Time vs Money
Plus...how many primers is one supposed to be storing in their residence?
stocking up on 9mm ammo now or wait? what's your guess?
- Thread starter AlBaron
- Start date
- Status
Time vs Money
Plus...how many primers is one supposed to be storing in their residence?
Panzerschwein
member
No, worse times are coming.
On ammoseek.com 9mm is hovering around $0.16 a round. That's a good price.
DO NOT WAIT.
On ammoseek.com 9mm is hovering around $0.16 a round. That's a good price.
DO NOT WAIT.
ColoradoShooter77
Member
I'm currently loading 9mm for $120/1000 rounds. The cost/round is worth my time.
Jlr2267
Member
how long does it take you to run 1000?
Capybara
Member
I'm not ColoradoShooter77 but it takes me quite a while to run 1,000. I only have a small brass tumbler (Can do about 200 9mm cases at a time) and I use a Lee Classic Turret, probably a weekend with two four to five hour sessions. But I don't do runs of 1,000, I do a few hundred at a time and then go and shoot them. Then do a few hundred more. It's sort of like "Just In Time" supply chain. If I wanted to crank out quantities, I would buy a Dillon. But I reload so many different calibers, I would go broke with all of the Dillon caliber change kits.
Jlr2267
Member
Yea, it would take me 7 to 8 hours on my LCT. To save $80 its not worth it to me.
BSA1
member
How are you doing that?
ColoradoShooter77
Member
I only shoot about 200 rounds/month of 9mm, so if I load 50 rounds every Friday night and over the course of the week, load another 50 rounds, I always have a surplus of ammo.
It takes me an hour to run 50 rounds with a turret press and beam scale.
As far as cost goes:
1000 Berry's 124 grain bullets = $80/1000 on sale
5000 S&B Primers from Cabelas with shipping = $125 or $25/brick
CFE Pistol powder at 5.2 grains/charge = about 1.5 cents/round
That's 12 cents/round.
Since I've fired about 10 cases of 9mm over the last 5 years, if I save $70/case.....that's $700!
Its also worth my time to produce my own ammo, which is highly accurate and consistent. Far more so than factory ammo. Its an activity that I enjoy as well.
It takes me an hour to run 50 rounds with a turret press and beam scale.
As far as cost goes:
1000 Berry's 124 grain bullets = $80/1000 on sale
5000 S&B Primers from Cabelas with shipping = $125 or $25/brick
CFE Pistol powder at 5.2 grains/charge = about 1.5 cents/round
That's 12 cents/round.
Since I've fired about 10 cases of 9mm over the last 5 years, if I save $70/case.....that's $700!
Its also worth my time to produce my own ammo, which is highly accurate and consistent. Far more so than factory ammo. Its an activity that I enjoy as well.
1911 guy
Member
I do both reloading and buying quantities of factory stuff. I keep my "stash" of factory on hand and collect cases as I shoot them. A few times a year I binge reload. I keep it simple and reload for only a few calibers, 12 gauge, .308, .223 and .45ACP.
My factory stuff is M193, M80, Federal 00 buck and 230 gr. hardball. I reload the cases for deer, varmint, small game and target rounds.
My factory stuff is M193, M80, Federal 00 buck and 230 gr. hardball. I reload the cases for deer, varmint, small game and target rounds.
ColoradoShooter77
Member
Its typically around 5 cents/case.
The cheapest 9mm brass ammo on ammo-seek is $175 at Rush Creek Ammo....but the shipping cost is $31! So its effectively 20 cents/round.
The cheapest 9mm brass ammo on ammo-seek is $175 at Rush Creek Ammo....but the shipping cost is $31! So its effectively 20 cents/round.
So if I can pick up a 1000 round case of 9mm for about $200-220, and get $50 back for the once fired brass, that's .15-.17 a round. Just a nickle more per round than reloaded 9mm.
I know I should get into reloading, but with our first baby on the way I simply won't have the time or sleep to reload, let alone the time to shoot it!
I know I should get into reloading, but with our first baby on the way I simply won't have the time or sleep to reload, let alone the time to shoot it!
I can agree with always buying ammo if priced right or you have the cash. Still, from an economics standpoint, regular purchasing helps keep production going. Fears of politics often affects ammunition sales (as well as gun sales), but I think it's important to keep the ammunition companies productive and don't allow dealers to stock for a crisis and drive prices up. Keep the product flowing which is beneficial to consumers, dealers and manufacturers.
ROCK6
ROCK6
I keep at least 1000 rds of 9mm,.38 special,.357 mag,.40 sw,.45 acp,.45colt and 7.62x39.
At least 500 rds of .243,45/70 and .32 sw long.
And 350rds .480 ruger
I have close to 20,000 rds .22 lr,also over 2500 rds .17m2
The only cal I have that I'm not increasing is 7.62x28 nanant.
Best to buy when it's cheap and you have the money. I'm 73 so I maybe will have enough to last me and leave some to my grandchildren. It's an election year so watch out.
At least 500 rds of .243,45/70 and .32 sw long.
And 350rds .480 ruger
I have close to 20,000 rds .22 lr,also over 2500 rds .17m2
The only cal I have that I'm not increasing is 7.62x28 nanant.
Best to buy when it's cheap and you have the money. I'm 73 so I maybe will have enough to last me and leave some to my grandchildren. It's an election year so watch out.
So if I can pick up a 1000 round case of 9mm for about $200-220, and get $50 back for the once fired brass, that's .15-.17 a round. Just a nickle more per round than reloaded 9mm.
I know I should get into reloading, but with our first baby on the way I simply won't have the time or sleep to reload, let alone the time to shoot it!
Yup.
It's funny how nobody ever accounts for the value of spent brass buying factory ammunition when they do this factory vs reloaded math. Reloaders like to count the value of picking up and taking home and cleaning and prepping their spent brass...but factory ammo shooters can pick up and sell their brass for cash money using even less time/effort.
Definitely not something to overlook (and you can ship a lot of it pretty cheap in USPS flat rate priority boxes)
Speedo66
Member
OK, so we're all in agreement now is the time to buy. Hopefully, I won't see anyone here next year crying about the dearth of ammo.
Well...some people will get into shooting between now and then, 'come of age' between now and then, be in a better financial situation where they could afford to buy ammo in a year than they are now, finally afford a new/different gun in a different cartridge, etc.
But yes a lot of people will not get when the getting is good and then complain later.
WVsig
Member
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2012
- Messages
- 2,063
I think people are over estimating what people pay for once fired brass. Freedom munitions has a brass buy back program that is pretty good and it only pays $1.45 per pound of brass. (Market Value). That is about than $.012 a case estimating 1000 pieces of 9mm brass weighs 8-9 pounds.
People who sell once fired brass commercially only get about $.03 a case for cleaned sorted brass. You can get is polished for a few cents more.
You are not going to get anywhere close to $.05 a case for dirty range pickup. Sorry but you are committing the exact same sin as people who are reload but don't account for their time or their equipment. You are presenting inaccurate data to support your view.
In the end reloading 9mm does not save you as much as other calibers like 380 auto, 357 mag, 38 spl and 45 acp but I can tell you that if you reload properly you are getting more consistent, cleaner burining, better shooting ammo for less than the bottom of the barrel factory ammo. It is not a fair to compare WWB to my 124gr hand loaded rounds which are formulated to match up with the chambers of my pistols ideal OAL. I do not match to every chamber but I am much closer to "my guns" ideal than factory ammo. If I wanted to I could setup match loads for a particular gun if I required more than plinking ammo accuracy. Again cannot get that from factory ammo.
I personally think that it does not matter if you reload or if you buy factory ammo the concept of dollar cost averaging should be in play. If you buy on a regular basis slightly more than or a lot more than you shoot you can stay ahead of the curve and in general the price hikes. It does not matter if you are buying factory rounds or components the same logic applies. I also suggest to buy in bulk and buy online from vendors who do not rape you on shipping.
When there is a run or a price spike you simply wait it out because you have stock piled enough at lower prices. If you do this as a general rule you are never "over paying" for ammo. IMHO. I did not have to buy 9mm for over a year when things got ugly. I was still shooting cheap RWS, Greco, WWB, and Blaser Brass etc at about $.12- $.15 a round for loaded ammo when prices spiked. You know how much you shoot and setup your "pars" accordingly. If you do that you will be ahead of the curve. IMHO
Last edited:
It's more of a when than a where. The time will come. And it probably won't be that long. A little patience goes a long way.
PS I didn't actually say you could sell it for 5 cents each, the person I quoted did, and I went with it...I haven't bought or sold brass for awhile so I don't know what it is currently. I am quite certain, however, that what it is currently, won't last.
- Status
