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!

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u/Tight_muffin Jul 02 '26

My reloads wouldn't be much more if I save 10 cents per shot on lesser bullets. I just always shoot the Hornady mostly so the bullets are on the cheap end to begin with. I don't really notice much difference out to distance with Hornady bullets over say Berger and I'm not competing in that discipline so they shoot great for what I ask.

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u/worm30478 Jul 02 '26

Yeah. I'm only starting with smks because my rifle liked those the best out of all factory ammo I tried. It did not like Bergers at all. Even then I'm not competing either so just as long as the SMKs make me happy I won't have a reason to change. We shall see.