Posted on 06/07/2006 7:14:17 PM PDT by neverdem
I did up 250 rounds of .223 last night.
This weekend I did 500 of .223 and 500 of .308.
on the .223's I used H335 with Winchester 55 gr
on the .308's I used BLC-2 with Win 147 gr
The rounds I made up this weekend, I got the brass from Top Brass; once fired cleaned sized recent Lake City, and the ones I loaded yesterday were federal brass I scavenged at the range.
The Hodgdon powders are $20 Lb retail.
The .223's were $6/100
The .308's were $8.80/100 in 1000 lots
Primers $20/1000
It took 1 lb of BLC2 for 150 .308's
It took 1 lb of H335 for ~300 .223's
.223 brass .06
primer .02
bullet .06
powder .05
total .19/round x1000 $190
after firing .13
.308 brass .086
primer .02;
powder .133
bullet .088
total .33/round x1000 $330
after firing .25
But you only have to pay for the brass and dies once; the Hodgon burns much cleaner; reduced cleanup after shooting; satisfaction of doing it yourself; parts made in US.
My experience with surplus ammo has been less than satifactory.
You should at least get something you can save the brass on.
Either way you need to buy now. The components and ammo are going to go up between 10 and 20 percent by July.
I found a place where you can buy the SS-109 pulls from LC as well. They're pretty cheap, around 50 bucks a thousand or so. I've been using those with good results for plinking ammo.
I did the math on reloading a while ago and figured it was for us. Plus I like the way I can 'tune' loads for the revolver shooter in the family (Mrs. L) Her pet .44 load is a 210 gr. JHP over 9 grains of Bullseye. For the Specials it's the same bullet with just a touch under 5 grains.
The magnum loads have plenty of 'oomph' and are still quite controllable for her. Accuracy is sufficient for our purposes.
BTW I get the pulls from Hi Tech Ammunition in St. Louis. A google search brings them up right quick if you're interested.
L
Copper Brass and lead scrap have gone through the roof.
The county range I go to is subsidizing a new range building to the tune of over $1800 a week in scavenged brass.
The winchester .308 bullets I bought a month ago have gone up $25/K.
Been looking at Wideners too as a source for bullets.
I read some folks dont like to fire the steel core, they think it degrades/erodes the barrel vs lead core.
I need something cheap. The wife will have a part of me if I keep buying the good stuff.
I told that al-Zarqawi dude he needed to buy a fishing lease!
Not true. All that's contacting your bore as the bullet travels down it is the copper jacket. Copper fouling is bad enough if you ask me.
Check this guy out: Hi-Tech Ammo. I've done business with him a couple of times in the past and his products are what he says they are and the service is good. I don't think you can beat his prices either.
It's all military pulls, but if you're just looking for bullets for blasting they work just fine.
Roger on the brass scavenging. That's how I got mine. Before one of the local ranges closed down I would go by on weekends and sweep up. I got literally a ton of once fired brass that way for my pistolas.
The rifle brass came from the FBI range north of Chicago. I buddy of mine was invited up there and he swept the place up a couple of times.
So I've got piles of LC 5.56 and 7.62 brass around; most likely more than I'll ever go through.
Heck I've got about 5K pieces of .40 cal brass I can't give away fast enough. It's all once fired factory stuff, too.
Maybe I should just buy a .40.....hummm now there's an idea.
L
ok ive been patient with you guys all night cause i figured you would get around to it eventually since youvve been talking about it all night but it still hasnt happened yet so i need to nudge you in that direction. WHERE IS THE GUN PORN ? There are ann coulter style rules for gun threads too you know :-)
For less than $600.00 US I walked out with a fine example of Romanian 'craftsmanship' and a thousand rounds of Russian 7.62. Me and Lurker Jr will be heating it up next week. I'll let you know all the cool gun porn details.
L
Great deal btw I would have expected it to cost at least a grand
Not that I'll ever use it for anything. The blade on that bayonet is junk. It should be embarrased to call itself 'steel'. But I just like things to be just like in the pictures.
It is a pretty good deal. My local dealer actually had the package in stock for less than the web advertised deal. $399.00 out the door. Add in the $170 for a thousand of the Wolf blasters and that's a good days entertainment in my book.
BTW my dealer had this one in stock:
But it was just a bit out of my price range as of yet. But someday....
L
Ever try IMR 4227 in your 44 Mag?
I must respectfully disagree - that's a beautiful piece!
The wood looks like it's in good shape, and the bayo is a nice touch. Just be careful it doesn't saw holes in your case!
Just heard that Haditha video shows AK47 ammo, not US. Are there any experts who can go look at the video and ID the shells... I have no idea.
Excellent article!
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