Couple of reloading ?

[Ballistic147]

Rick, it would be best to start out with a straight walled pistol cartridge first to get your feet wet. Not sure what pistol ammo you would want to load but most of them are much easier than a bottle neck rifle cartridge. Not to mention all the other prep work involved with rifle cartridges too.

I started on a progressive press. Yes, they are more involved than a single stage but I wanted to be able to load more rounds per hour than a single stage could ever do. My wife and my son both shoot too so I have to be able to keep up. I started out loading one round at a time until I was completely comfortable with the whole process. After a couple hundred rounds I moved on to progressive and haven't looked back. Not saying I'm smart but I am a very mechanical person and other than a few rookie mistakes everything has gone smooth.

First off, get you a few good reloading manuals. I've got Hornady, Hodgdon, and Lyman. Not only do they give you load recipes, they are also full of good info on reloading that would answer a lot of your questions. The Hornady is my go to but I do use the other two as well as info online from powder and bullet manufacturers. Just take your time and learn all you can. The folks here over in the reloading section have really helped me out a ton too. You're going to run into small problems from time to time and they will offer some great advice.

 

[Westie1]

Thanks guys, replies have made for interesting reading. Did find the petitions and got them signed.
@Ricrock. When it comes to reloading, best advice is to follow kiss. It can get overwhelming looking at catalogs.There are several sites on line that are designed for the beginner. So I would start there. As far as equipment goes, your best choice would be to get one of the single stage kits put out by rcbs,hornady, or lee. Which one is best, is individual taste. With the hornady kit, you'll get a coupon good for free hornady bullets. Any one of the kits will have about everything but dies needed to start, equipment wise. Add a tumbler/case cleaner, and you're good to go there. Now as far as powder and primers go, it's best to start out with just 1 powder. Speaking of powder and primers, if you order online just like ammo there is the hazmat fee.

 

[Moe Mentum]

for projectiles I use RMR (Rockey Mountain Reloading) great prices, give them a look.

 

[Ricrock]

Hey guys,

I have decided to wait a while to see what happens in November before I move forward on the reloading project.

I truly thank all who replied and sent me PM's advising me of the pitfalls.

After my research, I don't think it would be financially to my advantage to reload. I cannot save my brass (unless I have a hideous brass collector bag hanging off of my rifle), since the range I frequent doesn't allow collection of brass, unless it is right by you. It's a mini-profit center for them. I would have to buy brass, and I have determined it would cost me roughly 40 cents per round (at the best prices I have found for brass, primer, bullets and powder). I can buy new ammo for about 30 - 33 cents per round.

I don't mind a hobby extension breaking even, but unless it goes real fast with me behind the wheel (ie: sports car racing) I cannot see paying a premium for the privilege.

If things change in November, I'll re-visit this project as I have saved all of the suggestions you have given me.

Thanks again,

Rick

 

[crracer_712]

Wow, can't imagine being in your situation with upcoming regulations and this policy of not collecting one's own brass at the range....

For anyone else that may be contemplating this, I tend to prefer Varget and I generally get my Hornady SP bullets from Midway USA 1000 at a time (they have boxes of 6K but the price per bullet is the same as 1000).

 

[Ksimons]

I've bought more bullets from Rocky Mountain Reloading than anywhere else. The nice thing about their website is that every price you see is with shipping included - no surprises when you go to check out.

Powder is very caliber specific and the only caliber you mention is .223 so I would suggest adding Varget to your list.

I second this RMR is great to deal with and fast shipping most of the time. I also picked up an 8lbs jug of Varget and have been pleased. I mostly shoot 55gn

 

[hdwhit]

First, where do you reloaders buy your bullets?

MidwayUSA
Midsouth Shooter's Supply
Rocky Mountain Reloading
Everglades Ammunition
American Reloading
Extreme

Second, what's your favorite powder?

For the .223 Remington,

IMR 4198 - most economical
IMR 3031
Winchester 748

I didn't own an AR until recently. I "grew up" shooting a Ruger Mini-14 that I bought when I was 19. At the time, the AR-15 typically had a longer barrel than is common today, so I ended up settling on a Hornady 60 grain bullet on top of 20.3 grains of IMR-4198 as my standard loading.

Please note that this was less than a maximum loading per the Hornady Manual, 4th Edition, which was at the time the latest edition. Some sources have since published data with a maximum loading below this, so for anything you are loading today, follow the latest published data.

 

[scooter123]

For 223 I get my bullets from Midway and usually stock up when they are on sale. BTW, both of my 223 rifles are chambered in 223 Wylde with 1:8 rifling so I have a lot of options in regards to bullet weight and length.

For accuracy loads my go to bullet is the 68 grain Hornady BTHP loaded with Varget. For practice loads for Accuracy practice I load with the same bullet using CFE223 because it meters wonderfully. With my 20 inch precision AR when I am in good practice and my eyesight is cooperating the Varget loads will shoot sub 3/8 inch at 100 yards, the loads using CFE223 will edge in just under 1/2 inch at the same distance.

For Varmint hunting my goto bullet is the 60 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip loaded with Varget and it's a sub 1/2 MOA load for me. Unfortunately for some reason I do not understand at all this bullet won't group well with CFE223 anywhere in the full range of loading recommendations from Min to Max at 1/10 grain increments. Naturally due to the need to hand weigh every single charge I don't do a lot of shooting with this bullet.

I will also recommend the Hornady Manual quite highly. While it's rather conservative in regards to produced velocities and pressure it's also been an excellent reference for building very accurate loads. As an Engineer I am well acquainted with the fact that Kinetic Energy increases with the Square of the Velocity and that one particular aspect of this facet of Physics is that Barrel Wear will also increase with the square of the Velocity. So, if I can find a more accurate load at a velocity that many might consider sedate it doesn't bother me a bit, because I know it will allow me to put more rounds downrange before wear produces a noticeable loss in accuracy from my rifle.

 

[revolver_ph]

My ARs like H335 for lighter bullets and H4895 for the heavier ones. The Hornady 62 grain match bullets are very good and can be had in bulk at a fair price. The Hornady 55 grain FMJ-BT are good as well.

I buy most of my powder from Powder Valley and shop around for the best price on bullets. My last Hornady 62 grain bullet purchase was a case of 4500 for $645 from Wideners. However that was before they went through some sort of ownership/management change and I cannot recommend them now.