What would the initial cost be to get into reloading 223. and 300 BO.
I’m talking equipment and powder primers etc
Your question requires a multiple part answer.
First, there’s the GENERAL reloading equipment, necessary for whatever caliber you’re working on. A press, scale, powder dispenser and brass cleaning setup are the major pieces here.
Second, there’s the CALIBER-SPECIFIC equipment, such as reloading dies and trimmer.
And third, there’s the COMPONENTS that are obviously caliber-specific. Some are single use such as powder, primes and projectiles, while brass cartridge cases are reusable, sometimes dozens of times.
Single stage presses are less expensive than progressive and turret presses.
And better for the bottle-neck rifle cartridges you mentioned.
Amazon.com : RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit, Reloading Equipment Kit with Press, Scale, Powder Dispenser and More Green : Sports & Outdoors is a good place to start for very good quality and a good price.
You can buy cheaper, but remember the old adage, BUY ONCE, CRY ONCE.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2124184804?pid=414369 is an inexpensive tumbler setup, but certainly not the best. But it works (until it doesn’t. Thank you, China!)
Personally, I like the Lee line of dies. Inexpensive and high quality.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101774921?pid=434975 is for .223Rem
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101774921?pid=934234 is for .300Blackout
https://www.midwayusa.com/interest-hub/lee-case-trimmers is the least expensive way to trim brass (a necessary step in reloading rifle rounds)
Primers go from 6 to 9 cents each these days. Both your calibers use SmallRifle.
Powder starts at about $40 per pound (there are 7,000 grains in a pound) and the 2 rounds you want use between 20 and 25 grains per cartridge. You do the math!
Brass cases are generally available for free (as pickups) at the range. Most shooters are firing factory rounds because they don’t reload, so they are happy to see their spent brass be given second life by another shooter. All you have to do is ask.
Or you can buy new unfired brass.
Projectiles are widely available from many sources and range in price from reasonable to expensive, depending on your need and intended use.
.223 Rem uses .224 diameter
.300Blackout uses .308 diameter
Many sources for everything you need.
Generally, the higher quantity you buy, the lower the unit cost.
Welcome to capitalism!
And the first thing every new reloader needs is the large format book “The ABC’s of Reloading” by Bill Chevalier
I hope this helps.
Thank You
Buy a used single stage press, I’m a Rockchucker fan but the Jr (I think they call it the Partner Press now) will work for the smaller cases you’ll be working with.
Buy new dies, carbide are worth it in my opinion but not 100% necessary
Put your $$ into a good reliable digital scale
Buy a used beam scale to check the digital
You can start with a reloading funnel (cheap plastic one will work fine), scoop and a powder trickler for measuring out the powder. Graduate to a bench mounted powder measure later
Grease pad and grease for lubing the brass - and a stuck case removal die. Sooner or later you’ll need it.
A bag of extra decapping pins
A used reloading tray
Used case trimmer
Drop in go / no go gauges (if the cartridge fits it will shoot)
If you’re patient and keep an eye on the forums where these things are sold, you can pull off the equipment pretty reasonably (I have a good digital scale up here for short $$). The powder and primers, not so much anymore. Bullets themselves have gotten pricey enough that I’m pouring my own now - but you’ll get to that later
I am guessing you have a lifetime supply of 5.56 and .223 range brass. Most of it is probably crimped. You will bust stem after stem decapping staked, crimped and glued in spent primers. IMI and IG are the WORST. You will need two things. First, I recommend a heavy duty universal decap only die and do a decap and tumble before you resize.
Honestly, you dont absolutly have to tumble brass, you can clean it with dish soap and I think vinegar in a 5 gallon bucket. It makes cleaning primer pockets a pita and you have to clean the case necks a bit more, but you can get by doing just that.
Next, you will have to deal with primer pocket uniformity. On true uncrimped 223 brass, it’s almost never a problem. On all NATO and most others like AE, PMC, PPU etc, it is usually always a problem. If you sprng for a case prep center, you can do pocket uniforming right on that. You can also get a bench mounted or press mounted swager .