Question for all fellow Preppers...
You have a .22 rifle and u shoot longs from it...and u end up with all them empty cases from it...and now a days .22 long shells are hard to get in numbers as demand has gone way up....now as u know peeps can reload all kinds of other calibers of shells but never been able to do .22longs at all...what if i said ..."YOU CAN NOW RELOAD YOUR .22LONG RIFLE SHELLS NOW" would u be intrested in buying that type of unit for ur self....and what if i was to say...specially to the preppers...that this system also allows u to load them shells even if u couldnt get any power for them and all u had was so STRIKE ANY WHERE MATCHES...that u would use for the propellent and that this system even comes with bullets moulds for different size heads of lead for them...and even has a special size for using them matches.....welll im here to tell u its all true and u can do all i just mentioned...i have been talking with a gentalmen that has made such a system..and it is proven and he has gone in to production...and i have made arrangements with him to get these systems and sell them here in Canada...now there is another gentalmen that is doing the same as i am but he is doing it in England....so the question is do i have enough people wanting a system like that here in Canada..thats the first question..second on is what type of price are people looking to spend on getting one...cause if it seems people are not willing to pay for the system then i am not going to bother taking time to take orders for them....as i would like to make nice size orders for them for the extreamly reduced cost in shipping these units to me then sending them out to u...now the reason for me and the gentamen talking about doing this here as a distrubtor in Canada is it would make it easier for him to ship to me in one lump sum...as at this time it makes it hard for him to do it from his end due to the very large cost of him shipping direct to u which in the end means u pay more from his end, where as from me it would be some what cheaper as i dont have to pay for the brokrage fees to get them into the country..which means u get a savings as well ...say as if u ordered direct from him..so...please let me know drop comments on here and if i see a true intrest in this system then i will set up to take orders from people and get these units to you...and if enough people are intrested i will get his promo video and post it for u all to see as proof of the system and ust how cheap and easy it is to reload ur own .22long shells and u will have all the ammo u need...
Thank-you All
Sarnia Prepper
I'd have to see it first hand to believe it. I've never had any problem buying 22LR in bulk. You didn't mention the cost?
Not sure I would be interested in reloading with strike anywhere matches.
What about the primer, which seems to me would pose the biggest issue.
Not to mention that the rim is often misshapen from the rim fire pin...would that not be a major cause of jamming?
The strike anywhere matches are powdered (carefully) and then mixed in water, either making a slurry to dropper into the bottom of the cartridge or powder goes in, then a drop of water.
In some methods, it's allowed to just sit and dry. In some, you let it mostly dry and then use a little lab mixer to spin it to the sides.
That serves to get the new "primer" material into the crevices of the rimfire.
Depending on the sensitivity of the gun, the crimp from the initial strike isn't always a factor. But with semi-auto handguns, ammo preference gun to gun is high as it is and there could be feed issues.
You do sometimes have the issue where a second strike lands on the already crimped rim. Sometimes it's enough to start a slow fizzle and sometimes it doesn't go off at all, sometimes a firing pin is hitting hard enough you never notice you landed in the same place. The odds aren't great for hitting the exact same place, but if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have none at all.
I don't remember if it takes 5-6 match heads to do just the primer, or if 5-6 match heads is used for a low-velocity round as a total replacement.
Strike-Anywhere matches run from $5/250 to $20/300 depending on which type you can still find in stores and shipping, etc., because they have to ship HazMat in most states and a lot of stores here don't carry them anymore.
Maybe it's different up North.
For some .22 WMR, they were using a few matches worth of powder as the primer, and tiny amounts of Trail Boss powder (I just don't remember and nobody who has responded to my text kept the data so far). Using commercial powder also drives the price up, but if we can find out how much and average it over the tub and 3-5 matches for primers, we may come up with a slight savings.
I'm relatively certain we end up with equal or extra bulk in storage size.
At $5/250 matches, 50 rounds of ammo could either be primed or loaded. That's about what I pay for a box of ammo most of the time, $3-6/50 by type, and a box not too much bigger than 250 matches.
For lead you can either salvage and cast, then lube (powder lube is way better than wax lube in our experience), or use #4 shot.
If you salvaged, free, assuming you also made the mold. Otherwise, cost of the mold ($5-25 USD).
If you can buy shot, usually fairly inexpensive, but with just matches I already met my usual ammo cost.
You can also just buy .22 LR bullets.
You'll mostly find the 224 55gr+ meant for a .223 or to sabot for a higher caliber, or the ones intended for .22-250 or centerfire .22, but they're out there.
You can also try saboting a .22 or .17 HMR bullet for a .22 LR.
However it's sliced, buying bullets I'm way past what a box of CCI sniper subsonic or the low-level Eley costs me (here, maybe elsewhere you're still paying $0.08-0.10 for cheap .22LR).
One of the biggest challenges in reloading .22 will remain crimping pressure.
It's vital for consistent shooting and the super-thin walls means it takes a steady hand and-or pressure gauge. Consistency is a lot easier with a molded bullet than a round shot. There are tools that can help, but steady hands and assists are biggies.
Otherwise, you end up with inaccuracy in aim, or inconsistent penetration, or both.
There are people who do it. I know one guy on another forum who does, without problems, usually intended for a sturdy bolt rifle (not a semi). You can probably find others and directions on YouTube.
Then there's these guys: http://22lrreloader.com/design-details/ and videos: http://22lrreloader.com/video/
$200 + shipping for the tools, although I question even a start-up that will not arrange a shop or curtained area to film in instead of their sitting room (in their defense, it could be a customer or staff lounge).
For us, we made the determination that the time was better spent on other things, as we had little cost savings over materials (brass recycles for $0.50-$1.70 per pound by composition here) and it requires so much precision for the kinds of results we could expect from American Eagle and green-box Winchester, or we had to spend so much more for the same HP jacketed Federal hunting rounds we like.
People with more time or different costs may experience different results.
I do like the idea of reloading .22 but I think MrsPrepwPets got it right. For me personally that time and the associated investment would be better spent on other preps.
However this doesn't mean that it automatically applies to you reading this.
There could be a market for bartering reloaded .22 LR ammo in a shtf situation if one had the means to do so. What would that be worth for you today I believe is the question from Sarnia Prepper ?. For me I would probably invest $100 in such a setup to just square away with my preps.