Evaluating the precision and velocity of factory vs. handloaded lead-free ammunition

Lead hunting bullets fragment on impact, introducing lead fragments into game meat and carrion scavenged by wildlife. In response, hunters are switching to lead-free bullets, either voluntarily or due to local restrictions. Hunters often purchase lead-free bullets already loaded in factory ammunition, but some prefer to handload their own. Handloading allows customization for specific rifles and the use of lead-free projectiles not available in factory ammunition, while also potentially increasing precision, velocity, and the consistency of velocities. However, the performance advantage of handloading lead-free ammunition remains unclear. We tested 19 rifle ammunition combinations to compare the precision and velocities of factory and handloaded ammunition, including bullets not found in factory ammunition and bullets that were commercially handloaded. Shooters fired 5 3-shot groups for each ammunition type, which we also compiled into single 15-shot groups. We calculated the average 3-shot extreme spread, 3-shot mean radius, and 15-shot mean radius. Only 1 of 12 types of handloaded ammunition outperformed its comparison ammunition across all 3 precision metrics when using identical bullets; however, 2 bullets unavailable in factory ammunition did show greater precision (n = 6). Handloads developed by participating shooters did not reliably shoot more consistent velocities (2 out of 13), although 69% of them achieved higher velocities. Our results suggest that factory lead-free ammunition offers appropriate precision for big-game hunting that can occasionally be improved by handloading.