Price of reloading brass vs. loaded ammo

tennmike

I needed some 8x57 brass for reloading so I did the search of the usual suspects. Prices were kinda high for a bag of 50. Did another search for loaded ammo. Wow....................loaded ammo was the same or cheaper than the loaded brass for 50 rounds. PPU loaded ammo for a little over $17/ box of 20. That's just nuts. So I bought the PPU ammo instead.

I also bought some more .22 WMR as that is always the first to disappear, along with .22LR, in panic buys, and I see one of those panic buying stampedes on the horizon.

timc

I recently needed some new .45 acp brass. The cost of the brass then loading was more than buying loaded 230 grain ball ammo. I bought 2000 rounds and will reload the brass as I empty it.

earlyagain

With only a few past exceptions, I buy loaded ammo and save the brass as opposed to new unfired cases.

mitdr774

Only issue I have ever heard regarding PPU 8x57 is that they download the JS ammunition just incase someone throws it into a J bore rifle.  That being said, I have yet to shoot any of the PPU 8x57 so I cant say if its downloaded for sure or not as I have no experience with it.  I ned to go through my brass stores again to see what I have plenty of and what I should get some more of.

tennmike

Seeing as how the 8x57 ammo I bought is 196 grain bullet, I wouldn't mind if they downloaded it a bit. Shooting it out of a Yugo carbine is gonna have some killin' going on a both ends.

Old Ron

I have a good stock pile of most that I shoot . No panic will hit me at all . The only smaller amount of stock is in the .22 boxes . Without counting I would say around 200 boxes will last me a while . With all the new ideas coming out of Washington there is no telling what they will come up with next . When I am to old to shoot ...... I will have a lot to sell & may make enough money to have a cute nurse look after me .

Big Al1

PPU is good stuff, too! They make a lot of the odd ball stuff that's hard to find, like .303 Savage!! I also bought some for my 1909 Argentine, it was cheaper than reloading! For blasting ammo the price is right!

tennmike

PPU 7x57 Mauser hunting ammo is good stuff, too. I have several boxes of that stuff on hand. It shoots GREAT out of the rifle I built on a 98 Mauser action. 24" barrel and target insert front sight and Williams receiver sight on the rear. Since I got cataract surgery my groups shrank considerably, too. Rifle is a little heavy, but dang! I can hit what I shoot with it!

bellcat

One of the best 'wound channels' I've witnessed was the result of PPU 6.5 x 55, standard soft point.  I've always thought highly of PPU and other Eastern European ammo and firearm makers.  And yes, buy loaded and keep your brass.
When I first started loading 45 acp, I bought a couple bags of range brass locally for $10 or so.  Works great.

JMHO

Gila

I usually get my brass from loaded ammo after I've fired it unless I need it in a hurry.  I never use brass that I don't know the complete history of.

mitdr774

So far I have one cartridge that I stick with a "premium" brass and that is my 6.5x55.  I stick to Lapua brass for that cartridge.  A few years back that was the only brass I could find for it and the only ammunition I could find was Hornady Superformance.  When the Hornady factory load was running several hundred FPS faster than their max "safe" load for a M96 action I decided it wasnt worth the risk to try the factory ammunition.  My other option was Hot Shot branded ammunition, but it was such a low pressure that I had issues due to debris blowing back and locking up the case to the chamber.  I have never had brass come out so nasty.  Two rounds of that crap and I never used it again.

So far all my 8x57 brass is Hornady, and I dont have real high hopes for its longevity unless I stick to rather mild loads.  That being said, since my 8x57 rifles have steel butt plates I plan on sticking to mild loads.

Pegasus

tennmike said:

I needed some 8x57 brass for reloading so I did the search of the usual suspects. Prices were kinda high for a bag of 50. Did another search for loaded ammo. Wow....................loaded ammo was the same or cheaper than the loaded brass for 50 rounds. PPU loaded ammo for a little over $17/ box of 20. That's just nuts. So I bought the PPU ammo instead.

I also bought some more .22 WMR as that is always the first to disappear, along with .22LR, in panic buys, and I see one of those panic buying stampedes on the horizon.

I'm not clear on the difference between "loaded brass" and "loaded ammo."  I would think the price would be the same as it's the same thing.

For my match ammo, I start with virgin brass from Lapua, which I prepare lightly for the first loading and then process the same way for all subsequent loadings.  Since there is no factory ammo available for match purposes, I have to start with virgin brass.

For non-match purposes, I sometimes buy factory ammo, the brass of which I can reload provided it's decent brass. I have bought some Prvi Partizan (PPU) ammo and I consider it and its component very subpar.  The brass is thin and of not very good quality.  I have also in the past bought large lots of Winchester brass during a good sale and I have worked my way preparing it for first loading and tossing out about 5-10% as purge junk.

There are some outfits making great brass besides Lapua; Norma, Nosler, Starline and others.

tennmike

Pegasus said:

I'm not clear on the difference between "loaded brass" and "loaded ammo."  I would think the price would be the same as it's the same thing.

For my match ammo, I start with virgin brass from Lapua, which I prepare lightly for the first loading and then process the same way for all subsequent loadings.  Since there is no factory ammo available for match purposes, I have to start with virgin brass.

For non-match purposes, I sometimes buy factory ammo, the brass of which I can reload provided it's decent brass. I have bought some Prvi Partizan (PPU) ammo and I consider it and its component very subpar.  The brass is thin and of not very good quality.  I have also in the past bought large lots of Winchester brass during a good sale and I have worked my way preparing it for first loading and tossing out about 5-10% as purge junk.

There are some outfits making great brass besides Lapua; Norma, Nosler, Starline and others.

Well pardon the hell all out of me for making a typing error. I will go sit in the corner and contemplate this grievous error against humanity. 

earlyagain

Our ammo could be assembled with sub par brass, but our personal brass is anything but subpar!

Pegasus

tennmike said:

Pegasus said:

I'm not clear on the difference between "loaded brass" and "loaded ammo."  I would think the price would be the same as it's the same thing.

For my match ammo, I start with virgin brass from Lapua, which I prepare lightly for the first loading and then process the same way for all subsequent loadings.  Since there is no factory ammo available for match purposes, I have to start with virgin brass.

For non-match purposes, I sometimes buy factory ammo, the brass of which I can reload provided it's decent brass. I have bought some Prvi Partizan (PPU) ammo and I consider it and its component very subpar.  The brass is thin and of not very good quality.  I have also in the past bought large lots of Winchester brass during a good sale and I have worked my way preparing it for first loading and tossing out about 5-10% as purge junk.

There are some outfits making great brass besides Lapua; Norma, Nosler, Starline and others.

Well pardon the hell all out of me for making a typing error. I will go sit in the corner and contemplate this grievous error against humanity. 

I'm sorry, but that's definitely not sufficient penance for such an egregious error.  I suggest 20 lashes with a wet noodle. 

Elk creek

Pegasus said:

tennmike said:

Pegasus said:

I'm not clear on the difference between "loaded brass" and "loaded ammo."  I would think the price would be the same as it's the same thing.

For my match ammo, I start with virgin brass from Lapua, which I prepare lightly for the first loading and then process the same way for all subsequent loadings.  Since there is no factory ammo available for match purposes, I have to start with virgin brass.

For non-match purposes, I sometimes buy factory ammo, the brass of which I can reload provided it's decent brass. I have bought some Prvi Partizan (PPU) ammo and I consider it and its component very subpar.  The brass is thin and of not very good quality.  I have also in the past bought large lots of Winchester brass during a good sale and I have worked my way preparing it for first loading and tossing out about 5-10% as purge junk.

There are some outfits making great brass besides Lapua; Norma, Nosler, Starline and others.

Well pardon the hell all out of me for making a typing error. I will go sit in the corner and contemplate this grievous error against humanity. 

I'm sorry, but that's definitely not sufficient penance for such an egregious error.  I suggest 20 lashes with a wet noodle. 

And 10 hail Browning’s....

Pegasus

At least 10, but probably more are needed.  This was a very bad error; confusing "it's" and "its", that's a typo; writing "loaded brass" instead of "virgin brass", that's a frain bart.

Gila

Loaded brass: