Best value .224 bullets for reloading in a trainer 223 bolt action

[AZ Gator]

Hey folks. Curious what folks like to use for volume loading in a 223 rifle as a trainer? Terminal ballistics are irrelevant, but BC is worth considering. A bullet known for being forgiving/do well in nearly all rifles is what I’d like to find.

Spending $0.45/bullet for Berger and others seems unnecessary. It seems Matchburner and a couple others can be found for about $0.30/bullet, which is a good price difference.

Thanks!

 

[Ibex]

Midway usually has factory seconds cheap that work well for me.

 

[PARA1977]

Seirra sells seconds to a lot of companies. Maybe do a search on Google and see if there is any available. I purchased a lot of 77s and 69s in the .16 cent range

 

[Lawnboi]

Honest answer is the ones that shoot best. Price be damned. Nobody wants to shoot 2” groups when an extra dime a shot means better.

Even better answer, the bullet tha also kills things well. Nothing like wasting bench and range time re zeroing, re confirming and re gathering data for a bullet you decided to save 5 cents a piece on, then doing the same when it’s time to put them in meat with your expensive bullets.

Ideally, if they shoot well, I’d buy 5000 tmk, 16lbs of powder, 500 pieces of brass and 5k primers. That would allow you to actually track your setup, keep it in a state of readiness, and have data that gets more and more solid over time. That is how confidence is built.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Berry's by the 500 box. I've jack hammered thousands of those.

 

[coyotekilla]

Midway & midsouth are selling hornady 55sp's for 10 & 11 cents right now... have them and speer gold dots inbound

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Midway & midsouth are selling hornady 55sp's for 10 & 11 cents right now... have them and speer gold dots inbound

That's a great price nowadays.

 

[Moose83]

Hornady 75gr bthp or 55gr sp.

 

[BLJ]

I’ve been thinking about the 85 Matchburner.
Actually curious about what it would do on game.

 

[AZ Gator]

Thanks for the replies. I understand the viewpoint of shooting bullets that are also good for hunting.

But, this rifle is for training. In the example of buying 5k worth of components, there’s over $1,000 extra spent on bullets when 99.9% (reality is likely 100%) of the bullets will be used on paper and steel. So the cost of a new rifle is spent on more capable bullets for a use case that isn’t very beneficial.

That’s a convoluted way of me saying it still seems like a “value” bullet appears to be the best use of funds and time for a training rifle. If we were talking a barrel/cartridge that lasts 500-1000 rounds, that might be a different story.

There doesn’t seem to be much consensus on a “forgiving” bullet for loading.

Factory seconds are an interesting option for cost, but I do wonder how consistency may go with them.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I snag 75gr amax/elds whenever they pop up. Always paid around $0.20/per.

They did a run on 62gr btsp's a while back. Stocked up hard on those

If I wanted cheap long rangish bullets. I'd be lookin for 68-75gr bthp's. Otherwise stock up on whatever 55-60ish gr sp is on sale.

 

[North of 60]

AZ, it seems most any reputable bullet manufacturer will be fine with a bullet weight that will stabilize well in whatever the twist is in the barrel you get.

I've long been a fan of Sierra bullets, but i'm part fud

 

[AZ Gator]

I snag 75gr amax/elds whenever they pop up. Always paid around $0.20/per.

They did a run on 62gr btsp's a while back. Stocked up hard on those

If I wanted cheap long rangish bullets. I'd be lookin for 68-75gr bthp's. Otherwise stock up on whatever 55-60ish gr sp is on sale.

Yeah, I was defaulting to the upper 60’s and above to keep it a little more capable for longer range steel. $0.20 for the amax sounds good.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Thats all 2nds and off of forums

 

[willfrye027]

Awhile back I bought a ton of American bullet company 75gr BTHP. I think they are factory second hornady. Around 13c/bullet. Paired that with leverevolution, starline brass, cheap primers. Shoots about 1.5” for 10 in my tikka, good enough BC to take it to 600-700 yards at sea level. My goal was cheapest decent shooting load possible.

I’d look into factory seconds as bullets are the most expensive part of the cartridge…and for a .223 especially the most expensive part per round fired.

 

[mtnbound]

Hey folks. Curious what folks like to use for volume loading in a 223 rifle as a trainer? Terminal ballistics are irrelevant, but BC is worth considering. A bullet known for being forgiving/do well in nearly all rifles is what I’d like to find.

Spending $0.45/bullet for Berger and others seems unnecessary. It seems Matchburner and a couple others can be found for about $0.30/bullet, which is a good price difference.

Thanks!

I use the Hornady Aeromatch 77gr or their 75gr BTHP Match. For me, both have been easy to load with multiple powders.

 

[Browninglover1]

80 grain ELDM at $0.18 each

https://texasammunition.horizonfirearms.com/components/hornady--80-gr-eld-m%C2%AE--22831--224%2522

I’ve used the 75 ELDM out to past 1k yards in my 223 and the 80 shot just as good.

 

[Castle Rock]

Sierra 55 SPBT aka Super roos

 

[Frozenlead]

I’d try a box of match burners out if the price is decent. Not a .223, but I’ve been seeing good results so far with the 140gr in my 6.5cm and they are 2/3 of the price of the eldms up here.

 

[ColPenguin]

Unbranded bulk or factory seconds.