Thinking about starting to reload

[Johnny Rotten]

After shooting 2k of a mix amount of steel/brass 223 yesterday, I'm thinking of reloading my 223 brass,
My Shrike is ammo sensitive and it will only cycle Lake City ammo, so I would need to reload it to NATO specs.
What is your cost per round to reload to the above spec? My current best deal is .40 ea, I look daily(several times)for ammo deals and buy at .40 for LC/ Federal ammo.
What would be the best set up to buy? I need everything
Thanks JR

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Your first reloading session is your most expensive. It goes down from there, each time.

[R_Bert]

And the more you ignore it, the cheaper it becomes.

[Johnny Rotten]

That's a lot of help
Thanks

[RED333]

8 lbs of powder, bout 130 to 150 dollars. 1000 grans in a pound (I dont load 223)

Primers 1000, about 130 dollars, 1 per shot

Bullets, depends on what you buy, or cast.

Press, used 40 dollars, new depends on what you buy(Lee breach lock is OK to start)

Dies, Lee, about 40 dollars

Your time is up to you.

Bottom line both answers from the other 2 posts are true.

You have a bit of home work, Powder, primers and hardware, you have to learn what is best.

MIL spec is gona be tuff, Get a book, search the web for what others are using.

You just might get the PPR down to 10 cents.

[musicman]

Some of those numbers are suspect, Red. There are 7,000 grains in a pound, not 1,000. Generally, FIVE thousand small rifle primers are $120-150, not ONE thousand at that price.

Other than that, I mostly agree. :-)

[Jonnin]

what is the deal with other ammo, too weak to cycle the gun?  If that is the case the gun can be modified or you could load just about any components hot enough to cycle it with a bit of trial and error.  What I am saying is you should be able to reload functional ammo without having to exactly match someone's load but it may take 4 or 5 attempts to get it right. 

 

The biggest cost (in order) for most reloading is roughly  bullet, brass, powder, primer.   So to save money, you need to find cheap bullets -- pulled bullets can be had in bulk cheaply, but they are often beat up.  Heavier bullets tend to cost more each.  FMJ costs a little more than open on the back or whatever designs.  Brass is free if you have  place you can loot it, but its pricy if you buy new so go pick up brass at a friendly range if you can.  Powder, the hotter the cheaper -- 2 brands or types that cost the same, and one uses 20 grains and the other 25, the 20 grain on makes more rounds so costs less each.  Primers cost what they cost, not a lot of ways to save on em.

 

Assuming free brass and today's prices,  *very* roughly its bullet cost + 15 cents = price per round.  That includes a fudge for taxes etc.

edit- a quick search found pulled bullets at 100 for 500, or  20 cents each.  That totals 35 cents each roughly, so if you really skimped on the powder you might get it down in the low 30s per round.

 

Don't forget you need a trimmer for 223.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Jonnin

[frankmako]

if you all ready got the reloading equipment then you can save big dollars reloading for your rifle.  if not the start up cost is what is going to get you.  press, dies, books, scales, etc.... will cost some.  even if you go used.  used prices are just about the same a new at this time.  then you got to find powder, primers and bullets.  the prices for the three is all over the place.   bullets will be the highest cost of the three.  yes you can save and make some of the best ammo going.  but at this time with the current problems all guns, ammo, and reloading supplies cost have gone sky high.  but you got to start somewhere. 

[Johnny Rotten]

Does anyone have a Dillon XL650 with all the whistles?

 

Jonnin, I have a duel feed Ares Shrike upper (mag or belt fed), it will run 100% on mags with any type of ammo, it will only run 100% on LC ammo and LC links (the manufacture told me it was designed around that ammo and link combination), I've tried all types of brass ammo and different links with zero luck.  

[Dustbuster]

I do w case hopper.except for the roller handle and bullet tray i didnt want either I love it,good machine, does everything I need it to. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling. Edited October 14, 2013 by Dustbuster

[Jonnin]

Does anyone have a Dillon XL650 with all the whistles?

 

Jonnin, I have a duel feed Ares Shrike upper (mag or belt fed), it will run 100% on mags with any type of ammo, it will only run 100% on LC ammo and LC links (the manufacture told me it was designed around that ammo and link combination), I've tried all types of brass ammo and different links with zero luck.  

 

Not sure about that issue.  In an ideal world if you used the same links,  the ammo should work if it is generally the right size and shape and has enough oomph to cycle.  If that is not the case, I have no clue what it could be... ??  Seems odd that if the LC links with other ammo do not work.

[Johnny Rotten]

Not sure about that issue.  In an ideal world if you used the same links,  the ammo should work if it is generally the right size and shape and has enough oomph to cycle.  If that is not the case, I have no clue what it could be... ??  Seems odd that if the LC links with other ammo do not work.

Weaker ammo I guess, PMC, Fiocchi, Wolf  and Tula will not strip off the links, I bought brand new IOT links they wouldn't work with LC ammo either.

The manual says it takes 2-3k rounds to break in, I'm pass that, I made a special 20rd belt of Wolf Saturday soaked in WD-40 then wiped down and it wouldn't strip and load the first round. 

[Jonnin]

wolf and tula are weaker from what I have seen of other peoples chrono data.  Not sure about pmc.  ALL of those are weaker than NATO: they are the lower pressure 223 spec ammo!  I think if you handload to NATO spec (or appropriate pressure/velocity/bullet weight "similar" round) and put it on the same links as the LC, it will work.  But me thinking it and it working are 2 different things -- gotta try a few  to see what happens.

[RED333]

Some of those numbers are suspect, Red. There are 7,000 grains in a pound, not 1,000. Generally, FIVE thousand small rifle primers are $120-150, not ONE thousand at that price.

Other than that, I mostly agree. :-)

You are right, I need to slow down.