Cost of reloading .223?

mlehtovaara

mlehtovaara

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I am thinking of buying an AR but can't afford factory ammo, so I am already reloading for my pistols. How much am I gonna be paying per round for reloading assumining I am buying components by the 1000. Not huge bulk purchases. And how much more effort do I have to put into reloading rifle rounds? I currently dont trim cases so is this a big deal with .223?
 
"...already reloading for my pistols..." Which press? Most will do both, but not all of 'em.
"...this a big deal with .223..." Yep, but not a big deal. Rifle brass stretches most on its first firing, but it needs checking and trimming.
"...reloading rifle rounds..." Read the rifle section in your manual. Biggest difference is no flaring the case mouth. It gets chamfered inside and deburred outside after trimming(that takes the place of the flare). Trimming doesn't get done after every firing. Checked for length, but only trimmed if required. Except for new brass. It needs to be full length resized, checked for length, trimmed to all the same length and chamfered and deburred. Must be FL resized every time for an AR(and any other semi-auto).
Bullets run $20 to $27 per 100, depending on the bullet(match grade bullets cost more). You'll likely get a bit better price per 1,000.
Small rifle primers run about the same as pistol primers. Powder is close to the same too. Don't buy a keg until you have worked up a load. New brass runs around $21.95 per 50. Brass doesn't have to be BNIB though.
 
So according to that info It will cost me at least 50 cents a round. Why would anyone even reload when you can just buy 1000 rounds for $525. I am not after any match grade rounds, just looking to save a buck. But just like with .308 I find it is not worth the extra time I would spend. Just don't save much.
 
The biggest contributor to cost I find is bullets. If you can find inexpensive bulk ones it will bring the cost down. I figure I can load my .223 for about 25 cents each not counting the cost of brass as I have lots on hand.
 
You might not save much by reloading if you are happy with the performance of factory ammo and you can still find it for $9-10 a box. I reload 223 because for the same $10 a box, I can get much better accuracy. Its a fair bit of labor though. More work than handgun because of the case trimming and weighing of powder. I agree, its the bullet that can make up the biggest variable in reloading 223 cost. It all depends on what you are after. My 1:12 twist bolt action rifle does fine on Remington value box varmint ammo. My 1:8 twist AR needs heavier bullets to shoot minute of angle or better, and those don't come cheap in factory loads. Around $35 a box plus taxes for Federal Match grade. That's what I compare my reloads to.
 
Well thanks guys, but not what I wanted to hear. SIGH......

My other option is a Beretta CX4 in 9mm, and I already reload for my Glock so I guess that would be a better bet for my budget.

Otherwise I will be waiting forever for the M&P 15-22 afterall.

Thanks
Mark
 
Just checked the Higginson Powder website for prices. w ww.higginsonpowder.com.
Hornady 55gr fmj, $12/100. Winchester sm. rifle primers, $36/c. WC-735 powder, $119/7#, $70/4#, $20/1#. Winchetster new brass, $27/100.
That works out to $10/20 for first firing, 50 cents each, $500/m
Plus delivery and tax, of course.
Without the brass, 23 cents per reload, $4.60/box, $230/m.
If you are going to fl size, etc, before loading, start with once fired commercial cases; much cheaper than new.
I load match grade bullets, figure 25-30 cents each. Also, I use different powder for target loads, powder cost increases about 60%. I cannot buy target ammunition for anything near what it costs to load it. My loads hold just over a minute from my AR. The loads with WC-735 and 55 fmj bullets are accurate, too, but are a poor choice for longer ranges.
 
Once fired .223 brass comes up on EE for around 12c per round all the time. I just bought a bunch. Not everyone reloads and they can re-sell their brass to people who do to recover some of the cost of them buying commercial ammo.

Dealers here on EE sell 500 pack of .223 FMJ for $79.50 or 15.9c per round.

Assuming a 55 grain .223 at 19 grains of powder, 7000 grains (1lb) runs around $33.00. You come out to 8.9c per round.

Primers are 3.8c per round on 500 or more.

If you're shooting .223 through an AR, they are kind to brass. I have read guys reloading their .223 brass 35+ times. But to be fair, I have also seen the number 10, 15, and 25. So average it out to be 20 times. It's not just firing the brass that damages it. When your rifle throws the spent brass, simply hitting the ground 20 feet away will also chip it, making it useless.

Based on those figures:

Total is 40.6c per round for the FIRST load. After that, the price asymptotically drops until the case is no longer acceptable to shoot. Lets say you shoot the same brass in a semi rifle with FMJ ammo with medium load powder for 20 reloads. That's (40.6c) + (28.6c X19) = 584c or 29.20c per shot. Considering a 1000 case of ammo is $525.00 shipped, that's a $233.00 savings over 1000 rounds. If you shoot 60 rounds per week over 40 weeks per year that's 2400 rounds or a cost savings over one year for "one" caliber only of $560.00.

So it pays to reload.
 
I reload .223 for .25 or less, I buy bullets from the EE or from local dealers @ 10 to 13 dollars per 100, I get my powder local at 23 to 27 a pound and you can buy brass from SFRC for 45.00 for a 1000....I had lots of brass to start but still got a 1000 for later...I found some primers for 35 bucks and some for 45 also, some times 27 if your lucky and in the right place at the right time:D

Once i got my components all together and loaded a few, I sold all of my factory ammo except for 500 rounds, i have enough stuff to make almost 2000 i just need a little more powder...

So in short is is well worth it, but very time consuming prepping brass, especially if you have crimed primer pockets...With my set up I can trim the brass just a fast a checking it for length so thats how i do it...
 
with my current .223 it costs me approx $17 per 50. that is using 21.5 grs H4198, Sierra 40 gr HP's a s**t pile of surplus brass and CCI 400's. this shoots half inch 5 shots groups in my Tikka M55 Varmint all day long. that is the same cost of federal blue box 55gr SP's, which will not even come close to touching it in accuracy. , i could go with a cheaper bulk bullet, then it was down around $13/per 50, but my groups opened up to .75":D a 9mm AR wouldn't be bad either, since i figured my 9MM cast loads cost $6.50 per 50

here's a handy tool in figuring it out

http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp
 
It costs me about the same to reload .223 (.40-.45) as to buy cheap factory, but I get accuracy and a bullet that performs better ballistically as well as being suitable for hunting.
It's worth it to me.
 
i've never looked at my reloading as being cheaper, factoring in all the components needed to start and averaging that price into the reloads may end up being higher than factory ammo depending on the amount a guy shoots.

i like reloading for 2 reasons, the first is the accuracy and the second is it gives me something to do:)
 
Heres my "cheap" setup:

0.09 Brass
0.15 Hornady FMJ 55gr
0.04 Primer CCI
0.09 23.3 grs of Hodgdon H335



Comes out to $0.37 a round before shipping. It drops to $0.28 a round after the first reload though.. Powder is the only thing I pay taxes on though, so that's a bonus. This load shoots great out of both my SAN rifle and sl8/g36 clone, I'm yet to try it in my Remington BA though.

What is your time worth to you though? I know it takes me a long time to remove military primer crimps and all the other checks before and after.

For me it completes the whole experience. It's a productive way to spend your free time, that is if you have any. After all, you could be sitting on the couch watching TV, right?
 
I use a Lee classic press, it was costing me $370 per thousand, but just picked up some 55gr bullets for $17 a hundred instead of $24, so that saves me $70 a thousand.
 
if you just want cheap 223, then go for the hornady bulk 55gr at $13/100 plus $4 for primers and about $10 of powder ($30/lbs) you can make 100 rounds at 27 cent per round. this is assuming you can pick up some brass at the range. ive havent had to buy 223 or 308 brass yet
 
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