Don't know what you mean by 'tactical'. That word is used too loosely today. No ammunition is tactical as far as I'm concerned except maybe steel cased 762x35's or 54's, neither of which I care to detonate. I'll leave that for the Egyptians and the insurgents.

As far as the FBI or police depatrtments, that's all lowest bidder stuff. It's the government.

I've been handloading long enough to know that factory ammunition, unless it's match grade, is erratic.

It's your right to disagree. I have no problem with that.

 

Exactly. Commercial ammunition comes in various grades even though it's not marked as such and some manufacturers vary. Just because you purchase 5.56x.223 (22 caliber) 55 grain FMJBT's in Black Hills loaded brass with who knows what primers don't mean the muzzle velocity will match between boxes or between Black Hills and Federal. I'm singling out 5.56x.223 NATO because I shoot benchrest rifle in that caliber.

However, If I load a 55 grain Hornady FMJBT/C projectile with CCI SR Benchrest primers in a reworked Federal case to SAMMI specs, utilizing 23 grains of H332 powder, the balistics, muzzle velocity and trajectory will be very close, if not the same across hundreds of rounds and that makes the 10 ring more obtainable and to me, that's what it's all about.

I don't want to load a magazine with 5 rounds (match rules dictate 5 round magazines for semi-auto benchrest comp) and another magazine with 5 rounds from another box and have the ballistics change, I want to stay dialed in without changing any inputs and concentrate on getting downrange accurately.

That's not possible with most commercial ammunition, I say most. Again, match grade, high end ammo is consistent. Off the shelf stuff isn't. You get what you pay for unless you control the inputs, hence handloading.

No. I don't use an AR Platform either. AR's are too clunky for me. They look too 'tactical' for me. I don't care for sinister looking firearms.

I have a 44 Smith Double action Model L that I play with (indoor 50 foot). I shoot 240 grain lead semi-wadcitters with a 5 grain charge. Just enough to punch paper, not enough to waste any kineric energy.

My real serious indoor guns are all rimfire, reworked Rugers shooting match grade Eley primed rounds. Volquartsen knows me very well.

 

You harbor some rather odd attitudes about the NRA, firearms and their users in your posts, thats fine, takes all kinds I guess. Odd coming from another shooter though............I did catch your slam against users of 7.62x39 by the way.
So lets take 7.62x39 as a example.........I chronographed 100 rounds of the cheapest, berdan primed , 124gr FMJ chinese military 7.62x39 ammo once, from a Yugoslav AK............it consistently came in at 2,340 fps with less than 40fps variation across all 100 rounds..........not bad for cheap chi-com ammo, I expect US manufacturers can do at least as well.
In 5.56x45mm NATO I have found that my HBAR Colt AR-15 consistently holds better groups than my Browing A-Bolt Medallion .223........not bad for a "sinister black rifle".

 

Ron,

I dont know if you have a wally world by you, but I bought 3 boxs yesterday of .45 for 15.97 a box.

Also as far as your choice in a .40, I love mine, but I will tell ya, a .45 seems to puch for a recoil, and .40 seems to bark, it is a lot "sharper", for me, it causes a little more eratic grouping.