New varmit rifle ..what is a good cheap factory ammo?
Just got a savage 12vbss in .233. Don't wish to reload what is a good factory ammo to use?

thanks, Please respond.

urdubob

The white box Winchester 45grn Varmit loads shoot pretty good in most guns. Cost around 12.00 a box for 40 rounds at Wallyworld. H.H.

check midway, sinclair, graff, and other suppliers. You can get surplus .223 ammo cheaper than you can buy the components.

You can't beat Black Hills Ammo. It is made right here and can get a box of 50, 52 grain, match HP for $11.00.

I will second the Black Hills my Savage shoots the Black Hills 52 hp pretty good. The Winchester value packs are also pretty good you can get the Winchesters a Walmart and a lot of other places. None of these will shoot as good as hand loads.

My Savage Model 12 BVSS shoots WW USA 45gr ammo in 1/2" or 3/4" groups without fail. It shoots the Black Hills ammo into ragged little holes! It doesn't matter if it is 55 SP, 50 V-max or 52 hp. I can usually find the USA cheaper ($11-$12) in 50 rd boxes at gun shows or when on sale at various outlets (local gun shop, WalMart, Gander Mtn, etc.). The B-H blue box ammo in Central Illinois is normally much more expensive ($13-$16) since few places have it. But when it is on sale, I buy it. Eventually I will get my reloading started, but for now, most of my shooting is with the USA ammo.

Good luck ... Mike

My buddy and I have both had good results in our Savage 223s with the 40-round "white box" Winchester USA 45 gr ammo that he gets at Walmart. It shoots almost as good as best handloads. He bought some Black Hills ammo, but hasn't tried it yet.

For cheap, the remanufactured "ultramax" really isn't too bad. About the same as winchester white box, and pretty cheap to boot. HTH, Dutch.

Fedral--American Eagle w/50gr hollow point. $4.99 a box. Other than rimfire it's the only ammo I've purchased in years. I reload everything, however I have a Mini 14 Ranch that slings brass about a block as well as putting dents in em, it'd drive me crazy with reloads, so I buy these. This Ruger has been tweaked some so the groups aren't average but this rifle will shoot 1.25 to 1.5 inch groups consistantly with this ammo. The other benifit is I get to keep the brass (when I can find it) for my other rifles. Out of curiosity I shot sme of it in my heavy barreled varmint synthetic Mod 700, I was getting groups in the 1/2 inch range. Very impressive for ammo thats $5.00 a box. Thats what I'd try first, sure worked for me.---Shoot Safe---montdoug

Montdoug
If you put an adjustable gas block on that Mini it will increase accuracy as well as solve the problem with brass denting as well as the distance the brass flies!!

I have had good performance with Black Hills 50 gr V-max loads, $18.75 per 50 rounds, a little less if you find them on sale.
You need to try a few of the mentioned loads and see what your rifle likes.
One note on the match bullets - they will not expand on a p-dog and go whizzing off into the sunset. They also don't kill as well as the V-max's. Use the more explosive bullets if there are livestock, homes, structures or roads in the area. Also if you want to count bodies.

I'm glad ya'll are pleased with your mini-14's!!! It will never cease to amaze me that Bill Ruger could sell that many guns like that!! No wonder the coyote populatin is booming.... all those "ranch rifles"!!!...never hit any of em!!! GHD

I get much better groups from PMC Target .223 55 gr than I do from Federal Gold Match .223, and the PMC is much cheaper.

The list price of both types is high, but shopping around revels there are never deals on the Federal Gold, but there always seems to be one on line vendor every few months that will sell the PMC Target for ~$4.00/ box.

Urdubob,

Whenever you get a chance to try any of it, post what you think of it. As I might get a 223 in the near future and can't afford expensive ammo!!!

CJW15

[ 06-25-2003, 07:00: Message edited by: CJW15 ]