.223 is getting way to expensive

Hmm - punkrockboy's numbers are very interesting - I have been shooting factory (Rem UMC & PMC .223) all summer at between .47 & .53 a round - and I've been keeping all the brass. I must have 1500 empty brass casings.

Should I seriously look into reloading this winter? I've been lucky in that my gun is one of those that shoots really, really well with factory ammo, so I haven't bothered to look into it.

But at half price........looks like an up front investment of 300-500$ for the equipment, but if I continue to shoot 1000-2000 rounds a season, it might be worth it -

D
 
Its definitely worth it, and anyone who reloads knows that you can improve accuracy, there is no way to match the consistancy of handloads, the key is developing the load that your gun likes( which is the fun part)
 
I'll start looking through the reload section to get a better idea of what is involved & what's the best way to start. Looks like an interesting winter project!

cheers,
D
 
nfo; Reloading your own 55 FMJ saves you alot of money. Useing 1 lb of gunpowder at $26.99 yeilds 280 charges, plus 280 primers at $8.68, and 280 bullets at $28.00. Give you a grand total of $63.67 for 280 fully loaded bullets... if your lucky an can find some UMC for $9.99 a box of 20 you would be paying $139.86 for 280 loaded bullets. These figures are before tax... and I excluded the brass because you can use it over and over again. Add in all the factors and its still %50 cheaper then buying them premade and you can make them alot more accurate then UMC, American Eagle, etc.
 
msg.drew said:
nfo; Reloading your own 55 FMJ saves you alot of money. Useing 1 lb of gunpowder at $26.99 yeilds 280 charges, plus 280 primers at $8.68, and 280 bullets at $28.00. Give you a grand total of $63.67 for 280 fully loaded bullets... if your lucky an can find some UMC for $9.99 a box of 20 you would be paying $139.86 for 280 loaded bullets. These figures are before tax... and I excluded the brass because you can use it over and over again. Add in all the factors and its still %50 cheaper then buying them premade and you can make them alot more accurate then UMC, American Eagle, etc.
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I use to reload a lot, but when you factor your time in, between cleaning all that brass, removing the old primer and the actual reloading it will take you a good 2 hours. So unless you are paid minimum wage in your job reloading is the cheaper way to go, beside that , do not spend time in reloading, spend that time with your family.
 
jobbass said:
I use to reload a lot, but when you factor your time in, between cleaning all that brass, removing the old primer and the actual reloading it will take you a good 2 hours. So unless you are paid minimum wage in your job reloading is the cheaper way to go, beside that , do not spend time in reloading, spend that time with your family.
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Cleaning takes a few minutes to chuck in the tumbler and then seperate from media....I bet a guy can turn out a couple of hundred or more .223 rounds in 2 hours on a progressive press...even on a single stage you can get fast...

Why not spend time with yoru family in the reloading room?
 
i agree with jobbass.

i worked out the cost analysis on different calibers. in general one can save around minimum hourly wage rate, which is 8.00 CAD/hour.

i view reloading as a hobby. i do it because i enjoy it. i even reload 7.62x39, which costs me like more than $15/20 rounds! :eek:


jobbass said:
I use to reload a lot, but when you factor your time in, between cleaning all that brass, removing the old primer and the actual reloading it will take you a good 2 hours. So unless you are paid minimum wage in your job reloading is the cheaper way to go, beside that , do not spend time in reloading, spend that time with your family.
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I view it as a hobby as well. Although I can load 223's for about 22 cents apiece, I'd pay more if it meant I can get away from the damned TV while the wife is watching America's Next Top Model!
 
Undergiver said:
I have 4 rifles chambered in .223 and the price of ammo is getting out of hand. Does anyone know when and if the price will come down below .50 cents a round. I'm thinking when the war in Afghanistan and Iraq is over.
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Try owning a Garand. WWII has been over for decades but 30-06 ammo is still high. :p
 
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major... in an hour your saying you can only crank out 40 rounds of .223 using a single stage press I think the average person could make at least 100 per hour... at a rate of $4.40 per box of 20 vers buying in the store for 9.99

your saving is 27.95 before taxes...

Just curious how you came to the conclusion of only 8.00 per hour savings... did you assume that you would be at working making $20 an hour if you where not sitting at the reloading bench?
 
RickF said:
I view it as a hobby as well. Although I can load 223's for about 22 cents apiece, I'd pay more if it meant I can get away from the damned TV while the wife is watching America's Next Top Model!
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HAHA I'm in the same boat as you, she even brings her friends over for it.
 
If you cant justify the money saved reloading bulk ammo, once you start re-loading match ammo, thats where you really save the money. My 168 gr smk for my .308 , cost me about 75c per round,any factory ammo even close to the same quality would cost minimum 2 dollars per round, probably more. Im not sure how much .223 match ammo costs per box, but I'll bet its in the 1.50 to 2.00 per round area, you can load it for a hell of a lot cheaper!
 
hehe, i should say the result should apply to me more specifically. yes, first of all i admit i am slow. everytime i reload, i have to perform a small setup, because i do not have a permenant reloading bench, and i have to share a common area. moreover, i just started reloading; so, i try to be very cautious, and thus slow. i also made mistakes every now and then, and it takes time to fix. in general, it's $8 saving an hour for me for most of the calibers.

to clearify, i think the minimum wage in BC is around 8.40 CAD? any BC'er can confirm?

when you are idle, there is no oppurtunity cost, because if you don't reload, you will waste the time anyway. so, your oppurtunity cost is 0. if i reload, i make 8.00 CAD in my capacity.

therefore, my reloading hourly rate when there is no oppurtunity cost = BC minimum wage! :p

the bright side is, i know i can improve! :D


msg.drew said:
major... in an hour your saying you can only crank out 40 rounds of .223 using a single stage press I think the average person could make at least 100 per hour... at a rate of $4.40 per box of 20 vers buying in the store for 9.99

your saving is 27.95 before taxes...

Just curious how you came to the conclusion of only 8.00 per hour savings... did you assume that you would be at working making $20 an hour if you where not sitting at the reloading bench?
Click to expand...
 
Just did a time trial... to load 20 .223's from start to finish it took me 9 minutes 5 seconds. lolly gagging around on my single stage press...

Started the stop watch then;
Counted out 20 cases
Loaded the sizing die in the press
Proceded to lube and size each case
Then primed each case
Then loaded the seating die in the press
Droped the powder
Seated the bullet
Then grabed the next case... only 18 more to go
Done.

so in 1 hour your average guy could make 120 223's easy using basic press.
 
You can save a great deal of time if you process your brass in batches--I usually work in 500 round batches for .223. When I have extra time I tumble clean, resize and trim if necessary. Then at as time permits I will clean the primer pockets and re-prime. cases then go into large zip lock bags. i then load from the bags as I need it in 100 or 200 round lots. Much quicker than doing the whole process in one shot.

44Bore
 
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