The main reason to handload .223 is to get BETTER ammo, not necessarily less expensive ammo.

Isn't this true for most ammo? Once you factor components, plus time spent, It's really more expensive for me to load for anything. I do it to get better ammo.

Isn't this true for most ammo? Once you factor components, plus time spent, It's really more expensive for me to load for anything. I do it to get better ammo.

Isn't this true for most ammo? Once you factor components, plus time spent, It's really more expensive for me to load for anything. I do it to get better ammo.

Yes it is but not on a single stage press.

You can literally do the math and it aint that hard. the difficulty isn't the math. It's quantifying, in actual dollars, your "plus time spent." Meaning, if i were fortunate enough to be so desired professionally that I can literally at any hour pick up the phone and work for $50/hr (or whatever number you choose). then it's easy to quantify "time spent" as hrs x rate. Easy. Now take, a salaraied person for 15yrs. Yea my extra may advance my career by my company sure aint paying me for it.
I work for a large contruction contractor so there are ways to indiscriminately quantity manhours into the ultimate goal, dollars cost.

Even to a certain extent I can disagree with Fireman. Again, depending on how much I assign dollars to "time spent" can be substituted for custom relaoding services. Fireman, I believe you might know a guy. It ain't worth Jeff Besos's time when he can just pay a Chad to get far superior results.

This principle can be applied to commercially available ammo vs hand loading. Not to even mention how to factor in the equipment cost, or capital expenditure. I did this whole exercise and compared it the cost of the 175 Federal FGM and the Black Hills 168 smk. If i remember correctly, it was something like if I shot roughly 3-4k rounds would recover all costs vs the Federal and about 6-7k for the Black Hills. BUT i did zero labor cost, meaning "time spent" = $0. If I had to guess even at minimum wage for my time, then I think those round counts would drop fast.
I was really evaluating whether I want to get into this thing or not and i had to know the complete cost estimation.

OK, so, I do work from home, and I work for myself, so I really do choose the hours that I work, and how many hours I work. I can see how my time spent would be quantified differently than someone else's. As I truly can quantify time spent in a dollar amount, for me, it IS cheaper to buy commercial for almost any ammo.

Isn't this true for most ammo? Once you factor components, plus time spent, It's really more expensive for me to load for anything. I do it to get better ammo.

Yes. I agree with you too. All my life I heard, "save your brass, reload, save money." Reloading has cost me more than if I had never got into but the quality of ammo I demand nowadays can't be bought OTC.

OK, so, I do work from home, and I work for myself, so I really do choose the hours that I work, and how many hours I work. I can see how my time spent would be quantified differently than someone else's. As I truly can quantify time spent in a dollar amount, for me, it IS cheaper to buy commercial for almost any ammo.

Maybe. Even though you could work all the time would you?

Now, if I could jist get a high school kid to take care of this land and range for me...

Yes it is but not on a single stage press. Components for 556 are everywhere and can be had for cheap and without tax and shipping if you shop the forums. 0.8 cents per round is a good number if you by new and or online. Buy off the forums and that can be cut in half. Chad has good 556 powder for sale right now for $5 per pound.
I seen 55gr FMJ in a lot of 1000 the other day for a hundred bucks. primers bought in big lots can be had for $2.25-$1.75 per hundred. 556 brass is almost given away. buck a pound or less.
9mm and 380 prices are about the same.

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum...-s-smokeless-powder-for-sale#Post7755928

I load 5.56 ammo for under $.08 a round by using range brass & by making my own bullets from .22 RF cases. The RF's are also range pick-up. I bought powder from "pulls" for $15/lb. Swaging bullets is a hobby that feeds my handloading hobby. I like to handload as a hobby & that feeds my shooting hobby.

Is this labor intensive? Yes, but during the winter & hunting season is over I'll crank out a few thousand bullets or load a bucket of 556 - as a hobby. BTW: all is not a bargain as the dies & such to swage are expensive, but then again the equipment seems to appreciate & not depreciate.