Reloading Rifle For 3-gun

[TXMXRACER]

Are most of you guys reloading 5.56 for competition or using factory ammo? I reload for pistol but havent started for rifle yet,just curious as to what other people are doing.

thanks shane

[D.Hayden]

I think it's split.. If you want to shoot match bullets like Sierra 69's or 77's (primarily for long range 250+), it's way cheaper to reload.

If you're just shooting 55 FMJs, and at relativelt close targets, it can be purchased cheaply.

Reloading rifle is much more complicated, or at least there's many more steps.

If you start with pre-processed brass, it saves you a lot of work, but eats into your savings.

[norbs007]

I load all of my 223 ammo, except when there's a good deal on remanufactured Black Hills. I do all the case prep too (it's my relaxation). It's fun if you got everything motorized .

[Mike Morcillo]

Are most of you guys reloading 5.56 for competition or using factory ammo? I reload for pistol but havent started for rifle yet,just curious as to what other people are doing.

thanks shane

I shoot Wolf 223 for all the close stuff, without a problem. For the long shots, I reload range brass with 62gr FMJBT. Haven't tried the 69's yet, but they really help with crosswind.

The reloading process takes time and an investment in equipment. I have fun reloading and spread it out over time. Scarch has brass fully processed, too, if you want to cut down on the labor. Get A2230C powder for under 70 dollars for 8 pounds from Graf or Natchez.

[uscbigdawg]

I reload.

Most match ammo is: 69gr. SMK's, Varget and WSR in remanufactured brass. I keep about 200 though of my practice rounds if it's a hoser stage.

Practice ammo: 55gr. Winchester bulk, H335 or W748 and WSR in range brass.

Everything is case gauged though before going into my rifle.

Rich

[wsimpso1]

Edited from another thread that I participate in...

Anybody who is thinking about loading their own rifle ammo, here are some thoughts.

My view on processing cases is that it takes about 4 seconds a piece for each of deprime, clean, lube, size, trim, deburr, clean again. That adds up to about 16 hours to process 2k brass. If it has crimped primers, you have even more steps. Or pay RVO $40 plus UPS both ways for a 30# parcel. I figure that makes your time worth about $3 an hour if you process your own brass, which is, for me, the ugly part of reloading rifle ammo. I do my own processing for precision ammo. Scharch sells 2k of processed 5.56 cases for $84 to get you started.

Pat's Reloading has 55 FMJ for $29/k, Wideners has WC844, WC846, and Surplus IMR 4895 for around $80 an eight pound jug. 2k primers cost about $35. Get them at the same time and pay only one $20 Hazmat charge. That comes to about $240 -$250 to take 2k once fired brass, have it processed, run it across the progressive press, and have it ready to start over again.

If you can get brass cased good ammo for $0.125 a round, you are working for zero. But if it costs $0.20 a round, you just saved $150 and got to do the fun part - making the progressive press run. That is about 5 hours of ammo churning, which makes your time worth, hmmm, $30 an hour. If you have overtime available that you are not taking, and overtime pays more than $30 an hour (take home), work the overtime and buy your ammo. I have rarely had overtime available from work, so $30 an hour seems like a good trade. And if ammo is more like $0.25 a round, you are now up to $50 an hour.

Or you can shoot Wolf/ Silver Bear/ Brown Bear, with cleaning chambers and the stuck shell and malf clearing potential too, oh, and accepting big groups when trying for precision shots like small steel, long shots, or 100 yard cover and no-shoot shielded shots.

So, I reload my bulk ammo this way, and do a downtown job on my precision stuff with 69's, 77's and the like. What's that, press costs? You do already have a progressive for those thousands of pistol rounds a year, don't you? If not, the Hornady is as much press for less money than a Dillon, and I only had to retrofit a Dillon measure for pistol work, but that is off topic.

Billski

Edited June 9, 2006 by wsimpso1

[kurtm]

I've said it befor and I'll say it again. 55 grain ammo is really all you need in this game as the longest shot is 300M or so. Run those ballistic programs and yuou will see that out to those ranges there just isn't much difference in drift and drop between ANY of the bullet weights. Now as to Wolf, S&B, etc. when it comes to ammo it depends on what your gun likes. My good old Iron sight rifle used to love XM193 Federal ammo and it is still ok with that, except the barrel is now on it's last dieing gasp, 26,000 round or so, so I have to reload for it to maintain 1 1/2 moa. Sice I hate reloading ( due to case prep) I will be rebarreling it this week since I have a barrel sitting around.

Now for scoped rifles I will reload as with the optic you can be much more precise in bullet placement, and then it just depends on what the barrel likes, but I never go over 69 grain bullets. I do think Benny is right! Buy the Ultra-Max 55gr. Nosler bullets and call it good. That tends to work in just about any barrel. Reload if you wish, but there are pleanty of good choices out there for non reloaders that don't cost an arm and a leg. KURT

[P.E. Kelley]

"except the barrel is now on it's last dieing gasp, 26,000 round or so," Kurt Miller

OK Kurt, now we all know your secret! Practice!!!!!!!!!

I employ your same thought process for Heavy Metal ammo. Surplus 308!

Front Sight will have a piece penned by your's truly covering just this subject.

Build or Buy? Feeding the Heavy Metal Rifle

Show me a man who has shot out a barrel and I'll show you a rifleman.

PK

[kellyn]

I don't reload 55 grain FMJs, which I shoot quite often. I shoot factory Win or Fed. Wolf never touches my rifles.

I do reload when I want to shoot match grade bullets. The savings are enormous. At major matches, I shoot 69 gr. Nosler match bullets, new Winchester cases, winchester small rifle primers and Varget or RE15. Sometimes I beat Kurt with his XM193 and sometimes he beats me. But I had the pleasure of spending time at the loading bench.

[kurtm]

I had the pleasure of spending time at the bench also....ah....er... I mean the BAR

[benny hill]

And I am 1 sec. faster than kurt & 1/2 sec. slower than kelly.

[Colt1991]

At what Benny finishing off Kurt's apple juice.

Dean

[George]

Kurt is right about 55gr. If thats all you use, commercial is your best bet in the long run. But if you use a heavier projectile, reloading will save bux compared to the factory versions with the same bullet head and will probably reap better accuracy if youu tailor it to your gun (FYI, commercial Federal .223 with the SMK 69 on it runs around $350/k).

Myself, I reload anything that passes through any of my competition rifles. I enjoy the time in the loading pit, it's therapeutic ;-)

[Overkill]

Front Sight will have a piece penned by your's truly covering just this subject.

Build or Buy? Feeding the Heavy Metal Rifle

Buy!

You cant come close to good surplus prices unless you do some extremely thrifty reloading supply shopping. Particulary when you factor in the chiropractor bill for all the brass picking.

Although I have been thinking of splitting the difference and cooking up some mexican match with the cheep surplus. I've heard that a lot of the surplus you can tune up just by breaking the neck seal by seating the bullet a touch deeper. Beyond that you can dump the powder and put it back in with greater accuracy, or to get a velocity your rifle prefers. If you want to go whole hog you can prep the case and seat a match bullet.

[jm951]

That's what used to be called "Mexican Match" where you take mil surp, pull the bullet, rewiegh the powder and put a match bullet in it. Lots of guys in the SW shooting metallic shilouettes used to do it. It's pretty effective short of giong all out and matching cases. You'd be surprised at how well it can shoot with some tinkering to suit your particular rifle. I don't think that I'd take that kind of time with ammo for a semi auto, but for bolt guns, it was decent.

Since I'm shooting HM now, I'm thinking seriously about bulk milsurp bullets. I've bought a couple k already and experimented with weighing them (a digital scale is a must for this!!). The curve is a bit skewed to the light side, but I got enough in the +-.1gr range to make up some very cheap "match" ammo. Cost will be comparable to surplus excepting my time of course. The bullets out of tolerance will go into rounds for "hoser" stages where the distance isn't more than 50yds.