Yet Another Gun Thread
#4161
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Dude... case feeder is ****. I think it would have to increase your rds/hr count by at least 30%. Next time I have $250 laying around, I'll have one of those.
About to pull the trigger on 1000ct of .22cal Sierra... probably 500x Soft Points and 500x FMJ's. I've gotta get started on my stash of zombie ammo.
About to pull the trigger on 1000ct of .22cal Sierra... probably 500x Soft Points and 500x FMJ's. I've gotta get started on my stash of zombie ammo.
#4164
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I can see that a huge amount of time could be saved with a case feeder though. With your right hand feeding cases AND pulling the handle, your muscle memory can only be smoothed out to a certain point.
#4165
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I like doing 100 at a time and then taking a break... breaking out another primer box and picking them up gives me a chance to stand up, change the radio, take a ****, inspect my work, etc... Plus if I've screwed something up along the way, it'll probably be caught and I'll never have to pull/fix more than 100rds.
I can see that a huge amount of time could be saved with a case feeder though. With your right hand feeding cases AND pulling the handle, your muscle memory can only be smoothed out to a certain point.
I can see that a huge amount of time could be saved with a case feeder though. With your right hand feeding cases AND pulling the handle, your muscle memory can only be smoothed out to a certain point.
I do wish I had more than 5 primer tubes sometimes though. In the end though, still takes the same amount of total time.
#4166
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just picked up 5 boxes of these beasts.
![](https://www.miataturbo.net/attachments/insert-bs-here-4/103427-yet-another-gun-thread-2czd9nt.jpg?dateline=1392663554)
These go for (usually) no less than $35 for a box of 20. I commonly see them at $40. I got them for $19 per box at cabelas, because they mis labeled them, and chose to honor the price they had mistakenly listed for them. I thought that was super cool of them.
They are 30-06 ballistic rounds. Pretty neat looking... cant wait to shoot them. I would have bought them in 300WM, but they didnt have them. Im using Fusions in my 300WM currently, and i have no complaints, but i would love to try the ballistic rounds in their place.
![](https://www.miataturbo.net/attachments/insert-bs-here-4/103427-yet-another-gun-thread-2czd9nt.jpg?dateline=1392663554)
These go for (usually) no less than $35 for a box of 20. I commonly see them at $40. I got them for $19 per box at cabelas, because they mis labeled them, and chose to honor the price they had mistakenly listed for them. I thought that was super cool of them.
They are 30-06 ballistic rounds. Pretty neat looking... cant wait to shoot them. I would have bought them in 300WM, but they didnt have them. Im using Fusions in my 300WM currently, and i have no complaints, but i would love to try the ballistic rounds in their place.
#4168
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After having a JUNK Ruger LCP (Read, worst 380 ever), I grabbed a few other pocket pistols to see if I could stand them. All of them felt about as cheap feeling as the LCP with the Kahr unit the only one being semi nice. Then the shop called and said they got a new gun in and they'd hold it for me. Bought the day I was able to pick it up. Tight like a larger frame units, just as easy to shoot, and I'm just as accurate with it. After about 200 rounds, its had a few failure, but they were only in the first 50 using some junk brass. Now I have something I can have on me all day long and not have snag up on everything.
#4170
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Found this:
Lee Pro 1000 .223 90633 - Rakuten.com Shopping
Lee Progressive with 223 dies. $175 with free shipping. Not familiar with the website but I'll put it on my Visa which will stand by the purchase. Seems like a screaming good deal to me.
It says "Turrets sold separately" (same thing it says on newegg). Not sure what they are meaning there???
Anyone want to check out the link/equipment and tell me if I am screwing up. I'll probably sleep on it and purchase it tomorrow afternoon. I see Newegg (who knew they sold presses) sells it for $225 with the 223 dies.
Lee Pro 1000 .223 90633 - Rakuten.com Shopping
Lee Progressive with 223 dies. $175 with free shipping. Not familiar with the website but I'll put it on my Visa which will stand by the purchase. Seems like a screaming good deal to me.
It says "Turrets sold separately" (same thing it says on newegg). Not sure what they are meaning there???
Anyone want to check out the link/equipment and tell me if I am screwing up. I'll probably sleep on it and purchase it tomorrow afternoon. I see Newegg (who knew they sold presses) sells it for $225 with the 223 dies.
#4171
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http://leeprecision.com/4-hole-turret.html
You can have multiple turrets, each setup for a different caliber.
You can have multiple turrets, each setup for a different caliber.
#4175
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Well, I woke up early this morning excited about my new hobby. After crunching the numbers I fail to see how reloading saves me any money (my main reason for reloading). Unless I am wrong this is what I come up with for 5000 rounds:
$500 for a press and tools (the press would be $190 for a Lee Pro from walmart online)
$465 for 5000 bullets
$191 for 5000 CCI primers
$150 for 1500 once fired lake city brass
$350 for powder (finding it hard to locate this)
So, $1656 for everything. Get 6 uses from the brass (including the original and assuming I can only use/find 80% of it on each reload) and it costs me $.33 per round. Next 5000 rounds (and each 5000 after that) cost me around 0.23 assuming nothing breaks, etc. So this is 10,000 rounds for $.28 each. Where am I going wrong with my numbers?
$500 for a press and tools (the press would be $190 for a Lee Pro from walmart online)
$465 for 5000 bullets
$191 for 5000 CCI primers
$150 for 1500 once fired lake city brass
$350 for powder (finding it hard to locate this)
So, $1656 for everything. Get 6 uses from the brass (including the original and assuming I can only use/find 80% of it on each reload) and it costs me $.33 per round. Next 5000 rounds (and each 5000 after that) cost me around 0.23 assuming nothing breaks, etc. So this is 10,000 rounds for $.28 each. Where am I going wrong with my numbers?
#4176
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I'm waiting for the first CCW holder to have to pull the trigger in self defense. Depending on how that case goes in this corrupt *** state determines whether or not I take the 200 dollar 16 hour course and then play the waiting game with paperwork.
#4177
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Robert, that looks like a good buy. The "turret" is the big removeable block that the dies fit in... if you only have one turret, then every time you want to switch calibers, you have to swap all the dies in/out of that turret, which means you lose all your settings. Turrets are usually pretty cheap.
As for costs... your numbers look pretty good plus/minus a few percent.
Some guys don't count the cost of equipment in their budget, but even then, getting .223 down to under .30cents (maybe more like .25cents) ea with some bulk/group buying is the goal. I mentioned earlier that the cheapest BULK STEEL CASE I've been able to find is still in the low .30's and even PMC/WOLF BRASS CASE is .35cents if you buy 1k However, what you'll be able to reload in your garage with bulk Hornady .22cal 55gr FMJ (the cheapest good plinkin bullets) and properly prepped LakeCity Brass will be worlds more accurate than anything you can find approaching $1rd. You can't really compare russian steel or cheap brass with even a half-assed handload... apples and oranges.
So yes, reloading .223 for plinkin is one of the least cost-effective rounds to reload... you're only talking about a 10%-15% savings per round. But that's just for plinkin'... making match ammo is just a matter of a bit more quality control and better bullets along with some testing, but you can easily spend $1+ per round on factory match that won't be as good as your precision reloads for half that. But then you'll want a match barrel to take advantage of your good ammo... it never ends.
OTOH... there is instant money to be made reloading pistol calibers. You get 50+ reloads per case... I promise you can pick up more at the range than you went in with in the major calibers, so brass is essentially free. I have 5k+ pieces of 9mm brass, and at least 2k+ of .40 and .45... all stuff I've just picked up over the years. I will NEVER use it all up.
WWB at Walmart is currently $25/100 box... nothing is cheaper. If you can't reload 9mm plinkin' for less than .11cents, you're spending too much.
As for costs... your numbers look pretty good plus/minus a few percent.
Some guys don't count the cost of equipment in their budget, but even then, getting .223 down to under .30cents (maybe more like .25cents) ea with some bulk/group buying is the goal. I mentioned earlier that the cheapest BULK STEEL CASE I've been able to find is still in the low .30's and even PMC/WOLF BRASS CASE is .35cents if you buy 1k However, what you'll be able to reload in your garage with bulk Hornady .22cal 55gr FMJ (the cheapest good plinkin bullets) and properly prepped LakeCity Brass will be worlds more accurate than anything you can find approaching $1rd. You can't really compare russian steel or cheap brass with even a half-assed handload... apples and oranges.
So yes, reloading .223 for plinkin is one of the least cost-effective rounds to reload... you're only talking about a 10%-15% savings per round. But that's just for plinkin'... making match ammo is just a matter of a bit more quality control and better bullets along with some testing, but you can easily spend $1+ per round on factory match that won't be as good as your precision reloads for half that. But then you'll want a match barrel to take advantage of your good ammo... it never ends.
OTOH... there is instant money to be made reloading pistol calibers. You get 50+ reloads per case... I promise you can pick up more at the range than you went in with in the major calibers, so brass is essentially free. I have 5k+ pieces of 9mm brass, and at least 2k+ of .40 and .45... all stuff I've just picked up over the years. I will NEVER use it all up.
WWB at Walmart is currently $25/100 box... nothing is cheaper. If you can't reload 9mm plinkin' for less than .11cents, you're spending too much.
#4178
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OTOH... there is instant money to be made reloading pistol calibers. You get 50+ reloads per case... I promise you can pick up more at the range than you went in with in the major calibers, so brass is essentially free. I have 5k+ pieces of 9mm brass, and at least 2k+ of .40 and .45... all stuff I've just picked up over the years. I will NEVER use it all up.
My current project is tumbling it all, depriming, sorting it by brand/caliber, and breaking it up into bags of 100 casings.
It's funny, in pistols you save money in being able to re-use brass many times over, but the lead and copper prices of the projectiles is so much higher than .223rem. Also, it's been so hard to find reloading components lately I have pretty much stopped reloading.
#4180
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.223 at .25c a round:
223 remington ammo rifle
223 remington ammo rifle
EDIT - Just ordered 2000 rounds tula 223 for $506.24 shipped/insured. That was a lot of reloading hobby money I just spent...
Last edited by rmcelwee; 02-18-2014 at 02:22 PM.