What ammo to buy?

Near miss

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Minuteman
  • Apr 8, 2019
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    Finland
    Here in Finland ammo market seems to be doing good. Or they have reached the backwall in the storage because one place is selling already discontinued (?) Eley ammo.

    There is not a lot of it, not enough for lot testing and it might be gone soon.

    I think I will buy some and if it does not run I will sell it to club members.

    What ammo would you buy of these, in your wisdom?
    Here is a list:
    Eley Contact - €8
    Eley Match - €16.9
    Eley Club - 9€
    Eley Team - €14
    Eley Sport - €9
    Eley Action - €10

    Also available:
    Lapua Center-X - €12
    SK Pistol Match - €7
     
    I forgot to add important information.
    have had bad luck with Center-X lots but I have no problem trying them again.
    Very good and very bad luck with Polar Biathlon which I can get for €15.
    And the best groups I have done were with Eley Match.
     
    Here in Finland ammo market seems to be doing good. Or they have reached the backwall in the storage because one place is selling already discontinued (?) Eley ammo.

    There is not a lot of it, not enough for lot testing and it might be gone soon.

    I think I will buy some and if it does not run I will sell it to club members.

    What ammo would you buy of these, in your wisdom?
    Here is a list:
    Eley Contact - €8
    Eley Match - €16.9
    Eley Club - 9€
    Eley Team - €14
    Eley Sport - €9
    Eley Action - €10

    Also available:
    Lapua Center-X - €12
    SK Pistol Match - €7

    I've had good luck with the lots of Eley Club that has given me surprisingly good accuracy for it's price point. So, for just practice, I like to go with this. And my favorite is Center-X as I often get accuracy and consistency that's right there with any high end match grade ammo.

    Any of these that you've listed will do well . . . even the SK Pistol Match, particularly if you happen to get hold of a good lot of it that works well in your particular gun.
     
    I forgot to add important information.
    have had bad luck with Center-X lots but I have no problem trying them again.
    Very good and very bad luck with Polar Biathlon which I can get for €15.
    And the best groups I have done were with Eley Match.

    Hmmm??? Well, some guns just like certain ammo over others . . . just like you can have one lot some that shoots lights out and the next lot of the same ammo will be poor.
     
    Thanks for the comment.
    As I have never bought Eley except 6 boxes of Match. So very limited knowledge about these.

    Just want to know which are worth trying / best picks.
     
    From your list I would take eley club for practice and test it against center x. I also really like the sk rifle match. I agree completely with finding what your rifle likes and then get your wallet on board.
     
    Good point.

    Considering the potential of Center-X to its price it is a sure choice but I have had maybe bad luck with them or my rifle does not like them.

    Better to try again. It is like bargain match ammo.
     
    Interesting, two comments that mean the same thing.

    1) Find the ammo y'er rifle likes.
    2) You have to lot test.

    So it's not the brand that we are after,
    but the cartridge quality we are looking for.

    Makes sense, as batch quality varies, even from the same brand.
    Can't rely on the label on the box to guarantee results.
    Explains why buying by brand does not work every time.
    As tolerances vary on the assembly line, cartridge quality changes with each run.
    One batch will show consistent mv's and uniform cartridges
    the next has minor differences in seating angle or bullet symmetry
    that causes strays.

    So it's not find the brand y'er rifle likes
    but find the batch y'er rifle likes,
    as lot quality is not a constant.

    I can work with that. :)
     
    Last edited:
    I have for now skipped buying those, there are just few boxes left which is not enough for lot testing.

    Sent a couple of emails to start lot testing C-X and few others.

    Going to buy a brick this time if something works out.
     
    If you can't stack a significant quantity of one lot of something your gun shoots very well, I'd avoid all of them at those prices. Center X has met my performance goals over the 4 or 5 lots I have tried, so I just stick with that. Stacking away a rainy day horde would require significantly lower prices for mixed lot/brand ammunition- for me.
     
    If you can't stack a significant quantity of one lot of something your gun shoots very well, I'd avoid all of them at those prices. Center X has met my performance goals over the 4 or 5 lots I have tried, so I just stick with that. Stacking away a rainy day horde would require significantly lower prices for mixed lot/brand ammunition- for me.
    This is why I originally made the thread, thought to ask if there are any well priced ammo in there.

    Realized the stock was so small that there was no point in lot testing them and the price was high enough that buying them blind was not wise.
     
    Here in Finland ammo market seems to be doing good. Or they have reached the backwall in the storage because one place is selling already discontinued (?) Eley ammo.

    There is not a lot of it, not enough for lot testing and it might be gone soon.

    I think I will buy some and if it does not run I will sell it to club members.

    What ammo would you buy of these, in your wisdom?
    Here is a list:
    Eley Contact - €8
    Eley Match - €16.9
    Eley Club - 9€
    Eley Team - €14
    Eley Sport - €9
    Eley Action - €10

    Also available:
    Lapua Center-X - €12
    SK Pistol Match - €7

    I have good luck with Club.
    Mark