Is it worth reloading 5.56 or 223?

I once knew a woman who spent $2,500 on a small rock. It was set in a ring that she wore on her finger. I don't recall that it did much more than glitter in the sunlight. To me, it was a waste of money. To her, it was a "diamond" and worth every penny.

That's pretty much how I look at reloading.

If you keep things bare-boned - that is, just enough equipment and supplies to safely accomplish what you want to do - and you do a lot of it, you can objectively save money over time. Of course, that's without considering the subjective half of the equation, which is how much you value your time. Only you can answer whether reloading is a good use of your time.

I'm not someone who looks at reloading as therapeutic in any way. However, I do like the knowledge I get from reloading. I also like making changes and seeing improvements. And the independence of it.

In short, I get both objective and subjective gains.

But if all you want is to save $$$, the subjective half of the equation will probably wipe out the objective half.
 
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Its worth it to me, even strictly from a cost perspective. I cast and load everything, so my cost per round is less than 1/2 the cost of bulk ammo. Add in the fact that I enjoy both casting and loading, and that makes it even more worthwhile.

However, loading commercial bullets for regular shooting ammo, you probably won't save very much, if anything. If you get into match grade ammo, then that could be worth it.
 
To me, unless your shooting in matches, then no, 223, 9mm not worth reloading.

I do reload 9mm, but it is just for the time spent alone, doing reloading. I find it relaxing.
I do reload 9mm for my carry gun also as I can't see paying the premium price for only 20 rounds.

I reload 45ACP mostly for cost, and the fact that I don't shoot 230gr bullets out of my 4" barrel.
 
I have been asking myself the same question since I bought my AR. I load a lot of 45 and 9mm, and some 44, 38, and .357. I used to load my hunting loads for 30-06, but I don't shoot enough rifle to justifying buying components in quantity any more. Loading for rifle is not as easy or fast as loading for pistol calibers, especially in 556 where you have to remove the primer crimps in all of your cases. You also have to trim rifle cases from time to time. Federal is even crimping all of their 223 ammo these days. I have decided I just don't shoot my AR enough to justify buying in large quantities for reloading because I can buy bulk loaded ammo fairly cheap. For those who shoot a lot it might pay. It's all about time vs cost vs enjoyment, and only you can answer that one.
 
Late to the game, so to speak. I also can't add anything that has not already been said, but nevertheless, I'll add my 2 cents worth.

1) I reload .223 for a bit more than half the price of quality commercial .223 ammo.

2) My reloads are tailored to my rifles, so I get the best performance from both ammo and gun.

3) Isn't 1 and 2 enough reason ???
 
You can remove the primer pocket crimp just as easily with a 45 degree (inside) chamfer tool.

Bear in mind that some primer pocket crimps are severe enough that they deform the primer pocket itself. Just something we .223 reloaders have to live with, unless you want to purchase new empty cases to load.

In my experience, the only tool that really fixes the primer pocket crimp issue is a (primer pocket) swaging tool. Even these, however, do not always do a perfect job, depending on the amount the pocket may be deformed.
 
I have to agree with "1. & 2."
I don't blow through ammo, I never subscribed to the 'Spray & Pray' doctrines.
Every case fully prepped, every round consistently loaded with quality components,
Every round carefully aimed and sent down range.

"3. Isn't 1 & 2 reason enough?"

No matter where you buy from, you are going to get bullets that are out of specification, over/under size or weight,
Cases that have flaws, not enough to make the scrap, just not 'Right',
Primers/Powder that have set around long enough they aren't 'Top Shelf' anymore...
That's what I make the 'Blasting' ammo from.
The visitors/relation get the bulk ammo. (They aren't going to hit much anyway)

Nothing is perfect every time, and paying $3 or more a round for factory 'Premium' ammo that might or might not work with the rifle I'm shooting that day rubs me the wrong way...
Generally, for well under 50 cents I can produce ammo that shoots with, or better than any of the 'Premium' offerings.

Aim high, accept less than 'Perfect' results, but put them in the 'Range' ammo box for practice or In-Laws that always want to shoot, but never show up with ammo or money to reimburse for ammo...

Starting with no other expectation than going 'Boom' most of the time results in ammo you could have bought cheaper...
 
Having the option of reloading frees you from the vagaries of the market or legislation to restrict said markets.
Save your brass, learn which loads run in your rifles, and you can buy whichever is most economical. Take your labors into consideration when deciding which is best.
 
All other things being equal-

For plinking or varmint control, no way.

For precision target shooting, yes.

"Target" ammunition for .223 is over $1.00/round.

For that, you are getting:

Round OAL to not go over SAAMI specs to be able to fit into a magazine.
TIR that can be as much as 4X the TIR or more compared to properly hand made rounds. Seating depth chosen by maker and not you.
Quality control is not in your hands but someone else's whether in the US or elsewhere.
A round that will be closer to MOA +/- rather than 1/2 MOA +/- or a lot better than that.

Will you be able to disintegrate a squirrel at 200 yards with factory? Probably. Will you be able to disintegrate its heart at 200 with had loads? Possibly.
 
I'm not a big experimenter and shoot only 55 grain FMJBT bullets but I can see and feel a significant performance difference with my 16" carbine AR when shooting my reloads compared to inexpensive factory ammo like PMC Bronze.

The factory stuff shoots OK but costs upwards of $.35 a round.

My reloads, 55 gr Hornaday FMJBT on top of 25.8 grains of Varget costs $.23 a round and shoots noticeably better. The hotter rounds also eject differently, forward of the muzzle at 1 o'clock or so while the cheaper stuff ends up at 3 o'clock.
 
Brass prep alone isn't worth it for me for ammo through an AR. I buy brass ammo by the case for the AR and reload it for my bolt-action. Sell off the excess brass if there is some. Works for me.
 
Short answer: Yes!

Long answer:

The only real hassle with 556 is the brass prep so if you set up right for brass prep, loading 556/300blk is as easy as any other round and will absolutely save you money and get you much better ammo for the price.

I went with a set of Worlds Finest Trimmers (556 and 300blk), a Dillon Super Swage, and a chop saw kit for 300 blk brass making.

With these tools I can prep a few thousand cases in a few hours and I have several thousand ready to load all the time.

I shoot a lot of 9mm as well and load it on my 550b in batches of 500 or 1000 rounds. In addition to being 100% better ammo than the factories are putting out, it's about 40% cheaper as well.

My friend and I went to the range the other day and I haven't shot factory ammo since I got set up to load my own. He had several boxes of factory stuff he wanted to burn up and I can't believe how dirty it was.

It reminded me of yet another benefit of reloading your own: better powder quality makes it not just more accurate, but far cleaner and less smoky as well.

I won't be buying any of the factory stuff any time soon that is for sure....
 
The answer depends on how often you go on shooting.

Then how much volume of ammunition you expend.

Reloading is a hobby in of itself. Saving money on ammo is only one aspect of it, another is tailoring ammunition for accuracy.

Learn to shoot, first.
 
Reload .223 to fit your gun

I reload .223 to find what my gun likes best, not to save money.

The individual harmonics of each barrel demand finding a complimentary load/bullet.
 
My reasoning is this:

In Southamerica realoding any caliber ALLWAYS saves you at least 50% of the factory ammo cost.
But not all of you guys are so bad lucky:D-incredible lucky:eek: (pick one of your choice :o) being located in Southamerica (as I do).

Regards the 223/5.56 caliber let me recall what I read about it and mingle my own experience with handgun reloading and casting.
I was wanting an rifle in that caliber as well but threw away that idea as I started reloading.
First: It is fairly difficult to find an mold for lead casting for that caliber. Not very much forms to choose if any.
Second: Lead casting own bullets for that caliber may not be the best idea since 223 Rem depends all on VELOCITY ONLY. Pretty much for lead cast bullets you may stay below 1800 fps and that velocity gives you at most an glorified 22 Magnum round or 22 Hornet.
Third: Rifle bullets Need to be cast very precisely without wrinkles and the like to have decent accuracy. Not so for handgun bullets.

Handguns you may reload from 380 acp (or as low as 32 acp) to big calibers. It is allways feasable since velocities are low and bullets are heavy.

If you want to cast for rifles cast for at least 30 caliber rifles. 30-30, 308, 30-06 or any Black Powder calibers. The heavier the bullet the better and better success you will have with casting (and reloading).

For example Lee mold .356" 124 grain TC mold for 9mm Luger casts with more difficulty than Lee molds Wadcutter 148 grain. The bigger wide open the mold is the better you pour your lead into the mold and it is more foregiving.
I find it extremely difficult to use the Lee #4 Buckshot mold since it has very tiny cavities for the small cal .24 round balls. Without difficulty I manage to cast the Lee .575" and .562" round ball.
 
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