Getting Started in CMP Competition – Part 3: Choosing Your Ammo

By Josh Wayner

(Find Part 1 and Part 2 in the series at these links.)

By now you should have your CMP rifle in hand. A question I’m often asked is whether or not a shooter should use factory, surplus, or hand loaded ammunition for this sport. There are several opinions on this and each is valid. In short, each has different advantages and various shortcomings . . .

SURPLUS AMMUNITION

Despite reports to the contrary, the days of super-cheap surplus ammunition are still here. You just need to know where to look and have realistic expectations on cost and quality. I always hear some guy at the range talking about how he used to get .303 British at five pennies a round and how he wishes those days were still upon us. Yes, .303 may be expensive today, but not because it’s any better than it once was. The supply dried up with the good surplus rifles.

With a shrinking British Empir, the post-WWII world was awash in surplus Enfields. The .303 was as common then as the 7.62x39mm is now. It doesn’t take much searching to find 7.62 for 20 cents a round. By comparison to today, the median family income in the …Read the Rest

Source:: Truth About Guns