Match vs practice ammo.

[kevin c]

I took a (great) IPSC course from Matt Burkett recently, and in the Q&A asked him about practice ammo. His take on it was to shoot the same load in practice and matches. No need to make adjustments in his shooting. No changes on his press. No mixed components to sort out.

This makes sense to me, but also seems pricey. My MGJHP/VV320 match ammo, excluding brass, costs me nearly twice what my lead/moly/Uni Clays practice ammo costs. A rough calculation (500 practice rounds a week) shows it would cost me an extra 800 to 900 dollars a year to shoot that way.

So, what you all do?

[Sixgun]

Kevin,

I shoot the same load for both practice and matches. It was once said to me "Train like you'll fight, so you'll fight like you trained." I think it's easier to get into the rhythem of one load, only. Plus as a side benefit you're only reloading one bullet, powder, primer combo (I'm also lazy and don't like to change my reloading setups much!)

Also if your moly load chronos to major, why not use that as your match load?

Ray

[texasag93]

I swap between jacketed and lead bulllets. If I have bought jacketed bullets then I use them for matches and practice with lead. If out of jacketed, then I shoot lead in match and practice. TXAG

[tightloop]

You have to gear your expenses to what you can afford. If it is cheaper to shoot lead, then do it for average practice and a week or so B4 a match practice with your match load.

I like lots of folks shoot in practice what I do in a match except in a match I use once fired WW brass and in practice it is mixed. After I get it like I want it over the chrony, then I leave it alone.

[Jasonub]

theoretically, the same weight heads and same power factor and same powder and primer will give the same feel and impulse.

i use lead for practice 180 grain and use plated for matches 180 grain, the plated does not produce smoke.

I use 172-174 pf on both and vv320. same feel for me. good luck

[Skywalker]

Same cost issue here.

180 grs lead FP-BB @ 174 PF for practice,

180 grs JHP @175 PF for match.

JHPs are twice the price of lead bullets, thus to cut on costs it's more effective for me to shoot lead in practice.

The only adjustment required is in powder weight: JHPs require some .3/.4 grs more powder (VV N320) to score same PF.

BTW, even if there might be a slight difference in perceived recoil, same bullet weight and same PF will result in same bullet momentum/energy, thus I don't believe there is a big difference betweeen my practice and match loads.

[kevin c]

Also if your moly load chronos to major, why not use that as your match load?

Smoke, and (a little) less accuracy.

I might consider a change to one load, but I have components enough for another 10K of what I currently practice with, and am just too cheap to not use them. At least I do as TL suggests, and practice w/ my match load for big matches, but I am mostly a club level shooter, so that scenario is kinda rare.

Hopefully, shooting a cheaper load in practice is not a false economy...

[JFD]

I use a cast bullet load for practice and local matches, then switch to JHPs for big matches.

The slight difference in recoil (my jacketed load needs tweaking downward in PF) has little effect on my shooting.

[Chuck D]

Jacket bullet prices in certain calibers (in my case, 45 acp) are steep compared to a good quality lead bullet.

I shoot lead for practice and most club level matches. I save the jacketed stuff for matches like indoor matches, Area Champs and Sectionals.

No need to change the powder level setting (although it ONLY takes a quick turn of the knob and to plug in the digital scale) or the bullet seating die setting (bullet design/shape are the same between the lead and jacketed bullet).

When I need a "lighter load" for plates or pick-up style "combat matches" I use the same load over a lead 185 grain bullet instead of the usual 200 grain projectile. I set my sights 5 years ago when I took delivery of my SV and I check 'em frequently ... regardless of what load I choose, they've never needed adjustment.

Cost has become a big factor in this decision...I used to ALWAYS use jacketed bullets until one day I became much OLDER and WISER.

Wasted money is just that...wasted.

[Chutist]

When I was shooting an open gun, I ran the same load practice or match.

But with the limited gun I've been shooting reloads for practice and factory .40 for matches. Funny thing is I've found Factory .40 for sale ALMOST as cheap as components for FMJ's !

[kdj]

Personally, I try to never have to touch anything on the press and to keep enough ammo in the safe that I can grab what I need when I'm running behind.

Keeping 2 batches of ammo would be beyond my organizational ability

Kevin

[Loves2Shoot]

Heck, switching loads, no way. I don't think I've changed my toolhead in at least 3 years for my .40. A jacketed bullet shoots close enough to my moly bullet and have the same profile. Bad juju in changing anything on my toolhead.

[wlktheduk]

Add my vote to the "same load for practice and match" crowd.

In my revolvers (S&W Model 10 and Model 686) I found that the point of impact varied enough between my practice load (158 grain LSWC @ 850FPS) and my match load (158 grain JHP @ 850FPS) at the longer ranges (25-35 yards) that I found myself using Kentucky windage with the Model 10, and sight cranking with the Model 686.

I have enough trouble keeping the basics together, adding the complication of sight changes is one more factor that I can foul up. (besides, on the 686, I found I couldn't remember if the sights were set for practice or match load, which sometimes lead to interesting results on the targets )

[warpspeed]

I've used "cheaper" plated bullets instead of the MG jhp's before but was not happy with the accuracy. Lead is out of the question in a comp gun. So I decided that I'd rather not guess if the hit would have been differnet had I been using the match ammo.

As far as powder, no. Same powder for match and practice.

And I think we have beaten the brass issue to death already.

[.40AET]

Holy crap. Changing all of the variables for 2 or 3 different loads. Way too much work. I'm with L2S and kdj. My current load is always consitant. Same load for a match as I used the day before for practice. Tuning the powder charge for different loads takes way too much patience. I'm happy to have 3k rounds waiting for whatever kind of shooting comes around....On the other hand, I liked what Chuck D had to say about leaving the powder charge the same and using a lighter bullet for a softer shooting load.....Real good stuff Chuck.

[TriggerT]

I like to keep as much as possible the same between practice and matches.

"Practice the way you fight, fight the way you practice" was one lesson learned long ago, and I guess it just stuck with me.

[Joe D]

I took a little different approach. I mostly shoot IDPA with a Glock 35. My match load is a 180 gr Rainier plated bullet. Costs me about $70m for match ammo. I bought a cheap $68 Federal 9mm conversion barrel. My practice ammo is a 125 gr lead 9mm bullet. My cost drops to about $20m with this combo.

I played with the powder charge until I pretty much duplicated the feel of the .40 load.

[dajarrel]

I shoot MG180 FMJ rounds for indoor and all but local matches. Other than that, I shoot 180 LTC bullets that I cast myself. Tremendous cost savings. I use the same powder/primer/OAL on both loads so I never have to change anything on my press. I see a little faster velocity on my lead bullets over the chrony, but the only differance I can percieve while shooting is the smoke from the lube on the lead bullets.

FWIW

dj

[n2299]

I shoot MG 180gr JHP w/ N320 for both practice and matches.

While I might be able to get some plated bullets like West Coast a couple of dollars cheaper /k, I figure it's just not worth it to me with the variables involve in changing a load. Besides I too lazy to adjust anything on my tool head.