I got to the range every weekend, buy a box or two of 20 rounds 55gr .223 or 5.56, and have an enjoyable shoot with some pals.
Now I spend about $200 on ammo a month, and I figure i’d spend about $500-$700 to get started reloading. Right? Sinclair/Brownells has a what seems to be a good starting kit for about $400 if I remember correctly. My question is: Is it worth it to get into to reloading with my current habits?
It looks really interesting, and I may eventually get into it after I get some classes and matches. I just don’t know if I should start now or wait till I’d really need it.
In my completely non-expert opinion the first step would be to stop buying ammo by the box (hopefully your not buying it from your range because its usually more expensive there). Buy it in bulk. 100 rnds of 5.56 should NOT cost 200$
$200 / month should net you ~600 - 660 rounds of brass cased .223/5.56mm at case pricing.
Or about ~900 rounds of steel cased ammo.
To load that kind of volume of .223 without consuming a bunch of time will take some high $ equipment or a lot of your time.
If you’re only actually doing 100 rds a month of .223, a $4-500 range is a good starting point for equipment, but it will take time, probably ~3-4 hours to load 100 rounds from start to finish, not including tumbling time, if you’re trimming. You’ll still need to buy components in bulk to realize any savings over factory ammo.
I think reloading is interesting, but if you’re doing it for the cost savings on .223 (and many other high volume calibers), unless you’re paying ridiculous prices for factory ammo, probably isn’t the best reason to get started. You won’t save any money anyway, you’ll just spend the same $ and get to shoot more.
hahaha, well yeah. I buy 55gr. FMJ 5.56x45 100rnds a box for $54. The range I shoot unfortunately doesn’t allow FMJ. I know not to buy from the range but my preferred gun store doesn’t carry the rounds I like to shoot out there. It cost about $1 a round I think.
Well, I’m switching to another grain soon, because my rifle is a 1:9 twist. I’m going to start testing between 62 and 68 grain rounds. So the cheapo 55gr stuff won’t be useful anymore other than plinking. I’d use them for drills but my range doesn’t allow that either.
I’d find another range, but it’d end up spending the money saved on ammo on gas. I don’t find it any fun to shoot under 100 yards anymore, and the only other place I know of in my area with 100+ is the sportsman club! I can’t even get a hold of them to talk about joining.
How long to you plan to shoot? The cost of basic but high quality reloading gear can be used for your whole shooting career and with a minimal investment in new dies you can begin savings on new weapons/calibers. I have hunting weapons that have never seen factory ammo.
You should not look at reloading tools as cost saving items…instead view the ability to manufacture ammunition as a form of independence. Buy the equipment and learn the mechanics of reloading. Tools and skills will always be useful.
I agree. I started reloading a couple months ago because of savings and interest (plus the fact I got all my grandfathers old equipment for free after digging it outta my uncles barn) and now I love that feeling of independence and how if I want to shoot I can just go to the basement and cook up a few loads.
I love it. The only step I dislike is lubing up the cases with a mini brush. I have not tumbled or cleaned any of my cases yet and I’m up to 4 loads on some of my (supposedly junk) Federal AE brass. Is it really necessary? After I lube and size/prime I wipe off the lube and the cases are pretty shiny.
Anyway, instead of thinking about savings it’s made me feel a little more confident and I also have way more options. Although I guess if there was an ammo shortage there would also be a powder and bullet shortage so maybe it’s not muchof an advantage.
Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy loading premium match grade 69 & 75 grain OTM’s for 20cents :D. The heavy bullets is where the major savings comes into play. For plinking, I’m gonna start buying cheap 62gr steel case.
I do save what ever brass I can, unless I’ve just completely worn out.
I was checking for some ammo on midway and cabelas, but I couldn’t really find the grain I wanted with the right tip. I’m looking for anything between 62 and 68 grain with a v-max/varmit/ballistic type poly tip.
Would this kit be any good? It’s got a good name behind it, and it seems to come with everything I may need. It doesn’t say all the dies it comes with… so I don’t know.
That’s a good little press. I have one to supplement my Dillon. You’ll end up buying more accessories and tools… like for rifle case trimming and tumbling.
Like MarkM said, for now it’s probably just best to save your brass. Once you have at least 1,000 cases or so (weigh them, don’t count them), then run the numbers about reloading. I’ve been reloading pistol rounds for a long time, but I’m still piling up brass and waiting to make the plunge into loading rifle rounds…
If you’re planning on shooting for the next several decades, then the reloading equipment WILL pay for itself, albeit slowly…
To those asking how long I plan to shoot; I plan to be a lifetime shooter and to be very encouraging of my family to be shooters. Since I started shooting a year or two ago almost half my family has purchased guns. lol. I will probably start reloading for a few friends and most my family. Which will probably supplement the cost at first.
No my range doesn’t require me to shoot poly tips, but that’s what I’ve had the best results with.(all ammunition EXCEPT FMJ) I shot the same brand and grain, one softtip and one poly, and had MUCH MUCH better groupings with the poly. I was introduced to ballistic tips with a 35gr Winchester round. It’s been my best groupings ever, so I ended up using poly in the 55gr Fiochi from then on. Now, I have seen a lot of hollow-tip and if I knew if they were good for accuracy I’d use them.
so I don’t know.