9mm Reloading...

[ExtremeX]

I'm trying to get a handle on reloading, and from a cost standpoint, is there any money to be saved reloading 9mm ammo. Or do I really need to step up caliber .40, 45, 5.56 to see any savings? I know its not always about saving money, but if I can make more ammo for the same cost im all game.

I pay about $20 / 100 115gr Federal ammo... and I do collect my brass.


Since I wont be buying powers and primers in bulk starting and in the learning process, can someone give me an idea of it might cost?

[Clownpuncher]

I reload 9mm. I do it on a single stage Lee anniversary kit. Most would say I'm crazy but I enjoy it.

Going to a small local gun shop and buying components it costs me about $6 per 50. I use 4.5 grains of W231 for the 115 grain Berrys plated bullets I use and it works great.

Going to the gun show and getting powder and primers brings the cost down to $4.75 per 50. But of course it costs you to get in to the show.

Buying from somewhere like powder valley I could save more but there is a tradeoff that you need to set for yourself. In reloading it takes money to save money and you need to determine where that line is.

Regardless, the best price I have ever seen for factory made FMJ reloads are $8.50 per 50 so at a minimum I save about $2 per 50.

Like I said, most think I am crazy to do it on a single stage because it takes so much longer than a progressive but I enjoy it and do all my reloading in stages so it isn't so bad. (stages meaning one day I'll decap and size 500, another day I'll bell and prime 500, another day I'll drop powder and load the 500)
Plus, doing it on a single stage, the way I organize it, I have very little chance of a double charge/no charge case.

I do the same for my 40 S&W and 357/38. It only cost's me about $6 per 50 so I save considerably more on those calibers. I save a boat load more on my large caliber rifles.

Overall, I enjoy it, sure it takes time but it's relaxing to me so I don't consider the time I spend reloading as "wasted time".

Yes, I can get 9mm reloads for just a little bit more but I have much more confidence in ammo I have loaded. I have seen too many issues with buddies of mine getting reloads from the gun show and elsewhere. I have yet to have a problem with any of mine.

[mnguyen84]

people who reload 223 and 9mm on a single stage are crazy.

[Dark Mod]

Your not gonna save very much money at all with 9mm, probably around $40 per 1000 or thereabouts. To make 1000 rounds on a single stage press it would take you a couple days, so unless your going to really enjoy the process, you might want to just buy some cheap reloads or factory ammo. When you start loading more expensive calibers you can see some real savings

[ExtremeX]

The bulk of what I shoot is 5.56 XM193 and Federal 115gr 9mm... so sounds like there isnt much savings unless I am reloading AR ammo for accuracy or target shooting. I have a target AR setup so it would be nice to get some 77rg SMK rounds.

I guess for 9mm ill just stick with Walmart since I dont have all the time in the world to reload. At $20 / 100 it could be worse. Im guessing at 30-35 cents / round retail for 5.56 Im not going to seeing much savings either if I am just reloading plinking ammo.

Ill just keep saving brass till I learn some more.

[damndave]

I reload 9mm 124gr JHP on my progressive and total cost per round is approx $0.12 per round if you already have brass. 1# of W231 can get you approx 1600 rounds made. Primers are in the ballpark of $0.02 each. bullets is where the money is. I use Montana gold 124g JHP and they run around $0.08 each if you buy in bulk.

For best productivity on a non-progressive, I would go with a Lee classic Turret. You can get setup for around $200 and push out about 150 per hour.

[stand125]

If you are shootign the 9mm through a pistol that likes Lead cast bullets, then you can load for under 5.00 a box. You can spend right at $150.00 and get a LEE 1000 progressive that will load 9mm really fast ( one bullet per pull ). So you save 50% off of Walmart, probably have better ammo ( mine sure is ) and it will take 1500 rounds to pay for your press that you can always use in the future to load other pistol ammo after you buy dies which are under $30.00. I load 357 on my single stage and really enjoy it. My daughter helps me so it is pretty quick. You don't have to complete a bullet every time you reload. I have 200 38 sp cases that are resized, primed and flared. I did it in 1 hour while my wife was reading a book. In the near future, probably when she is reading another book I will charge the case and seat the bullet. People always talk about how reloading should be about speed and why would anyone want to take their time on a single stage when you could load 10 faster on a progressive. It is not like I am trying to make money while reloading. I started with a $28.00 LEE classic loader in 45ACP that would take 1 minute per round. I could load in the living room while watching TV. It was not about speed. I now reload almost entirely on my Turret press, but I still have my single stage and Classic loader for when I am killing time and want to reload in the warm or nice cool house.

There is something about taking my time and really enjoying something, rather than getting done in 30 seconds and rolling over to go to sleep.

[Low-Pressure]

Your end cost will all depend on the money spent on supplies. If you buy in bulk you will save more. Also factor in the cost of your equipment. I use a single stage press and I reload; 9mm, .45acp, .223, 30-06 and Swiss 7.5x55. I do not see myself buying a progressive press anytime soon. Consider reloading a new hobby.

[sammy]

At the moment saving money on reloading 9mm is not incentive enough to pursue it.

With that in mind what makes it worth it for me is having control of the loads that go in your gun. Most of what i shoot is 147g. LSWC, 4.5g. of Power Pistol out of a KKM barreled G17. It is by far more accurate than any factory load I have shot.

For fun I enjoy shooting a 124g. Zero HP with 6.3g. of Power Pistol. It feels closer to a .357 sig, lots of flash and also very accurate and still under maximum. This ammo costs me about the same as WWB 115g. at Wall Mart. But that is so boring. Why shoot factory ammo that is less than exiting, decently accurate but has cases that boink you in the head every time (9mm Glocks mostly)?

Where reloading really shines is with rifle ammo. 10mm handgun is another where reloading is very beneficial. Look at all the watered down crap that is sold. Sure, you have a few boutique vendors that sell full power 10mm but at close to or over $1.00 a round. You can load brand new, full power 10mm for less than $.50 a round and then you can use the cases about 8 times before you either lose them or they crack.

Folks thinking about reloading mostly are getting into it for cost savings which is what I did. Reloading is so much more than that.

For lack of a better analogy going to the range shooting store bought ammo is like watching a movie in black & White. Reloading is watching it in 1080P HD color.

If you do decide to start reloading leave the beer in the fridge until you done.

If you are in the Bay Area PM me and we can load up some 9mm to see what it is about. Sammy

[Fishslayer]

Ill just keep saving brass till I learn some more.

This is where the bulk of your savings will be. New brass is expensive. Used brass runs from dirt cheap to free.

If figuring the cost per round you can enter "0" for cost of brass it makes more sense.

[NotEnufGarage]

There are other factors that effect cost. Perhaps you like to shoot hollowpoints because they leave cleaner holes in the targets? Factory HP's cost much more than FMJ, so the savings is greater. Perhaps you want to shoot lighter or hotter loads than factory loaded ammo? Purchased any 9MM+P lately? It's not cheap.

Yes, for 115gr FMJ the savings is minimal, but it's there. If it allows you to shoot more, so much the better.

[BigBronco]

Yep. Loading 9mm 124 gr. Hp and a fairly hot load too. Soon to cast my own and save even more.

[Clownpuncher]

Lots of valid points.

I would like to add to my previous post that those 500 round batches take me a little less than 2 hours each.

So, 6 hours for 500 rounds total. Not bad on a single stage and since I break it up, it doesn't take much time and is worth it in consistent shots.

[ExtremeX]

Besides for the Lee press... is there anything else i really need?

I see some tumble brass to get it new looking again. I will be dealing almost only with used range brass that I collect from my retail ammo. XM193 5.56 Brass and Federal 115g 9mm Brass....

About about brass prep stuff. Im sure I got a few shells that have been stepped on at the range, so do you just toss them or try to fix em?

[socalocalypse]

I use a lee 1000 and cast boolits. I just knocked out over 600 124 grn TL in maybe an hour and somewhere around 10 pds of lead that cost about $10. I think I used 4.2 grns of bull's-eye cci 500 primer for $20/1000(plus hazard fee, dealer priced from grafs) I paid $100 for 3k tumbled brass

That works out to somewhere between 4 and 8 cents a round, imtoo lazy to run the calc.

If I run $10/100 plated its arund $135 for 1000 rounds. I paid $175 plus entrance fee plus gas to buy from miwal.

To really save cast bullets are where its at. The effort is fairly substantial, plus 9mm is about the hardest to work up a load that your gun likes.

I'm still tryin to find a recipe that won't lead my barrel. I suspect my powder is the culprit but I'm going to try sizing the bullets differently first.

Reloading is fun when you get the hang of it. I learned on my progressive, it wouldn't hurt to be mechanically inclined as it takes fiddling , or at least mine did.

I like casting boolits too, its just fun and I like knowing I can do it myself should need arise.

With store bought bullets reloading is a breeze