Are you even bothering reloadin 223?

T.O. your on a roll with me agreeing with you. Lol

I don't own/shoot an AR, so i don't need 30,000 rounds.

I'm loading 69gr. Sierra MatchKing ans Tipped MatchKings to custom length for chamber and single feeding.
Using LC brass
Alliant Power Pro 2000 powder.
Fed sm rifle match primers.

Works well with my wife's Savage110FP.
 
I, too, have to agree with Mr. O'Heir on this one. Nobody tunes factory loads to your gun except by accident, and you can afford to put a lot more time and TLC into each round than they could ever justify. There is a fair amount of good premium ammunition out there that will perform at least pretty well, but I've only noticed one poster on the forum stating that he could not reload to match the accuracy of a particular factory load in his gun (Federal GM308M or GM308M2). So there's one instance in which the factory seemed to be tuned in. But that's pretty rare, and even if I had such a rifle, paying for a steady diet of match ammunition would be a bit hard on my budget, so I'd save it for special occasions.
 
saw a guy take a off the shelf Ruger Precision he had bought that week and then used Hornady American 6mm CM ammo and shot a 199 with double digit X's at a 300 yard match a while back. Made the guys with 5k custom rifles and precision loading equipment grab a case of humble pie. To be fair I think he finished the match middle of the pack but just a example of how far factory guns and ammo have came. I have my eye on the Tikka T3's myself. Guy at my range has one he swears is as accurate his custom rifles
 
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"55 gr whatever (Hornady are $19 per 250)
55 gr BTSP (Hornady are $19 per 250)"


Woooot! where can I find such a deal?
 
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"Sooo...do you still reload this ubiquitous cartridge? If so why? Quality? Hobby? To get away from the wife"?

I roll my own simply because I can tune my loads for specific rifles. Not being into "blasting ammo" I want accurate ammunition for each of my rifles including several .223 guns. I can build better than I can buy and for me that is what it's all about.

Ron
 
I have 2 rifles that shoot 223/5.56. I also have two different loads of the same weight bullet. Both shoot sub MOA with their respective rifle. I keep about 1-2k of ammo for each of the rifles.

I can take some M855 and I am shooting 2-3 MOA with the occasional flier with both rifles. I do have to re-zero as the M855 shoots with a different impact point.
 
Reloading isn't about saving money. It's about using the best possible ammo.
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In this case I don't agree...

Reloading is multi-faceted. I reload .41MAG because I can save a bucketload of money vs buying factory. I would guess my cartridges are as accurate or better than factory, but I don't really care.

I shoot primarily factory ammo in my M1a because it saves me time, although I will handload some amount of ammo for it because I have the components. The cost differential is about break-even, as is the accuracy.

I reload almost exclusively for my Savage bolt gun in .308... because accuracy in it is paramount... that's why I shoot it.

When I go out to run 500rds through my AR doing shooting drills, I don't need 'inth degree accuracy, so why would I waste my time punching out 500rds of handloads when I can buy excellent loaded ammo for roughly the same price? In this instance... the 'best possible ammo' is factory.
 
Nope, haven’t even shot a .223 in probably 5 years. Lots of better options imo. Calibers that are better performers or cheaper to shoot(if you have the brass) abound.
 
You cannot reload cheaper than you can buy cheap .223/5.56 ammo but if you want match grade ammo you can't afford to not reload. Well, you can but even the best 77gr Sig Match Grade ammo is not as consistent as a hand load because it's still one size fits all and powder changes from lot to lot and yes, it can be enough to make a difference in competition shooting.

Load development takes time and it's not just how much powder you use, how many grains the bullets are or what primers you use, it's also correct bullet length, correct head space, etc.. Hand loading is all about matching the ammo to the rifle and there's really no other reason to do it.

That said, my battle rattle gun get's whatever's on sale, my precision semi-auto gets the hand loads.
 
I don't know about you all, but it's been said you don't actually save money by reloading. You shoot more. I know i certainly do!
 
I quit loading except for a few specific cartridges. I'm not shooting as much the last 4-5 years and have a considerable amount of ammo in storage. Most of the .223 I'm shooting these days is factory loaded.
In summer, I don't shoot .223 at all. My summer EDC AR is 5.45x39.
 
In 1970 until about 2005 I went to a gun show every weekend some place . I always bought some 223/5.56 ammo some times only a 1,000 other times a lot more . Today I still have 400 to 500 LB. of the surplus stuff . The good old days when a 1,000 rouds of 5.56 was under 3 cents each .
 
.223 cost

On the internet:
- Cheapest good quality .223 is $0.33 to $0.42 per round depending on volume.
- Good quality .223 match is $1.33 to $2.35 per round depending on volume.

At home:
- Reload 69 grain Sierra Matchking for $0.24 per round.
- Brass is free range pickup that is headstamp sorted, decapped, stainless steel pin tumbled, full length sized, etc.
- Cost is determined by bullet, primer, and powder expenses.
- Cost of reloading equipment investment is negligible based on long time ownership and use.

Conclusion: My reloading experience is relaxing and unhurried resulting in accurate ammunition that equals relaxing and unhurried 100 yard 5-round groups where the holes are touching.
 
The good old days when a 1,000 rouds of 5.56 was under 3 cents each
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That's the truth. I see prices today and just have a hard time believing how much .223 ammo has increased in price. I have once fired commercial reloads I bought for $79.00 per 1000 rounds. I have new Israeli military 55 grain I bought at maybe $115.00 per 1000. All this was around 1998 right before I retired. Still have a few hundred rounds of the stuff; wish I had bought more.

I have the capability to reload .223 but seldom do unless for some varmint hunting and want HP ammo. One of the largest deer I ever harvested was with a 55 grain FMJ surplus while I was turkey hunting, thinking a FMJ would do little damage to a wild turkey [later proved wrong to my dismay]. I now carry a .22 Hornet along with my turkey shotgun for use when the turkey is out of shotgun range, and my calling skills are not sexy enough for the gobbler.
 
On the internet:
- Cheapest good quality .223 is $0.33 to $0.42 per round depending on volume.
- Good quality .223 match is $1.33 to $2.35 per round depending on volume.

At home:
- Reload 69 grain Sierra Matchking for $0.24 per round.
- Brass is free range pickup that is headstamp sorted, decapped, stainless steel pin tumbled, full length sized, etc.
- Cost is determined by bullet, primer, and powder expenses.
- Cost of reloading equipment investment is negligible based on long time ownership and use.

Conclusion: My reloading experience is relaxing and unhurried resulting in accurate ammunition that equals relaxing and unhurried 100 yard 5-round groups where the holes are touching.
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This is also my take/experience. I do find bulk .223 tedious but I also don't shoot gobs of it either. My kids do when they go to the range, but that's not super-frequent.

Plus there are other advantages. I can get .223 loaded prices down to .20 cents per round that still has accuracy beating that of the more expensive bulk ammo. The bulk hornady SP spitzers can be found for .09, and they are capable of 1moa accuracy (slightly less, but not enough so that I would argue they are sub-moa) if all else is right. Look for sales on powder and primers, and do your part. You'll be hard pressed to find bulk ammo that's less than .30 per round that shoots moa, or isn't FMJ.

Further, I can take advantage of sales while still not spending gobs of money at one time. Best loaded ammo prices usually require you to buy at least a case of 1k rounds, and you're often dropping over $300. I can buy primers on sale a box or two at a time at Cabelas. Powder I can wait until Grafs or Midway has a reduced Hazmat fee, and subsequent sale, and stock up enough for a few thousand rounds for about $150 bucks. Grafs almost always has projectiles in lots of 250 or 500 these days for prices that are a per round rounding error to buying 1000 in bulk. So I can have components stocked up for years worth of shooting spending 50 bucks here, 100 bucks there.
 
Your paying .09 a peice for bullets but still keeping your per roumd price to .24? What are the other components you are using? Im about .29 total with a .6.5c bullet.

Thats using CCI primers and benchmark powder.
 
Hi Chainsaw

Cost recap per round:

$0.142 Sierra Matchking 69 gr bullet
$0.029 Winchester primer
$0.065 Varget or H4895 ~26 gr
$0.236 per round
 
$0.142 Sierra Matchking 69 gr bullet
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Where are you buying your 69gr smk for under $.15 a bullet . The best I can find is $.20 and sometimes $.19 but never under $.15 . You give me a link I'll buy that store out lol
 
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