Empty cases stockpile

armo.

Well-Known Member
I always intended to reload so have accumulated hundreds of spent cases, but have to recognise that it is probably not going to happen. Is there any value in these or how do I dispose of them usefully? 223, 243, 308 & .38.
 
yes but it depends on there makers, as we reloaders are a fickle bunch :rofl: but I would still say yes. what 223 have you got ?
 
Thanks for the replies. 223 is a mix of Norma, Sako & Federal. 243 mostly Norma. 308 & 38 mixed. I'll have a think about whether I'll ever reload, if not, I'll offload.
 
Armo.

I will happily swap 243 cases for £££££. Let me know how much and payment details please.

Thanks

Spiker
 
Just as a matter of interest, what's the economics of reloading? I just bought 50 rnds of .223 Powershok at £49.xx so 1 rnd = £1.25 for the sake of argument.

Discounting the kit cost, what would reloading a similar quality rnd cost, assuming using my empty cases?
 
It costs me around £21 a hundred for 223 using bulk PPU fmjbt. For 308 I'd rather not know, I just kid myself it's cheap.
 
It costs me around £21 a hundred for 223 using bulk PPU fmjbt. For 308 I'd rather not know, I just kid myself it's cheap.

Not going to call you a liar, but I'd love to know how you can do that so cheaply.


You can get bullets cheaply : if you were bulk-buying PPU then I suppose it could get down towards 11p per bullet.
Primers you'll struggle to get for less than 3.5p per, and that'd be buying 1k+ at a time, possibly 5k.

So to load a round for 21p, you'd have to be spending 6p on powder.

Here's the actual numbers for me, using free brass (yes, I'm a brass bin diver at the end of a rnage day), on 223Remington

Federal Champion SR primer : 4p
H4895 powder. 25.0 grains : 14.3p
53gr Vmax bullet : 21p

Total : 39.3p per round.
 
It is cheaper that buying factory rounds, although that depends on a number of factors. The savings aren't really that noticeable if all you do is a bit of stalking, maybe the odd fox and a day at the range a couple of times a year. Of course if you're shooting a lot, the savings become more significant and might be worth doing for that alone.

But I find (having really not done it for very long, but...) there are other factors to reloading. You can develop a load that your rifle likes and is accurate. You can also make them to more exacting standards than factory loads and therefore they should be more consistent. I also find that it is quite relaxing to be able to just sit and construct the rounds for an hour or so. Takes a wee bit of concentration, you forget about all your other troubles and at the end, you have something to show for it.
 
Just as a matter of interest, what's the economics of reloading? I just bought 50 rnds of .223 Powershok at £49.xx so 1 rnd = £1.25 for the sake of argument.

Discounting the kit cost, what would reloading a similar quality rnd cost, assuming using my empty cases?

armo, £49.?? for 50 bullets is £1.00 per round.

Your 50 once fired cases you can sell here for @£10.

So 50 bullets for £40.00 = 80p per factory bullet (give or take manufacturer)

Leaving aside the cost of the press and dies.

If you buy the components in bulk to hand load, will cost around 40p-50p each. A good saving if sending hundreds down range.

But imho it is just part of our hobby and the satisfaction of improving the performance of your rifle..

Grassing that first beast with your own hand load will stay with you..
 
armo, £49.?? for 50 bullets is £1.00 per round.

Your 50 once fired cases you can sell here for @£10.

So 50 bullets for £40.00 = 80p per factory bullet (give or take manufacturer)

Leaving aside the cost of the press and dies.

If you buy the components in bulk to hand load, will cost around 40p-50p each. A good saving if sending hundreds down range.

But imho it is just part of our hobby and the satisfaction of improving the performance of your rifle..

Grassing that first beast with your own hand load will stay with you..

I agree completely. Your last sentence says it all to me too. :)
 
A new shooter friend of mine has only a single caliber and wanted to try reloading, so bought him a Lee Loader for £30. Loads up fine ammo, is simple to use and promotes good method. I am going to buy them for some of my calibres as I am no benchrest shooter and as long as I can get reasonable groups, that's fine for me.

Economics wise, depends on the calibres as t how much you can save. I reload .17 REM Fireball for about the same cost as .17 HMR, but the differences in .308 are much less. Pistol calibres (.38/.357) is cheap as chips to reload.

Regards

Mark
 
I don't spend as much time on the range as I'd like or should, so economically I would have been far better off sticking to factory loads (of course thats not what I report to the household accounts department)
however, I have had so much enjoyment with developing loads and tinkering that to me its very much worth it, there is huge satisfaction in finding a load that gives the best possible accuracy in your particular rifle.
(ps if you do want to get rid of the norma .243 I'll be interested)
 
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