Methods for Reloading

Less expensive to buy components locally in bulk, but not until you have worked up a load.
Trading .223 brass for primers isn't cost effective. Midway wants $59.99 per 500 for once fired .223 brass as well as 1,000 CCI SR BR primers. Both are easy to come by.
"...You CAN make your own black powder..." Yep. You're making a low grade explosive that will settle out into its 3 components during travel.
 
Wow. Some of you guys are paying a lot more than I am for powder and primers. I just picked up 8 lbs. of CFE223 for $154 and a box of CCI no. 41 primers for $35 from my local shooters supply.. For once I feel like I'm getting a bit of a deal . . .
 
T. O'Heir said:
You're making a low grade explosive that will settle out into its 3 components during travel.
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If that were true, commercially-made black powder couldn't be shipped to stores or carried in a powder horn, much less have traveled in rattling old-fashioned horse-drawn wagons, as once it was. Only if you ground the constituents coarsely and didn't mix them intimately would there be any serious separation issue, and powder that coarse doesn't burn very well in the first place.


Running bare cast bullets through a gas gun will see lead gas cutting at the bullet bases as they pass over the gas port, depositing the lead in the port until it clogs. You could try it with cast bullets with gas checks, but I suspect you'll find powder charges that operate the gas system properly are too high for the bullets in many instances. There are people who are able to get cast bullets up to jacketed bullet velocities, but it takes some careful work and experimentation.

I've tried casting .22 bullets before and found it a PITA as it can be difficult to cast fast enough to keep up a good mold temperature, and every little inclusion or other defect is, percentage-wise, a bigger issue with a little bullet than with a larger one. Same with mold gaps or inexact registration. So, perfecting little cast bullet balance is difficult, and thus good accuracy from them can be elusive. Besides, if you find you are having to buy some special items to make these little guys work well, then you haven't really broken your dependency on the supply chain anyway, so why not just stockpile a bunch of jacketed bullets in place of special bullet lubes and gas checks or buying gas check making dies or stocking up on powder coat resin? Plus, most bullet casting furnaces run on electricity or propane, neither of which would necessarily be available in an apocalyptic scenario. You'd be way better off with ten or twenty-thousand finished bulk bullets. Stored in sealed boxes with a desiccant, they won't go bad for centuries. Your powder will, but those bullets will be practically forever. The powder is something you'll have to figure out how to keep frozen to ensure long life.
 
Someone say's 5.56 and we immediately assume it's an auto. I've had two 223's and never shot 5.56 in them but if I still had one I would give it a try! I don't believe a 5.56 would damage a strong bolt action rifle. I've never shot 5.56 because loading 223 is so inexpensive. Get cast bullet's and a supply of 5.56 mty case's and load for a bolt action using 223 data, bet it works fine.
 
No, the pressure won't hurt anything. It's mostly a false flag. SAAMI's technical director told me long ago that the conformal transducer numbers were based on firing the same reference ammunition that the copper crushers had validated and that's what determined the new psi MAP's. Both .308 and .223 had the same 52,000 CUP MAP copper crusher numbers, but in the conformal transducer .308 measured 62,000 psi and .223 measured 55,000 psi. The discrepancy is odd, as no other cartridges that were originally 52,000 CUP measured that low on the conformal transducer. Meanwhile, the military had most .7.62 ammo at 50,000 psi on their copper crushers (no, that's not a mistake—the military calls it psi even when a copper crusher gives the number; you are just supposed to know which system measured it) when the CIP got hold of sample ammo for their channel transducers, they came up with 4150 bar (60,191 psi) for .308 and 4300 bar (62,366 psi) for the .223, (4300 bar is just under 4150×52,000/50,000) and they say they match NATO pressure specs, so these numbers likely came from NATO EPVAT measurements originally. I got that from a Sellier & Bellot tech who looked at both 7.62 and .308 numbers for me and said they match on the drawings he had.

These days instrument calibration is better and more accurate and some real pressure differences seem to have crept in as a result of the specs not changing with the technology. I am trying to pin SAAMI down on this. But if you buy S&B or Norma or other .223 ammo, you are getting ammo made to the higher number that CIP uses. The exception seems to be IMI, which makes rounds to U.S. specs, and around 2012 ATK moved the military instrumentation over to the conformal transducer to match commercial specs and methods to make more contract manufacturing capacity available in time of war. There are other complexities, but the main thing is to realize different and not necessarily compatible or even proportional measuring systems got involved so the numbers are funny and not entirely meaningful.

The bottom line is that if you buy European ammunition and it shoots fine, you can shoot 5.56. The only exception is the military chambers have a bit more throat to handle specialty rounds that are longer than SAAMI standard, so use a bullet comparator to watch out for those if you buy surplus.
 
As others have said, it depends on what you plan to shoot and how much and often you will be shooting.

If you just want a stockpile that will sit in reserve for a long time with only occasional shooting, and you are fine with 55 or 62 gr FMJ, then buying bulk ammo by the case is much cheaper then setting up for reloading, working up some loads and buying components.

Reloading makes sense if:
* You enjoy the science and craft of it as a hobby
* You want to shoot lots of premium ammo (target or hunting)
* You want better than bulk ammo accuracy even if just 55 FMJ or better

There is no way you are going to buy 69 gr or 77 gr BTHP match ammo for $300/1,000 rds. Nor will you find 60 gr Partition or Speer 64 gr Gold Dot ammo for that price unless you are a govt agency buying in huge quantities. Just about anything other than FMJ is going to be at least twice the price on a dependable basis, and some premium ammo will be approaching $1/rd rather than $.30/rd.

If you reload then it is best to go in with a plan to limit yourself to exactly what you need for your intended purpose, not generic recommendations. Figure out what exactly you need in equipment and components with minimal investment and then buy in bulk to get most cost savings. The ideal way to start is to have a buddy that will teach you and allow you to learn and try out reloading on his equipment under his supervision. You could even work up your test loads and find the combination of components you need. Then determine how much you will be shooting per year and a practical budget for recouping your start up costs over a 2-3 yr period, for instance. That will define how much you can spend on equipment and then work with your experienced buddy to figure out the optimal equipment to suit your needs.

Another way is to start very small with minimal gear, learn as you go along from reading manuals and discussions and asking questions. As you learn more you can decide whether to add or upgrade any equipment to get to your desired capacity and level of quality. There is a risk you may not enjoy reloading or that you really don't need enough ammo to justify further reloading.

Or, you might know from being around buddies who reload that you will really enjoy this as a hobby and expense is fairly relative and you don't mind jumping all in from the start and cost recovery is low priority as long as you can achieve it over the long haul and have premium ammo at all times regardless of market swings, or make up ammo that is not even available from a factory. In that case discuss exactly what you want to accomplish, how much time and expense you are willing to invest, and expectation for ammo performance and you can get a lot of good info about equipment options within those parameters.
 
Not to put too fine a point on things, but the military EOD manuals say not to freeze ANYTHING nitroglycerin based.
The EOD manual told us to clear the area & blow nitroglycerin based explosives up when frozen, not to even attempt to handle it.
As little as a 3*F change could detonate the stuff...

I don't know if this applies to nitroglycerin (nitro-cellulose) based powders or not.
I know most ammo isn't effected by freezing, so it might not be the case...

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The 'Average' reloader in the US is making what most of the world calls 'Premium' ammo, although a large number of US reloaders don't come close to taking advantage of the process.
Most stop at ammo that fits the firearm, goes 'Boom', and gets them 2 MOA.
Some of the imported & white box ammo will do that without reloading, without the time & equipment investment.

If you want a 'Tack Driver', it's going to take time & experimentation (and a good barrel!).
There than maybe a hand press I can't see why a 'Prepper' would want to reload.
If they are out of ammo, virtually everyone else is too, so slow production is better than no production, and by that point it will be what ever you can find, not an issue of quality.

Personally, I spend my money on canning jars & lids, and a big honkin canner!
I don't shoot every day, maybe not every week, but I eat several times a day!
I hate missing meals no matter what's going on... Must be the fat guy in me... ;)
 
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Someone say's 5.56 and we immediately assume it's an auto.
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When there is a fellow asking about “prepper” style reloading, that’s a better than average assumption. I imagine there are more 5.56 autos than single shots (at least as designed) around these days. If he said 30-30 I would have guessed a lever action or 45 ACP, would have guessed pistol, could be wrong on all of those but as you said, without more information we have to make assumptions.


Ammunition is one of those funny things when it comes to the mentality. Think of all the extra stuff you use in reloading vs just storing the ammunition and the amount of room they take up.

Look at it this way, in your prep kit, for underwear, socks, pants and shirts, do you have bails of cotton, a cotton gin, spinning mule, loom and sewing machines?

If not, why look into reloading?
 
∆ YUP! ∆

Can't see making a stockpile of random ammo (made with junk or surplus parts) vs just buying bulk random ammo.
I relaod for the same reason I home can food, I get EXACTLY what I like.

It's not 'Prepper', it's a clean food that gives me green beans & sweet corn I like the most, ammo production gives me ammo that fits my hunting/target shooting exactly the way I like it.

2 MOA is OK for fat ground hogs & coyotes, but when our get down to prairie dogs, muskrats & feral house cats you need a little better than 2 MOA.

I'm an odd ball (like you folks don't know already...),
I've owned a few .30-30 bolt rifles (instead of lever) and I still own more than one .223 bolt action.
I like the .223 round, it's effective in any platform and it's cost effective.
.30-30 is OK with me since it's standard .30 cal bullets, standard primers and about any .30 cal powder will reload them. You can also shoot cast bullets if you choose...
 
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