.223 ... Reload or just buy ... Is it economical to reload anymore?

ranbur

ranbur

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
46   0   0
Location
Okanagan Valley
Hi all. I am considering starting to reload .223 for my Sig M400 AR.

I am not new to reloading, years ago I used to shoot a lot of trap and loaded tens of thousands of rounds ... also loaded a few pistol calibres.

However with component price increases and shortages over the years it has become hardly worth while ... you can buy the cheap shells for not a lot more than reloading ... and have none of the hassles of constantly trying to keep powder, primers, lead, etc in stock.

I am not so much into precision rifle shooting, just a weekend plinker, paper targets ... nothing fancy ... supreme accuracy is not required.

So ... to those of you that load .223 ... what is your average cost for say 100 rounds? How easy is it to keep a supply of components these days? Do most reload or just buy the surplus stuff?

I live in the southern interior of BC.

Thanks!
 
I do both, I buy bulk for plinking and close range stuff and I reload for longer range/3-gun matches. I think that the biggest benefit of reloading is the ability to tailor an accurate load for a specific rifle. If accuracy is not a priority to you, by all means save yourself the time and hassle and just buy bulk. With some rough numbers I'm reloading .223 for around $0.32 per round if I use range brass, $0.42 per round if I buy once fired brass. Personally reloading is a hobby and I don't consider my time a "cost" since I enjoy it more than say watching TV.

Hope this helps.
 
I reload 99.9% of my ammo, the 223 i've been using cheap surplus stuff so far. Prefer steel cases for winter shooting so i don't have to dig in the snow for brass as the Kel-Tec flings empties all over hell. Same for the SKS, i would never reload for that as surplus is so cheap. Stock up when you see a good price, you can never have to much ammo.;)
 
i do both. I reload for my bolt gun and run surplus in my Minis.I leave the steel lay or use the brass from the surplus for my bolt gun.
I enjoy handloading and have ample components stocked.
The economics isn't a factor to me.
 
I dunno - - if you like to tinker and/or looking to make custom loads, then I would think handloading is the way to go. Outside of that, I can't see it being of value - - - and I think many do both - - perhaps as a source of raw handloading materials
 
I also agree plus to properly load 223 in volume you need decent equipment (DILLON 650 and up) and it's expensive as opposed to being able to reload 9 mm in volume which could event be done on a cheap Lee. Case prep is the issue with 223 as opposed to 9mm or any other strait walled handgun caliber.

Plink & blast: cheap bulk ammo

Competition & precision: handmade reloads
 
I do most of my shooting in the bush, so no FMJ allowed. The cheapest hunting .223 I can get is , a buck a pc. I'm reloading Hornady vmax for less than 50 cents a rnd. Even the AE black box is 70 cents a rnd , here. I load about a 100 rnds a night on a single stage press.
 
If you are like most AR shooters that usually fire as fast as they can to empty a magazine, don't waste your time reloading. If you are at all concerned with accuracy, then it is worthwhile to load.
 
When I have time I load. 223 when I don't I buy 1000 rounds at a time. At about 1000 rounds I think I only save about 50-100 dollars reloading and it takes alot of time and good equipment. You will never pay off your equipment if 223 is the only thing your loading
 
Unfortunately, the latest component shortage has driven up prices and it is now a fair bit more expensive to reload than it was before. Loading 69gr Sierra over H335, CCI 400 primers, in Winchester brass now costs me $55.36 per 100 rounds loaded (based on reloading the brass 10 times). Two years ago, that same load cost me about $42.00 per 100.

This load I can count on for consistent hits out to 600 yards (haven't shot it further yet). I don't think I could say the same for bulk ammo or any bought ammo.
 
Brianma65 said:
I do most of my shooting in the bush, so no FMJ allowed. The cheapest hunting .223 I can get is , a buck a pc. I'm reloading Hornady vmax for less than 50 cents a rnd. Even the AE black box is 70 cents a rnd , here. I load about a 100 rnds a night on a single stage press.
Click to expand...

Why no FMJ in the bush? NL got some weird regs about target shooting in the bush or something?
 
crashcollins said:
Why no FMJ in the bush? NL got some weird regs about target shooting in the bush or something?
Click to expand...
Yep , you have to have tag or lisense for whatever animal is in season , and carry the appropriate firearm and ammo. No FMJ. The one exception is that you can get a 3 day pass from the wildlife office for sighting in a rifle. You have to specify which rifles and where your going. You can do this every 3 days if you want , all it takes is a trip to the wildlife office every time .:) And still no FMJ. Back in the day poaching was a big thing , not so much anymore ( hence , all the wildlife regs) just seems the wildlife division are still back in the 70s
 
I just keep an eye out for deals on brass and when I buy powder/primers/boolits it's in bulk.... the 6000 piece crates of Hornady 55gr FMJ are a fair deal.
Most of the loading I do in the winter when I'm less apt to be playing outside.
With a few specialty tools and a process I've developed, I can crank out top notch quality ammo fairly efficiently.

I just can't stand being dependent on the retail ammo chain.
 
If you are feeding a semi-auto, just buy what ever is cheap. If you have a quality bolt gun then reloading is worth it for sure. I have the found the .223 is inherently a very accurate round. Some fine tuning of loads with my Rem 700 BDL, consistently shoots 5 shot groups dime sized or smaller at 100 yards if I am doing my part.
 
Good luck finding 8lb jugs of W748, BLC-2, H335, TAC, WC735, etc. Primers seem to have doubled in price. I love reloading match 5.56 with 69 grain PRVI or Noslers and WC735. Excellent velocities and accuracy. Works great on coyotes too. Just can't get powder now. Norinco 5.56 is a better deal if you consider the time it takes to load 1120 rounds of ammo. Once powder comes available again, reloading may be more feasible.
 
Brianma65 said:
Yep , you have to have tag or lisense for whatever animal is in season , and carry the appropriate firearm and ammo. No FMJ. The one exception is that you can get a 3 day pass from the wildlife office for sighting in a rifle. You have to specify which rifles and where your going. You can do this every 3 days if you want , all it takes is a trip to the wildlife office every time .:) And still no FMJ. Back in the day poaching was a big thing , not so much anymore ( hence , all the wildlife regs) just seems the wildlife division are still back in the 70s
Click to expand...

Unfortunately poaching is very much alive. :(

(Not that the FMJ prohibition does anything to forestall or prevent it).
 
CV32 said:
Unfortunately poaching is very much alive. :(

(Not that the FMJ prohibition does anything to forestall or prevent it).
Click to expand...
yes it's still on the go, but I remember 15 ,20 yrs ago , when guys were selling moose meat, I don't hear of that , anymore. Maybe cause beef is cheaper than moose , now...:) It's crazy how they punish us, for the actions of the poachers, and the restrictions only hurt the law abiding people.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom