Economical non conventional chamberings

I want to pick up a .300 blackout bolt action rifle for running cast bullets.... Would like one that takes ar 15 mags but not a whole lot out there??

Actually you don't. Prob with AR mags is they are mostly confined to 5 rounds. That you use the mag in a bolt gun doesn't change the capacity restriction on the mag.
 
With the ptg ar dbm you not only have to inlet the stock but you also have to open up the action in certain areas. It's not for the faint of heart, lots of work without a milling machine. Also it takes alot of time to get the feeding just right. I'm in the process right now.

10 ar pistol mags are pretty commom and relatively cheap. Stick with steel mags, the lips on the polymer ones are too thick, you won't get your last round from the mag.
 
Great information! Thanks everyone. I'll have a closer look at the triple deuce. How is it with regards to barrel life?

Thanks again everyone,
Cal.

While thinking about the "plain old" 222, have a look at its big brother, the pretty much obsolete 222 Remington Magnum. It is a very good cartridge with an interesting history.
Properly head stamped brass is hard to come by, but research will show that 204 Ruger brass may be easily substituted.
 
For economic reloading options I always considered the TCU family for the small volume and easily made brass.
Cartridges in .223, .308 or diameters you can get bulk bullets are one way to keep costs down. Lower pressure ones to run cast bullets are even better.
 
I've been batting the same sort of idea around for a bit myself with the much increased cost of components lately and I'm thinking a 222 Remington would be the way to go on this one. Brass can be made from dirt cheap 223 military brass, bullets are still not too hard on the pocket book and the round sips powder. Not to mention this number has a well deserved reputation for accuracy in most rifles. I think I just convinced myself.
 
Obviously the .22 centerfire cartridges are cheap... .22 Hornet & .222 Rem are a couple nice ones... the larger .22 centerfire cartridges are only moderately costlier on powder and brass .22/250 & .220 Swift... the 6mm grouping is a very nice all round choice for paper punching, obviously the .243 & 6mm Rem but also 6BR and 6XC... I currently use .223, .22/250, .22 BR, .243, 6mm, 6 BR for my small bore shooting... they are all pretty inexpensive.
 
Basically the smaller the bullet the cheaper it is. 22 cal bullets cost less than 6mm which tends to be less than 30 cal etc. next is the need for cheap brass, that means something that works off of the 223 case. 17/223 or 20/223 would be nice and cheap to operate.
 
Cheapest of all my centrefire rifles to feed is my Rossi M92 .38/.357 lever gun. Loaded with .38 special cases, a tiny scoop of fast burning pistol powder like Unique, and a cast bullet there is nothing cheaper. The brass is the cheapest of any I have bought for any cartridge. Seems like .38 brass is plentiful but not popular with reloaders. i have bought .38 brass for $3 per 50, add $3 for primers, a buck and and half for powder, and the same for some bullets you cast yourself from wheel weights. That's $9 for 50. Less than a box of 17 HMR or .22 magnum, and some .22 long rifle loads cost as much. And you can re-use the cases many times.
 
6.5x47Lapua. Brads cost is a little high upfront, but you can reload it for a long time and it's pretty easy to dial in. Components are fairly economical, load data is pretty good and you can find some pretty impressive nodes down low and near max.
 
Whether you are reloading a 308 or a Super duper Whackum Boomer 300 magnum....you are still pushing a 30 cal bullet. Perhaps you burn 40 gr more powder and get 5 firings less/brass. Once you are set up, and have the basic components the cost of reloading is very similar regardless of caliber. Starting at about .338 or using premium bullets drastically increases cost of reloading, of course the same ammo in factory is correspondingly pricey.

Where the big advantage kicks in, is when you are reusing unobtainable brass, and fine tuning your loads for a specific rifle and accuracy. The recent increases of ammo means that you can load premium projectile and have custom tuned ammo for at least 50 % of factory cost.
 
Basically the smaller the bullet the cheaper it is. 22 cal bullets cost less than 6mm which tends to be less than 30 cal etc. next is the need for cheap brass, that means something that works off of the 223 case. 17/223 or 20/223 would be nice and cheap to operate.

You must live under a different sun than I do. I have definitely NOT found that .17 cal bullets come cheaper than .22.

I have found that a box of decent quality bullets costs pretty close to the same, for the same quality.

The cost to manufacture them is not so much in the materials, but in the tools and labour. Production efficiencies make a huge difference too. There is a lot more demand for some cals than for others.

About all I would say with any confidence, is that it varies, and ya gotta shop.

Cheers
Trev
 
Hi everyone,

This may be a bit of a dumb question, but I'm wondering: outside of 223 and 308, (which are rather economical rounds to reload due to the prevalence of components for these chamberings), what would be the next economical (cheapest) round to reload? Shooting for groups not dinner.

Thanks everyone,
Cal.

9mm is cheap , even cheaper to reload , no idea how accurate it might be out of a rifle .

I've been gathering pieces to put together a rifle in 7mm tcu . it should be cheap , accurate and still just big enough to properly kill game .
 
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