Is it possible????????????

[Guest johnsuttontn]

I am very new to having a rifle. I like alot bought an AR. Dang the .223 ammo is high. Mostly about .50 a round. Unless you get into the Wolf,Brown Bear, Tula ammo. I ahve given though of possibly getting into reloading. I guess what I am getting at is it possible to reload steel cased ammo? I think the answer is no but I wanted to find out from the pros. Any input as into this question is greatly needed and I thank you.

[56FordGuy]

I've heard of guys reloading steel cases, but generally it's not a good idea. At the very least, it's hard on your dies. Most steel case ammo has Berdan type primers, which will not work with standard depriming dies.

[kb4ns]

EDIT: 56 beat me to it.

[titan14]

I too have heard to NOT reload steel cased ammo. Along with the Berdan primers and being hard on your dies, i would think that steel may crack a little easier than brass...

[Jonnin]

There are some cheap deals on brass too, its a little more but when you reuse the case several times, the price per shot goes way way down. I think the batch I got was $40 for 100 rounds brass case PMC or something.

[gregintenn]

Dang the .223 ammo is high.

LOL! Try buying some for 41 Magnum, 218 Bee, 7x57, 250 Savage, etc. You'll think they're giving away 223 ammo. Anyway, I've always heard that reloading steel cases is a losing proposition, and although I haven't tried it, it makes sense to me that you shouldn't. I'd think you could pick up all the 223 brass you wanted at a range.

[DaveTN]

Don’t use steel case or lacquer coated ammo unless you like working on your gun.

[Garufa]

Wal-Mart sells .223 brass-cased Federal for .40 a round and you can find a wider variety even cheaper online. Steel-cased Wolf can be had for around .19/round before shipping.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

My closest walmart almost always has .223 55gr Federal value pak for about $39 + tax on 100 rounds. That is still fairly expensive, but about 40 cents a round rather than 50 cents a round.

It works fine for me, though it MAY not be quite as hot-loaded as some other ammo.

[Raoul]

I suggest just going ahead and buying 1k of brass .223. In the long run it'll save you money, and if you figure in the cost of the brass that you can reload maybe 20 times or so...it's a deal.

Reloading the .223 is not hard. With the break in the weather I just took 100 rounds of .223 reloads to the range. My first batch. They worked great.

As fo picking up .223 brass at the range, all I can say is that al I ever see on the ground is steel. Almost never any brass.

Fiocchi .223 55gr FMJ BT Ammo - 1000rd Case

[Raoul]

Don’t use steel case or lacquer coated ammo unless you like working on your gun.

For reloading? Or just for shooting?

[56FordGuy]

I just ran the numbers, I'm loading .223 for about .08 a round. I bought my powder at $100.00/ 8 lbs, and my primers for about $40.00/ 1000 (during the rush). I figured no cost for the brass, since I can reuse it several times and no cost for the bullets, because a buddy of mine set me up with a bunch. Obviously, your cost will be higher buying bullets and possibly brass, but it shouldn't be much.

[DaveTN]

For reloading? Or just for shooting?

Shooting

[Garufa]

What about polymer coated steel case? Is that OK to shoot?

[DaveTN]

I figured no cost for the brass, since I can reuse it several times and no cost for the bullets, because a buddy of mine set me up with a bunch.

. Obviously, your cost will be higher buying bullets and possibly brass, but it shouldn't be much.

Obviously. Bullets and brass is where the cost is!

[Raoul]

Shooting

I'd have to disagree. I've got a little over 3 k of steel case Wolf and Tula through my AR with no problems at all. You just have to clean it after you shoot it.

[DaveTN]

What about polymer coated steel case? Is that OK to shoot?

I’ve never heard of polymer coated.

But lacquer coated steel is okay in an AK. I wouldn’t run it in an AR.

[56FordGuy]

I ran the numbers again, using brass and bullet prices from Midway. They list brass at $231.00/ 1000 and bullets at 92.00/ 1000. If you only use the brass once and don't pick it up, I'm coming up with .40 cents per round. If you buy new brass and reload it ten times, you're down to .31 cents per round.

[GIJake]

I think the batch I got was $40 for 100 rounds brass case PMC or something.

Walmart sells a box of 100 rounds of Federal .223 55gr FMJ for $39.97. FYI

[deerslayer]

Shooting

My M&P 15 loves steel case Wolf.

[East_TN_Patriot]

Or instead of spending all of the money to reload the .223, you could purchase one of the .22LR conversions for the AR. If money is a factor, you can plink away to your heart's content and save the .223 ammo for special occasions.

[Backon4]

So my cheapo AR must be an exception to the rule. I have shot about 2000 rounds of tula and about the same federal 22lr with a cmmg conversion. Still have not cleaned the rifle and keep waiting for these famous problems to occur. Once I get a failure of some kind I will report and clean. Until then I will keep buying all the white box tula I can find at $3 a box of 20. And to make it nicer they are boxer primed and can be reloaded. Just lube the case well and use carbide dies. There are plenty of people reloading the combloc steel. Just check each round to make sure the neck is good.

[JeffL]

Federal XM193C less than 30 cents a round shipped for M193 if you order 1000.

[glockster157]

Patience is a virtue in this game. I buy components in bulk when I get the chance and in small quantities when I cannot find deals. I started loading the 223 in 1981. Since then prices have climbed a bit. I usually divide the cost of brass by 10. I figure I will lose it or the neck will crack by then as I don't anneal cases that are readily available. Powders are plentiful that will work well in this caliber so I buy what is on sale, the same for bullets. Primers jumped but I had a good supply when they did, so I did not have to pay out the nose. One other tip, buy out guys that are getting out of reloading. Keep what you need and resell the rest. I keep all consumables and sell off things like dies, scales, presses, etc.

Here are my averages recently,

223 Brass 4-6 cents each \10= .4-.6 per round per reload

Powder $20 per pound \25 grains per round = 7.2 cents per round

Primers $25 per K(now) = 2.5 cents per round (I have bought some as low as 20 per K recently)

Bullets $70-90 per K = 7-9 cents per round. ( have been buying repacked Hornady bulk SP's for 80 per K)

Total .5+7.2+2.5+8 = 18.2 cents per round

If I can get free brass it lowers my cost, If I can get components cheaper by trade or buying in bulk it lowers my cost. Using Commercial cases, 25 grains of say H335, WW primers, bulk Hornady SP bullets, I can make a very nice, very accurate round that performs far better than most steel cased import ammo I have tried and it shoots a lot cleaner also. By using military brass I have to add in the labor of reaming primer pockets which is a pain but I will do it if I can get the brass cheap enough.

[dlm37015]

buy in bulk is right i buy my powder in 40 lb kegs 10 dollars per lb

55 grain bullets 10,000 at a time 65 dollars per 1000

primers are still kinda high but even at 28.00 still gets my cost to 13 cents for good ammo