Reload 223/5.56?

Show Me said:
Never thought about it. It's so simple a cave man can do it.
Lyman inside chamfer- reamer cuts crimp like butter. You just can't mess up loading .223. Like making a cake. Follow recipe.
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Why use a tool than can screw up a pocket when they make tools that don't. I'm sure if one was so motivated they could damage with the rcbs crimp remover.
 
westernrover said:
I tooled up to reload 223 this past summer. I've done most of the steps experimentally but have not started to load in earnest. I needed to put that project on pause when school started, and then hunting season, and other projects. I've yet to acquire the primers (I have 1 or 2 boxes), the brass, and my powder of choice (I have a few pounds of H335 but I'll likely use something else).

For me the reason to reload 223 is to have the best loads I can make for a Mini-14, and because I enjoy hand loading. If I had an accurate bolt-action in 223, I would certainly reload for that. Reloading for a Mini-14 might be a bit suspect then, considering they're known for their inaccuracy. I'm hoping that is a bit of stigma left over from the Mini's earlier pencil-barrel design and a bit of myth and exaggeration. My Mini has not demonstrated bad accuracy yet, but I haven't worked with it enough to determine just how accurate it is. I don't intend it to be scoped (except for load development) or to hit small targets at many hundreds of yards. So why reload?

I believe I can save money, but not for the cheap 55 gr. FMJ ammo. Factory 223 with high-performance expanding bullets like Barnes TTSX, Hornady CX, Nosler E-tip, is expensive. If these components can be sourced inexpensively as seconds, they can be loaded into cartridges at significant savings provided sufficient scale (thousands of rounds). The savings in reloading 223 isn't in the NATO-spec overruns, but in the special-purpose cartridges for varmints, hunting, etc.

Saving money loading high-performance cartridges can't be done with mixed headstamp range scrounge brass, nor can it easily be done with new Lapua cases. I've got to find a source of quality, same headstamp fired brass that isn't damaged. My initial plan was to shoot my own supply of LC brass, but having procured enough cartridges, I decided to keep them instead of shooting them. Now I think I've found a source for what I want, but I haven't acquired it yet.

I also need to acquire those SR primers as mentioned. It's a pity I didn't get them when they were 7.9 cents a few months ago. On the other hand, since loaded 556 has also gone way up in price just in the last couple months, reloading could be a better proposition. Doing it to save depends on buying components when they're priced low. It might take years to find the components at good prices, but some of them like primers and bullets aren't specific to one cartridge, so it could be worth it to stock up when they're cheap.
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I stocked up when that Clinton woman was flapping her jaw. S&B at Cabelas 27.00. Also it's fun to have a bolt action that matches each auto loader. This is simple fun
 
Reamer or a swagger. Not for me. I am fortunate enough to work at a very large outdoor range and can pick up all the brass I can carry. So over the past 3+ years I have gotten very finicky about what I pick up. For 223 if it has a crimped primer it goes into the recycle bucket. So right now the only brass in 223 that I pick up are Norma, Nosler, PMC and Hornady and all is picked off of benches and not the ground. Too cheap to by new brass when I have access to all this once fired stuff.
 
I just checked the price of small rifle primers and they are $0.40 each. I'm surprised as heck at the high prices and at least for now I'm tabling the idea of reloading 223.
 
irving said:
Reamer or a swagger. Not for me. I am fortunate enough to work at a very large outdoor range and can pick up all the brass I can carry. So over the past 3+ years I have gotten very finicky about what I pick up. For 223 if it has a crimped primer it goes into the recycle bucket. So right now the only brass in 223 that I pick up are Norma, Nosler, PMC and Hornady and all is picked off of benches and not the ground. Too cheap to by new brass when I have access to all this once fired stuff.
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You don't care for Lake City brass. Or you can't find it on the range?
 
Charlie Martinez said:
Yep. $399.99 /1000 were the cheap ones. Others (I believe CCI) were going for $425/1000. I erased the advertisement after I finished reading it but it was in one of the several popular sites I receive daily.
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That sounds like ammo prices not primer prices.
 
Charlie Martinez said:
I just checked the price of small rifle primers and they are $0.40 each. I'm surprised as heck at the high prices and at least for now I'm tabling the idea of reloading 223.
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Keep an eye on the thread pinned to the top of the forum. You’ll find SRPs for a whole lot less than that.

Where are Reloading Components Available/On Sale (Not a Discussion Thread, Link Required)

CCI SPPs 7 cents each, 5k quantity, OEM packaging: https://americanreloading.com/product/cci-sp-no-500-primers-free-shipping-haz-5000ct/
www.thehighroad.org
 
Charlie Martinez said:
Yep. $399.99 /1000 were the cheap ones. Others (I believe CCI) were going for $425/1000. I erased the advertisement after I finished reading it but it was in one of the several popular sites I receive daily.
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That's got to be ammo prices. As that's about what the factory bulk ammo sells for. Unless it's just some reseller trying to gouge people. Sportsman's Warehouse has small rifle primers for $59.99 per 1,000 almost every time I go in there. Academy has them for $79.99 per 1,000. While prices are still high on them, they've become very easy to find these days.
 
DMW1116 said:
That sounds like ammo prices not primer prices.
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........or 5000 count case prices......
Charlie Martinez said:
Yep. $399.99 /1000 were the cheap ones. Others (I believe CCI) were going for $425/1000. I erased the advertisement after I finished reading it but it was in one of the several popular sites I receive daily.
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CCI SR No. 400 Primers Free Shipping & Haz - 5000ct - American Reloading

CCI Small Rifle No. 400 Primers OEM Packaging due to Availability Boxer, Non Corrosive Free Shipping & Hazmat
americanreloading.com americanreloading.com
 
I want to buy some 223/556 brass, about 2000 cases. I was intending to buy fired LC brass, but I'm not seeing a good deal at the moment. There are cheap deals on mixed headstamps, but I don't want cheap, I want high quality and consistency without paying $1/piece.

I found some pulled LC brass that is ~33 cents shipped. This is unfired and has primers.

The other option I found that has some appeal is new Norma brass for ~35 cents also with primers and shipped.

Primers appear to be available for about 9 cents at the moment, plus hazmat shipping that could be avoided when buying primed brass instead.

So what's better, LC or Norma?
 
westernrover said:
I want to buy some 223/556 brass, about 2000 cases. I was intending to buy fired LC brass, but I'm not seeing a good deal at the moment. There are cheap deals on mixed headstamps, but I don't want cheap, I want high quality and consistency without paying $1/piece.

I found some pulled LC brass that is ~33 cents shipped. This is unfired and has primers.

The other option I found that has some appeal is new Norma brass for ~35 cents also with primers and shipped.

Primers appear to be available for about 9 cents at the moment, plus hazmat shipping that could be avoided when buying primed brass instead.

So what's better, LC or Norma?
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There is no HAZMAT fee on primed brass. It ships like ammo. For new brass with primers that's not a bad deal.
 
The only Norma I’ve used was once fired from a batch of factory 223 I bought. It was staked not circle crimped. I was using a trimmer for that batch and it worked as required. It’s nice brass. I’ve since reloaded it in various loads.
 
2ndtimer said:
I can vouch for Ramshot TAC, X-Terminator, Accurate 2230 and 2460 and Shooters World AR Plus. If available, they tend to be cheaper than Hodgdon, IMR, Alliant or Vihta Vuori. And they all are spherical (ball) powders, so they flow nicely through a powder measure.
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An important point passed over in the earlier posts. If you want to reload safely, you need a powder the flows easily. I found out early on that stick powder will hang up in my powder dies and I would get a light load or an overflowing load..
 
Charlie Martinez said:

Reload 223/5.56?​

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If you would be starting from zero, relative to the .223/5.56-specific components & equipment, it may be difficult to save any money these days reloading .223/5.56.

I don't spend any time "pricing" that caliber these days but from the cursory looks that I give the stuff in sale emails, it appears that the mean for generic new-mfr .223/5.56 ammo has crept below 50¢/rd in case lots. Hopefully, that downwards trend will continue for awhile.

Dad taught me "reloading math" in the 60s. At the time we could reload a 7.92x57 round for a component-cost of about a nickel. He explained to me that I would have to decide what my time/effort was worth to me but as very general rule if I found mfd 7.92x57 ammo (almost certainly milsurp) for about that cost, I should consider buying rather than reloading. O'course, if that mfd ammo is boxer brass, one should take that into account, also. ;)

I was lucky to be able to take advantage of good pricing over the past decade, or so, and stockpile components (and mfd ammo), most of it for 5.56. Loading 5.56 on a Lee Classic Turret Press (which I have not done for awhile), I find it to be no more difficult (and takes less muscle) than most other rifle calibers.

Enjoy!
 
Based on the prices I've seen lately, it's up around $0.80 per round right now, even for 55 grain M193 rounds. That's a pretty good motivator to make it myself. However, if one doesn't enjoy reloading, if it drops below $0.40 per round, buying is probably the way to go. I can still beat that price, but not by much. If I didn't like reloading and counted my time, I'd have to quit at the lower prices.
 
epags said:
An important point passed over in the earlier posts. If you want to reload safely, you need a powder the flows easily. I found out early on that stick powder will hang up in my powder dies and I would get a light load or an overflowing load..
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Not trying to pick nits but...
The important point for safely reloading is to pay attention!
 
Ironicaintit said:
Not trying to pick nits but...
The important point for safely reloading is to pay attention!
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Please re-read my post: An important point passed over in the earlier posts. If you want to reload safely, you need a powder the flows easily.
I did not say the 'most' important point. I was referring to what had not been addressed.
End of rant!
 
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