9mm reloading? worth it?

[AlexBreya]

hey, i have been reloading .308s for a while (not enough to have really justified having it though) and have recently bought the .223 die set. we don't have any components for the .223 reloading, and i'm starting to be too lazy to get any. and now my dad just got a 9mm. i know the .223s are barely worth reloading b/c of price, but what about the 9mm? is it worth it? or will it end up unopened in the corner of a work bench?

thanks

[Sheldon]

You can reload the 9mm for about half of the Walmart bulk Winchester boxes. Savings depends on component bullet prices which are probably at all time highs.

[CSACANNONEER]

Use the search function! Reloading is not caliber dependant. You will never save money reloading. You will shoot more for the same amount of cash though. FWIW, I cast my own bullets too. So, reloading 9mm costs me a little over $2/50

[AlexBreya]

Use the search function! Reloading is not caliber dependant. You will never save money reloading. You will shoot more for the same amount of cash though. FWIW, I cast my own bullets too. So, reloading 9mm costs me a little over $2/50

$2 for 50! you'll have to explain more about this casting your own bullets. do you buy a mold or something?

[Ground Loop]

Are you kidding? .223 is one of the most profitable to reload, assuming you already have the brass.. the breakdown per 1000rd s something like:

$52.45 H335 25gr $117.50 8lb
$72.50 ($420+$15 for 6000pc Hornady #2267B FMJBT W/C)
$18.00 Primers $90/5000 Wolf .223

Where else can you find .223 for $143 per 1000?

9mm is running around $115/1000.

And this is for FMJ or Plated bullets.

[Captain Evilstomper]

it's all time vs cost benefit
is your time worth more than what you save?

for myself, totally worth it, i love being able to tailor the power of my rounds, 'course i also shoot in competition, reloading is necessary

[bohoki]

i too cast my own i use a coleman gas stove and a little cast iron skillet and a lee mold i fill with a spoon

i got a bunch of free bullet scraps like 100 pounds otherwise i wouldn't have tried



so with my efforts and scrounged brass

my only costs are primers at a little over 2 cents each and 3.5 grains of bullseye which is like 1 cent at $20 a pound

i guess i should calculate in the 16 oz of gasoline to run the stove to melt my lead that gives me enough time and heat to make 500 so hmm at $2 a gallon that would be .25 woth of gas

oops forgot about lee liquid alox lube which is $4 and that does about 5000 bullets

[CSACANNONEER]

$2 for 50! you'll have to explain more about this casting your own bullets. do you buy a mold or something?

I have lots of molds. Some cost over $150 each. You would need a mold $20-???, a lead pot (mine would be $65 and $150ish), a lubesizer w/dies (I have a Star +$250 with one die), lead and time.

[Jicko]

Reloading 9 is still benefitical

1) still save some money, 1lb of powder will make like 1500 rounds; so about 1/2 to the cheapest WWB

2) you can fine tune your load

[packnrat]

the hardest part of reloading the nine-mm is finding and picking up the brass

But then again I am a brass rat.


.

[bohoki]

the stuff i needed to buy to cast 9mm

http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&ammoGroup=0&brand=&prodID=LEE90464&prodTitle=LEE%20MOLD%20D%2FC%20TL%20356-124-2R

http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=LEE90046&src=sim

also i bought a pint of mineral spirits to thin the liquid alox a bit

i also need a little 1 gallon bucket to swirl around the bullets in the lube
(its very easy just take the bucket of bullets pour in a couple capfulls of lee liquid alox swirl them around then dump them out of some wax paper in the sun for a couple hours it leaves a good coating on them (i size them then repeat) but in theory the "tl" molds are supposed to be ready to load out of the mold

there are little things you should do with the lee molds such as smoke the cavitys with a bic lighter till they are black and place them in the molten lead till they are just hot enough so the lead isnt sticking to the bottom then you can pretty much make a good bullet with your first pour

oh other things i have a 1 foot length of broomhandle to tap on the moldhandlenut to knock out the bullets
and a bucket of water to drop them into


i also learned a bit and lost some fear by frequenting the cast boolits disscussion board

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

[Tho_Sun]

how do you lead slingers prevent leading in your barrels? I hear some people use steel wool but won't that ruin a bore?

[CSACANNONEER]

how do you lead slingers prevent leading in your barrels? I hear some people use steel wool but won't that ruin a bore?

If I don't load HOT, I don't have any problems. I've gone well over 2000 rounds without having to scrub lead out of the barrel of one of my Kimbers. I think I just got lucky and found a lube that works for me.

[bohoki]

how do you lead slingers prevent leading in your barrels? I hear some people use steel wool but won't that ruin a bore?

9mm i only load with 3.5 of bullseye and my bullets are made from bullets

also i shoot them out of a 9mm tokarev so by the time the barrel closes up with lead i'll just throw it away

[becxltoo984]

If your getting to Lazy to use your components and bend over and pick your brass. Then its probably not worth it . I know the feeling so im getting a brass catcher ;-)