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Posted: 1/15/2011 8:45:13 AM EDT
| I scoured the forum as best as I could, but I am wondering if it is worth it to reload 5.56 if you just using it for everyday shooting,shtf or plinking? |
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I scoured the forum as best as I could, but I am wondering if it is worth it to reload 5.56 if you just using it for everyday shooting,shtf or plinking? No, it's not worth it. It's time consuming and the cost per hour your precious time is worth makes reloading any cartridge cost prohibitive. However - if you would like a hobby that's reward is reliable, accurate ammunition then my answer is yes. You need to reload everything you shoot. I'd reload 22lr if possible. I am reloading .223 for half the cost of Federal Bulk Packs and probably less. Cost has never been a concern to me as reloading is my hobby. 
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Quoted: I scoured the forum as best as I could, but I am wondering if it is worth it to reload 5.56 if you just using it for everyday shooting,shtf or plinking? I don't think there's enough information given to properly answer your question. But here's a simple questionaire that will help you decide? 1. Are you miserly? 2. Do you have OCD? (or worse, CDO?) 3. Do you enjoy spending long hours doing repetetive tasks that require great attention to detail? 4. Are you a safety-minded individual? If you answered no to question #4, just walk away. If you answered yes to question #4, and yes to 2 or more of #'s 1 through 3, then reloading is for you. What is your primary goal? If it's just saving money, then buy Wolf ammo. If you want to make really great ammunition and well below the cost of such rounds bought commercially (and passed the test above), then reloading is a great hobby. *Note: CDO is the same thing as OCD, but all the letters are in alphabetical order, LIKE THEY SHOULD BE!!!  ETA: There are several reasons cost savings is generally not a good factor to decide on reloading. One is your time (as mentioned in the previous post), but another is the fact that if you really get into this hobby, you're very likely to spend far more money on reloading equipment than you ever would have spent on ammo. And calculating how many rounds you have to make in order to "break even" is a fool's game for all but the most miserly of us. I started out with a $400 investment in basic components and reloading gear. Fast forward 2 years: I have 50K primers on the shelf, probably 20K bullets, and several 8 lb jugs of powder, along with a $400+ trimmer, a $400 scale/powder dispenser, a recently purchased $500+ progressive reloading press and a few hundred dollars more stuff to use with it, 70 lbs of lead (which I probably paid way too much for) and a $150 lead casting setup on the back porch to cast my own bullets. Not to mention various other tools I've picked up along the way which cost less, but add up quickly. For the money I've put out, I could bought a LOT of cheap plinking ammo. But I don't care about the cost so much any more, I just enjoy the hobby and appreciate the results I get when I go to the range. In short, it will cost you a LOT of time and a LOT of money (but you'll convince yourself how cheap it is to go shooting when you go to the range!!!). 
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Most if not all that has been said is true. The rest is funny as hell.
But you can do the math
http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp |
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I scoured the forum as best as I could, I think there have been a couple of similar threads in the past couple of weeks. Here is one: Reloaded .223 ammo cost? Here is another: What's the cost for your .223 and .308 load? And another one I found looking through the threads: Current cost per round to reload 223 & 9mm?? jonblack |
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Heck I am afraid to look at cost, and it's all the fault of the guys here on this Forum forcing me to buy all this equipment True... if you include all the equipment cost in it... it goes up pretty quickly. I figure my first .45acp round off my current setup cost me about 2000$... after that I was down to around 12 cents per.
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Reloading is very time consuming. The true times are way more than what most report. However, I have never known anyone to give up reloading once they start.
For match loads, I always reload. I have RCBS Chargemaser (~$300) which really simplifies and expedites the process. For plinking loads, I go between my own reloads and Wolf. For my plinking stuff I have a LNL press that does a great job, but it can't case prep. Case prep takes me about 8 hours per 1000, and this with a Giraud. |
| Like everyone else said, I reload for quality and it's a fun hobby to get into. Being able to home-make good quality rounds for cheaper component cost is just a small +1 considering the other benefits. I only reload for my .45 so I can only make a guess for .223/5.56, after all the equipment you invest in and time invested you can buy more cheap ammo for the same price you buy reloading equipment, components, and cost of time spent to make the same amount at home. You get what you pay for, I would rather pay to make something good with my own hands even if it costs a little more. |
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I have spent more money on handloading and casting equipment to "save money shooting" than I likely would have spent on ammunition that I shot during the time I have been doing both if I had just bought it. That said, I do it for several reasons:
1-I enjoy it at least as much as shooting the finished product 2-I have ammunition when others can't get any at the stores or online, or if they can, the prices are wholly unreasonable 3-I can spread out the cost over time, powder one month, primers the next, bullets after that, etc. One can't do that with loaded ammunition 4-The ammunition I make is much better quality than any of the usual cheapy ammunition that perspective handloaders like to compare prices to 5-I can tailor ammunition to my specific guns and my specific needs. Try finding a factory loaded 200 grain RN .38 Special. I can load them for $0.05/round or less I could go on, but one gets the idea. A lot of the secret to handloading these days is getting over the idea that jacketed bullets are somehow better than lead bullets. Its true that the .223/5.56mm, especially in an autoloader, is not the best platform for cast bullets, but it can be done successfully. Even if one doesn't want to try, .223 FMJs are about as cheap as any jacketed bullets you could find. If, one the other hand, one wants to make heavy bullet 5.56mm loads, I promise that money can be saved over factory heavy bullet (69+ grain) ammunition. One has to have the right mentality to be a successful handloader. Generally people who are satisfied with the performance of Wolf and other cheapy steel cased ammunition don't have the right mentality, but there are exceptions. |
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When I was single and renting a house, reloading was practical from the standpoint of time.
I bought the best tooling and supplies and probably never broke even, although it was an enjoyable past time. Even back then, years ago, I figured I was better off shooting surplus or commercial ammo for a few cents more. So, I sold all my reloading gear to a friend of mine and enjoyed the cheap surplus ammo of the time (90's). Now, I'm a married homeowner and reloading is not too practical from the standpoint of time. Today, I am content to have ammo delivered to my door and I'm willing to spend a few cents more. Match grade ammo, particularly, has gotten out of hand so I guess it's a good thing I'm not competing. I'm still a brass scrounger at the range and probably always will be. |
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I accidentally shot some premium match ammo one time, and when I saw my tiny little group at 100yd with iron sights, I could never go back to cheap ammo.
But match ammo is prohibitively expensive, so I had to start reloading. It has been a great hobby. Not factoring in the cost of the gear, I reload 75gr OTMs for around .18 per round. But with all the gear I buy, so far, it isn't saving me a cent. |
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.223 55gr plinking 17 cents each.
.223 69gr match 26 cents each. 9mm 124gr jacketed 14 cents each. I buy once fired military brass primarily, shoot it and leave it lay. I hate picking up empties. If you shoot a lot of certain calibers, it is worth it if you don't count your time. A Dillon 1050 is worth it as long as you truly want bulk ammo. If you have 50 sets of dies for different calibers and can't get surplus bulk brass, it's much harder to justify from the financial side. I will say that factory "match" ammo rarely impresses me. If you work up a handload for a specific barrel it's a beautiful thing. |
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