reloading 223

Y

yotesmoker

New member
Due to the sky high prices of 223 ammo now days i decided to reload it.In checking out the prices for powder,primers and bullets i really think it now makes no price difference today.223 ammo is now going for 800 to 950 per thousand.To reload i would have to spend between 750 and 825 for the same 1000 rounds.I guess my ar's are going into storage till this crap is over.Are my figures all wrong?
 
Look on-line for private sales of reloading supplies and dies. I just picked up around a thousand bullets for reloading from owners who had components they no longer needed. I actually got the bullets at a very favorable price. There’s stuff out there at reasonable prices if you look around.
 
I've found the online ammo sales are some of the most inflated you will find. Yes, ammo locally can be scarce, and the scalpers are likely waiting in the weeds to buy it up before you can find any. That said, I have been able to find over 2K rounds locally by constantly checking the local stores and paying normal/near-normal prices.

I love reloading, and prefer to make my own, but I'm happy to buy loaded rounds as opposed to sourcing components. Both are a scalpers market right now.
 
You are looking at RIGHT NOW, think 5-10yrs down the road.

Yes reloading and getting set up can be expensive, but you get equipment that will last. If you just buy ammo you are getting a disposable commodity

You can tailor your load to your gun and get better ammo at factory pricing.

Figures may be a touch off. For me primers are the hard thing to source. Powder and bullets I just have to watch for Currently able to load for 574 per 1000, with the stupid price of $350 per 1000 primers, $32 per 1lb of cfe223, once fired brass from ammo I shot, and $0.10 per 55g hornady FMJ i got from a midway notification I was fast enough for.
 
Put a WTB ad on a few sites. I just received over 1k of bullets I needed, at a very fair price, just by asking. Don’t wait for some scalper to post them for sale. If you get responses you can accept or decline. I just sent out some nice thank you notes to those who helped me out. Still lots of good people out there.
 
To reload you'd have to be able to find components. That are mostly non-existent due to the Covid Panic. Bullets, primers and powder. However, the assorted manufacturers are closed due to the same Covid Panic. None of the on-line shops like Midway have anything. However, reloading really isn't about saving money. It's about using ammo that is tailored for your rifle.
Anyway, when the factories are back to work, look into one of the Beginner's kits. Gives you everything you need less dies and shell holder. Comes with a manual but buy a Lyman one too. It's more versatile than any manufacturer's book. Those only list their products. So if you have a bullet weight not made by Speer, for example(RCBS kit comes with that), you need to hunt for data
I'd suggest RCBS for the warrantee alone. It covers the kit, not who bought it. So if you buy used RCBS stuff, you're covered as if you bought it BNIB. And it's a 100% "We'll fix it, even if you did it." warrantee.
Meanwhile, buy a copy of The ABC's of Reloading(about $30 at your local shop or Amazon) and read it.
 
Manufacturing works best within a stable system.Statistics. Forecasts .Staffing.Training.
Just in time" The USA can be pretty good at that.

But political cycles throw a lot of chaos into the system. We can whine and cry and stick out our lip, "We want it and we want it right now!!"

COVID is another factor.Production requires workforce,and raw materials.

Who does the panic buying and why?

Look back a couple of years and the gun stores were complaining about the "Trump slump" Life was stable.Guns seemed safe.There was no panic.There were sales. 10% off!!

What were you doing then? I was not hoarding,but I did a little stocking.

It ain't my first rodeo. Not that the GOP has done no harm,but maybe the Clinton experience and the Obama experience should have been "teaching moments"
You just figured out its good to be armed? Welcome!!

If you live in Florida and hurricane season is coming, timing is a thing.Its best to have drinking water,batteries,aflashlight,Chef Boyardee ravioli already stashed before 2 hours till landfall. Too late sucks,but too late created fate.

1) Stock comes in. It disappears fast .Sniff around. Check in. Have the cash.
Don't figure you can come back in an hour.

2) Don't allow yourself panic. Count on this: It will either get better or worse. Right now,it is what it is. We have to deal with it.
Let your Congress know mid terms are coming.

If you voted for the anti-gun party,or if you did not vote, this is all on you.

FWIW,I won't pay $350 a k for primers. I won't pay $100. Build a flintlock,

Fun to shoot!
 
Right now the hardest thing to find is primers. Everything else comes back in stock periodically or you can buy / trade from forums. I haven't found *any* primers on usual reloading suppliers or trading forums but have found 223 projectiles, powder occasionally, and brass.

If you already have small rifle primers, everything else is no biggie.
Presses and dies can be had.

But if you've got a decent supply of ammo already, it may be simpler to just add to it here and there when you can find it (if you're worried) and then get into reloading when the panic is over. Starting from scratch with zero primers would be a bit of a pain. You would have to bargain / trade for small quantities (anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand) on forums or chat apps. If you enjoy that or want to do it you can.

Watch out though, there are a lot of scammers on forums and apps. Typically, most people are NOT certified to ship powder and primers. If you participate in a deal and the person is not a store that handles explosives (Hazmat certified), it could be a scam or you would have played a part in a federal felony. I have seen some people sell primers locally for pickup only, or get some through estate sales.

The best thing I've found about getting into reloading is not necessarily the cost savings, but being able to make it on demand. No more being disappointed by trips to the gun store, Cabelas, Walmart when all you're looking for is a couple boxes of 9mm.
 
Right now, be honest with yourself and ask, “do I NEED this or WANT it” at this stage. We all like to practice shooting but really the actual NEED is a few dozen rounds to keep on hand.
 
The ammunition makers are trying to get out as much as they can. Visit the online retailers like Bass Pro and Cabela's frequently with due diligence. The .223 Remington from Remington or Winchester (55 gr. FMJ) is about $0.55 per round. Following Sandy Hook I saw .223 Remington military surplus hit about a buck a round and it started at $0.30 a round.

The same online retailers who gouged following Sandy Hook are right back at it. Likely because people are willing to pay the price. Ammo or components are worth what someone is willing to pay, no more and no less.

This is not a good time to start reloading. Primers are just about totally out of sight when found and other components are scarce.

Your best bet is due diligence checking reputable retailers online because as fast as something is available it is gone.

Ron
 
It's the same thing that happens every time a big hurricane is closing in on an area and mass evacuation is underway. Flashlight batteries and gasoline wind up costing obscene amounts. But as one merchant interviewed about it said, if he keeps his normal price, the first two customers in the door wipe out his stock and he has nothing for his regulars. If he "gouges" he makes his customers mad, but at least he has something left to sell them. I suppose, if the store were big enough to store things away from the aisles, he could ration it at a fair price, but that takes more time and work, too. It's not a pleasant choice to be faced with.

The primers are mostly going to make the 24/7 ammunition production possible. Factories are having some materials rationed, too. Not good.
 
It is not the first time in recent memory primers are in short supply. Last time it happened, 60 cents a LRP was the worst price I saw. That woke me up. I started buying extra when normal supply resumed. I am doing better this time. Primers are indeed critical. I simply don't know how to, and probably don't want to, make them myself.

I will continue to buy extra after this shortage.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
One of the LGS's around my town is selling once fired 223, cleaned, deprimed in 100 count bags for $35. Not sure how many are buying at that price.
 
OK,but in all fairness,I had no disrespect for my local once fired brass dealer when he has 5 gal buckets of once fired 5.56 bass for maybe $120 delivered to my door.

Now,his site mostly says "Out of stock" and that bucket,at last price,was $350.

Does that make him a "gouger"? I don't think so. He is the same guy that sold to me for $120
 
One of the LGS's around my town is selling once fired 223, cleaned, deprimed in 100 count bags for $35. Not sure how many are buying at that price.
Click to expand...

That's $350 per 1,000 cases. Little steep unless of course people wish to pay that price. .223 Remington (5.56 NATO is likely one of the most common cartridges out there. It's worth what people are willing to pay.

Ron
 
Just received 1000 124 gn 9mm xtp's and getting another 1000 Sierra ,308 168 HPBT Match Kings. Both at old prices. Some bullets are out there if ya have the time to look hard enough
 
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