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Posted: 8/10/2026 4:43:52 PM EDT
| im thinking about fireng up the dillon and building 1000 77gr 262 clone rounds..after googling around,here is what i find..new lc brass..31c.siearra bullet..47..cci 41primer...06..varget...07.per round..so 1 k would run me 910 bucks to build!..seems high?? |
When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk.
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PA, USA
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Originally Posted By dogsplat: It’s the new reloading math. Only reason to load 556 is for accuracy. I still load 55gr 5.56 just because I have a boatload of components. No way if buying components now. OP, if you go with 1x LC brass you would save significantly and I think you could find a better deal on bullets also. |
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To the extent that the brass can be reused over and over and again, yes, your math is off. 5 to 10 uses is a better guess. So, not $0.31/round but rather $0.031 to $0.062 per round. Using once fired brass will save you even more. All the other prices you mentioned also seem high. Shop around. I believe you can do better, maybe 1/3 less. |
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Look what 460rds of BHA Factory ammo is $1.82 You might get closer to BHA spec with 8208 rather that Varget? Just saying. |
jme and I am a NRA Endowment Member
Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
R W Emerson
Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
R W Emerson
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Don't forget tax and shipping... and hazmat if you don't buy local. Yes you can figure lower reuse on the brass AFTER you have gotten that use - what about the ones you lose or damage somehow or if your load is too hot and you don't get the # of loads you thought... best to figure 1x is the initial cost and anything after that is gravy... |
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Use once fired brass of same make. If its like lc and/or whatever nato brass, in addition to fls & trim oal you'll have to remove primer crimp. As for any and all components, use otd/delivered price (that otd/delivered price is cost of components, s&h, hazmat, sales tax etc). Whenever possible buy in bulk and pick up brass where ever you shoot. |
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Good day all. OP does need to shop around a bit more. Unsure if Sierra 77gr SMK is a requirement, if not similar bullets like 75gr RMR are good at $0.17. Nosler Custom Comps can be had for $0.24 And 77gr seconds are kickin around for $0.20 Again, unsure how important specific componants are to the OP but pulled powders can provide good performance for about $0.04 And lots of small rifle primers kickin around for less than $0.04 If reloading is more of a chore than my own experience of mind calming lever pulling and wallet soothing zen then just do the best you can. As always stay safe and have as much fun as possible. |
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Originally Posted By hanker71: ok,thanks guys,,im goingto keep shopping,those prices listed above on that bha is crazy! Reloading will not only be less expensive, it will give you more accurate ammo. The price mentioned for BHA is high but having to pay $1/round (or more) is not unusual if you go after premium ammo like Federal Gold Medal Match. A falacy often made is people comparing the price of reloading to the lowest price they can find. The falacy lies in the quality of the ammo - comparing the worst ammo to some of the best ammo available anywhere in the world. If you just don't care about accuracy and just want something that goes BANG!,... |
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Originally Posted By paduce: ... bullets like 75gr RMR are good at $0.17. Their bullets, whether 9mm or .224 have proven to be quite good. There are threads about them showing the performance. They are probably the best bang for the buck out there. They are demonstrably better than the 77 gr seconds I bought a while back. Buying seconds is a crap shoot. |
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The cost of my current MK262ish accuracy load; all components are relatively recent purchase and include all tax/shipping/hazmat. Some may be slightly more or less right this second, but this is what I paid: LC brass - free, I get all I need off the ground at ranges Rem 7.5 primer: .08 24gr 8208 XBR: .1908 77gr Barnes Matchburner: .189 Total 46c each = $460 for 1000rds. They shoot consistent +/- 1" 10rd groups from my 18" Geissele SPR barrel. |
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There is loading MK262 Spec and there is loading for accuracy. Although BHA claims pretty good results in accuracy dept. You really do not see that much BHA Mk 262 on the open market. Lots of instances of factory seconds ammo. Personally, I want my verified loads. Not going to worry about a few hundred FPS. |
jme and I am a NRA Endowment Member
Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
R W Emerson
Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.
R W Emerson
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If you are looking for accuracy and decent prices aside from Sierra, then Hornady Aeromatch, or Barnes Matchburner. Good performance/cost balance: RMR (rocky mountain reloading), Nosler Custom Competition 2nds (Yes, some people question their performance but I have good luck) Typical 500/600yd targets with Nosler 77gr CC  
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Originally Posted By Trollslayer: A falacy often made is people comparing the price of reloading to the lowest price they can find. The falacy lies in the quality of the ammo - comparing the worst ammo to some of the best ammo available anywhere in the world. If you just don't care about accuracy and just want something that goes BANG!,... |
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Originally Posted By hanker71: im thinking about fireng up the dillon and building 1000 77gr 262 clone rounds..after googling around,here is what i find..new lc brass..31c.siearra bullet..47..cci 41primer...06..varget...07.per round..so 1 k would run me 910 bucks to build!..seems high?? This is what my math is looking like: 1x Fired LC brass - .10 Sierra Bullet - .34 Primer - .06 Varget - .17 $0.67 per round for the first firing, and $0.57 each firing afterwards until you get rid of the cases. That doesn't include shipping, so probably a little bit more. Let's say $700 to build. Even if we use your prices, $0.91 a round is still a lot better than the $1.42 per round for Black Hills 77gr or FGMM 77gr. |
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5.56 brass is free for the taking where I shoot if you bother to pick it up occasionally, and most of that is LC 1X. I mainly reload practice ammo. My costs are much much cheaper. But I also load LE duty grade ammo in 1X cases for the casing’s first go around, but even then that is using pulled Gold Dots or TBBC at 6-9 cents a projectile. My fmj loads run me 18-20 cents a round. Reloading to me is for 2 reasons- absolute best accuracy (not my concern), and secondly- shooting as much as possible as cheaply as possible, which is what I am doing. The first group is shooting matches where it matters, the second group are a bunch of cheapskates like me who buy when stuff is cheap. So redo your math, and at least factor in how many times you can reload your brass, and whether you can wait to find something on sale before buying it. Gotta have it now has always equaled paying thru the nose… |
a loaded gun won’t set you free, so you say…
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If you are purchasing retail name brand components, such as at the store, then no, the math is terrible. For me. Bulk purchase of sales and deals and salvage components, is the only way to keep it economically viable. And even then, I'm starting to begrudge the large time sink it's taking. Once I'm out of components, I may take it easy for a good long while. But that's a ways away! |
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Originally Posted By smoothy8500: Good performance/cost balance: RMR (rocky mountain reloading)... I found this just now. The right hand image is the 69 RMR bullet can do at 100 yards and compares it to the 77 gr seconds I bought. Note the general scatter to the shape of the 77 seconds (left hand image) as opposed to the tight groups of the RMR bullet. Some of the lateral scatter in both images is wind but wind does not explain the scatter. I don't have any 75 gr RMRs but someone on this forum has tested them. At 16 cents each, the RMRs are less than half the price of the Sierras. Still, the Sierras can out-shoot either of these. Lesson learned - if you care about accuracy, buy top quality bullets. ...................................................... 77 gr seconds .................................................................................................... 69 gr RMR bullets  I know I went off-topic quite a bit but hope the point is made. |
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Originally Posted By Trollslayer: Lesson learned - if you care about accuracy, buy top quality bullets. I know I went off-topic quite a bit but hope the point is made. It's good to see real world comparison to help make a decision. The RMR 69 has been a valid choice with some of the other Highpower shooters in our club at the short-range 200 or 300yd events, and switching to the SMK 77/80's for the 600yd events. |
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Many people also use the Hornady 75 gr HPBT-M bullet, myself incuded. It is an accurate bullet that wins in the cost-benefit arena: sub-MOA accuracy but not the most accurate but very attractively priced. I went scrounging around to find a thread on the RMR 75 gr bullets or at least the data. The 75's might be a better match to the OP's goals while still addressing his concerns about cost. If it's out there, I did not find the thread. However, I did find a lot of discussion of the RMR 75's buried in the thread on the RMR 69's. Yes, I'm borrowing other people's imagery below. From ZA206 - Attached File From SpentBrass - Attached File |
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Originally Posted By ZA206: Looks familiar...  As an FYI, 2641 fps is the EXACT same speed that 77 FGMM shoots in the same rifle I did the RMR testing in. Do you use the RMR 75's? If I were looking for a heavy (longer range), good bang for the buck bullet would you recommend the RMR 75's or the Hornady or a 77 Sierra? |
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Originally Posted By smoothy8500: Nice! Looks like the RMR 75's perform OK. I agree, maybe not SMK but a valid option if looking for something within certain acceptable limits such as mid-range or practice ammo. Yes, as soon as you take away the bipod or bag or rest, the shooter becomes the biggest source of error in shooting. <-- ask me how I know. :-) An awful lot of what looks less than optimal at the bench disappears, as it is subsumed into the overall error that is dominated by the shooter; gets swamped out by the much larger shoot error. |
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Originally Posted By Trollslayer: Do you use the RMR 75's? If I were looking for a heavy (longer range), good bang for the buck bullet would you recommend the RMR 75's or the Hornady or a 77 Sierra? I don’t load them currently, but have a bunch on hand. I actually settled on the 77 TMK as my one of my two “do all” (match & SD/HD) 5.56 loads, the other being the 62 gr. Gold dot (its basically SD/HD). I think the 77 SMK is more accurate and consistent than the 75 RMR, but a shooter may not need that level of accuracy for everything, so a bullet like the 75 RMR is a good value IMO. I haven’t done any shooting with the heavy Hornady bullets. -ZA |
derp...
The 69 RMRs are a decent bullet for the price. I have zero issues shooting a 3 or 4 inch gong at 500 yards with TAC, Starline brass, and Rem 7.5s. I cannot remember the velocity for the life of me, but Im pushing 3100 fps. 700 yards is easy. Then again, this isnt a normal 223...
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As far as the OP? Used once fired LC. Prep it up. Its work, but youll get many firings from it, thus amortizing the brass cost even further. Look around for bullets. The 75 RMRs are cheap, test them, see if they pass for accuracy. If not, look at other options. Noslers, Matchburners. Honestly unless you are CONSISTENTLY shooting at 500 yards, the 77 is overkill. Unless there is a specific reason you need to have the 77, the 69s may be "good enough" without breaking your wallet. Primers? Rem 7.5s and CCI 400s are about as cheap as they are going to be. Ive found 400s to work pretty well. Powder? This is a sticking point. Ive duplicated the Mk262 loading from a 20" barreled AR with 8208 XBR. Its a great powder. But once again, you may mind something better. The best thing about 8208? It meters accurately from a drop. |
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Originally Posted By hanker71: im thinking about fireng up the dillon and building 1000 77gr 262 clone rounds..after googling around,here is what i find..new lc brass..31c.siearra bullet..47..cci 41primer...06..varget...07.per round..so 1 k would run me 910 bucks to build!..seems high?? If the true goal is to make Mk262 clones, we've suggested options for doing it at lower initial cost and the cost benefits of re-using the brass to further lower the cost. If the goal is to have really accurate ammunition, we've also suggested options for doing that at substantially lower cost. Again, reusing the brass further lowers cost. When it comes to "googling around" for prices, I always START and FINISH with AmmoSeek.com . You'll see the pricing from a multitude of suppliers whether you are seeking ammo or reloading components. |
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I’m loading M193 clone @ Cases….range pick up Primers…CCI 450 0.05 Powder…TAC 0.17 Bullets…Xtreme 0.09 0.31 or $310 vs $469….still worth reloading….although not by much….if my time were worth anything, I would be better off buying these and 9mm. 5.56 especially due to the troubles with range pickup brass. I’ve damaged a die, broke an expander ball, broke unbreakable Mighty Armory decapping pins! …..and have thrown like 50 brass out for being unsizeable due to oversized chambers. |
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