I tried a box of Choice Ammunition in 7mm Remington Magnum, loaded with 168gr Berger VLDs since I haven't found time to do any reloading this summer, and HSM's Trophy Gold load with the VLDs is basically a hybrid unicorn/sasquatch as far as rarity goes right now (This is not a thread for debating VLD's versus other rounds- I know they can be polarizing, but they go where I want them, and I've never lost a critter when using them or had meat destruction issues).
The $85/box price tag was and is, a hard pill to swallow, but I figured I'd give them a go since they advertise themselves as producing premium "handloaded" ammunition, plus it supports a Montana business with them being based out of Victor, much like HSM being in Stevensville.
My rifle is a Tikka T3 Superlite, and I typically shoot 3 shot groups, as the thin barrel heats up pretty darn fast, but I figured a 5 shot group was only fair to really test the ammo. With factory HSMs, my rifle will group around .6 MOA for 3 shots, and maintains under 1 MOA for 5 shots, but certainly spreads out on the last shot. The rifle is pretty omnivorous and shoots pretty much any factory ammo of decent quality around .75 MOA or better as long as I do my part.
I shot the Choice loads through a chronograph and with the Tikka's 24.5" barrel, got average velocities of 2903, with an extreme spread was 37fps (2883 on the low end, 2920 on the high end). For reference, the HSM loads in the past averaged 2980fps with about ~20fps on the extreme spread, depending on the box.
My rifle is zeroed to be 3" high at 150 yards with my loads, so the shots being where they are height-wise was expected. Point of aim was the upper right corner of the brown square. My first three shots were all touching, although not cloverleafed. The fourth shot hung in there, going a touch low, and the fifth was about .75" left of the fourth shot. Could have been me, could be the barrel heating up to some degree. All 5 shots were taken in a matter of 2 minutes, and I was shooting in a gravel pit with direct sun, so the barrel was hot as hell by the fifth shot. Measuring the groups, my first four shots were .68", and with the fifth thrown in, the group spreads to 1.35".
Thoughts-
-I can't believe how expensive ammo has gotten: I need to start reloading, as it's worth the time for the money I'd save alone, since I have the components on hand.
-Extreme Spread could be better.
-The Choice loads have the Berger seated a bit deeper than the HSM loads. I didn't measurable, but it's noticeable. From my experience, my Tikka prefers less jump, so this could be better for my uses IMO.
-I'll give Choice credit for having ammo in stock, as well as loading some more "obscure" factory offerings, like .223 and .243 WSSM, .280 AI, .264 Winchester etc.
-I probably won't buy another box, but I don't regret trying it. I've got 15 leftover, and won't have any issue using them for hunting at reasonable ranges.
The $85/box price tag was and is, a hard pill to swallow, but I figured I'd give them a go since they advertise themselves as producing premium "handloaded" ammunition, plus it supports a Montana business with them being based out of Victor, much like HSM being in Stevensville.
My rifle is a Tikka T3 Superlite, and I typically shoot 3 shot groups, as the thin barrel heats up pretty darn fast, but I figured a 5 shot group was only fair to really test the ammo. With factory HSMs, my rifle will group around .6 MOA for 3 shots, and maintains under 1 MOA for 5 shots, but certainly spreads out on the last shot. The rifle is pretty omnivorous and shoots pretty much any factory ammo of decent quality around .75 MOA or better as long as I do my part.
I shot the Choice loads through a chronograph and with the Tikka's 24.5" barrel, got average velocities of 2903, with an extreme spread was 37fps (2883 on the low end, 2920 on the high end). For reference, the HSM loads in the past averaged 2980fps with about ~20fps on the extreme spread, depending on the box.
My rifle is zeroed to be 3" high at 150 yards with my loads, so the shots being where they are height-wise was expected. Point of aim was the upper right corner of the brown square. My first three shots were all touching, although not cloverleafed. The fourth shot hung in there, going a touch low, and the fifth was about .75" left of the fourth shot. Could have been me, could be the barrel heating up to some degree. All 5 shots were taken in a matter of 2 minutes, and I was shooting in a gravel pit with direct sun, so the barrel was hot as hell by the fifth shot. Measuring the groups, my first four shots were .68", and with the fifth thrown in, the group spreads to 1.35".
Thoughts-
-I can't believe how expensive ammo has gotten: I need to start reloading, as it's worth the time for the money I'd save alone, since I have the components on hand.
-Extreme Spread could be better.
-The Choice loads have the Berger seated a bit deeper than the HSM loads. I didn't measurable, but it's noticeable. From my experience, my Tikka prefers less jump, so this could be better for my uses IMO.
-I'll give Choice credit for having ammo in stock, as well as loading some more "obscure" factory offerings, like .223 and .243 WSSM, .280 AI, .264 Winchester etc.
-I probably won't buy another box, but I don't regret trying it. I've got 15 leftover, and won't have any issue using them for hunting at reasonable ranges.
