why is 223 cheap to roll?

[Canadagunner]

people always say 223 is cheap to reload, but compare to 6mm BR, there is not a big different.

lapua brass of 223 and 6br is about same price. berger bullets are about same. 223 use a little less powder.

I calculated the cost. 223 is about $0.15-0.2 cheaper than 6BR.

or are we talking about cheap once fired factory 223 brass/range brass? + cheaper bullet like match king?

 

[hakx]

Kudo's on your choice of components, you obviously have higher expectations of your rifle than I do of mine. I use once fired brass, Hornady bullets, you know, keep'r cheap. I don't shoot for precision, and gophers don't care either

From all appearances, you work with factory fresh brass (Lapua $$) & premium bullet$.

Love to see a target.

 

[maynard]

I guess if you compare it to say .308 it is cheaper. When you compare 46 gr of powder for .308 over 26 gr for .223. About 150 round/pound for .308 compared to almost 270/pound of powder.
Bulk packs of 80 gr .223 SMK are about $40 cheaper than a bulk pack of 155 SMK.
I never figure in the price of brass for loading because you may get 10-15 loadings from each.
Now if you want to compare .223 or 6BR to .338LM or .50BMG you will see why people say .223 is cheap to load.

 

[colinjw]

I started reloading 223 about a year ago.

I was given all kinds of brass. I sorted it & have good results.
Bullets are available in bulk packs, I assume because the military uses so many of them.
This 2 items keep the cost down.

Primers & powder are about the same though.
Now if you want to shoot for real precision & buy commercial brass & heads then the price difference is minimal.

 

[prosper]

Sweep 1x fired brass up at the range and surplus powder up from Higginsons. Add a surplus/pulled military bullet or whatever's cheapest in bulk at the gun shop. With a little patience working up a load, 3/4" is usually possible with such a combination. Not competition worthy, but good ammo for blasting gophers, practicing field and offhand positions or with iron sights, or for powering your semi-auto

 

[CyaN1de]

It costs about the same to load good target ammo as it does to purchase bulk packs of .223 from the major manufacturers. The difference is that you are getting custom ammo suited to your rifle.

It can be much cheaper if you are using once fired factory brass and bulk packs of 55grn FMJ bullets loading to "factory" specs.

I use once fired Win brass sorted by weight to .5grn in my .223 with Sierra MK's and I can load them cheaper than I can buy bulk factory and they will shoot much better. Of course the Lapua brass is going to bring your per round price up by a good percentage over once fired.

 

[Canadagunner]

thanks for the input. I get it now.

 

[sunray]

"...1x fired brass up at the range..." That you have no idea what has been done to it, how it has been loaded or how many times.
"...lapua brass...about same price...berger bullets..." Premium components will always be about the same price by calibre.
The big difference is that 6mmBR isn't available from all manufacturers. Nor is it as readily available as .223 brass. In a pinch, you can use milsurp .223. There is no milsurp 6mm BR. You won't find 6mmBR in Crappy Tire either. .223 is everywhere.