There is no denying that the cost of living has increased of late; a simple trip to the gas station, grocery store or gun shop will bear that out quickly. A stroll down the ammunition aisle will drop some jaws, as the price of ammo continues to rise. Blame it on international military conflicts, inflation, the rising cost of components or what-have-you, the fact remains that it costs more to go hunting and shooting these days. As much as I love premium ammunition, there have been times in my life where it was simply out of reach financially. In fact, it was a lack of finances that led me to learn to reload my own ammunition, in order to replicate premium ammunition.
For those on a budget, there are options which offer a great value. Not all cheap ammo is good, and not all good ammo is cheap, but here are ten examples of a good value which won’t break the bank, with a couple of lead-free option for those hunters required to use that style of bullet. For demonstrative purposes, I’ll reference street prices for the popular .308 Winchester—a great all-around cartridge—though quite obviously prices will vary for other cartridges. Price averages are as of October 2024.
1. Hornady American Whitetail
The whitetail deer is our most popular big-game species here in the U.S., and Hornady has named an ammunition line in their honor. Using simple brass cases, and loaded with the excellent Hornady InterLock cup-and-core bullet, American Whitetail is an excellent and affordable formula. The majority of the line uses the flat-base spitzer design, which remains a viable design at the most common hunting ranges. The line covers the most common cartridges from .243 Winchester up to .300 Winchester Magnum, including the 350 Legend and 450 Bushmaster, all with common bullet weights. Over the years I've tested this in a half-dozen different cartridges, and all have proven to be more than accurate. A box of 165-grain .308 Winchester will set you back about $23.
2. Federal Power-Shok “Blue Box”
In the opinion of this author, the Federal Blue Box ammo line might be the most overlooked on the market. Using the simple cup-and-core Power-Shok bullet, the Blue Box ammo has proven to be utterly reliable, and wonderfully accurate. I have a buddy with a push-feed Winchester M70 in 7x57mm Mauser, which will put three 175-grain Power-Shok bullets into one ragged hole at 100 yards. For the majority of your hunting needs, a box of Federal Power-Shok ammo will check the boxes. I like to stay on the heavier side of bullet weights, to ensure proper penetration, and Federal offers a nice selection of bullet weight choices. For deer and other common species, this stuff will get the job done. A box of 20 rounds of 180-grain .308 Win. will have a price tag of about $31.
3. Winchester Deer Season XP
With its oversize polymer tip, used for a faster energy transfer and more rapid expansion perfect for the deer hunter, Winchester’s Deer Season XP is an affordable option for those wishing to stock the freezer with venison. With options running from the .223 Remington with a 64-grain bullet, up through the .25-06 Remington and 6.5 Creedmoor, to the highly popular 7mm Remington Magnum, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield and .300 Winchester Magnum, up to the 400 Legend and 450 Bushmaster, the Deer Season XP has something to offer most deer hunters. The copper jacket is tapered, getting thicker toward the base, designed to work in conjunction with the large polymer tip for wide expansion. With a box of 150-grain .308 Winchester costing about $32, Deer Season XP won’t kill your hunting budget.
4. Remington Core-Lokt
The ‘Deadliest Mushroom in the Woods’ is still a good value, despite turning 85 years old this year. Being one of the initial attempts to slow expansion in favor of deeper penetration, the Core-Lokt uses a cannelure to lock the jacket and core together. I've been using this ammunition for almost four decades, starting with the .30-30 Winchester, up through the .300 Winchester Magnum, to put venison in the freezer. Like so many other cup-and-core designs, I tend to prefer bullets on the heavier side—probably hearkening back to the possibility of a bear encounter in my youthful adventures in the Catskill Mountains—as they offer deeper penetration, and generally run at a lower muzzle velocity and ruin less meat. You can find some of the older round-nose designs still available—the .308 Winchester 180-grain round nose makes excellent bear medicine—which woods hunters love so much in the Core-Lokt line. A 20-round box of 180-grain Core-Lokt .308 Winchester will run about $31 right now.
5. Winchester Power-Point
Another classic design going back to the Golden Age of cartridge development, Winchester’s Power-Point line offers a cup-and-core bullet at sensible velocities, in an affordable package. Bullet choices tend to be from mid to heavyweight options—are we seeing a common thread among the cup-and-core bullets?—with 64-grain bullets in the .22-caliber centerfires, to the 100-grain 6mms and choices on the heavier end of the spectrum for many of the larger caliber cartridges. Loaded in the common brass cases, the Power-Point ammo line represents a good value for the hunter who operates at common ranges. Like so many of the classic designs, there might be better choices for hunting game outside of 300 yards, but inside that figure, the Power-Point stuff will have you smiling for a trophy photo. A box of 20 cartridges in .308 Winchester will cost between $28 and $34, depending on rebates.
6. Browning Silver Series
Browning’s history in the ammunition market isn’t long, but their stuff has always delivered. The new Silver Series line features heavy-for-caliber plated lead-core bullets, in eleven different cartridges, including the 28 Nosler, at common muzzle velocities. I like the 6.8 Western 170-grain load, as it prints under ¾-MOA from my rifle, and for deer and similar-sized game, the plated projectiles are tough enough to get the job done. These projectiles might not have the finest ballistic coefficient ever developed, but for common hunting duties they are a sound design. I've yet to find an example of this ammunition where the accuracy was unacceptable. The Silver Series is completely worthy of the Buckmark logo, in my opinion. A box of 180-grain .308 Winchester will run $33.
7. Federal Fusion
Until now, all the economical choices have been of cup-and-core design—that is, a lead core inside a drawn copper cup—but sometimes the larger game species may warrant a tougher design. Federal Premium’s Fusion ammo line might be the least appreciated of the bonded-core bullets, and is far-too-often overlooked as an option for those pursuing species larger or tougher than deer. I've found that rifles tend to either love or hate Federal’s Fusion ammo—for reasons I cannot explain—but if your gun likes it, terminal ballistics are excellent. The bonding process, chemically linking the copper jacket and lead core, results in slowed expansion and deeper penetration, as well as higher retained weight. If you want excellent terminal ballistics at an affordable price point, look to the Fusion line, which costs about $33 per box of 20. Should you desire a more uniform polymer tip, the recently released Fusion Tipped line (which prints less than ½-MOA in my old Ruger 77 .308 Winchester), you’ll see a price tag of $44 per box of 20.
8. Hornady Outfitter
Here’s a good lead-free option, built for adventure, which gives not only fine accuracy but has proven to hold up to the elements. Using the copper CX bullet, the Outfitter line is loaded in nickel-plated cases, perfect for a guy like me whose sweaty hands can tarnish brass in no time flat. Hornady has waterproofed the cartridges, to further enhance the ammunition’s dependability. For those wanting (or sometimes legally required to use) lead-free ammunition, you’ll find that the price increases, with the Outfitter 165-grain .308 Winchester load bearing an average price tag of $46. Those CX bullets are very strong, giving high weight retention and deep penetration, so this load makes a good choice for elk, moose and exotics like aoudad and nilgai—both notorious for taking a beating. Outfitter is available in most popular cartridges, from .243 Winchester up to .375 H&H Magnum, even including the .257 Weatherby Magnum, as well as the trio of .270 WSM, 7mm WSM, and .300 WSM, and the PRC cartridges.
9. Norma Whitetail
Norma Ammunition, hailing from Åmotfors, Sweden, has long been famous for their well-crafted, albeit pricey, ammunition. Whether loaded with their proprietary Oryx, Bondstrike or Tipstrike bullets, or loaded with Woodleigh Weldcore or Hydrostatically Stabilized Solids, I’ve always enjoyed hunting with Norma ammo. They have now offered a factory load which is aimed at whitetail hunters, both in the United States and Scandinavia alike. Using a simple cup-and-core softpoint, which draws much of its existence from the Norma Alaska projectile, Norma’s Whitetail line offers a quality softpoint at a good price point. Available in many classic calibers including .30-30 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, and .270 Winchester, Norma also offers this line in 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC and 7.7 Japanese. With a box of 150-grain .308 Winchesters having a street price of about $31 per box of 20, this ammo will get the job done, and you get that amazing Norma brass once you’ve fired it.
10. Winchester Copper Impact
Here we have another copper monometal design, this time with the larger polymer tip that Winchester seems to like so much of late. Giving good expansion up front, yet relying on the monometal construction for reliable penetration, the Copper Impact is a suitable choice for most common game species. I have found it to deliver good accuracy in a number of my rifles, and the terminal ballistics are all a hunter could want, offering large wound channels for good blood trails. My 6.8 Western absolutely loves the 162-grain Copper Impact, and the .300 Winchester Magnum 180-grain load is routinely sub-MOA. With a box of 150-grain .308 Winchester ammo setting you back $47, it isn’t as affordable as some of the lead-core stuff, but for a monometal bullet, it isn’t a bad price at all. Winchester loads this ammo in calibers from .243 Winchester to .300 Winchester Magnum, with a 350 Legend load tacked on for good measure.
