot groups that I fired. There were 760 shots for record, which I carefully collected over several tedious days at the range. When it comes to long-range, precision rifles, many of us can fixate on trying to coax tiny groups out of our rifles. After all, if you can’t hit a 1” target at 100 yards – your odds of hitting a target at 1,000 yards aren’t great. But, what is factory ammo truly capable of? ...
Read More »6.5 Creedmoor Ammo Test Part 4: Live-Fire Muzzle Velocity Details
This is the second article in this series covering the muzzle velocity data I collected. The last article covered how this data was collected, along with a summary and head-to-head comparison of all the 19 different types of match-grade factory 6.5 Creedmoor ammo that was included in this research. If you haven’t read that article yet, I’d suggest starting by reading it – but here is a quick summary: I bought two boxes of 19 types of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo that were marketed as “match” or “target” grade. Each box was purchased 6 months apart from different distributors to get ...
Read More »6.5 Creedmoor Ammo Test Part 3: Live-Fire Muzzle Velocity & Consistency Summary
Welcome to Part 3 of the results of a massive 6.5 Creedmoor ammo field test, where I tested multiple boxes of every kind of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo that is marketed as “match” or “target” grade. That included 19 different brands and types of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo! This article is going to cover all the muzzle velocity data that I collected over almost 1,000 rounds fired. Consistent muzzle velocity is key for long-range shooting, otherwise, bullets that leave the muzzle faster than normal could miss high, or bullets that leave the muzzle slower could miss low. While the goal is for ...
Read More »6.5 Creedmoor Ammo Test Part 2: Physical Round-To-Round Consistency
I’m so excited to start sharing the data I collected in a massive field test I conducted on 19 different types of 6.5 Creedmoor match-grade factory ammo. With the price of this kind of 6.5 Creedmoor “match-grade” factory ammo hovering around $3/round right now, it seems like this series might be especially relevant! That’s too expensive for most people to experiment with several brands and types of ammo, so hopefully, this research will help guys narrow down their search to a couple of the best-performing brands and types to try in their rifles. I know there are a ton of ...
Read More »6.5 Creedmoor Ammo Test Part 1: Intro & Reader Poll
I recently tested every popular type of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, and carefully collected data on the performance of each one. I thought it’d be fun before any of the results are published to poll my readers to see which type of ammo you expect to end up on top. What do you think will perform the best when it comes to hit probability at long-range (e.g. 600 to 1200 yards)? Cast your vote and see what other readers think will end up on top!
Read More »Crowdfunding Ammo: Will Price Win?
Here is the question: If you could save 15-20% on match-grade ammo, but you had to wait 4 months for it to be delivered – Is it worth it? I wanted to let my readers know about a unique opportunity for low-cost match ammo, and what I think is a very interesting social experiment – and potentially a new buying model that could save us all money. Frankly, I love disruptors! Most companies play it safe and simply make incremental improvements – but then there are a few disruptors willing to take risks, set a new course, and they push ...
Read More »The Cost of Reloading vs. Match Ammo
I regularly get asked by friends, family, and readers for rifle and cartridge recommendations. The answer depends on many factors, but it’s happened so frequently that it caused me to create a structured process to help someone narrow it down to a few great options. We tend to focus on the rifle first, but many under-estimate the role ammunition plays in consistent hits at long-range. So I start by picking the ammo first. Recently, I saw a video featuring Army Sniper Jim Gilliland, and he suggests the same approach. Most precision rifle shooters handload their own ammo. Mic McPherson tells ...
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