How many of you reload for your AR/.223? I have never bought any loaded ammo for mine and it just seems like no matter what i do its just cheaper to buy cheap ass ammo for shooting shit up than to make it. Maybe i just need to buy bigger bulks....
.223 reloading??
- Thread starter stang_j_99
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Re: .223 reloading??
Cheap stuff now is about 300 a 1000, so 30 cents a rd. If you have the brass you can get cheap bullets 78 a thousand, 33 for primers, and powder for 23 a pd. For plinking ammo I load them at 23.6 grs Varget, so 296 rds per pd. That makes a grand total of 18 cents per rd, plus or minus shipping or tax on both. If you have to buy brass then the cost is alot closer on the initial loading. Then there's your time, it's worth something. I reload all of my rds, but I'm retired and have more time than money.
Cheap stuff now is about 300 a 1000, so 30 cents a rd. If you have the brass you can get cheap bullets 78 a thousand, 33 for primers, and powder for 23 a pd. For plinking ammo I load them at 23.6 grs Varget, so 296 rds per pd. That makes a grand total of 18 cents per rd, plus or minus shipping or tax on both. If you have to buy brass then the cost is alot closer on the initial loading. Then there's your time, it's worth something. I reload all of my rds, but I'm retired and have more time than money.
Re: .223 reloading??
I use virtually nothing but reloads in my ARs. I have several that have never so much as seen a factory round, and it's pretty doubtful that they ever will. These are almost all match rifles, so I need the extra precision that comes from handloads. Can't use the bulk stuff for this application, so it's a matter of necessity for me. For someone who just wants blasting ammo, that's a personal choice.
I use virtually nothing but reloads in my ARs. I have several that have never so much as seen a factory round, and it's pretty doubtful that they ever will. These are almost all match rifles, so I need the extra precision that comes from handloads. Can't use the bulk stuff for this application, so it's a matter of necessity for me. For someone who just wants blasting ammo, that's a personal choice.
Re: .223 reloading??
if your looking for match acuracy, its prob better to reload. but if your just looking to fire off rounds at stuff, it probably more worth it for both time and money considered together to just by cheap bulk
if your looking for match acuracy, its prob better to reload. but if your just looking to fire off rounds at stuff, it probably more worth it for both time and money considered together to just by cheap bulk
Re: .223 reloading??
Using bulk products and buying in large numbers, I can get the cost of a 223 reload to around 30 cents, I recently figured. The cheapest bulk I'm really finding is around 50 cents, unless you hate life/rifles and will run steel through your gun at around 26 cents. So for pure dollar output, I can reload cheaper.
That doesn't count the cost of tools though, I have about 1500 invested in all my reloading tools (give or take a few hundos), which would take about 7500 rounds reloaded to offset the costs and get it to pay for itself (it has, by the way).
Also not counted in there is your time. I have a single-stage press, and can size brass at the rate of around 200/hour, then there's all the time spent prepping (like trimming, cleaning primer pockets, tumbling, etc - at least another 200/hr), and then loading is another 200/hour proposition. So each 100 has at least an hour to two hour's worth of time added to it - you figure what your time is worth. But even on the low side of things, $5/hr (min wage when I started in the working world) adds $5-10 bucks to each 100 rounds, adding 5 to 10 cents to each piece. Still, not counting the cost of tools.
So it comes down to: do you have more money than time, or more time than money?
Using bulk products and buying in large numbers, I can get the cost of a 223 reload to around 30 cents, I recently figured. The cheapest bulk I'm really finding is around 50 cents, unless you hate life/rifles and will run steel through your gun at around 26 cents. So for pure dollar output, I can reload cheaper.
That doesn't count the cost of tools though, I have about 1500 invested in all my reloading tools (give or take a few hundos), which would take about 7500 rounds reloaded to offset the costs and get it to pay for itself (it has, by the way).
Also not counted in there is your time. I have a single-stage press, and can size brass at the rate of around 200/hour, then there's all the time spent prepping (like trimming, cleaning primer pockets, tumbling, etc - at least another 200/hr), and then loading is another 200/hour proposition. So each 100 has at least an hour to two hour's worth of time added to it - you figure what your time is worth. But even on the low side of things, $5/hr (min wage when I started in the working world) adds $5-10 bucks to each 100 rounds, adding 5 to 10 cents to each piece. Still, not counting the cost of tools.
So it comes down to: do you have more money than time, or more time than money?
Re: .223 reloading??
I've tried collet pulling ComBloc Steelcase Surplus, and reassembling it with metered charges of the original powder, and slight increase of OAL for the 91/30. The components are not bad, it's the charge inconsistencies that drag it down.
Some of the accuracy improvement is quite surprising; lots better than basic blaster ammo.. Time is the added cost, but the process goes relatively quickly.
Greg
I've tried collet pulling ComBloc Steelcase Surplus, and reassembling it with metered charges of the original powder, and slight increase of OAL for the 91/30. The components are not bad, it's the charge inconsistencies that drag it down.
Some of the accuracy improvement is quite surprising; lots better than basic blaster ammo.. Time is the added cost, but the process goes relatively quickly.
Greg
Re: .223 reloading??
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RyanMcIntyre</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Using bulk products and buying in large numbers, I can get the cost of a 223 reload to around 30 cents, I recently figured. The cheapest bulk I'm really finding is around 50 cents, unless you hate life/rifles and will run steel through your gun at around 26 cents. So for pure dollar output, I can reload cheaper.
That doesn't count the cost of tools though, I have about 1500 invested in all my reloading tools (give or take a few hundos), which would take about 7500 rounds reloaded to offset the costs and get it to pay for itself (it has, by the way).
Also not counted in there is your time. I have a single-stage press, and can size brass at the rate of around 200/hour, then there's all the time spent prepping (like trimming, cleaning primer pockets, tumbling, etc - at least another 200/hr), and then loading is another 200/hour proposition. So each 100 has at least an hour to two hour's worth of time added to it - you figure what your time is worth. But even on the low side of things, $5/hr (min wage when I started in the working world) adds $5-10 bucks to each 100 rounds, adding 5 to 10 cents to each piece. Still, not counting the cost of tools.
So it comes down to: do you have more money than time, or more time than money? </div></div>
Since you have match rifles I guess that makes sense. Since all mine is plinking ammo, I got an X-Die to eliminate trimming and roll 300-400 an hour off my 550 just like my pistol ammo.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RyanMcIntyre</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Using bulk products and buying in large numbers, I can get the cost of a 223 reload to around 30 cents, I recently figured. The cheapest bulk I'm really finding is around 50 cents, unless you hate life/rifles and will run steel through your gun at around 26 cents. So for pure dollar output, I can reload cheaper.
That doesn't count the cost of tools though, I have about 1500 invested in all my reloading tools (give or take a few hundos), which would take about 7500 rounds reloaded to offset the costs and get it to pay for itself (it has, by the way).
Also not counted in there is your time. I have a single-stage press, and can size brass at the rate of around 200/hour, then there's all the time spent prepping (like trimming, cleaning primer pockets, tumbling, etc - at least another 200/hr), and then loading is another 200/hour proposition. So each 100 has at least an hour to two hour's worth of time added to it - you figure what your time is worth. But even on the low side of things, $5/hr (min wage when I started in the working world) adds $5-10 bucks to each 100 rounds, adding 5 to 10 cents to each piece. Still, not counting the cost of tools.
So it comes down to: do you have more money than time, or more time than money? </div></div>
Since you have match rifles I guess that makes sense. Since all mine is plinking ammo, I got an X-Die to eliminate trimming and roll 300-400 an hour off my 550 just like my pistol ammo.
Re: .223 reloading??
I'm afraid the days of reloading plinking 223 for 15cts a round may be over. Seems like every time I buy components the cost has gone up. Looked today for cheapest case price on loaded ammo and the cheapest I could find was $330.
I'm afraid the days of reloading plinking 223 for 15cts a round may be over. Seems like every time I buy components the cost has gone up. Looked today for cheapest case price on loaded ammo and the cheapest I could find was $330.
Re: .223 reloading??
Im reloading at about 15-18 cents a round. Just have to be on the ball to find deals.
Im reloading at about 15-18 cents a round. Just have to be on the ball to find deals.
