Reloading worth it?

[stand125]

I make a box of plated 115gr 9mm for $5.50 a box that will out shoot any commercial ammo so I think that 9mm is worth reloading. I use a Lee turret press so 15 minutes per box saves me between $5.00 to $10.00 bucks a box for brass cases very accurate ammo.

[chesterthehero]

if i only count the 9mm that i reload i paid for my setup (rcbs turret, powder, primers, bullets) in the first 3-4 months.. the second time i had to purchase primers/powder/bullets i got to enjoy the discounted costs... from here out its all savings which means i can shoot a lot more for the same or slighly less..

[Lead Waster]

I wont fight you on 9mm, it never made sense for me to load it until i got a progressive press. But even then, i can save about $65 per thousand for a few hours worth of work.

You can also earn more than $65 for a few hours work. But then again, nobody is paying me to sit on the couch and watch TV at night!

I may be weird, but I get a sort of satisfaction from taking a bunch of brass and turning out a small container of shiny rounds!

I just ordered 2k of 9mm fmj from precision delta. I just ran out of my Berry's plated bullets and thought, why am I paying the same price for plated that fmj goes for? (Well, OK, FMJ bullets have exposed lead on the bottom!)

[WoodrowShootist]

i couldn't afford to shoot as much as i do if it wasn't for reloading. being able to shoot 2x-4x for the same price as factory...it's a no brainer.

the first thing i thought about when i got into reloading wasn't the economics but was making a round that meets my needs. my research told me that anything i would load would be cheaper than factory. so i said hell yea and dove right into reloading.

i reload a lot of 9mm and it costs me .10-.13/rnd depending on the deal on components. sure you can buy reloads for $165/k. i save 30 a case and 30 bucks is 30 bucks. one more thing is that i'm a competitive shooter and with that are requirements for ammo. that $165 ammo doesn't make power factor, it's too slow. and my $100-130 case of ammo makes power factor, recoils less, is quieter and is cheaper...kind of a no brainer.

45acp really shines in savings. my recipe costs the same as my 9mm (.10-.13). i still am amazed by that and it makes shooting that 45 so much more fun knowing that it costs me $100 for 1000rnds of 45! hahaha and time is no issue, there's a learning curve and once you get it the speed comes naturally. i load 1k/hour no problem.

[WoodrowShootist]

here's the components i use. i use cheap components and learn them. loading is very educational too. it's added another dimension to my shooting. by understanding why the load behaves the way it does and how i can tune the load or the gun for it. i dont reload rifle so i can't provide anything there.
pistol powder: clays, 231, hs6 (in order of preference)

primers: tula/wolf, winchester (in order of preference)

brass: mixed

bullets: precision bullets, bear creek, xtreme, rainier, hsc (in order of preference)

no website for bear creek. xtreme, rainier and hsc are more expensive and no free shipping. best to be bought in group buys, gun shows or on here. but i like precision bullets the most.

https://www.precisionbullets.com

[the86d]

Hey gentlemen, I'm new to this reloading stuff,so I have some questions. How can I learn to reload? and What equipment do I need? Are there "how to" videos or books that are recommended? How did you guys learn this? Is it dangerous to reload?

I was talking to a coworker, and I started watching youtube videos about presses. Do a youtube search for "XL 650", "dillon 550", "hornady reload", "lee reload" all with no quotes to see some people reloading, and come back here with searches. I found that a google search for "calguns <search keywords>" sometimes yields better results than a calguns search.

All the other info can be found via Google.

It looks as though many powders can vary greatly from one to another, and you could possibly have REALLY DANGEROUSLY HIGH PRESSURE issues if you took Mr. Internet's advice as to how many grains of powder to load, therefore all powder manufactures list loading data on their site for their powder, start with the POWDER MFR SPECS. This is what I figured out BEFORE making my first purchase, although I have not started yet (she is in the mail, come Monday).

[Lead Waster]

You will save money per round. The number of rounds you choose to use per month is up to you.

So yes, you will definitely save money, even with 9mm. It might only be a buck or two, and many might not consider the time spent as worth that buck or two, but that's your decision. I happily reload 9mm. I can't stand to see all that 9mm brass sitting on the range floor being swept into a big bin for someone else to reload!

The equipment (if you don't completely abuse it) is so durable that you can resell it decades later and recover probably 80% of your cost. So consider it a rental

[the86d]

Update:
TOTAL OF RELOADING 9MM 0.158516606/ Per Round FOR Berry's "Plated"
WALMART 9MM FMJ 0.21539225

TOTAL RELOADING COST PER ROUND 0.151413682 FOR M855 pulls including everything, but my time.
WALMART .223 FMJ 0.420225

This IS including the primers, powder, etc. I would save even MORE if I was to buy powder and primers in bulk off the Internet even WITH the Haz-Mat Fee AND shipping...

When you learn the errors of your ways (DON'T OVER LUBE, and once you figure out how to flip the case feed for pistol cases,) you can REALLY CRANK AMMO OUT OF A XL 650!

[Divernhunter]

I suggest you not load. There are getting too many reloaders and it is driving the prices up for stuff. Especially surplus bullets. It also is making it harder for us to scarf up free brass at the range etc. Too many people are saving it. All of this runs up my reloading costs.

[mikeyr]

I recently got back into shooting after putting away the guns for about 25+ years, I reloaded back then because I shot (still do) a WWII 9mm Luger and a .30 Luger both guns tend to be finicky with their ammo and I could get very reliable shooting guns by reloading. It was not savings that decided it at the time.

Now I bought a Beretta 9mm (92FS) and with it bought a Dillon 650xl, I did not think if it would save money although I know it does, its the fun of reloading and customizing the load to the gun. Its easier in my mind to blow a $100+ one time in the store and reload as needed then go spend $20 each time I want to shoot for an hour. I am loading primarily 9mm, some .30, some .357 and .38special, I did have several thousands 9mm brass hanging around from when I used to shoot, still had bullets too, just had to buy powder to restart.

Reloading is fun, I found it harder than i thought to go from a rockchucker 25 years to the 650 but no squibs and now I have the rhythm down pretty good. Its not just about the money, its about best accuracy too.