How much will you pay for .223 ammo?

E

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Am I the only cheap b@$$tard here? I was in a local gun shop yesterday and folks were paying $.70 per round plus taxes for American Eagle .223 ammo in 20 round boxes. Remington 55g fmj was $19.99 and people were buying that too. I thought the insanity was over. I have a lot of free brass and other reloading components I have acquired so I can reload .223 for $.25 per round all day long. The only factory ammo I ever buy is rim fire, shotgun, 9mm and 7 mm Mag. I reload everything else because I am a tight wad, not to the point I straighten paper clips or nails to save money. Accuracy is a side effect of reloading I enjoy too.
 
Originally Posted By: NdIndyI still have almost ever factory round ive ever bought, minus 1 or 2 that ended up in an elk or deer.

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NdIndy....hopefully you misread that. We can't use a .223 on deer just yet my friend.......
 
I have a lot of free brass and other reloading components I have acquired so I can reload .223 for $.25 per round all day long.

Please explain how you do this. At about $20.00 for bullets, $4.00 for primers, $26.00 for brass, and figure $8.00 for enough powder to load a hundred rounds, I figure that comes out to about 58 cents each. Even if you have a lot of stuff someone had to pay for it.

JD

US NAVY RETIRED
 
Quote:please explain how you do this. At about $20.00 for bullets, $4.00 for primers, $26.00 for brass, and figure $8.00 for enough powder to load a hundred rounds, I figure that comes out to about 58 cents each.....Since he indicated that he had a bunch of 'free' brass, it would depend on when he purchased other supplies...

I've had quite a supply of components for several years from when I was doing a lot of shooting/reloading....The last time I figured my cost per round with brass being used 5-6 times, my reloading cost per .223 round was $0.30, before all the gouging and stockpiling started...If I hadn't had to pay for my brass initially, my cost would have been lower as well...

For example, a couple of years ago, Midway had TAC on sale at $13 per pound, limit 10 pounds...It was normally $18 at the time in other places...Those that stock up when things are on sale, shoot at a much reduced cost from present prices..especially if considering what factory is bringing...
 
That's right OT, if you bought in bulk "before the madness" 25 cents/rd is attainable. I paid $75.00/5000 primers for both small and large rifle just a couple of years ago. Good 223 bullets can be had for 10-15 cents each in bulk. 8 lbs of powder even at $140 will load about 2,240 rds of 223 at 25 grs./shell or between 6 and 7 cents each.

I don't really consider the brass since I have bolt guns that have over 30 loadings and still going strong by annealing and not shooting too hot. Even my AR's have better than 15 loadings on them. That's 1.5 cents/primer, 15 cents/bullet, 7 cents/powder charge which comes out to 23.5 cents each. Even if I depreciate brass as an expense, I wouldn't figure over 1.5 cents/loading. That is 25 cents/cartridge for top quality, tailored for my rifle ammo.
 
This is what I fiquered (prices are actual (rounded to nears $1) what I have recently payed for componants) :

Primers $30/1000 = .03/round
Powder $163/8# using 25grains =.07/round
Bullets $15/100 =.15/round
He stated free brass

That adds up to just over 25 cents per round (if you redo the math & carry the decimals farther). Again, this is pretty much todays prices (if your a carefull shopper & don't pay the gauging prices)...


You can actually load it even cheaper; using bulk bullets, tula primers & a cheaper powder.
 
Coleridge stole my thunder. Even at today's prices, a quarter/round is attainable, buy in bulk and pick up your brass at the range.
 
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I guess I am somewhat frugal, I reload for all my centerfire rifles and handguns, the only factory ammo I buy would be rimfire or centerfire to get brass to reload or to establish a base-line for my reloads. Oh, I do straighten nails.
 
Most I will pay is the $1 per round for the Hornady ammo. I dont shoot it much (40 rounds a year TOPS) and I love their cases. Shoot up the factory and reload it.

Stuff like PMC and American Eagle that I was getting for >$.30 a round Is now selling for $.50+ and I refuse to pay that.

Reloading is great and I am really starting to see more and more components on the shelf. Cabelas is trying to sell 100 primers for $6 a card but I can get them for Normal prices at Sportsmans.
 
The last time I paid for any "Factory", Federal was selling 200 round bulk packs of 50gr HPs at WallyWorld for $53 ('06?)...If I remember right, I bought 1,000 rounds since I was shooting several action competitions where we were not allowed to recover our brass and the Federal was crimped primers...Still have some in reserve...
 
Lets see..on 11/29/08 I paid $109.99 for a 200 rnd MEGA PACK, of Remington UMC 45g JHP (Scheels); then sometime Feb. 2013 $9.99 for 20 rnds PPU 55g FMJ BT.
I started putting a date on ammo boxes 6-7 years ago. I shot off some 30-30 Win. today from a box dated 1981 and a price tag on it $8.79 (Walgreens? 20 rnd). Then de-primed 20 spent rnds of Federal 30-30 from a box dated 1970 and that had a price on it of $3.19(K-Mart),..thats three dollars and nineteen cents, for 20 rnds. WOW that seems cheap by todays prices, but I don`t believe Grandpa earned even 10% in 1970 of what I earn today
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What I find hard to believe is a couple years ago I could buy used range brass for scrap metal price; around $70 for two five gallon buckets .223 and 9mm(and some blanks) mixed. Now it is auctioned off and brings up to $100. for a 1 gallon pail of .223 (sorted now), but to me at that price a fella better off buying new and not deal with removing primer crimps.
 
I bought 1 box of factory .223 twenty years ago, have reloaded ever since.

This ammo thing only re-enforces one thing, the rich get richer and the little guy pays or goes without.
 


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