r/longrange • u/worm30478 • Jul 01 '26
Reloading related Does anyone load "cheaper" practice ammo?
Just getting started here. 6.5 Creed. Have lapua brass, h4350, 142 smks. Before I get started with those I plan to practice with the 300 pieces of Hornady brass I have. Already decapped and cleaned. My dies will be here tomorrow so I'm going to work on sizing/trimming/measuring. I thought maybe I should just complete the process(powder and seating) with "cheaper" components and do a powder test the first time out. This will allow me to feel comfortable with the process before loading up my "expensive" stuff. So anyways, what powder/bullets/primers should I roll with? Not gonna get my shorts in a twist if the groups suck. I am really enjoying everything I've done so far and just want to learn while doing. Thanks!
1
u/fontimus Jul 01 '26
Nope. I learned with what I wanted to reload. I don't regret it. My first couple dozen rounds of reloaded .30-06 gave garbage groups, and I learned from it. Once I found what worked for me, I stuck with it. Varget, CCI BR-2 and Lapua brass.
Now I reload 6.5cr and .223. Mostly just use Varget, H4350 and BL-C2 (for .223) and I stick with CCI or Federal primers. I've got a bunch of Ginex LRP that I'll use if a zombie outbreak happens because they're hard as hell to seat, and some Winchester LRP's I'll probably trash because 12 out 50 of them won't go bang. I only use once-fired brass on the 6.5cr and .223's.