What's the expensive piece?

[GF.]

A thread on a .22Mag semi-auto pistol got me thinking... What's the most expensive part of a load? Is it the brass? The lead? The powder?

A .22 RF case cut to an OAL that would fit into a 1911 action, but still provide a noticeable improvement in power output (closer to a Mag) might just have a future, but would .22mag brass be able to contain a livelier powder? And at what point would it be cheaper to reload a CF than buy rimfire loads?

I would think that lightweight, .22cal bullets would be cheap enough to load (and launch) that a little round like that might have a chance on the market, but not if you'd have to run a custom batch of cases every time out. Cutting down .22 mag brass would have to be the answer, or it'd just never work.You'd be better off reforming .223 brass....

[purple heart]

GF, years ago it use to be the brass was the most expensive piece of the reloading puzzle.
Today it depends on availability. It's all expensive but you can get what you want if you
look far enough and are willing to pay the price.
I haven't bought any factory ammo, rf or cf, in years so I don't know if it's cheaper to
reload a cf than buy factory rf.

[Badger]

GF,

To answer your question about when CF are cheaper than RF, I would say I do it all the time. I cast .38 Special WC and SWC bullets from free wheelweights I get at the tire shop. I reload with Bullseye and use CCI SP primers. A pound of Bullseye will load 2,000 .38 rounds, for less than 2 cents for the powder, the primer is 1.5 cents and the bullet is less than a half-cent for the Coleman fuel to heat the casting pot. The cost of .22 Magnums here are about $8.00+ for a box of fifty, or 17 cents apiece. My .38 Specials, even with +P loads are about 5 cents per round and .357 Magnums are about 6 cents per round.

Hope this helps.

Badger

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

All the really cheap factory centerfire stuff is steel cases these days.

Alan

[GF.]

OK, tangential thinking here... What's the case diameter on .223 brass? Could it be (or has it been) used to create a straight-walled cartridge for a pistol or even a very light rifle?

[dave-t.]

If I remember right, the JDJ rounds popular in the Contenders are necked up .223. (Edit...oops, necked up .225win.)

For big game rifles, it depends on the brass and what bullet you are shooting. You can shoot 50cent+ bullets, and brass can cost that, up to $1+ per piece for the fancy brands and exotic chamberings, but the brass stays with you.

To really go cheap you would need to buy bullets in bulk, 500+ pieces per order. After you do that though, you are tied to that bullet for a while.

I've always wondered why Marlin didn't come up with its own .44 rimfire, and upscale their rimfire rifle models to shoot them. Or to even go with the centerfire .44 mag. Cheap rifles, semi auto or bolt, capable of deer and hogs. Seems like they missed the boat on the venerable 'truck gun' idea. Maybe even branch out to 7.65x39 and .223 to compete with the Ruger mini 30.

[Gil Martin]

It depends. I pick up all the once fired brass I could ever use for free from local ranges This covers all the popular calibers you could name. I have never bought steel case ammo. All the best...
Gil

[Just a Hunter]

I would have to say the most expensive cost in reloading would be my time.
With the duties involved at work and the responsibilities of raising a 5yr old my spare time is at a minimum.
I would love to sit down for a few hours alone and focus on a project such as reloading, but at the end of a day I'm glad to just
have a few extra minutes to visit everyone here and then go to bed.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

you have hit on the most valuable commodity on Earth.

Alan