9mm ball ammo vs 5.56 ball for SHTF Help!

[marathonrunner]

GUYS, I have always gotten good advice here but been stocking up on 5.56 ball ammo but thinking if the current political situation changes after the election, 9mm ammo may be taxed to the max.

I was contemplating reloading to save money, but if I buy new brass or even once fired, I won't be saving that much. Is it better to stock up on 5.56 or 9mm?

 

[H Richard]

You need both. If the anti's attack handgun, the 9mm would be better to have, but if they attack the "assault rifles", a few thousand .223 might be better. I've go t around 5000 9mm on hand, but severely lacking in 223.

 

[fredj338]

IMO, reloading is where your head should be at for any future govt BS. Even buying once fired brass, you can make 223 for about 25c a round/$250/1000. Sure you are not saving much there but saving still. Keep in mind as you reload that brass the cost of it gets amortized so you get down to about 18c each or $180/1K. With 9mm, I can cast & coat my own bullets & reload 9mm for about 5c each/$50/1000. If you have time, a Lee Classic turret w/ dies & access for both calibers will run you about $350. That is what, 1000rds of ammo, a no brainer. If your time is worth more, then a Dillon progressive setup like the 550B, about $700 with everything. The diff is 150rds/hr vs 400/hr, both are conservative numbers.
It's cheaper to stockpile components than ammo. You can reload a pistol case 15-20x if you don't go max. FOr rifle, 10x is pretty doable, stay way off max, maybe 15x. So you can get by with a few 1000 rds of brass in each caliber, then lay in the primers & powder & bullets. Learn to make your own bullets & scrounge for the mat'l. they are free.
Ok you really want to make cheap 223, I make my own bullets out of spent 22lr, cost me nothing but time & of course the gear, but I will never run out of 223.

FWIW, I haven't bought 223 or 9mm brass in the last 5yrs. I get all I want at the local range. Plenty of factory ammo guys shooting & leaving it all behind. I stopped picking up the 223, I probably have 4k rds of it, double that in 9mm. I do pick up every 45acp I find though.

 

[g8rb8]

9mm ball ammo vs 5.56 ball for SHTF Help!

Get both.

If stinky, nasty stuff hits the fan and you're standing in front of it you might need this:

For legislative falderal and shenanigans and the subsequent fear or reality you might get brass, bullets, powder, and primers and especially focus on primers and powder. I reload because I remember when some of the ammo I wanted wasn't available. It seems to be a cyclic phenomenon and no reason to suspect it won't be an issue again.

For every "either" or "or" question at the S&W Forum the standard answer is "both." For example:
Q: Do I get the shiny nickel revolver or the pretty blue revolver?
A: Both.

 

[max]

I reload for many calibers, including 9. However, if I can buy factory 9 for $10.00 or so, I do. I found a sale on .223 late last year and got another 500 rds.

 

[marathonrunner]

IMO, reloading is where your head should be at for any future govt BS. Even buying once fired brass, you can make 223 for about 25c a round/$250/1000. Sure you are not saving much there but saving still. Keep in mind as you reload that brass the cost of it gets amortized so you get down to about 18c each or $180/1K. With 9mm, I can cast & coat my own bullets & reload 9mm for about 5c each/$50/1000. If you have time, a Lee Classic turret w/ dies & access for both calibers will run you about $350. That is what, 1000rds of ammo, a no brainer. If your time is worth more, then a Dillon progressive setup like the 550B, about $700 with everything. The diff is 150rds/hr vs 400/hr, both are conservative numbers.
It's cheaper to stockpile components than ammo. You can reload a pistol case 15-20x if you don't go max. FOr rifle, 10x is pretty doable, stay way off max, maybe 15x. So you can get by with a few 1000 rds of brass in each caliber, then lay in the primers & powder & bullets. Learn to make your own bullets & scrounge for the mat'l. they are free.
Ok you really want to make cheap 223, I make my own bullets out of spent 22lr, cost me nothing but time & of course the gear, but I will never run out of 223.

FWIW, I haven't bought 223 or 9mm brass in the last 5yrs. I get all I want at the local range. Plenty of factory ammo guys shooting & leaving it all behind. I stopped picking up the 223, I probably have 4k rds of it, double that in 9mm. I do pick up every 45acp I find though.

I do reload and have been using whatever brass I find on range floor to use. I am kind of stuck on buying quality FMJ from Hornady but have been using Polymere coated Bayou Bullets which are much cheaper than FMJ. I guess for SHTF, is there a reason not to go with Bayou Bullets? It also seems using whatever brass I find on range floor is a cadinal sin but so far using Bayou Bullets with mixed head stamps, I have not encountered any Failure to Feed or eject issues.

Is buying new brass worth it? or buying remanufacturered reloading brass?

 

[moxie]

What's wrong with using range brass? I use range brass for many different calibers and have for over 25 years without any problem. Just inspect the same as you do for your own brass. It would be a cardinal sin NOT to use range brass if it's available to you.

 

[alwslate]

[QUOTE Is it better to stock up on 5.56 or 9mm?[/QUOTE]

Yes.

 

[Culina]

Well, the most popular ammo gets sold out first. .22LR is still not widely available and the last election was in 2012. if you want to stock up, you will need .22LR, 9mm, and 5.56, .45ACP and 7.62x39 are also popular so those wouldn't be bad to add to your stash either. If you have .22LR ammo you can even trade it for other ammo you may need, this is when money can't even buy it because none can be found for sale.

 

[Forrest r]

There's nothing wrong with using range brass. I've used range brass for the last 30+ years. I do however inspect the range brass and toss the junk brand names and tend to discard brass that looks like the puppy played with it for a couple of weeks.



You should:
Get axis to free lead & free brass
single stage reloading press, scale, dies, powder throw
bullet molds and casting pot
learn how to reload, cast bullets, swage jacketed bullets.

Right now I can load:
100 38spl's/158gr hp's $3.25 (lead bullet/150gr jacketed)
100 9mm/125gr hp's $3.80 (lead bullet/147gr jacketed)
100 44spl/200gr hp's $3.80 (lead bullet/225gr jacketed)
100 45acp/200gr hp's $3.80 (lead bullet/225gr jacketed)
100 44mag/250gr hp's $6.00 (lead bullet/265gr jacketed)
100 223rem/62gr hp's $11.00 (jacketed bullet)

I can either load a # of different lead/cast hp's or home swaged jacketed bullets for the same $$$$ listed above.

Buy yourself a used rcbs rockchucker press, a good powder throw and a scale. You can reload and swage bullets with that rockchucker.

Coated bullets are better than nothing, I actually like coated lead bullets. I cast and coat my own. Free range lead ='s free hp's for the 9mm



I make 62gr hp's for the 223 from free 22lr brass & free range lead. I also make a 55gr hp for the 223 from free 22lr brass & free range lead.



Take the range brass you find and either use it or sell it or trade it for something you can use. That's how I got started 30+ years ago. Sold the free brass and free lead and used the $$$ to buy reloading equipment, casting equipment & reloading supplies. I still do that to this day & this is what I bought this year from free lead, brass & copper. 25# of pistol powder

 

[GatorFarmer]

Get yourself a flintlock rifle and a cap and ball revolver. Stock up on percussion caps. You can make your own gunpowder and cast your own bullets. You may want to start bottling and saving your own urine now, for future use in powder making and convert a part of your yard to a place where you dispose of your solkd waste. Sure, some people might think you are crazy, but you will be ahead of most of them. Solemn nod.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

I do not reload for the .223/5.56 but rather have stocked up on ammo (military FMJ). As I look at the .223/5.56 as a relatively "weak sister" the last few years I have been buying Hornady .223 55gr soft nose in the 50 count box's. The soft nose ammo seems to be a big "force multiplier" for the round. On unarmoured targets one round in right place will do the job, important if you are by yourself or have limited support. Picking up 2-4 box's on each outing can add up! I load for the 30-06, .308 Win, 45-70 and .243 Win. Don't really know why I haven't done the same for the .223/5.56.

 

[scattershot]

Reloading might not make much sense to you now, but it will,in time as component and ammo prices go through the roof. Reloading would be my suggestion, as well.

During the late unlamented ammo shortage, I was shooting, and a lot of my friends and aquaintances were not.

 

[moxie]

Reloading for the .223/5.56 is fun and easy and much less expensive, except often for the chore of swaging the crimp on the primer pocket.

The 55FMJBT as found in the original M193 loading for the M16 is every bit as lethal as the 55SP. It's the 62 gr. M855 "green tip" that tends to poke a .224"-sized hole in the target.

 

[MyDads38]

I buy factory ammo for both calibers and can reload for both calibers. It's not about "savings" so much, as it is about "availability". I won't get caught "short" ever again, you would be ahead of the game if you started reloading your own and acquiring components now. And still pick up factory ammo when on sale as well. I don't think you can have "too much" these days-I didn't use to think that way; but we all saw what happened the last few years!

 

[venomballistics]

seems we all have damaged memory ... look back two years or less and whatever the hot spot was, will again be.
22LR

 

[Ballistic147]

I spent last year stocking up on ammo. Right now I'm sitting on 3k rounds or more of 9mm, 40S&W, and 5.56 which are my 3 main calibers. I've also got around 500 rounds of .380 and 38 Special. Still need to pick up some more 44Mags.

This year I started buying reloading equipment. At this point, I've got everything to load .380, 9mm, 38 Special, and 40S&W. Still need 44Mag dies and will need to get a case trimmer, primer pocket tools and the dies for 223/5.56 and I will be able to reload everything we shoot except 22lr. Been buying primers and powder a little at a time and already have quite a bit stockpiled. As so as I have all my reloading stuff together I'll be picking up more ammo if the price hasn't gone gone out of sight.

 

[Doubless]

I want someone to explain to me how you guys are loading 9MM and 38s for a nickel (9s) and $3.25/C for 38s, when primers are running $35/M. That is three and a half cents for just the primer, if my math is right...

 

[X Ring]

They cost me a little more than a nickel.
Hand cast bullet $0.035
Primer $0.035
Powder $0.02
Brass $ free range pickup
Total $ 0.09 per round or $ 4.50 box/50
For 38Spl it is the same except I can’t find free range brass so I must spend $ 0.04 each. Brass can be loaded at least 10 times, thus that adds $ 0.20 per box for a total of $ 4.70

 

[getoff]

in a word? BOTH. one can never have to much money, guns, or ammo... and i'm good with my 22lr stash thank you!