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Thread: Handloaders: How much per round?

  1. #1
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    Handloaders: How much per round?

    How much are you paying per round for loading .223? I'm just getting set up to start loading this cartridge and I'm wondering if there are ways to get my figure down some. Here's how mine break down per round:

    Brass: 2-4 cents per round. (~20 cents per round for virgin Lake City, amortorized over 5-10 loadings).

    Projo: 8 cents per round. (SS109 Pull downs)

    Powder: 6 cents per round. (25 grains of TAC @ ~18$/lb)

    Primer: 4 cents per round (Delivered, assuming hazmat fee and today's craziness)

    That comes out to 22 cents per round, assuming upper limits on each component. For those that are doing much better than this, what's your secret? What can I do better on?

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    My figures are a little bit cheaper due to buying powder, primers, and bullets several years ago. I also didn't buy brass as I used range pickups.

  3. #3
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    I have data on some rounds that would cost around $0.15 a round using pick-up brass. I can drop it down to aroun $0.09 with some of the discounts I can get.

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    Use once fired brass and reuse it multiple times. Once fired is 10 cents or less per casing.

    Primers should not be 4 cents, even delivered now. Buy in bulk -- 5000 or 10000 at a time and the shipping and hazmat should not be a penny a primer.

    I use WC844T and WC846 surplus powders so am paying about 14$ per pound at current prices, when bought 4 kegs at a time, in bulk delivered from Pats Reloading.

    7-8 cents for a projectile is about right now when buying in bulk.

    Of course, I bought my powder at Pat's last year for $10 a keg less, my primers were bought anywhere from 1994 to 2007 and cost me less than the going rate by 1-2 pennies, and my 55 and 62 gr slugs are either 1990s IMI at 3-3.5 cents a slug to 2007 PRVI for around 6-6.5 cents a slug. So my actual costs are lower but you should be able to do a little bit better than you listed -- buy in bulk, don't pay stupid prices, and use once fired brass (or pickups of other people's brass if you can)

    Chad
    Last edited by chadbag; 10-14-09 at 11:57.
    • formerly known as "eguns-com"
    • M4Carbine required notice/disclaimer: I run eguns.com
    •eguns.com has not been actively promoted in a long time though I still do Dillon special
    orders, etc. and I have random left over inventory.
    •"eguns.com" domain name for sale (not the webstore). Serious enquiries only.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by eguns-com View Post
    Use once fired brass and reuse it multiple times. Once fired is 10 cents or less per casing.

    Primers should not be 4 cents, even delivered now. Buy in bulk -- 5000 or 10000 at a time and the shipping and hazmat should not be a penny a primer.

    I use WC844T and WC846 surplus powders so am paying about 14$ per pound at current prices, when bought 4 kegs at a time, in bulk delivered from Pats Reloading.

    7-8 cents for a projectile is about right now when buying in bulk.

    Of course, I bought my powder at Pat's last year for $10 a keg less, my primers were bought anywhere from 1994 to 2007 and cost me less than the going rate by 1-2 pennies, and my 55 and 62 gr slugs are either 1990s IMI at 3-3.5 cents a slug to 2007 PRVI for around 6-6.5 cents a slug. So my actual costs are lower but you should be able to do a little bit better than you listed -- buy in bulk, don't pay stupid prices, and use once fired brass (or pickups of other people's brass if you can)

    Chad
    How well does the surplus powder meter? And what primers are you using and where are you getting them?

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    For 55gr bullets, loaded to 556 performance. .144cents/round with todays prices. And that's using Varget which is a little bit higher cost then the benchmark that I usually use. Brass is the most expensive component. I don't buy my brass. I am fortunate that I can pick up range brass.

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    Quote Originally Posted by herd48 View Post
    For 55gr bullets, loaded to 556 performance. .144cents/round with todays prices. And that's using Varget which is a little bit higher cost then the benchmark that I usually use. Brass is the most expensive component. I don't buy my brass. I am fortunate that I can pick up range brass.
    Is that $0.144 per round or less than 1 cent per round?

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    About 14and a half cents per round. I wish it was less than a penny.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Thirdeye View Post
    How well does the surplus powder meter? And what primers are you using and where are you getting them?
    The WC844/T and WC846/T (they come in both T and non T variants -- T burns a little hotter for tracer ignition) are both ball powders.

    Supposedly WC844 is a non canister grade version of H335. It is in the ballpark anyway for burn rate. Supposedly the WC846 is a non canister grade version of BLC2 / Win 748.

    Being ball powders, they meter just fine. I also use the Russian SALUT shotshell powder surplus you can get (for example at Pats though I got mine from Hitech-ammo.com or some place like that and they are out) for pistols (9/40). Also meters just fine.

    My primers are Wolf, Win, CCI, Remington, Federal, Magtech. Whatever I could find at the time. They range from mid 1990s purchase to the last batch in 2007.

    Wideners, Powder Valley, Graf and Sons were the last places I got them. I have not bought primers since 2007.
    • formerly known as "eguns-com"
    • M4Carbine required notice/disclaimer: I run eguns.com
    •eguns.com has not been actively promoted in a long time though I still do Dillon special
    orders, etc. and I have random left over inventory.
    •"eguns.com" domain name for sale (not the webstore). Serious enquiries only.

  10. #10
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