A Newbie asking advice for reloading .223 and 7.62 x39

pummumu

pummumu

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Greetings all!

I am very new to owning my own firearms, and only been shooting my firearms for a couple of times.
One thing I notice so far is the ammo cost can get pretty pricey.

I shot PMC Bronze 7.62 x 39 which cost about $1 per ammo, and PMC Bronze .223 which cost about 65 cents per ammo.
Surplus ammos/steel core arent allowed in my indoor shooting range.

Another member in the range saw me shooting a couple hundred rounds the last time I was there and recommended I reload my own ammo.
He recomended Dillon 550 to start with ( which I believe cost about $600, not too sure.)

My questions to you experts are, is it really that much cheaper to reload my own .223 and 7,62x39 ammo?
Can someone please give me a rough estimate the cost per ammo if I want to reload my own?

I am not aiming for precision, jsut plinking and would love to shoot about 200-250 per trip to the range.

thank you in advance!
-Herb
 
I reload. 223 but only because I grab free brass from range.. Otherwise it may not be worth it.. Would be a little cheaper even with buying brass but if you are using in in a semi-automatic they can be hard on brass so free range brass is your best bet.. And unless you are hunting with it and want to make specific hunting 7.62x39 I wouldn't bother reloading it surplus ammo is cheap and plentiful
 
I picked up the Lee 50th Anniversary kit when it was on sale from amazon. I figured I'd start out on a single stage to see how I like it instead of dropping more money right off the bat on a more complex press. I'm reloading 223 for .31 cents a round using my own brass. I started saving what I shot in the event that I'd start reloading one day.
 
I've been reloading with a Lee single stage for 18 years the same one in fact probably have made more than 20000 rounds in it lol
 
Both of those rounds take a lot of time for me to reload, compared to pistol rounds. I don't reload 7.62x39 though.
For 223, I quickly clean the brass, then resize / deprime the rounds on a single stage press. After resizing and deburring, I do a full clean (30-45 mins) in a wet tumbler then the brass goes into a Dillon 650 for reloading. Even with the 650 it takes a hell of a lot of time, done in large batches.

You can do 223 / 7.62 on a cheaper turret press to save money, but it will take a lot more time and it will be really slow going.
There is a point where it's probably just easier / better to just buy your rounds and sell off the brass instead of reloading. That number will differ for each person. Reloading itself is it's own hobby.. if you don't like reloading, than doing large batches of rifle rounds isn't going to be for you. :)
 
Thank you for the replies :)
I checked the X-reload website for estimate cost.

The 7.62x 39 brass is 70 cent each http://www.x-reload.com/prvi-brass-7-62x39-unprimed-50-bag/
and the bullet is 33 cent each http://www.x-reload.com/prvi-bullet-7-62x39-310-123gr-psp-100-bag/
Unfortunately, its already more expensive than store bought even before adding primer and powder :(

I think I will need to keep shooting more with the factory ammo and start saving those brass before investing to the reloading tool.
 
7.62x39 (Norinco copper washed brass) is on sale at GoTenda. I don't reload 7.62x39 which is for my SKS.

.223 I reload because of range pick up.
 
If you just wanna "bang-bang" rifle, then the SKS is your best bet. I reload for mine because I use it for deer and it's very effective at the 100 yd. and less range. That's handy as the area I hunt is mostly 40-70 yd. sight lines. I have some Winchester, S&B, and Prvi brass and I have a nice shooting (2" group at 100 yd.) load worked up. I'll shoot the cheap milsurp stuff for fun, but it's a pain cleaning up after shooting that damned corrosive stuff.
 
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