More cost effective to buy loaded .223 for brass

S

Stats Shooter

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Not sure if there is a thread on this somewhere, but it appears it is more economical to buy loaded.223 for the brass than buy new brass. I have found once fired, swagged, sized, and cleaned.223 for $0 .14/case. Powder is about 0.09/round, bullet varies but let's just say $0.10/round and primer $0.035/round for a total of....let's call it $0.37/round.

If it is new brass to me, I usually resize it anyway and often just do an accuracy load so I can fire form it. Plus bulk once fired can often have mixed headstamp or from different years.

So if you are going to size and fire form then why not just buy loaded ammo in the brass you want? I get the xm150 stuff for like $0.35/round, plink around with it in the gun I will reload it for, then work up the load.

Now in some guns, like my .338 LM it is cheaper to buy the lapua brass and components and do the accuracy load. Same in my .300 WM. .308 is on the ragged edge of being more economical to buy loaded ammo for the brass but .223 certainly is.
 
.223/5.56 and 9mm are both so close it's hard sometimes to know what to do. Both are readily available at reasonable cost. If I were you, I'd buy the loaded ammo if the brass was a name brand. Then reuse the brass.
 
I had a friend decide to gift me some .223 brass, said he was never going to use it. Turned out it was 300 brand new Winchester unprimed brass still in the baggies. Me happy.
 
This cost comparison is true for many cartridges...

If costs were cheap enough I always bought my cases by buying the loaded ammo...

Have been doing this for .38, .357, 9x19mm, .223 and .308 for about 40 years and for the 6.5 Grendel for the last few years...

T.
 
What I was really getting at is this: Cost is part of the reason some of us handload. My .338 LM really kick started it for me where i could re-load it for $1.10/round or buy it for $5/round. But obviously that's only half the story, with a BA in math and pH.D. in economics, I enjoy the science behind it very much and the work behind wringing out ever mm of accuracy I can.

But we all know the practice of fire forming and adjusting the brass to your die etc. It just seems that in 5.56x45 , .40 S&W, 9mm, and in some instances.308, that it is pointless to buy new , never fired brass. You should simply buy some bulk ammo in the brass of your choice, shoot it up and have fun while you fire form it, then work up your load.

Again, in big calibers like .300 WM, .338 ultra, or even.270 win, buying new brass and doing the "accuracy" load from the manual is the cheapest way to get it fire formed. Also, I wouldn't buy black hills ammo or some other high end brand just for brass.
But in some instances, like 556x45 Fed American Eagle, just buy some lake city ball ammo, have fun, then get serious about load development.

....like Tim said as I was typing this
 
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You can get some pretty dang good accuracy out of LC brass. I have about a 5 gallon bucket full of LC 5.56 brass that was all Range pickup. I spend a tad bit of time in prep and sorting and it serves me well when I choose to shoot the .223 in F-class matches.


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I've often tried to point out, with little success, that you can't load blasting ammo at home for the price you can buy it for...

And, more to the point, why would you want to spend your time, equipment & components to make inaccurate ammo?

Your figures are correct,
To make an accurate round, from quality components, is going to run around 34 to 45 cents a round,
While the same accuracy/quality from 'Super Premium' ammo is going to cost $1 to $5 a round, depending on caliber...

You simply can not make 'Cheap' or 'Blasting' ammo at home,
You can't screw it up that bad using USA made components & loading hardware.

You can make a high quality, match grade ammo for 1/2 to 3/4 off the price of high grade factory ammo.
Your ammo that would be 'Premium' or 'Super Premium' on the commercial market for just a little more than 'Blasting' ammo sells for is a bargin in every way!

There is no way that 'Bear' or 'Wolf' or 'Norinco' is going to make a 10 shot group you can cover with a dime, not even when fired from a test fixture barrel,
While for 3 to 5 cents more, you can roll rounds that WILL,
Worth the 3 to 5 cents to me! (And my time).
 
I figured out, with what I paid for my current components, I can make high speed/low drag varmint ammo for about $.29 a round. The time I never count, because reloading is a hobby, a fun, relaxing and productive hobby, time I could have spent playing stupid video games instead. :)
Some of that bargain basement "blasting" ammo is pure garbage, in my limited experience.
 
"...more economical to buy loaded .223 for the brass than buy new brass..." Nope. It is, however, a lot more fun to start with loaded ammo. Might be easier to find too.
Mind you, Graf's will sell you 250 BNIB Federal cases for $49.99. $35.99 per 200 of Armscor brass. Fiocchi Extrema Hunting ammunition from Graf's runs$99.99 per 200 with no guarantee your rifle will shoot it well. Having to try a box of as many brands as you can applies.
 
T'oheir...at 49.99/250 that is 0.20/case. You are either buying really expensive loaded ammo, or your math is a bit off. 49.99/250= $0.20/case, then $0.09/round powder, then at least $0.10/round bullet if you get the cheapest in bulk. And finally $0.035 primers. That is $0.42/ round to load new brass! I can buy federal American eagle 62 gr for $0.32 each, loaded and ready to shoot. then I have 1000 rounds of fire formed fed AE brass.....seems to me that is far more economical.

First of all if it is already loaded,you get to fire form it. Then, the brass is "free" so instead of $0.42/ round, it is $0.22/round. Also, if you plan to fire form before load development, you have to make a generic load in the first place.

PS look at bulk ammo sportsman's guide
 
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"I've often tried to point out, with little success, that you can't load blasting ammo at home for the price you can buy it for..."

Depends on the particular cartridge but for the most part I have to agree...

It also makes no sense to save $1 - $2 a box of 50 on something like 9X19mm when in the same amount of time and for little more I can save $30+ for a box of .41 Magnum...

T.
 
I usually don't buy loaded ammo for brass, unless the loaded ammo is sillily cheap. Here is why.

I need several test loads before the best load is found. Loaded ammo cannot be a test load, so it doesn't help this process. They just make noise.

-TL
 
I would not buy Norma brass

but I would buy loaded Norma ammo, for the brass. The loaded ammo cost less per round. Cabelas has been running a similar sale for over a month.
223 Remington TAC 55 Grain FMJ 20 Rounds
By: Norma Item # 013-20157442
Price: $8.51 Sale: $7.49 Times 5 boxes = $37.45
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/0001320157442/223-remington-tac-55-grain-fmj-20-rounds
223 Remington Unprimed Rifle Brass 100 Count
Price: $59.13 In Stock
Norma
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....ton?brand=norma&itemsperpage=30&currentpage=1

The headstamp says NORMA and it has a 3 stake crimp.
 
Tangolima:
I don't ever work a load up with new brass, I want it fire formed to my chamber and sized to my die. Especially in my bolt action rifles because I neck size them. So in the instances where I have to buy new unfired brass like my .338 LM, I usually just load the accuracy load and take the opportunity to try new bullets.....then I get serious about load development.....so the first time through is a throwaway anyway. By throwaway I don't mean i don't aim my shots, or just haphazardly waste ammo. I just mean im not aa serious about quality control.

Therefore, except my .300 WM or my .338 LM which is $4-$5 per loaded round, it is cheaper for me to buy factory loaded ammo for the brass than unfired brass.

Oh, AND you CAN get fairly accurate factory"brass keeping" ammo at a decent price. That green tip 62 grain FMJ 556/45 shoots 3/4-1/2 moa out of my match grade barrel...then you get lake city brass for about $0.35-$0.40/round and it's now fire formed and ready for load development....(but Swagging the crimped pockets kind of gets old after the first 500 ha-ha)
 
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We have different premices. I full length resize. I only shoot moderate number of rounds per month. My brass last 20 loads or more. I am also cheap. Firing throw-away rounds is simply too much a luxury for me.

When I need new brass, most likely it would be a new caliber for me to start reloading. There will be no throw-away loads. I start getting data the very first firing. Loaded ammo doesn't help me at all.

I wouldn't mind buying loaded rounds if they are really cheaper than brass. There is no reason not to. But cheaper than loaded round is not cheap enough.

-TL
 
We're shooting factory ammo in our AR coyote rifles at a cost of 35-40 cents per round. It's as accurate as I can load with bullets that perform to our satisfaction. Considering the relatively low volume of our use, it's simply not feasible to crank up the loading tools.
Now if I encounter a rifle that simply doesn't like one of the 3 choices of factory ammo on hand, I may go to the effort to search out a better load(or just relegate that rifle to the B string).
 
For bulk pistol and rifle, I do buy loaded ammo and save the brass. Especially for bulk pistol it just makes economic sense. I can buy cheap brass cased .45acp for .35 cents per round tax and everything. Its WWB, and winchester brass is decent. I can load .45acp for about .16 per round (shooting lead) including shipping, tax, etc. That brass costs about .20 cents per round, plus no extra work for a firing.

You can load "blasting" or bulk ammo economically. I save about .20 per round over some of the cheapest ammo, and I can load about 150 rounds per hour. So I'm saving 30 bucks on the number of rounds I can load in an hour. That covers my time quite well. Plus my ammo is much more accurate than WWB.

This math works well for .45acp. It works phenomenally well for .357 and other revolver ammo. Not as much for 9mm, but I still save money. For rifle ammo brass prep makes it hard to compete with bulk ammo. But bulk ammo usually won't shot under 1 moa.
 
I buy once fired and process myself. I pay about $80 per 1000 or about 8cents each. I prefer to process my own, its more cost effective. I have about 1600 pieces of brass currently and as i shoot more (reloads and new) i should build up nicely.
 
I buy once fired and reload that. It's much cheaper than buying new ammo.

There is no haz-mat on loaded ammo but some states have rules that keep online ammo companies from shipping to certain states.
 
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