Is it worth reloading 5.56 or 223?

V

valkabit6

New member
I'm looking into buying a AR, is it worthwhile to reload 5.56 or 223? I don't shoot (or reload) rifles, the AR would be my first rifle. I have a Dillon 550b set up for handgun calibers, I'm under the impression switching a press back and forth between handgun & rifle is a pain in the ass. Am I better off just buying factory ammo?

My advice to a friend who has a 9mm was "don't bother getting into reloading just for a 9mm, you can buy ammo almost as cheap as you can buy the components".

Would the same apply to the AR? I'm not good enough of a shooter to benefit from rolling my own, I'd only consider it to save money, and if I'm not saving much money, I'm probably better off not bothering to reload for the AR.
 
From the 1000 or so I loaded if I saved any money it was very little for 223. For decent 9 mm ammo I saved enough to be worth it. I like reloading though and my 223 ammo loaded with benchmark powder did group a lot better than factory. My AR and bolt gun shot much better groups and the only gripe I have with it is prepping all the brass.
 
I think it is worth it. I load .223 and 9mm by the 500 lots. You just need to find the bullets, primer and powder for the best price, and plenty of free brass.

Is it worth your time though? It takes me 4 hours to load 1,000 rounds of .223 and about two hours case prep time. I spread this out over a week or so.
 
The last time I walked through the store I seen some Fiochhi damn cheap and wondered why I was reloading again. We all know it's as much a hobby as a money saver(probably more). If your already a hand loader you might as well. Your gonna have a pile of brass in no time anyways(you can send it to me if you don't want it:D). So far I only reload .223 for my bolt gun-but with my latest addition of another AR, I expect I will begin to load for those as well. Who knows you might get a bolt gun someday and then reloading can really pay-in fine tuning your rifle.
 
This was thoroughly discussed in a thread about a month ago, but to recap... If you're perfectly happy getting 2" groups at 100 yards with the cheapest bulk ammo that can be found out $.32 per round, then reloading .223 range fodder probably isn't for you. The cheapest I can load is about $.22 per round. I can almost buy steel cased wolf for that... almost. Yes, I save 10 cents per round but I would be afraid to guess how many hours I would have in loading 1,000 rounds. Probably upwards of 15 hours or so. So I save $100, but it took me 15 hours to save that. That puts me making about minimum wage during my time.

Some will say that they enjoy the hobby, so they don't figure their time in. Well, I enjoy the hobby but time is at a premium for me between family, work, and the National Guard. I do reload .223, btw, because I can reload ammo capable of 1moa for $.22 per round. You would have to start paying closer to 40 or 50 cents a round to buy that. That brings my per-hour wage while reloading closer to $15.00 per hour. That I can live with, since it is a hobby and I enjoy it.

FWIW, I shoot lead in 9mm and my all in cost is down to 10 cents a round. That's worth it to me.
 
5Whiskey sums it up nicely - for plinking ammo then buy the best cheap ammo you can that will run though your AR. expect 2-3 MOA from it.

If you search for accuracy...then reloading 223 becomes very affordable and necessary if you want to get the best results from your rifle.
 
Is it worth reloading 5.56 or 223?

I guess it depends on why you are shooting the caliber? If you are hand loading .223 Remington so you can empty a 30 round magazine in fewer than 30 seconds I would say no, just buy bulk generic ammunition. If you enjoy shooting paper trying to hold tight groups and holding and squeezing means something to you then it is absolutely worth reloading.

I load .223 Remington because I use it in several rifles including a bolt gun. I enjoy target shooting and tight groups. I can roll my own for my rifles and get the accuracy I want.

So in your case I really don't know? You bought an AR so what's the plan?

Ron
 
I reload for my ARs so I can shoot HPBT bullets and not FMJ. Non FMJ .223/5.56 isn't that cheap. Accuracy is another reason. Manufactured ammo isn't as accurate as my reloads. So its worth my time, effort and expense.
 
If you aren't going to shoot beyond 200 yards with an AR, no need to handload. Just buy 55gr brass cased ammo in bulk, then save your brass for sale or trade.

If you are going to shoot beyond 200 yards, well then, handloading can cut the cost of your match ammo significantly.

Jimro
 
Here's my cost.

Brass - free, the guys I shoot with don't reload so I get all their brass
Powder - .06, buy 8lbs of CFE 223 at $180 26.5 grs/round
Primer - .04 - I could spend less if I didn't use CCI 41's
Bullet - .08, 55gr Hornady FMJ

I buy most of my supplies at guns shows, we have plenty here in the mid-Atlantic.

Time spent? well, I enjoy it. Prep takes the longest but it's not bad, I size and deprime on a progressive press, trim, chamfer and deburr on a Trim-It.
Loading is quite fast on a progressive with a case feeder. 100 rounds in about 10 minutes or so.

Total cost, less time, = .18 - I don't like shooting steel case ammo, so it's worth it to me.

BTW, I'm retired.
 
To the OP, because you have a 550 the switching from pistol to rifle is not that big of a deal, typically done in about 15 minutes and that is with having to swap out primer tube from large to small. If you were asking about switching from one to the other on a 1050 that is another ball of wax. That can take upwards of 45-60 minutes if switching from small to large primer.
 
I reload 223 for the same reason as some of you guys. I enjoy working up a new load and seeing how accurate I can get it. I also reload 38, 357 mag, 45acp and 300 Savage. I consider it a hobby as much as the shooting.
 
Depends on what your time & the equipment is worth...
Without a solid estimate of how much ammo you go through and how much you have tied up in equipment there is no way to answer your question.
 
It depends. I reload .223 for my Mini-Mauser because I punch holes in furry critters with it as an adjunct to trapping activities. I don't reload for ARs.
 
I reload for my Ruger No. 1 in .223 heavy varmit. It's a .5 MOA rifle with the right loads. I've worked up the load carefully and load only a few hundred rounds at a time. Definitely worth it.

I also load for my AR. Mixed head stamp, 55g FMJ, 2 MOA rifle with plinking ammo. Cheaper components, fewer expectations for accuracy. runs me about .15/rd. w/ Xtreme bullets.

I'm still loading rifle on a single stage (rockchucker) so it's time consuming. Would like to get a progressive for rifle but I shoot a lot more pistol and I have three SDBs I use for pistol ammo.
 
Some guys stamp out 'Blasting Ammo' with the bare minimum of case preparation & the cheapest components they can find.
I don't see any point to this since they won't get under the cost of crap import ammo in bulk purchases.
Taking time to load inaccurate ammo you are going to waste anyway makes no sense to me...

To each their own, I just don't understand it...

Your cost is usually relative to the amount of production you make.
Guys aren't going to load 50,000 rounds on a single stage machine,
So *Usually*, small production, small costs, large production, large cost so to a point things stay relatively the same cost, (more or less).

Per round components stay relatively the same (for accuracy loads) until you reach the 10,000 to 100,000 round mark, depending where manufacturers start with 'Volume Discount' pricing.

Hornady will give a pretty substantial discount at 100,000 rounds for bullets,
And a couple primer manufacturers are about the same piece count for volume discounts.
Brass manufacturers will usually give breaks at 10,000.
Powder companies are all over the place.

If an 8 pound powder jug sounds like 'A Lot', then you are pretty much stuck looking for sales at the retail level, and those costs are pretty much fixed.

Loading equipment is more or less the same, and you get what you pay for...
Trying to save a few bucks now can turn into a BUNCH of pain & misery later. You
 
Don't forget to sort brass from NATO crimped brass and non crimped commercial head stamp, as removing the primer crimp is a separate step for brass prep.
Yes, I am one of those types that enjoy's the hobby and doesn't "cost out" the time. It's time I would have used playing video games or watching movies, so it's productive, not lost. ;) I reload 5.56mm/223 because I want to see how much potential I can squeeze out of my rifle, and it's an ongoing process.
Interestingly enough, I have a former co-worker who builds ARs, and he purposefully uses the cheapest generic ammo he can, because he builds them to be as accurate as possible with whatever he can scrounge. i appreciate that effort, but I can't do the same thing, so I attack from the other end, the ammo.
BTW, I agree with cast lead 9mm ammo, got my per 50 "price" down to about $2.50 a box.
 
yes, but...

yes, it's worth it to me, particularly when I start playing with large batches, I only load quality ammunition, no "blasting" ammo.

There are a couple things though, I have a chunk of money tied up in equipment in order to load these large batches with some efficiency. The numbers are much less attractive now that ammo is readily available and the price has fallen back down some.

During the worst of the ammo "crisis" I was able to keep going to the range twice a week for some time because of my stocked components.
 
Now that i'm seeing 223 ammo prices creeping downward i may at some point draw a line in the sand and say "it's not worth reloading bulk". I load my bulk plinking 223 on a LEE Classic Turret. It's very time consuming and also you need to think about the physical abuse on your arm joints (yes, i'm old and hagged out). I have no clue as to an accurate precise 223 CPR loading bulk (nor does anyone else) because your brass cost is an ever changing variable cost. What will factor my decision is when I can say "ok my known CPR is $.24 and I can buy loaded bulk for $.27 (including shipping) , but it will take my 2 hrs to load 100 rounds" at that point I will probably stop loading bulk and just buy loaded. All depends on how you as an individual value your spare time. I like the fact I have my 55 gr bulk .223 specifically tuned for my 16" Bushmaster heavy barrel carbine. I probably won't get the accuracy I have now from buying bulk.
 
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