.458 socom

[Perplexed]

I was toying with the idea of building an AR upper in .458 SOCOM, but when I checked on factory ammo prices, I almost fell out of my chair. $2.50 to $3 a round??? And that's if you can find it. Are any of you folks reloading for this caliber, and if so, what's your average cost per round? Is it a difficult round to reload?

 

[bsmith918]

Easy to reload and fairly cheap depending on bullet. I haven't had to buy components in a while, so I can't give you an exact cost. The brass is high, but the rest is fairly inexpensive.

 

[Perplexed]

Thanks. I figured that component would be pricey because of the rebated rim. How many times have you been able to re-use the brass?

 

[bsmith918]

I'm still reusing them. I have about 8-9 reloads on my first 100 cases and 900 unfired cases. They produce the brass in batches, so its a good idea to buy as much as you can afford when it's available.

 

[Perplexed]

Anyone else on here who reloads for this caliber who can give me an idea of the average cost per round to do this? I'm wondering if I should just walk away based on the ammo cost alone. The idea of a larger-caliber, lower-pressure round in an AR is appealing, but not if it's accompanied by the sound of a cash register every time I'd pull the trigger.

 

[Okie4570]

I have lots of .458 bullets already from my .45-70's and .458 Lott, hundreds of them, varied from cast 300gr to 500gr FMJ. All I was out was the dies and brass. If you're going to shoot it like a .223, it might get pricey, if it's occasional thing I think you'll enjoy the round.

 

[Johnny]

Use this for my figures it is awesome. http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp


If you already had the brass.

H110 @ $20 per lb @ 35 grains per round
Primers at 25.00 per 1000
300 grain projectiles $30 per 100

$0.43 per round. Prolly a little more because none of that junk is that cheap any more.

Now if you cast your own projectiles you would have one heck of a cheap sledge hammer. Will need a brass catcher and a good way to clean the gas port.

Let me know if you go ahead with it. I have been wanting one but can't get over the outrageous prices for the uppers. Would like to know which route you take.

 

[Perplexed]

Use this for my figures it is awesome. http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp


If you already had the brass.

H110 @ $20 per lb @ 35 grains per round
Primers at 25.00 per 1000
300 grain projectiles $30 per 100

$0.43 per round. Prolly a little more because none of that junk is that cheap any more.

Now if you cast your own projectiles you would have one heck of a cheap sledge hammer. Will need a brass catcher and a good way to clean the gas port.

Let me know if you go ahead with it. I have been wanting one but can't get over the outrageous prices for the uppers. Would like to know which route you take.

So with the purchase of the brass, it'd be more like $0.75 a round, or at least less than a buck a pop? That's a lot more reasonable than $2.50 a round! I wouldn't cast my own bullets, both for the health hazard and for the leading up of the chamber that I believe would result. I'd stick with FMJ bullets. I've been looking at the RRA uppers, which I think aren't too bad price-wise. The ammo cost is what's been holding me back... plus, even though I have a RCBS reloading setup already in place, I have yet to learn how to reload!

 

[Johnny]

You need to hurry up and learn how to use it. Learning is fun.

 

[Perplexed]

You need to hurry up and learn how to use it. Learning is fun.

I know, I know I've been toying with the idea of a novelty AR upper - something to shoot targets with mainly for grins. This caliber and .300 BLK are at the top of the list, but I understand the latter can be difficult to load without factory brass, plus the bullet weights are half or a third of the .458 bullets so visual effect on target might not be as impressive. Just spitballing here though, trying to get a better sense of what's out there besides .223 and 5.45x39 for occasional plinking with an AR15 rig.