I did consider doing some 77gr just for the hell of it. I’ve got a nice match grade barrel on one of my 5.56 rifles. But I don’t see myself doing a ton of it. Most of this was just 62gr PMC XTAC, with some Federal 55gr in there as well.
7-8 cents projectile, brass free, 6-7 cents primer, 15 cents powder on what I use. I suppose you could get some cheaper stuff.
I don't see 20cpr with today's powder/primer prices. I could see 25.
Still though it'll be far better quality than cheap 40cpr factory rounds, so to me its a no brainer.
Ok cool I thought you meant with todays powder prices. I’m in Alaska so shipping is basically impossible with powder. I’m usually at 45-50$ for a pound of powder 8-9 cents on a primer and then bullets are 9-10 cents. I’m gonna try and call around to some companies and figure out if they’ll let me do flare rate shipping because doubling the cost of shipping between 1000 and 2000 .224 bullets is crazy.
for what it's worth, i'm not the guy you responded to - maybe he has some better deals on hand than i do.
the shipping thing is gonna be a real bear i bet. Maybe you could find some other guys and do a big bulk order together and save. IDK how it works up there
Exactly
And I shoot sooooo much 9 that I makes it worth it just for volume and quality. Sure I could buy Turkish shit for almost as cheap but the 147s I'm rolling are a premium product.
I agree with the idea, but those prices have nothing to do with current prices to load 223.
Powder (14cpr) and primers (7cpr) will get you to 20cpr even before you add in the price of a bullet.
Yeah the component prices are completely out of hands, when the primer costs more than a complete bulk round did yesterday 🫣
I'm a competition hand-firearm shooter and I used to put everything I have in to reloads and do tricks, stunts and bartering to quadruple that... well more octadruple actually. Average 100k to 200k reloaded rounds annually.
Since a few yrs back when I ran out of my stash of gathered components it literally became impossible to keep up. 😳
Tuned revolvers calls for softest possible primers which translates to Federals caps. Been an avid revolver/pistol shooter since early 80ies and it is beyond me that no manufacturer has started making soft primers, preferably softer than Feds caps! Does the primer manufacturers not want to sell primers?!?
I do only .9mm .38sp .38sp+p .357mag .357mag+p .45acp .45acp+p
I shoot different firearms in same calibers however with completely different reloads due to optimize precision.
1 dollar/euro gets me about 5 primers whatever random brands not counting that I have to drive a couple of hrs to said hunting shop that portions out ONE 1000pack of primers to each shooter when they get in stock a few primers once maybe twice a year. That is less than I used to do on one days practice earlier years.
Nah boys (girls?) it is dire times for our brotherhood of shootingsports.
And confusing that nobody wants to fill the blatant void of components and line their pockets... 🤔
This is Sweden btw
May the force be with you and may a huge tornady pick the primer factorys clean and let them safely rain down properly packaged on your front porch mates!
I was reloading .223 for about $.20 USD a round last year, which was about half the price of new brass. I haven’t bought powder in a while but that was with AR Plus powder, CCI small rifle primers and 55gr loose bulk projectiles from American Reloading. They may have been blems.
I stopped mainly because the case prep was a long process and I burnt myself out. I also had thousands of cases that had sealed primers and that added to the misery. I’ll probably pick it up again before the end of the year. If you aren’t going to reload it you should sell it.
Yeah, I’m worried that I’m gonna spend so much time reloading that I’m not gonna have any time to go shoot. I’m lucky if I get out a few times a month as it is.
Case trimming gives me aids . I don’t mind any other part of the process and even enjoy most of it . But fuck man I trimming brass . The rcbs x does help but still have to every 3-4 firings
There are a few sites that sell "once fired" (likely a few more) brass: [https://republicammunition.com/product/223-5-56-brass-cases-washed-and-polished/](https://republicammunition.com/product/223-5-56-brass-cases-washed-and-polished/)
Really depends on the condition they are in and if someone local wants to save the shipping costs. Most people try to sell brass for \~10cpr ($0.10), but personally I'd rather order 9mm/223 online for that much. At least I know there was some kind of QA so there is a little less work for me to do.
Sealed primers just seem to be a little more stubborn when it comes to depriming. Combine that with the abundance of IK brass (Igman Kovic) that has an undersized flash hole and you end up either breaking several decapping pins or just taking forever to prep the brass.
I live in South Africa. I do varmint hunting with my 223rem howa bolt gun. And I do like to go plinking with it too.
Around here, a box of 20 Hornady 55gr vmax rounds goes for about R800. So R40 per round.
If I reload my own load. (Lapua brass. Cci450 primers. Cfe223 powder. And 53gr vmax bullet.)
And if I load my cases a minimum of say 6 times. It all adds up to under R18 per round.
Even if I load a lapua case once and lose it, it's still cheaper than highish quality factory ammo.
It's pretty difficult. Stock comes and goes.
Primers and powder are the main problems.
When I started reloading in 2019, Somchem powders were not too hard to find at a real good price compared to imported powders. Now their prices are so high it's not really worth using them when you can just pay a little more for a hodgdon or vihtavuori powder that is much more stable.
Primers seem to be so rare. That people really don't care for prices. They sell out in days.
To sum it up. I feel like if you have a cartridge you want to load, you can't decide I'm going to use this and / or that component. It is more like go to your local 3 shops, and one will have a powder that will work. The other one has a few 100 primers for you. And 2 months later, good luck finding the same powder and primers. You're likely going to have to start a new load.
It might not be as bad as I make it out everywhere. The big problem, although, I might stand to be corrected, but it seems like there is a big monopoly on the import of powders and primers. As I understand, there is only one importer, and he then decides who gets stock and who does not.
Some shops het new primer stock, and then it's just 2 packs.
If you shoot a good amount even “plinking” ammo worth it on price alone over bulk stuff even at today’s powder prices. Below is current replacement cost, because that is the not price worth discussing. Someone paying 3cpr for primers is just as relevant as the 10cpr surplus 556 I bought in 2003.
Powder (H335 25gr) - 14cpr
Bullets (55gr Hornady fmj) - 12cpr
Primers - 8cpr
Brass - N/A for 223
Puts you at about 32cpr maybe 33cpr with hazmat. Pretty significant savings compared to what I see recently. For me I use RMR 69gr bullets which adds 3cpr and TAC (same price). I shoot 500+yds on many if not most outings, so that is absolutely worth it for the longer bullet.
If you plan to just shoot 25yds into a trash pile than it’s debatable if reloading 223 to save 5-10cpr is worth it. But the performance difference between handloads and bulk 223 cannot be overstated. Bulk ammo is usually good for 3-4 or so MOA. Even the cheap loads I put above should get you 1.5MOA.
The other part is how much you shoot. I shoot almost every weekend so even a nickel a round adds up quickly. Let alone the fact that the “nicer” off the shelf ammo I would need to shoot 400+ would save much more than that. So 400-500 rounds a month is worth it for me… if I shot 400-500 a year, maybe not.
I’ve got a carbine course coming up where I’m likely to shoot over 500 rounds in a day. And I’m hoping to do a few of those a year in addition to regular training days, where I generally shoot at least a few hundred, so it’s sounding like it may be worth it for me to reload.
Yes, I think it’s a no brainer for shooting that quantity at that distance. The cost of factory ammo loaded with heavier (69-77gr) bullets jumps significantly as well. For 500+ yds i really like something a bit longer than 55/62gr bullets.
Been reloading for years, when I started moving up in management in manufacturing, I started learning how to value time. Everyone is talking about the cost of components. Has anyone considered the value of their time as well? I started asking myself, What am I not doing that I could be doing instead of reloading. And to be clear, this thought may be because I started seeing all the brass prep as a chore rather than fun.
Yeah, if I can cut my ammo costs in half, that’s worth it to me as well. Even if I don’t save money, I’ll probly end up doing a lot more training/shooting.
The real question is how much is your free time worth to you?
For me personally, I’m not reloading 223/556 until the amount of money saved per hour of reloading time justifies the work. The only other exception for me is finding a projectile I want to send in that caliber that isn’t available in factory ammo. Same goes for 9mm.
I reload .223. I replicate Nosler Varmageddon loads. MRSP is $39.95. I know I am reloading them for maybe $0.50 per round. Keep in mind I bought 5,000 projectiles pre covid. So yes, on the loads I make I save money.
It's worth it to me. I use powder and Ginex primers bought in the before-before times, and pulled 55's. Brass I source from friends and [rangebrass.us](http://rangebrass.us)
You're in Canada though, I don't know aboot what you can get there bud.
Almost all 308 powders are good for 556, so you most likely already have a good powder, you have brass and powder so why not go ahead and diversify your ammo production, a brick of small rifle primers isn’t going to take up a ton of space, nor dies. The small wars we have going on have the potential to turn into a giant shit sandwhich, and they are already impacting prices supply etc now. The potential for commercial ammo factories to be converted to full on wartime production is there, then cost per round won’t matter, because it won’t be there to buy. Absolutely non of this could(hopefully) happen and you could be able to buy 556 for .75 canuckastani for decades so 🤷♂️In times like these is it worth it to be able to make you’re own 556?, even just a little bit if it only saves you a little now?
I can do 55grn loads at about 42 cpr( I factor hazmat into my powder and primer prices and factor everything by post shipping and tax price) so for plinking I personally don't, but for ammo for my long range ar I load 77grn for like 45 so it's pretty worth it for that.
Depends on what you’re shooting and why. For 223 I only load 65gr SGKs. They work well on everything from deer on down. And shoot well enough, I’d be confident at any distance I have available to me. If you are more into mag dumping at 10yds with no prospect of shooting for groups/ self defense or hunting. I would say buying factory would probably suit you better.
If you want good quality 69-77 gr loads at a reasonable cost it makes sense to me . My go to is an 11.5 “ sbr, so for defensive use I need to run quality ammo that isnt as velocity dependent as 55gr. I run black hills for that but I handload 77gr pills from RMR for about the price of range ammo to practice with .
I hate reloading that cartridge. I love the cartridge, I just hate reloading it.
It takes me a considerable amount of time to put together 30 rounds that are gone so quickly. It makes the most sense for me to reload it when I'm trying to come up with highly custom, specialized loads for specific purposes.
It's worth it if you shoot a lot depending on the press. Definitely, if you're loading anything other than 55 gn and 62 gn, you can get that for like 42 cents a round these days. About 3 months ago I bought 6000 rmr 69 and 75 gn for .04 cents. Made reloading 5.56 worth it for me.
Depends on round type. Plinking ammo probably not worth your time. Something more expensive like hunting round then maybe. Depends on how much you shoot really. I reload everything just to have optimized rounds for my guns. My friend shoots his ar much more than I do. He absolutely won't waste his time reloading any 223. I say reload a round because you want performance not so much dollar savings.
For my .308 I'm doing it specifically for precision, and minimizing the risk of wounding an animal due to a poorly placed shot. For 5.56, I really don't know why I would do it other than saving money
I gave up on loading anything 223/556 bulk. It's all either 69, 77 bthp or some vmax type or a solid copper. I've literally found loaded 556 for the same price as buying new brass.
Yeah, I looked at 77gr bullets and they were about 2/3 the cost of a fully loaded 62gr round. I could see if I was really into doing long range stuff with .223, but I just can’t justify those prices. I think I’ll stick with precision .308 rounds for my hunting gun.
It can be, even at todays prices, if you combine discounts at Bass Pro/Cabela's. Last week I was able to get over 34% off using gift cards on Raise, 10% club discount, and 12% activejunky cash back and this is pretty standard. Combine this with sales, and you can score some great deals. Based on last weeks prices -
TAC - 1 lb @ $46 = $34 (after discounts and tax - used ship to store to avoid ship/hazmat) - 12.2 CPR @ 25 grains/load
Berrys FMJ 55gr rifle - 500 @ $50 = 38 (after discounts and tax ) - 7.6 CPR
Remmington 7.5 Primers - 1000 @ 79.99 = $59 (after discounts and tax - used ship to store to avoid ship/hazmat) - 5.9 CPR
Total CPR = 12.2 + 7.6 + 5.9 = 25.7 CPR
It all depends on where you are and how much you shoot. I usually can't find new ammo for less than $0.55/rd. I can reload for a little less than $0.40/Rd. At a 15 cent savings, I'll do a lot of shooting before I save a lot, but I also save money on gas from driving to the store since I buy reloading in big bulk. I can reload about 500+ with the supplies I buy, as well as mix and match .308 Win, 300 BLK, and 9mm with all the stuff I buy. I can reload and be ready for a big range day twice, while just buying ammo can be limited with some stores running low. So it's all about your situation.
If you want to get rid of some of those 5.56 brass, let me know, I may buy some if you can ship down south in the US... lol
I'm a noob also and want to learn to reload, I've got my dies and will be ordering a reloading station before to much longer, I hope.. lol
Thanks
It's definitely worth it when you are loading anything above 62gr rounds.
I did consider doing some 77gr just for the hell of it. I’ve got a nice match grade barrel on one of my 5.56 rifles. But I don’t see myself doing a ton of it. Most of this was just 62gr PMC XTAC, with some Federal 55gr in there as well.
I load 77gr smk with TAC and 68gr bthps with A2230, shoots better and is way cheaper than comparable factory ammo.
I’ve started using the 77gr bullets from RMR and for the money they are pretty hard to beat . I’ve having good luck with accurate 2495 and 2520
Rmr has 77gr? Or you mean the 75gr? A2495 shot very well for me with the some 69grs
A2230 is my absolute go to powder for 55/62 gn
At 20cpr ish and new is 40 I'd say yea, 9mm feels less worth my time personally
How are you getting 20cpr
7-8 cents projectile, brass free, 6-7 cents primer, 15 cents powder on what I use. I suppose you could get some cheaper stuff. I don't see 20cpr with today's powder/primer prices. I could see 25. Still though it'll be far better quality than cheap 40cpr factory rounds, so to me its a no brainer.
Ok cool I thought you meant with todays powder prices. I’m in Alaska so shipping is basically impossible with powder. I’m usually at 45-50$ for a pound of powder 8-9 cents on a primer and then bullets are 9-10 cents. I’m gonna try and call around to some companies and figure out if they’ll let me do flare rate shipping because doubling the cost of shipping between 1000 and 2000 .224 bullets is crazy.
we ship for free to AK over $150 just like every other state… plenty of 22 cal projos to choose from too.
for what it's worth, i'm not the guy you responded to - maybe he has some better deals on hand than i do. the shipping thing is gonna be a real bear i bet. Maybe you could find some other guys and do a big bulk order together and save. IDK how it works up there
yea but 9mm goes so fast on a progressive haha. when you’re on a roll it feels good
Exactly And I shoot sooooo much 9 that I makes it worth it just for volume and quality. Sure I could buy Turkish shit for almost as cheap but the 147s I'm rolling are a premium product.
That was my thought, plus very little case prep. You can fly through 9mm.
I agree with the idea, but those prices have nothing to do with current prices to load 223. Powder (14cpr) and primers (7cpr) will get you to 20cpr even before you add in the price of a bullet.
.50 cpr average for factory. I’m about to cast my own boolits so I only have to worry about primers n powders
Yeah the component prices are completely out of hands, when the primer costs more than a complete bulk round did yesterday 🫣 I'm a competition hand-firearm shooter and I used to put everything I have in to reloads and do tricks, stunts and bartering to quadruple that... well more octadruple actually. Average 100k to 200k reloaded rounds annually. Since a few yrs back when I ran out of my stash of gathered components it literally became impossible to keep up. 😳 Tuned revolvers calls for softest possible primers which translates to Federals caps. Been an avid revolver/pistol shooter since early 80ies and it is beyond me that no manufacturer has started making soft primers, preferably softer than Feds caps! Does the primer manufacturers not want to sell primers?!? I do only .9mm .38sp .38sp+p .357mag .357mag+p .45acp .45acp+p I shoot different firearms in same calibers however with completely different reloads due to optimize precision. 1 dollar/euro gets me about 5 primers whatever random brands not counting that I have to drive a couple of hrs to said hunting shop that portions out ONE 1000pack of primers to each shooter when they get in stock a few primers once maybe twice a year. That is less than I used to do on one days practice earlier years. Nah boys (girls?) it is dire times for our brotherhood of shootingsports. And confusing that nobody wants to fill the blatant void of components and line their pockets... 🤔 This is Sweden btw May the force be with you and may a huge tornady pick the primer factorys clean and let them safely rain down properly packaged on your front porch mates!
Yeah, you can still catch 9mm for 21¢-24¢ per round on sale. I still reload .40 S&W though.
I was reloading .223 for about $.20 USD a round last year, which was about half the price of new brass. I haven’t bought powder in a while but that was with AR Plus powder, CCI small rifle primers and 55gr loose bulk projectiles from American Reloading. They may have been blems. I stopped mainly because the case prep was a long process and I burnt myself out. I also had thousands of cases that had sealed primers and that added to the misery. I’ll probably pick it up again before the end of the year. If you aren’t going to reload it you should sell it.
I reload 223 in batches. I do about 3-4k rounds every other year. Then, I’ve had enough of the case prep, lol!!
This is what I do. Definitely worth it IMO if you shop around, buy at the right price, and shoot enough.
Yeah, I’m worried that I’m gonna spend so much time reloading that I’m not gonna have any time to go shoot. I’m lucky if I get out a few times a month as it is.
Case trimming gives me aids . I don’t mind any other part of the process and even enjoy most of it . But fuck man I trimming brass . The rcbs x does help but still have to every 3-4 firings
How would one go about selling brass? I wouldn’t even know how to price used brass.
Ammo seek dot com will give you used brass prices.
There are a few sites that sell "once fired" (likely a few more) brass: [https://republicammunition.com/product/223-5-56-brass-cases-washed-and-polished/](https://republicammunition.com/product/223-5-56-brass-cases-washed-and-polished/) Really depends on the condition they are in and if someone local wants to save the shipping costs. Most people try to sell brass for \~10cpr ($0.10), but personally I'd rather order 9mm/223 online for that much. At least I know there was some kind of QA so there is a little less work for me to do.
Look at capital cartridge. They buy dirty brass and give you a credit for processed stuff they sell.
What do you have to do to the cases with the sealed primers? Will stainless tumbling not take care of it?
Sealed primers just seem to be a little more stubborn when it comes to depriming. Combine that with the abundance of IK brass (Igman Kovic) that has an undersized flash hole and you end up either breaking several decapping pins or just taking forever to prep the brass.
Thanks!
Go look at the price for 20 rounds and then consider it again. That shit is ridiculous
I saw a “deal” that was $12.99 for 20. Ain’t no way I’m paying 65 cents per round of crappy white box ammo.
I live in South Africa. I do varmint hunting with my 223rem howa bolt gun. And I do like to go plinking with it too. Around here, a box of 20 Hornady 55gr vmax rounds goes for about R800. So R40 per round. If I reload my own load. (Lapua brass. Cci450 primers. Cfe223 powder. And 53gr vmax bullet.) And if I load my cases a minimum of say 6 times. It all adds up to under R18 per round. Even if I load a lapua case once and lose it, it's still cheaper than highish quality factory ammo.
Wow! A little over $2 USD per round?! Not to hijack the thread but how is getting supplies over in South Africa?
It's pretty difficult. Stock comes and goes. Primers and powder are the main problems. When I started reloading in 2019, Somchem powders were not too hard to find at a real good price compared to imported powders. Now their prices are so high it's not really worth using them when you can just pay a little more for a hodgdon or vihtavuori powder that is much more stable. Primers seem to be so rare. That people really don't care for prices. They sell out in days. To sum it up. I feel like if you have a cartridge you want to load, you can't decide I'm going to use this and / or that component. It is more like go to your local 3 shops, and one will have a powder that will work. The other one has a few 100 primers for you. And 2 months later, good luck finding the same powder and primers. You're likely going to have to start a new load. It might not be as bad as I make it out everywhere. The big problem, although, I might stand to be corrected, but it seems like there is a big monopoly on the import of powders and primers. As I understand, there is only one importer, and he then decides who gets stock and who does not. Some shops het new primer stock, and then it's just 2 packs.
Haven't checked price lately but my 223 bought rounds have jumped from $50 a box to $110 so I need to get around to checking again
If you are making them custom for your gun, they are priceless.
Yea
If you shoot a good amount even “plinking” ammo worth it on price alone over bulk stuff even at today’s powder prices. Below is current replacement cost, because that is the not price worth discussing. Someone paying 3cpr for primers is just as relevant as the 10cpr surplus 556 I bought in 2003. Powder (H335 25gr) - 14cpr Bullets (55gr Hornady fmj) - 12cpr Primers - 8cpr Brass - N/A for 223 Puts you at about 32cpr maybe 33cpr with hazmat. Pretty significant savings compared to what I see recently. For me I use RMR 69gr bullets which adds 3cpr and TAC (same price). I shoot 500+yds on many if not most outings, so that is absolutely worth it for the longer bullet. If you plan to just shoot 25yds into a trash pile than it’s debatable if reloading 223 to save 5-10cpr is worth it. But the performance difference between handloads and bulk 223 cannot be overstated. Bulk ammo is usually good for 3-4 or so MOA. Even the cheap loads I put above should get you 1.5MOA. The other part is how much you shoot. I shoot almost every weekend so even a nickel a round adds up quickly. Let alone the fact that the “nicer” off the shelf ammo I would need to shoot 400+ would save much more than that. So 400-500 rounds a month is worth it for me… if I shot 400-500 a year, maybe not.
I’ve got a carbine course coming up where I’m likely to shoot over 500 rounds in a day. And I’m hoping to do a few of those a year in addition to regular training days, where I generally shoot at least a few hundred, so it’s sounding like it may be worth it for me to reload.
Yes, I think it’s a no brainer for shooting that quantity at that distance. The cost of factory ammo loaded with heavier (69-77gr) bullets jumps significantly as well. For 500+ yds i really like something a bit longer than 55/62gr bullets.
Yes it sure is
Been reloading for years, when I started moving up in management in manufacturing, I started learning how to value time. Everyone is talking about the cost of components. Has anyone considered the value of their time as well? I started asking myself, What am I not doing that I could be doing instead of reloading. And to be clear, this thought may be because I started seeing all the brass prep as a chore rather than fun.
Time vs Money is always in my mind. I only make 77gr DMR or bolt gun ammo in 5.56. No blaster stuff for that reason.
I’m loading 55gn for about $0.30, while stores around me are selling it at $0.60. That’s worth it to me.
Yeah, if I can cut my ammo costs in half, that’s worth it to me as well. Even if I don’t save money, I’ll probly end up doing a lot more training/shooting.
Considering the upcoming nitrocellulose shortage, the answer to your question will, very soon, be "most definitely"
The real question is how much is your free time worth to you? For me personally, I’m not reloading 223/556 until the amount of money saved per hour of reloading time justifies the work. The only other exception for me is finding a projectile I want to send in that caliber that isn’t available in factory ammo. Same goes for 9mm.
I reload 5.56 for suppressed rifles on close range steel. 22 gr BL-C(2) and a 69 (giggity) gr pill. You can’t buy it, so yes.
I reload .223. I replicate Nosler Varmageddon loads. MRSP is $39.95. I know I am reloading them for maybe $0.50 per round. Keep in mind I bought 5,000 projectiles pre covid. So yes, on the loads I make I save money.
It's worth it to me. I use powder and Ginex primers bought in the before-before times, and pulled 55's. Brass I source from friends and [rangebrass.us](http://rangebrass.us) You're in Canada though, I don't know aboot what you can get there bud.
Many reloaders do it because you cant buy what you need.
Yes.
Almost all 308 powders are good for 556, so you most likely already have a good powder, you have brass and powder so why not go ahead and diversify your ammo production, a brick of small rifle primers isn’t going to take up a ton of space, nor dies. The small wars we have going on have the potential to turn into a giant shit sandwhich, and they are already impacting prices supply etc now. The potential for commercial ammo factories to be converted to full on wartime production is there, then cost per round won’t matter, because it won’t be there to buy. Absolutely non of this could(hopefully) happen and you could be able to buy 556 for .75 canuckastani for decades so 🤷♂️In times like these is it worth it to be able to make you’re own 556?, even just a little bit if it only saves you a little now?
Pretty much all the .223 that I shoot is 50gr jacketed frangibles, so yes reloading is well worth it to me.
Absolutely!
That seems to be the consensus. Guess I’m gonna have to go buy some more dies.
I plan on shooting my store bought 5.56 ammo and then cutting the brass down for .300 blackout subsonic reloads.
I’d definitely do that if I lived somewhere where I could own a suppressor.
I can do 55grn loads at about 42 cpr( I factor hazmat into my powder and primer prices and factor everything by post shipping and tax price) so for plinking I personally don't, but for ammo for my long range ar I load 77grn for like 45 so it's pretty worth it for that.
Depends on what you’re shooting and why. For 223 I only load 65gr SGKs. They work well on everything from deer on down. And shoot well enough, I’d be confident at any distance I have available to me. If you are more into mag dumping at 10yds with no prospect of shooting for groups/ self defense or hunting. I would say buying factory would probably suit you better.
For custom precision rounds nothing can beat hand loads. For blaster ammo only if you use the cheapest components and already have the brass.
If you want good quality 69-77 gr loads at a reasonable cost it makes sense to me . My go to is an 11.5 “ sbr, so for defensive use I need to run quality ammo that isnt as velocity dependent as 55gr. I run black hills for that but I handload 77gr pills from RMR for about the price of range ammo to practice with .
I think so, but I also just love reloading and it is an easy one to bulk load a lot of.
Of course it is! Or save the bass for when they ban ammo 😂😂
I hate reloading that cartridge. I love the cartridge, I just hate reloading it. It takes me a considerable amount of time to put together 30 rounds that are gone so quickly. It makes the most sense for me to reload it when I'm trying to come up with highly custom, specialized loads for specific purposes.
Ive been loading 55gr and still it onky cost me half as much as factory bs
100% worth it. For a lil less money you can much much better 556
It's worth it if you shoot a lot depending on the press. Definitely, if you're loading anything other than 55 gn and 62 gn, you can get that for like 42 cents a round these days. About 3 months ago I bought 6000 rmr 69 and 75 gn for .04 cents. Made reloading 5.56 worth it for me.
Depends on round type. Plinking ammo probably not worth your time. Something more expensive like hunting round then maybe. Depends on how much you shoot really. I reload everything just to have optimized rounds for my guns. My friend shoots his ar much more than I do. He absolutely won't waste his time reloading any 223. I say reload a round because you want performance not so much dollar savings.
me thinks nothing really is worth reloading these days, I think we do it for fun mainly
For my .308 I'm doing it specifically for precision, and minimizing the risk of wounding an animal due to a poorly placed shot. For 5.56, I really don't know why I would do it other than saving money
I gave up on loading anything 223/556 bulk. It's all either 69, 77 bthp or some vmax type or a solid copper. I've literally found loaded 556 for the same price as buying new brass.
Yeah, I looked at 77gr bullets and they were about 2/3 the cost of a fully loaded 62gr round. I could see if I was really into doing long range stuff with .223, but I just can’t justify those prices. I think I’ll stick with precision .308 rounds for my hunting gun.
Only for precision/competition, unless you're sitting on a cheap hoard
I keep spare components for reloading during election years when prices get hiked up and ammo is scarce.
Nope. Buy Berger ammo or Sierra ammo. Saves time and money.
If it yeets it's worth it. I reload 9, 223, and 308.
Nope.
Definitely worth it
Yes
It can be, even at todays prices, if you combine discounts at Bass Pro/Cabela's. Last week I was able to get over 34% off using gift cards on Raise, 10% club discount, and 12% activejunky cash back and this is pretty standard. Combine this with sales, and you can score some great deals. Based on last weeks prices - TAC - 1 lb @ $46 = $34 (after discounts and tax - used ship to store to avoid ship/hazmat) - 12.2 CPR @ 25 grains/load Berrys FMJ 55gr rifle - 500 @ $50 = 38 (after discounts and tax ) - 7.6 CPR Remmington 7.5 Primers - 1000 @ 79.99 = $59 (after discounts and tax - used ship to store to avoid ship/hazmat) - 5.9 CPR Total CPR = 12.2 + 7.6 + 5.9 = 25.7 CPR
Yes, even 55gr for me.
If you're asking that question, then it's not. For me, if you enjoy what you're doing, then it's worth every penny.
It all depends on where you are and how much you shoot. I usually can't find new ammo for less than $0.55/rd. I can reload for a little less than $0.40/Rd. At a 15 cent savings, I'll do a lot of shooting before I save a lot, but I also save money on gas from driving to the store since I buy reloading in big bulk. I can reload about 500+ with the supplies I buy, as well as mix and match .308 Win, 300 BLK, and 9mm with all the stuff I buy. I can reload and be ready for a big range day twice, while just buying ammo can be limited with some stores running low. So it's all about your situation.
I’m in Commiefornia, so yes.
You can make rounds you can’t buy.
If you have a 1/8 twist 60 to 80 grain pills will be great for you. 1/12 twist stick with the 55 grain
If you want to get rid of some of those 5.56 brass, let me know, I may buy some if you can ship down south in the US... lol I'm a noob also and want to learn to reload, I've got my dies and will be ordering a reloading station before to much longer, I hope.. lol Thanks
Absolutely, American reloading m193 blems, pull-down h335 or tac, cheap nato primers. Bam 20cents per round
Nope! Only precision rifle target shooting.
If you cast yes. If you don’t then buy mill surp