9mm worth reloading?

[Noxx]

Where? I see Rainier for $68 but no plated for less. I know I'm not looking hard enough or I would have bought 5k already...

I normall use Xtreme plated bullets, which should be available to ya locally as you are in berdoo. Price can vary a little depending on your retailer.

Altho, I am gonna have to jump on that link philbo just coughed up.

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

yes you can save money...but you also get better quality ammo

 

[LubeckTech]

That is a great price for FMJ but they don't look like they are suitable for indoor shooting. I heard a cridible gunshop owner say last night there is another price increase expected in January. I reload everything except .22 rimfire and .380 because I don't shoot my 1934 Beretta much and I hate .380 brass which invaribly gets mixed with my 9mm messing me up when I'm on a good roll in respect to my reloading cadence.

 

[JonB]

So basically I hear a lot of 'yes you can save IF you had stocked up before components got expensive'

I think I'll skip 9mm for now..... I know 10mm is way cheaper to reload and so is .223 so I'll stick with those. But I'll probably start saving 9mm brass

 

[zxcvbob]

Cast bullets are still about $36/k (http://www.mastercastbullets.com) and "Promo" powder is $76 for an 8# keg and Wolf primers are $19/k. (http://powdervalleyinc.com) Red Dot or Green Dot powders are $92 per keg and Accurate #2 is $61/5# if you don't want to use Promo.

So you can still load 9mm for less than $7.00/100 (it's closer to $6, but I rounded everything up to account for shipping charges) buying new components today -- if your gun can handle cast bullets.

 

[strat81]

So basically I hear a lot of 'yes you can save IF you had stocked up before components got expensive'

Just buy in bulk and you'll be fine. I didn't stock up before the price increases and I'm still cheaper than WWB plus my rounds aren't dirty.

 

[JonB]

Cool - so I need to decide on a load for my Springfield XD-9 and start watching for deals on components.

Thanks all -
Jon

 

[callgood]

JonB- So basically I hear a lot of 'yes you can save IF you had stocked up before components got expensive'

I think I'll skip 9mm for now..... I know 10mm is way cheaper to reload and so is .223 so I'll stick with those. But I'll probably start saving 9mm brass

The way I look at it, buy buying components in bulk you can have your own little time warp. You can buy the "makins" necessary to shoot years into the future, but you don't have to assemble them all at once. That way you can tinker around until you find a loading you like. Plus, you are covered in case of another "Great Primer Shortage" like we had in the '90s. I shoot a lot of Federal 150 primers. I can't find them now, but have 10-12k in my stash. I also put in a back order recently @105 for 5k which are out of stock and noticed they went up to 117 (and they're still out!). I called them and they said they would honor the price I ordered at.

Good idea to start saving the 9mm brass. I went to a defensive pistol class this summer and no one there reloaded.
I came home with around 1900 9mm, 3/4s of a .50cal can of .45ACP and around 1k .40S&W. The way I figure it, I recouped a little over half the tuition in brass!

Unfortunately, I didn't save $ in the long run. The .40S&W caused me to achieve critical mass in that caliber, so I bought a S&W 610 to shoot 10mm/.40ACP. Sometimes things don't work out like we want. Or, maybe they do!!

 

[strat81]

Jon, it looks like the best deal on powder right now is Alliant Promo. This is a no-frills powder targeted at high-volume shotgunners. You can use it in handguns using Red Dot load data. Another option is to use a low charge weight powder like Titegroup.

If your pistol can shoot them, cast bullets are pretty cheap, followed by plated, and finally jacketed.

Beware of ordering online, as primers and powder will incur a $20 hazmat charge, plus shipping. Gun shows are often good places to get that stuff.

Of course, save your brass. My favorite 9mm brass is Winchester, by far.

 

[GaryL]

So basically I hear a lot of 'yes you can save IF you had stocked up before components got expensive'

Everything goes in cycles. Eventually components will come back down again (in relative terms). That cheap ammo you are buying now is only cheap because it was loaded a few months back with components purchased from a couple months before that. If you make a small bulk purchase now, you'll be able to shoot at todays prices a few months from now when the white box ammo has gone up another 30%.

The FMJ 9mm I'm loading now is running about 9 cents/rnd, but the JHP I loaded last month was closer to 7.5 cents per round. It pays to buy in bulk.

 

[Noxx]

Unfortunately, I didn't save $ in the long run. The .40S&W caused me to achieve critical mass in that caliber, so I bought a S&W 610 to shoot 10mm/.40ACP.

Haha, "critical mass". I like your way of putting it, I'll use that argument on the wife when one of the "calibers I don't own" buckets gets full in the garage.

 

[RustyFN]

So basically I hear a lot of 'yes you can save IF you had stocked up before components got expensive'

I think I'll skip 9mm for now.....

I am reloading for $7 to $8 per 100 on components I bought today not old components. If you shop around and buy in bulk you can buy cheap. I buy primers for $15.20 per 1,000, powder for $11 to $12 per pound and bullets where ever I find a deal.
Rusty

 

[XD-40 Shooter]

I'm actually saving a considerable amount of money loading 40 S&W rounds. My most recent batch, I bought :

3000 155 grain Rainier's for $225 with free shipping
5000 magtech primer's for $122
4 lbs of Unique for $58

Bullets and primer's were from midway, the $122 price was hazmat included, the powder came from sportmans warehouse.

Cost per round = 13.5 cents/round. Most factory 40 ammo is going for 30 cents/round. That's a big reduction in cost, but since I am now shooting 50%more ammo, I'm actually not saving anything, lol.

 

[SilentArmy]

Rusty, I'll take 10,000 of those <$16/1000 primers! Seriously. They are hovering at about $25/1000 here even in full sleeves.

 

[RustyFN]

SilentArmy you can buy 5,000 primers at Powder Valley for $90. I get the same 5,000 at Grafs with my C&R lisence for $80. That's why some friends and I buy them 50,000 at a time.
Rusty

 

[dockmen027]

If your looking for accuracy, the stuff form wally world doesn't produce. I ransom rested some in my Rock River bullseye 9mm at 50 yds and it wouldn't group, some of the rounds even tumbled. With my 115XTP loads, I can easily get 1 1/2 inch or better groups at 50 yds.

 

[evan price]

I am loading up 9mm 124-gr plinking ammo right now using Titegroup powder.
Titegroup is reduced volume powder, a little more expensive but you use a lot less, and it's clean.

Powder for a 9mm costs less than a penny.
Primers are 2.5 cents each.
Bullet is about 5.5 cents each.
Brass is free at the range.

So you're talking under nine cents each for 9mm 124-gr plinking stuff.

That's $9 a box of 100, using prices on stuff I bought within the past couple weeks.

Dicks' $6.98/50 REM UMC is the cheapest stuff I know of.
Figure you save $5 per hundred. I loaded 1000 9mm this summer, shot it all, and decided for the time involved I would buy 5K from Dicks and stash it and store all my 9mm reloading stuff for later.

Is that a great savings? Not really. IMHO it is right at the break-even point for me, if it gets up to $9.99 a box and stays there I will load all my 9mm.

I still load hot 9mm +p for my KelTec Sub 2K with Rainiers, but I will be switching to the TJ Convoveras, and that's all, right now.


Now, .45 ACP, .357, .44-mag, etc. those are where the money really comes out of the press.

I can't get .45 for less than $25 a hundred, and .357 is about $38 a hundred, .44 MAG is $45 a hundred.

I can load any one of those using lead hardcast bullets I bought online last month for about $9 a hundred for .45 and .357, or $10 a hundred for .44 mag. Add $5 a hundred for plated bullets.

So the larger the ammo the more your savings ratchets up.
If I load up all those thousand .44's I bought, I just paid for all my reloading gear with the savings.
Hollow, that, since it all winds up in a dirt berm anyway, though.
And we are not even touching on rifle.

 

[XD-40 Shooter]

Evan, I agree, I'm currently loading 357 mag for $12/100. Factory 357 JSP rounds are going for $20/50 and up. The savings are huge on 357, on the order of 60%.

2000 Remington 125 grain SJHP's.....$150
2 bricks of primers.........$40
4 lbs of Unique........$58

At 9 grains of Unique, I'm getting close to 800 rounds per pound, this load is extremely accurate in my revolver and chrono's 1320-1350 fps, excellent load.

 

[rdhood]

o basically I hear a lot of 'yes you can save IF you had stocked up before components got expensive'

I think I'll skip 9mm for now..... I know 10mm is way cheaper to reload and so is .223 so I'll stick with those. But I'll probably start saving 9mm brass

Not at all. I'm making them for 40% off at todays prices ($92 per thousand for 9mm), even if you buy once fired brass (if you split the cost of the brass over 10 reloads). $56(bullets)+$11(powder)+$22(primers)+$3(case wear)= $92 per thousand. You have to make about 3000 to make a kemph's reloading setup pay for itself.

 

[CZ57]

Cost is not the only factor. A good handload, more often than not, will be at least as accurate as factory Match ammo. Combine that with the savings and the answer= YES!

 

[theCZ]

When I was doing a lot of practice for USPSA with my 9mm, I shot using lead bullets and a lite load of Unique. It ended up being $6/100, but that was three years ago. For me, it was easy to get all the free 9mm brass I could handle, so that was never an issue in my cost.

I'd reload even if it cost the same as factory, because I KNOW I always get better ammo from handloads. I particularly enjoyed 147g 9mm loads, a nice loonnngg recoil feel.

 

[jhansman]

If you are looking at reloading strictly for cost effectiveness, perhaps not, for any given caliber. For me, shooting my own ammo is far more satisfying than paying for factory stuff. Reloading can be the perfect complement to shooting.

 

[achildofthesky]

Don't forget...

That you do not need to fully amortize the costs of reloading to "break even" or even save $$$ reloading.

If you were to sell your reloading setup, you would recoup $$ for it, perhaps 50% or more for the press, 30$ for the dies and 25-40% for the powder measures, scales and misc stuff. Also, when your brass gives up the ghost, you will get $1.00+ per # for the scrap.

I don't worry about my time because as others have said, it is a hobby. But cash not spent is cash saved. Cash that can be recouped through sale of "capitol" equipment is cash in a different, albeit heavied and more cumbersome form.

I like cash in all forms;-)

Be safe

Patty