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Joined: Aug 2003
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Campfire Outfitter
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OP
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2003
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I'd skip the tritium front sight but if you want one I have one in the parts box I ain't gonna use I'd let go cheap. Why skip it? The front sight is an M4-A2 post which I start to lose when the daylight fades. I've never used tritium on a rifle before so I'm guessing. I am concerned that the tritium sight would lose all precision similar to fiber sights for my eyes. I would prefer to stay away from an optic for now. It's a process thing for me - I prefer to start basic and learn my way up.
Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense. Robert Frost
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Joined: Jan 2005
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494 |
I've got at least a 1000 range pickup cases. A few cases have had neck splits, but generally it's perfectly good for plinking ammo. Small rifle primer, 25 gr of H-335 and a 55 gr varmint nightmare and I'm good to go.
The only PITA is dealing with the military crimp. I leave the military crap lay.. I"ve won every match I ever won with military crap brass. FWIW On another note, the 184 left for powder... it takes less than 2 pounds to load 500 rounds... The time vs money thing everyone has to answer for their own.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,700 Likes: 5
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,700 Likes: 5 |
At least at the range I frequent most of the .223/5.56 range brass is once fired and it's quite easy to recognize. Seems a lot of people go to Wal-Mart or Academy and buy the cheapest stuff they can find and just bang away with it. Shooters are supposed to sweep it up and put in a barrel for resale, but quite a few don't. It doesn't worry me a bit to pick it up and use. YMMV
JOG, another reasonably priced and accurate bullet to keep in mind is Hornady's 55 gr soft-point with cannelure, $12.59/100 at Graf's just now.
'Four legs good, two legs baaaad." ---------------------------------------------- "Jimmy, some of it's magic, Some of it's tragic, But I had a good life all the way." (Jimmy Buffett)
SotG
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 10,194
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 10,194 |
I'd skip the tritium front sight but if you want one I have one in the parts box I ain't gonna use I'd let go cheap. Why skip it? The front sight is an M4-A2 post which I start to lose when the daylight fades. I've never used tritium on a rifle before so I'm guessing. I am concerned that the tritium sight would lose all precision similar to fiber sights for my eyes. I would prefer to stay away from an optic for now. It's a process thing for me - I prefer to start basic and learn my way up. The one I have now is an XS systems post with the white stripe and a tritium vial running lengthwise. You turn it one full round to adjust, there is no 1/4 turn or half so if it's on it'll work great or shoot high or low if not. The tritium and white line won't let you use the top of the sight, in fact at night you will shoot high. It is also wider than I like. I have had another one that could be sighted in fine but still shot high when relying on the tritium dot. And forget about using one with a low powered scope in low light. My shooting went south when I used either one. I have one rifle with irons only on it and with a bright light mounted in front of the post, I can see it better than in daylight. Doesn't help for shots past 100 yards or at dawn or dusk but I can live with it.
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,550
Campfire Outfitter
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OP
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,550 |
TWR - thanks for the advice. I'll skip the tritium sight.
Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense. Robert Frost
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Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 2,387
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 2,387 |
My bullet cost for Hornady 55 BT or 55 SP is 6.50 per hundred if I buy in 6,000 count bullet.
In training to be an obedient master to my two labs
Shooting, fishing and hunting
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 23,663 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 23,663 Likes: 2 |
TWR - thanks for the advice. I'll skip the tritium sight. Get a red dot if you don't want a low powered scope.. MM
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 19,281 Likes: 6
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 19,281 Likes: 6 |
I've got at least a 1000 range pickup cases. A few cases have had neck splits, but generally it's perfectly good for plinking ammo. Small rifle primer, 25 gr of H-335 and a 55 gr varmint nightmare and I'm good to go.
The only PITA is dealing with the military crimp. I leave the military crap lay.. That military crimp takes about 5 seconds to cut out on my drill press with a chamfer tool chucked up in it. I pick up what other leave behind. Yes, I'm cheap. kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
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Joined: Mar 2018
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New Member
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New Member
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 10 |
I just bought 1,250 LC cases once fired from Kaleo Arms, came in a nice .50 ammo can, too. Very nice looking brass. They actually sent me 1,279 cases (I think they just fill the can to the brim and call it good). Took a while to decap, size, trim, swage (Dillon Super Swager), and uniform all of that but now I have a good batch of "perfect" cases. You can get totally prepped once fired bass for about $135/1,000, or buy non-military commercial once fired for around $90/1,000.
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Joined: Aug 2003
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Campfire Outfitter
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OP
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,550 |
Great info, NWPilgrim. Thanks.
Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense. Robert Frost
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Joined: Jan 2005
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494 |
We used to buy LC from gibrass.com. But once we hit well over 100,000 cases we called it good and have been since then.
I shot up quite a bit of PMC also, with off center flash holes but that stuff shot knots with our loads too.
We only ran commercial once in one of Carolyns guns that was a bit finicky chamber, and we ran RP nickel in that one but for the life of me with an AR I just had more than enough accuracy to win, even at nationals, with LC brass and never saw the need for "commercial" brass.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 22,884
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 22,884 |
Just buy once-fired fully-prepped LC brass if you plan to reload.
Or, save your time and shoot factory ammo.
The reloading only comes into its own if you are trying to setup with a specific bullet that is not readily available in loaded ammo (e.g. Hornady 75AMax, 73ELD).
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,302 Likes: 37 |
We used to buy LC from gibrass.com. But once we hit well over 100,000 cases we called it good and have been since then.
I shot up quite a bit of PMC also, with off center flash holes but that stuff shot knots with our loads too.
We only ran commercial once in one of Carolyns guns that was a bit finicky chamber, and we ran RP nickel in that one but for the life of me with an AR I just had more than enough accuracy to win, even at nationals, with LC brass and never saw the need for "commercial" brass. In 1 outing, I picked up 1200+ pcs of commercial brass that was like new and was once fired. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings about the military brass, but I have better things to do with my time than swage primer pockets.. YMMV of course.. I see no need in ever buying factory produced brass for the .223 rem. This is just a little of the range pickup brass I'm talking about...:
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 13,281 Likes: 4
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 13,281 Likes: 4 |
Properly prepped L.C. brass is about the best there is. I pick up all I need at the range. I prefer to do the prep myself. I bought a batch of 1,000 prepped L.C. a couple of years ago. The primer pockets were poorly swaged and had to be re-worked, the shoulders had been set back 7 thousandths below SAAMI spec, and they were still pretty dirty. It didn't save me any time, and the short shoulders caused the brass to stretch beyond what was necessary leading to risk of early case head separation. I won't make that mistake again. One of the members over at Accurate Shooters did a hardness test on .223/5.56 brass awhile back and Lake City came out on top, with Lapua coming in second.
Let's Go Brandon! FJB
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Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 13,281 Likes: 4
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 13,281 Likes: 4 |
We used to buy LC from gibrass.com. But once we hit well over 100,000 cases we called it good and have been since then.
I shot up quite a bit of PMC also, with off center flash holes but that stuff shot knots with our loads too.
We only ran commercial once in one of Carolyns guns that was a bit finicky chamber, and we ran RP nickel in that one but for the life of me with an AR I just had more than enough accuracy to win, even at nationals, with LC brass and never saw the need for "commercial" brass. In 1 outing, I picked up 1200+ pcs of commercial brass that was like new and was once fired. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings about the military brass, but I have better things to do with my time than swage primer pockets.. YMMV of course.. I see no need in ever buying factory produced brass for the .223 rem. This is just a little of the range pickup brass I'm talking about...: I wish I could pick up cleaned and primed brass at my range.
Let's Go Brandon! FJB
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 19,281 Likes: 6
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 19,281 Likes: 6 |
It's been a while since I started at zero reloading a cartridge. Just spitballing some prices - it looks like the cheapest way to get 500 new cases is to buy loaded ammo:
Winchester Lake City 5.56 NATO Ammunition 500 Rounds FMJ 55 Grains: $162.29
Starline brass (500): $115 Hornady .224" 55 gr FMJ-BT With Cannelure (500): $54 Small rifle primers (500): $15 Total (less powder): $184
That's not really news, but I wanted to make sure I'm not missing something obvious. Thanks for any input.
I agree. kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 8,923
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 8,923 |
I spend three hours at a drill press cutting the crimps out of 2,000 Federal brass, two handed non-stop and my hands looked like petrified monkey paws when I was finished. It took about two hours to straighten them out. I will never buy crimped brass again when non-crimped is readily available. I bought several thousand bulk Winchester that was fired through a pressure barrel and a lot of it has loose primer pockets, so the Federal and Winchester gets loaded and fired and looks golden to brass scroungers.
I rarely buy factory ammunition but recently picked up 50 rounds boxes of Black Hills re-manufactured 68 and 75 BTHP to baseline some AR's that are not shooting as well as I want with my loads. I also fired 10 shot groups of both through my Lilja barreled Montana and the 68's were 1" and the 75's 1.3", pretty good for .67/round.
Dave
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,302 Likes: 37
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,302 Likes: 37 |
We used to buy LC from gibrass.com. But once we hit well over 100,000 cases we called it good and have been since then.
I shot up quite a bit of PMC also, with off center flash holes but that stuff shot knots with our loads too.
We only ran commercial once in one of Carolyns guns that was a bit finicky chamber, and we ran RP nickel in that one but for the life of me with an AR I just had more than enough accuracy to win, even at nationals, with LC brass and never saw the need for "commercial" brass. In 1 outing, I picked up 1200+ pcs of commercial brass that was like new and was once fired. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings about the military brass, but I have better things to do with my time than swage primer pockets.. YMMV of course.. I see no need in ever buying factory produced brass for the .223 rem. This is just a little of the range pickup brass I'm talking about...: I wish I could pick up cleaned and primed brass at my range. Pretty good huh..
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 57,494 |
RE commercial brass... if you got that much, yeah I'd not pass it up either. For sure. Even if it wasn't as good as top line brass good free brass is good free brass. And most of the time it works just fine. Good job.
When we shot around 20K a year, there was no way in heck we could afford factory ammo, hence the reason we did what we did.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 31,183 Likes: 7
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 31,183 Likes: 7 |
We used to buy LC from gibrass.com. But once we hit well over 100,000 cases we called it good and have been since then.
I shot up quite a bit of PMC also, with off center flash holes but that stuff shot knots with our loads too.
We only ran commercial once in one of Carolyns guns that was a bit finicky chamber, and we ran RP nickel in that one but for the life of me with an AR I just had more than enough accuracy to win, even at nationals, with LC brass and never saw the need for "commercial" brass. Just LC?? Come on Rost, LC is very good brass. Once fired LC costs more then once first Remington.
You didn't use logic or reason to get into this opinion, I cannot use logic or reason to get you out of it.
You cannot over estimate the unimportance of nearly everything. John Maxwell
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