9mm brass all over the range. What gives?

[wbrco]

shoot those pesky squirrels with.

That's what I use light 38's for. Hitting a squirrel with a .22 and they will flop around and twitch. Where as my 1894 with a 158 SWC even at 800fps (700 fps pistol loads) kills 'em ded...

And cheaper than .22's

 

[lauderdale]

I wish I had E-Z Pick'ns! Its out back to shoot. I'd be loving that. Hell id clean up the range floor.

 

[highlander 5]

I pick up 9 mm,45 acp at my range. Just picked up 9mm ammo last week at Dick's for $19.95 a hundred.

 

[ljnowell]

9mm is cheap enough to shoot just buying in bulk from stores online. Why spend that time reloading 9mm when you could be reloading other ammo like .45 or .44 or .40 and save more money that way?

Because I can reload it for 1/2 price of new. That means I get to shoot twice as much for the same amount of money. How does that not make sense to you?

 

[41 Mag]

Why spend that time reloading 9mm when you could be reloading other ammo like .45 or .44 or .40 and save more money that way?

It only takes me about 15-20 minutes to set up the press and be loading another caliber. (Edit- I forgot to add that I cast almost all of my bullets as well, but I guess if you figure in that time it takes more. But hey I enjoy it.) I do shoot some of the Berry's but, I'm working on dwindling those down as well.

Since the powder and charge weight for my main target loads for 45ACP are identical to the one I use for my 9mm loads, that shaves it down to about 10 min. for set up and go time. Same goes if I go from there, back to 9mm. Just time to swap dies, shell plate, and primer punch. The longest time is spent chasing and stabbing the 100 primers to fill the tubes.

If I do my 10mm well that takes me back up to the 15-20 minutes before I pull the first round. But since it slings brass into the next county, I only load when I am getting low, and that isn't very often. I load up 500 rounds and it will last me a while.

Now the 38 SPL, 357, 41, & 44 mags, those are simply loaded one at a time on the single stage, as are the 45 Colt and 454. But those take longer anyway since I trim them all to length as well.

But hey, well all have our fav's and habits, and I don't mind pulling the handle on any of them.

As for those squirrels, I got those grandkids shooting them right below the ear. The only flopping they do is hitting limbs on the way down or when they hit the ground. If they don't have a shot there, they just don't shoot. After searching through the blackberry and green vine thickets long enough looking for one, they decided real quick that Paw's way is MUCH easier. Besides hitting them anywhere else, messes up what little meat they have. It's hard to beat a mess of cat squirrels smothered in red eye gravy or some big ol' fox squirrels slow cooked in brown gravy in the crock pot... mmmmmm

 

[cat_IT_guy]

9mm is certainly the most common brass I find. As others have mentioned, its the cheapest round next to 22 for those that don't reload. That is why I chose it prior to my foray into reloading.

 

[TruthTellers]

It isn't just about cost for me. It's also about tailoring loads to suit my wants. And in general, I just plain like reloading.

Ok, in that case I fully understand; you do it for performance and enjoyment.

But to just plink, I wouldn't deviate from the cheapest 9mm, which is usually aluminum or steel case ammo. I don't know what type of savings one can get from reloading their own 9mm, but I can't think it's enough of a savings to justify the time spent reloading it.

EDIT: Someone said that he can reload for half price... alright, that's a significant savings if you're shooting 500 rounds/week.

 

[Jim Watson]

I pick up 9mm from practice, mine and those who don't think it worth their time.
I am usually too tired after an IDPA match and leave those for the safety officers.

My load is not only less expensive than even cheap factory, it is not duplicated by any factory I know of.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

At my club, we welcome you to leave your unwanted brass on the ground. It won't last long. Someone that wants it will come along and pick it up. I rarely find any pistol brass but 9mm. 9mm is perfect for the non reloader to blast due to low cost....I do not own a 9mm, doubt if I will own another and have plenty of brass. I still pick up all the 9mm I find. I just toss it in my scrap bucket. It is free money on the ground.

 

[Scooter22]

If you look close many are Berdain primed cases that are hard to reload. Walmart sells alot of it. Great shooting ammo. Just hard to reload.

 

[PCCUSNRET]

If you look close many are Berdain primed cases that are hard to reload. Walmart sells alot of it. Great shooting ammo. Just hard to reload.

Fortunately I haven't had that problem at our club. Most of the Berdan primed is steel cases and I just toss them in the range buckets. What I have been finding lately is a lot .223 and 9mm with crimped primer pockets. I run the .223 through a Dillon and it's good to reload, but I don't mess with the 9mm cause I already have entirely too much without the crimps. I've got about 1/2 an ammo can now that I am either going to scrap or give it to someone locally that wants to mess with removing the crimps (it's not worth the cost of shipping or I'd give it someone on THR).

 

[Scooter22]

Fortunately I haven't had that problem at our club. Most of the Berdan primed is steel cases and I just toss them in the range buckets. What I have been finding lately is a lot .223 and 9mm with crimped primer pockets. I run the .223 through a Dillon and it's good to reload, but I don't mess with the 9mm cause I already have entirely too much without the crimps. I've got about 1/2 an ammo can now that I am either going to scrap or give it to someone locally that wants to mess with removing the crimps (it's not worth the cost of shipping or I'd give it someone on THR).

Shippings not a problem! You can fill the small Flat rate box and ship it for 6.00 bucks. Put your brass on the Pay it Forward thread. Someone would be happy to pay the shipping for a full box.

 

[taliv]

But to just plink, I wouldn't deviate from the cheapest 9mm, which is usually aluminum or steel case ammo. I don't know what type of savings one can get from reloading their own 9mm, but I can't think it's enough of a savings to justify the time spent reloading it.

EDIT: Someone said that he can reload for half price... alright, that's a significant savings if you're shooting 500 rounds/week.

pretty much. 2 cents for primers. 1 penny for powder. 5.5 cents for a bullet, when purchased in bulk. that's 9 cents to reload. That's $90 / 1000 rounds. at that price, most people can afford to turn off the TV and shoot 1000 rounds / month or more.

 

[TimSr]

Some indoor ranges sell floor swept 9mm brass at a price that I am willing to pay rather than pick it up. At a couple dollars a hundred, I'm not bending over and crawling around on the floor for it.

 

[entropy]

At my club, we welcome you to leave your unwanted brass on the ground. It won't last long. Someone that wants it will come along and pick it up. I rarely find any pistol brass but 9mm. 9mm is perfect for the non reloader to blast due to low cost....I do not own a 9mm, doubt if I will own another and have plenty of brass. I still pick up all the 9mm I find. I just toss it in my scrap bucket. It is free money on the ground.

I trade it for .45 ACP or .38 Spl. I get a lot of .40 when the local LE do their practice and or quals at the club. I trade that, too.

 

[rondog]

I've sold many thousands of 9mm brass, traded them for other brass, traded some for a complete bullet casting setup with two .45 molds, traded some for a nice mess of old ammo for my collection and rifle brass, and traded some for something else that I can't recall at the moment. Plus I have God only knows how much 9mm loaded up and stored, and unknown thousands more cases both cleaned/ready, and dirty/unprocessed.

And all of it picked up off the ground. I don't think I've ever bought any 9mm ammo from a store.....

 

[fotheringill]

The only caveat I can offer about range brass is to make sure you are using once fired factory brass. Otherwise, you will have a big question mark about what you are scrounging up.

 

[rodinal220]

Have noticed the same.During the height of the ammo crunch you could not find any usable brass except from PDs that rented club ranges.

Now I find everything lying on the ground and I scoop it up and use it or trade it.

Reloading components are like ballistic wampum.

 

[Vernon1]

Empty Brass and Gasoline

When gas was super expensive I would only see BMW or Mercedes engines running in park. Now I see all kinds of engines running in park.

When the ammunition evaporates you will see lots of bent backs picking up the brass.

Supply and demand-old as the hills...

I bet you don't ever see a Rolls Royce engine running in park.

Hahahahaha! Enough said.

 

[rondog]

The only caveat I can offer about range brass is to make sure you are using once fired factory brass. Otherwise, you will have a big question mark about what you are scrounging up.

Sorry, but I get so tired of hearing this. Just how many times do you think a 9mm case (or any other pistol case) has to be fired before it's worn out enough to be dangerous? Besides, when you find several dozen cases, or even hundreds, all of one kind and all in one place, it's a pretty safe bet that they're new enough to be safe. If you're leery of them, step aside, I'll take 'em.

I look at all of my pickups closely when I process them, all calibers, any suspects go into the scrap bucket. But I sure as hell ain't gonna be bashful about picking them up and bringing them home first.

 

[TruthTellers]

pretty much. 2 cents for primers. 1 penny for powder. 5.5 cents for a bullet, when purchased in bulk. that's 9 cents to reload. That's $90 / 1000 rounds. at that price, most people can afford to turn off the TV and shoot 1000 rounds / month or more.

where you getting bullets for 5.5 cents?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Sorry, but I get so tired of hearing this. Just how many times do you think a 9mm case (or any other pistol case) has to be fired before it's worn out enough to be dangerous? Besides, when you find several dozen cases, or even hundreds, all of one kind and all in one place, it's a pretty safe bet that they're new enough to be safe. If you're leery of them, step aside, I'll take 'em.

I agree.

 

[Onward Allusion]

I don't know of any reloaders who reload for 9mm these days. 9mm ammo is cheap and plentiful and I guess not many think it is worth their time. Personally, I don't reload 9mm currently. I collect all my brass and then some when I'm shooting; for a rainy day. I think it's gonna pour later this year.

 

[W.E.G.]

I shoot less than 500 rounds 9mm per year.

Not worth my time for what I might save reloading.
Especially since most of my 9mm shooting is done at busy ranges where the opportunity to crawl around on the ground in front of the firing line is not in the cards.

 

[hapax]

I would agree that plentiful and cheap 9mm has a lot to do with it. I've had plenty of recent range days where I've picked up enough brass to pay for all the ammo I shot that day. Last trip I got 825 cases left from previous shooters - almost $100 in brass by my calculations.

The odd thing was finding a non-trivial number of Starline cases: hard to imagine someone leaving those on purpose ....

Of course, some of the local public ranges also sell pretty cheap brass (that isn't dirty or muddy), but it's just not the same ....