Cost of Ammunition

windows311

I am the owner of a CZ 452 in .22 Magnum (previously had .22LR) and I am getting a little bored with the lack of range provided by the small calibre .22 cartridge.

At the moment I am considering the purchase of a CZ 527 in .223 remington calibre. In general, I find the costs quoted for ammunition in excess of .22lr calibre to be exhorbitant and ridiculous. This is a restricting factor motivating against further rifle purchases.

EUR 20 for a box of 50 rounds Remington .22 Win Magnum 33 & 40gr
(In SW Dublin - now where might that shop be?)

I would appreciate if anybody out there could provide information on a supplier of reasonably priced ammunition. At the moment, it doesn't seem like a sensible option to upgrade to .223 calibre and pay crazy prices for ammunition.

Is it possible to buy in Northern Ireland and return South?

Thanks

mosulli4

Windows311,

I saw an ad in ISD by Scully Guns and Tackle of Athlone, and he sells FEDERAL .223 FMJ from €10 for 20 rounds.


Seems very reasonable for centrefire ammo.

Mike

jaycee

EUR 20 for a box of 50 rounds Remington .22 Win Magnum 33 & 40gr

If you think that's bad ...
Try shooting a .220 Swift (Almost €2.00 a shot)
Still put's a big grin on my face though ..

I wonder what the cost saving would be on reloading for this calibre,
or how difficult would getting the components be ..?

Anyone here reloading ..?

bernard93

Jaycee,

From what I can gather there are plenty of people reloading out there, getting the equipment (press, dies and scales) are not a problem as any mail order company in the U.k or the U.S will deliver to you

As a side note have a look at www.smartreloader.com this is an Italian based company that stocks all the stuff you need (Redding presses and Sinclair international stuff) and lots of other gear!.... plus you’re not getting stung with the sterling exchange rate or paying your import duty for the states.

I got some lapua brass of them and it was very reasonable and for the rest of January shipping is free!

As with the components this is were it gets tricky…. You can’t get it in the north unless you have a Northern Ireland license; this is something Im doing now as I travel to shoot in the north it seems the easiest thing to do!

There is one company that will ship powder and primer to the south that I’ve heard of, never used them but they seem to be very good!

Any thing to help you out let me know!

Bernard

windows311

Pricing looks reasonable.

Although nothing like the UK pricing £20 per 100 rnds, Scully Guns' pricing is good when compared against Irish rip off norms.

I am definitely considering a purchase in .223 or 22/250 calibre. CZ550 in 22/250 probably offers more in terms of performance (and usage - flatter trajectory, usage for deer 55gr +) 22/250. Howevee reviees of the 22/250, suggest that the pronounced neck on the round and its higher velocities and pressures contribute to an issue of barrel wear over prolonged usage.

Pity that .223 Rem is not deer suitable

Thanks for the help

Michael

mosulli4 wrote:

Windows311,

I saw an ad in ISD by Scully Guns and Tackle of Athlone, and he sells FEDERAL .223 FMJ from €10 for 20 rounds.


Seems very reasonable for centrefire ammo.

Mike

windows311

bernard93 wrote:

Didn't know it was legal to reload in Ireland.

Where do you purchase bullets ?

Are you making your own unjacketed bullets in moulds ? Watch the lead dust if this is the case...

& where do you acquire cases and percussion caps ?

All of the above cannot be legally supplied over the internet, or can they ?

civdef

Reloading seems to be a grey area. The biggest difficulty seems to hinge around legally importing primers and powder.

I don't see how selling primers in the exact same fashion as loaded rounds (recording in the ammunition sales book, with amount, type, name address, cert # etc), and restricting the sale of other components to people holding a licence for the appropriate firearm wouldn't give the same amount of control as currently exists with factory loaded ammo.

So why does the Dept. seem to be dead set against it?

Sparks

civdef wrote:

So why does the Dept. seem to be dead set against it?

Probably because there's noone in the Department who reloads themselves and so there's a dearth of understanding on the matter. Though to be honest, I suspect that's a pretty common problem...

jaycee

bernard93 wrote:

Jaycee,

From what I can gather there are plenty of people reloading out there, getting the equipment (press, dies and scales) are not a problem as any mail order company in the U.k or the U.S will deliver to you

As a side note have a look at www.smartreloader.com this is an Italian based company that stocks all the stuff you need (Redding presses and Sinclair international stuff) and lots of other gear!.... plus you’re not getting stung with the sterling exchange rate or paying your import duty for the states.

I got some lapua brass of them and it was very reasonable and for the rest of January shipping is free!

As with the components this is were it gets tricky…. You can’t get it in the north unless you have a Northern Ireland license; this is something Im doing now as I travel to shoot in the north it seems the easiest thing to do!

There is one company that will ship powder and primer to the south that I’ve heard of, never used them but they seem to be very good!

Any thing to help you out let me know!

Bernard

Hi Bernard,

Phew ! .. I was beginning to think I was the only one who'd thought of this.
As you said ..I imagine getting the actual presses , tooling etc is reasonably
easy .. Of itself it isn't any more potentially harmful than a bearing press.

It's the Powder , Short pointy bit , and the primer that seems to get everyone in a tailspin. I could never figure out why ... don't the powers that be realise we are as unlikely to use a container of Hodgdon H322 for sinister purposes as
we are to empty our expensive licenced ammunition contents into a big pile.

It's the lack of faith that hurts , it's amazing they trust us to elect them .!
Hmmmm..!

I would be interested in how the cost breakdown works out
along with the reported increased accuracy of reloading brass that has "Fire-formed" itself into an exact fit for ones rifle .

It's not just a cost issue..

Traumadoc

I reload 270 win: its very time consuming but thats half the fun.
In Australia most shooters reload.
Prices are in Euro

Powder 11cent, (ADI 2208, 52 grains)
projectile 12-24 cent (depending on quality)
primer 3cent ( Federal)
case 11 cent ( If you reload each case 5 times)

Which works out about to between 37 to 49 cent perloaded carteidge
recently however factory ammo has become available for 47cent per 270cartridge. Its pretty good stuff and very accurate so I will give it a try. and reload the spent cases.