Should I Start Reloading For My AR-15?

[dbarnhart]

I think the answer depends upon:
1. Can you collect your brass
2. Does your rifle handle Wolf with no problems

I can reload my own brass for about $170/K. Right now you can get Wolf for about $210/K from multiple sources. If I could not collect my brass and my gun would cycle Wolf trouble-free then I'd just shoot Wolf.

A side note: My gun is an HK clone, noted for being hard on brass. It dings about 50% of the cases it ejects. I still collect those cases. You'd be surprised what they are worth at your local metal recycler.

 

[68wj]

'Cause it is a great excuse to get into a variant AR caliber that you can't get cheap surplus/import ammo for.

I still load .223 since I feel that I am getting cheaper ammo that works better in my gun. I don't have a problem shooting steel if I need to though. For non-standard calibers, loading saves me a lot of money and maximizes accuracy and performance.

 

[cougar1717]

With the cost of 223 Rem coming down to more reasonable levels, it's really about your time. You will have to: inspect, lube, size, trim, tumble, prime, charge, seat, inspect, shoot, gather, tumble, and repeat. (Your sequence may vary a little, but you get the idea.) For some, it's worth it to just buy a few cases of ammo and go to the range. For others, the challenge is finding an accuracy load for your AR-15 or even something that you could go varminting with. The real time difference for you would be in lubing the bottlenecked cases, sizing, and then removing the lube. It just depends on your time.

 

[bigggbbruce]

My 2 cents.... as mentioned above time is money.... if your a plinker and eat alot of ammo... you will save money but the cost of time barely outweighs the cost of factory ammo...

I load for my hand guns... I save $1000 a year on my 44 ammo alone... I also load 7mmTCU for my T/C Contender... for $.35 each.. they sell for $75 for 20.... So it's all about your time and needs..

Someday however we will all need to reload as this is the way gun control will work(for the non-gun people that is)by making ammo unavailable...

Get set up and build your supplies... you'll need them some day...

 

[popper]

Try the possum hollow trimmer ~$25 and use an RCBS primer pocket cleaner with some masking tape to fit in the drill chuck. I sized some with standard Hornady and will check a few with the RCBS AR-308 die. The AR die is tamer crimp, Hornady is roll crimp. I have a single stage RCBS press and it works fast and fine. Case prep takes about as much time as actual loading.

 

[RustyFN]

Are you having any lucky with the LEE Auto Disk dropping consistent charges. I have the same setup and am not happy with the consistency. Using H335 powder by the way.

I load on a classic turret. I used to load 223 with the pro auto disk with the double disk kit. A few months ago I bought a Lee perfect powder measure and an adapter that will let me mount it to the rifle charging die. I still have to cycle the PPM by hand but it has been very accurate with H335 and I have been much happier. You can buy the adapter at http://www.gun-guides.com/ if you are interested. Click on the perfect adapter category and the adapter I use is the one for handguns instead of the rifle one.

 

[kennedy]

my auto disk is consistent, I whack it with the handle of a screw driver each time to make sure all the powder empties, also I load with varget.

 

[sargents1]

I have been reloading handgun cartridges off and on for about 2 years now, and finally feel pretty good about it. My favorite cartridge to reload is .44 Magnum, especially since I'm now saving myself about $20 per 50 rounds!

I have successfully reloaded for 5 different handgun cartridges/calibers (.38, .357, .40, .44, .45). At this point, I have yet to reload for any rifle cartridges.

However, I'm beginning to feel the financial sting of shooting my .223/5.56 chambered AR-15. The cheapest ammo I can find locally runs about $7/20 rounds. That's 35 cents every shot, or $10.50 every 30-round magazine! Since I like to really run my AR through it's paces, the cost is really adding up.

I have the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master kit, plus digital calipers, brass tumbler, and most of the basic equipment, including a hand chamfering/deburring tool (that I've never used). I believe all I need in addition in order to reload for .223 is:

• Case trimmer
• Rifle powder
• Rifle primers
• Bullets
• Dies
• Shell holder

One of my questions is about the case trimmer. If I'm only planning on trimming 1 caliber (.223, maybe the occasional .44 Magnum), and only reloading batches of 50-100 rounds per session, what kind of trimmer can I get away with?

Another question is about the dies. Is the RCBS AR die set a good investment if I'm reloading strictly for an AR, or is there any benefit to the standard .223 die set?

I figure that after the initial investment in a case trimmer, dies, and a shell holder, I can reload basic "plinking" 55-grain FMJ rounds for about 20 cents/round, saving me about $4-5 every magazine.

Is the .223 hard to reload? Is a S&W M&P15 a good platform for a novice reloader just starting on rifle cartridges? Is it all worth it, or should I just wait around for bulk discount 5.56 deals?

Finally adding a rifle cartridge to my reloading repertoire seems exciting and overwhelming at the same time.

Thanks!

AR-15's are notoriously hungry critters and if you are going to reload for one, get a Progressive press like a Dillon. Its going to cost you about 400$ to get a Dillon to load .223 but you can crank'em out so much faster that you will thank yourself EVERY time you load a batch. The time you save is enormous. Instead of taking an hour to load 20-50 rounds, you can crank out 200-300 rounds on a progressive.

Once you have a good load figured out, buy your components in bulk and load up big batches...500-1000 at a time. You can do that in a single afternoon with a progressive and you will be set for months afterwards. You will save money in the long run and you can spend more time shooting and less loading cartridges.

Make sure you get a ball-type powder like Winchester 748 so that it will meter correctly (and consistently) thru the powder measure. Avoid stick powders like IMR 4064 because they do not meter consistently and require you to hand-trickle and weight each powder charge (fine if you are doing 20rounds, but not cool if you are doing 200+).

My advice is to take the plunge and get a progressive press or else stick to shooting bulk factory ammo. Remember, Time is MONEY. Plus you can get extra dies and load pistol ammo on your progressive press.