Larry Caldwell
Elite Member
With the right die you can form .223 jackets out of spent .22lr brass. I haven't done it, but Shooting Times had a how-to article about 5 years ago.
How to get started reloading ammunition
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Soundguy
Old Timer
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I sure cant argue with the looks of your brass with that stainless media.. I can make corn cob media tumbled brass look like that too, but more like 8 hours!.. I did a little quick math and looking around for bullets and powder, which I havent bought any for a while. and it looks like you can assemble good lead loads for about a dime each, maybe less if you would "bulk up". Of course you could invest in some casting equipment and lower that quite a bit. But the price of powder, bullets and primers have all doubled in recent years. Of course the price of factory ammo has well shall we say "went up a bit).
James K0UA
not bad for pistol.. but for rifle. they'd need to be gas checked.
the gear to cast, and swage and mold with heels for gas checks, and the checks or cutter to make your own and crimp them might put 'lead' out of the questions for the rifle shooter.
Soundguy
Old Timer
- Joined
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- 51,575
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- Central florida
- Tractor
- RK 55HC,ym1700, NH7610S, Ford 8N, 2N, NAA, 660, 850 x2, 541, 950, 941D, 951, 2000, 3000, 4000, 4600, 5000, 740, IH 'C' 'H', CUB, John Deere 'B', allis 'G', case VAC
ugh.. every time I see that make 223 out of 22 brass I cringe.
lotsa work.. and I wouldn't do anything other than plunk with them..
lotsa work.. and I wouldn't do anything other than plunk with them..
westcliffe01
Veteran Member
For a 223 or other .224 caliber, about the cheapest bullets are the 55gr Hornady soft point bullets Graf & Sons - HRN 22c (.224) 55gr SP BULLET w/Cannel. PER 100 They are $89/1000 so it is hard to imagine how one could do a bullet cheaper. I used a lot of them in my 222Rem which was a single shot Savage 24 and they really shot fine (just over 1" at 100 yards). I do not believe they will feed reliably in a semi auto, but as cheap as they are, it may be worth testing. Certainly it is possible with bolt guns to load much milder charges for shorter range work on something smaller than a coyote. They will of course also have a quieter report.
I try to exclusively use CCI primers and have not had a single issue. A lot of people who have primer issues may have "loose" chambers or do not seat the primers all the way against the bottom of the pocket. I have not tried any of the russian primers since it is too expensive to buy just a box of 1000 and double the cost with the $27 hazmat fee. However there are bench rest shooters who swear by them, although they may also be coy about exactly which primer they are using (there is more than 1 factory). My recent experience with Lake City brass showed a huge difference between the regular 308 brass and the "LR" (sniper) brass. The LR brass had perfect primer pockets with on crimp whereas the regular LC brass had many overly deep primer pockets and of course one has to remove the crimp to be able to re-prime.
I try to exclusively use CCI primers and have not had a single issue. A lot of people who have primer issues may have "loose" chambers or do not seat the primers all the way against the bottom of the pocket. I have not tried any of the russian primers since it is too expensive to buy just a box of 1000 and double the cost with the $27 hazmat fee. However there are bench rest shooters who swear by them, although they may also be coy about exactly which primer they are using (there is more than 1 factory). My recent experience with Lake City brass showed a huge difference between the regular 308 brass and the "LR" (sniper) brass. The LR brass had perfect primer pockets with on crimp whereas the regular LC brass had many overly deep primer pockets and of course one has to remove the crimp to be able to re-prime.
RobertN
Super Member
Those would be nice for shooting steel; local range has steel out to 600m. FMJ is not allowed due to damage to the steel chicken/ram.
dodge man
Super Star Member
I'll just add one comment, I've never trimmed any brass in my life. I've reloaded a lot of 223 and I never had a piece of brass that checked to long and needed trimming. At that point, I'll just throw it out.
As far as accuracy goes, I have two Rugers that are picky about ammo for accuracy. I have a P89 in 9mm. This gun rattles like a coffee can full of nuts and bolts when you pick it up and shake it its so loose, but if you make reloads with slow powder, such as AA7, it is pretty accurate. I also have an older Mini 14 in 223. It has a pretty thin barrel. If you change the loads, it changes the point of impact as much as a foot in 100 yards.
As far as accuracy goes, I have two Rugers that are picky about ammo for accuracy. I have a P89 in 9mm. This gun rattles like a coffee can full of nuts and bolts when you pick it up and shake it its so loose, but if you make reloads with slow powder, such as AA7, it is pretty accurate. I also have an older Mini 14 in 223. It has a pretty thin barrel. If you change the loads, it changes the point of impact as much as a foot in 100 yards.
westcliffe01
Veteran Member
One should always check new brass when you buy it. I will check and trim to the shortest length so that they are all a common size. Then it is re-checked after firing the first time, since it expands to fill the chamber and may need trimming one more time. I never crimp bullets but if you did, varying shell lengths will drive you nuts as it affects crimp depth. The length tolerance on most Remington and Winchester brass is pretty poor and I have found cases where the excess material on the neck was never trimmed at the factory and the neck was more than 1/8" longer than the others.
In addition I will weigh it and look for any outliers either light or heavy. Particularly if it is light, it means the brass has to be thinner somewhere. If it is heavy the case will have reduced internal volume and will develop higher pressure for a given powder charge. Not relevant for plinking loads, but it matters when one has worked up to the highest possible accuracy node for your rifle.
In addition I will weigh it and look for any outliers either light or heavy. Particularly if it is light, it means the brass has to be thinner somewhere. If it is heavy the case will have reduced internal volume and will develop higher pressure for a given powder charge. Not relevant for plinking loads, but it matters when one has worked up to the highest possible accuracy node for your rifle.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
I believe you are headed for the single stage, and the Hornady would probably be the one I would buy if I wanted a single stage, but one last attempt to "turn you to the dark side" and spend more of your money.. Watch this young lady on You tube.
Dillon Precision Presents the RL550B - YouTube
James K0UA
Having him watch a Dillon video starring a Dillon Lady is really unfair to the other reloading companies! :laughing::laughing::laughing: And his bank account!
The wifey see's the Dillon catalogs and ask what the heck is in that catalog? :shocked: I can honestly say "Gun Stuff." :laughing::laughing::laughing: Of course, I only look at the "Gun Stuff" in the catalog.
Later,
Dan
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Riiight! uh huh
westcliffe01
Veteran Member
At least the lady in the video is respectfully dressed, even if she is, uh.. well "stacked"...
