Do you load 9mm?

[918v]

To those who consider the worth of their time when reloading I pose the following question:

How much does it cost to cook? Clean? Take a poop? Spend time with your kids? How much will we, the insured pool, have to pay to cover your medical expenses because all you think about is making more money?

Reloading is a good way to relax, take your mind off life. We all need this time, and the health benefits of reloading are priceless.

 

[Shadow 7D]

stay at home parent =34K a years for a family of 4, with 2 children below school age.

it's like Spinger said, you reload to make quality ammo or reload to make ammo for cheaper than you can buy it.

 

[helotaxi]

These same people don't usually consider the cost of their time while shooting, watching TV, fishing, hunting or pursuing other leisure activities. People that look at reloading as a chore or work, will be better off not reloading. Those that see reloading as a hobby in its own right will be better off doing it regardless of the monetary benefit because the activity has value beyond the money saved or the ammo produced.

I see reloading as part of shooting just like I see wrenching on my motorcycles as part of the past-time of riding them. It's a two part hobby to me. I have a lot of hobbies like that actually. One part that really requires someone else, a particular venue or relatively good weather and the other part that I can do indoors, at home, regardless of weather and by myself. I think that golf is the only hobby I have that isn't like that, in fact, and this is a guy accused by his wife of having a principal hobby of collecting hobbies.

ETA: And I do reload 9mm. Considering that it keeps me in 9mm ammo and that I can load premium bullets for a fraction of what factory loads with the same bullets cost, it is worth spending some of my reloading time churning out 9mm instead of rifle cartridges or .45Colt (both of which are a HUGE $$ savings over factory fodder). 9mm is so quick and easy to load that it doesn't cost me much in terms of other loads (the only opportunity cost I consider when reloading) to crank out 500-1k 9mm practice loads or a couple hundred "social" loads as needed/desired. I don't buy ammo anymore unless I find it REALLY on sale or I need some oddball brass (.308 Marlin Express being the prime example).

 

[armoredman]

I reload as a fun and productive hobby, and don't depreciate my time - all I would have been doing other wise is playing internet games or watching movies. I also cast several different bullets for 9mm, so a box of handloads for me drops down to about $2 per 50. I use Berry's plated bullets too, another savings over jacketed, but I also buy Remington JHP bullets to load faux carry ammo to practice with. And like an above poster, I also reload and cast for 7.62x39mm, and get better accuracy out of my rifles far cheaper than with store bought.
I buy factory ammo generally twice a year, to replace my carry ammo.

 

[cfullgraf]

Well the bean counters have reared their ugly heads again. I want "IN" on that leisure time money. That money that those bean counters say you get for doing nothing. I'm retired, so my leisure time must be worth less, but I'd still like to see a check for it each month.

Yes, some folks would rather vegitate in front of the television and not worry about making money than do something useful with their leisure time.

I never add up the cost for anything. I made a mistake once, added up all my purchases from midway over a 10 year time, came to over 10G! BUT I do a LOT of shooting, so a grand/year isn't much.

Once, I also made the mistake of looking at my order history on Midway's web site. I was astounded at the expenditures. I do not do that any more!

 

[Certaindeaf]

". Now I am wondering if I can buy 9mm for $12.00 for a box of 50, is loading 9mm worth it?.".

You can also buy a box of 50 for way over $50.

One can reload to approximate or exactly replicate most any load for not much more than it would cost to produce the most pedestrian of loads.

 

[wanderinwalker]

I have a progressive press and New England winter. Yep, I'll reload 9mm! It doesn't take long to make a couple of hundred, maybe 300-rounds an hour. Break a couple of evening hours out over a week or two and I've got enough ammo to go a couple of months.

For 9mm, I never factor brass cost. It lasts so long and so many people don't reload it, I can always scrounge range brass. I figure it costs about $6.70 per 50 using Berry's Plated bullets for my Glocks. That's $5.30 less than the OPs 50-count price, or just shy of being "buy 2 get one free". If you have a conventially rifled barrel and can run lead bullets, costs go down even more.

 

[fehhkk]

Cheapest 9mm 115 gr. I can find around Ill-annoy, is $9.99 + 10% tax for the Remington UMC. My LGS has Federal Champion 115 gr. FMJ for $11.49.

Comparing local prices for reloading components for 9mm at my local Cabela's, I can reload a box of 50 for around $8.00, even if I buy the casings.

Still a bit cheaper to reload 9mm than to buy a box.

 

[REL1203]

I reload 124g JHP MG for $0.12/round that are both cheap, and extremely accurate. I use them for both plinking and IDPA games. thats 100 rounds for $12. At Walmart, even the cheapest stuff is 50 for $12 after tax, so i look at it as a 50% savings, but I also shoot 200 rounds easily a month, if its a busy month, can be up to 500 rounds. I have to reload at any savings i get so i can afford to shoot as much as I like to.

 

[Dr_B]

I reload a lot of 9mm. I can make a box of 50 for about $6; even less if I use .380 bullets. The primer and powder costs usually hold steady in my area, but the bullet price fluctuates.

 

[Sapper771]

I reload to save money and to produce ammo far more accurate than factory. My cost per box is around $5-$6, which is still 50%-60% cheaper than factory. If I cast my own bullets, then my cost is around $2.00-$2.50 per box. That is saving money.

 

[zxcvbob]

Yes I do, but I load a lot more .38 Specials and mid-power .357 Magnums.

I load them because I like to. The money savings is just gravy for 9mm. If you're reloading just to save money and you don't really enjoy it, you should be shooting .41 Magnum or .45 Colt or 10mm (etc.) Also the local indoor range only allows lead or copper-plated ammo. No jackets and no gas checks. The only 9mm LRN commercial ammo I've tried sucks. But I don't shoot my 9mm indoors much so that's just a minor point.

It costs me about $7 to load a hundred 9mm +P's at current primer and powder prices using the lead bullets I bought 4 years ago while they were still cheap. (it wasn't too long ago you could buy a box of 100 Winchesters for $10, then they disappeared for a while -- don't know what they cost now.) My price will go down to less than $3 per 100 when I run out of the commercial bullets and start casting my own, but my time invested in each round goes way up.

 

[thorn-]

I don't account for my time when watching TV, doing the laundry, driving down to pick up a takeout pizza, or feeding my cat. Nor when I'm reloading ammo... or shooting it, for that matter.

My 9mm reloads are more accurate than WWB, cleaner, and half the price. And when Walmart ran out of WWB during the Obama Ammo Rush, it didn't affect my shooting habits whatsoever.

thorn

 

[Hondo 60]

it's like Spinger said, you reload to make quality ammo or reload to make ammo for cheaper than you can buy it.

Or both - Both is very, very good

 

[Twmaster]

Why I reload 9MM:

Savings.
Fun.
Accuracy.
Pride.

I've got the gear and components to do it. So just Do It! It' beats just surfing the web or being a couch potato and watching the boobtoob.

 

[zeke]

Am reloading for the 9mm cause:
Have lived through multiple brass, powder, loaded round, and primer shortages. Used alot of Win Q4172 when it was around 6-7 dollars a box, and saved the brass. Have picked up thousands of other 9mm brass off the range. Favorite hp load is 124 xtp at 1180 fps, which i can't seem to find from the factory. Bullets for 9mm are cheaper and cheaper to ship than larger calibers. Most quality 9mm brass lasts almost indefinetly.

So during a time of cheap loaded round prices may buy factory rounds, but am prepared for future times of higher prices and shortages, which always follow.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Yep, I reload 9mm. I can load really nice practice rounds for $11/100. Compare this to WWB garbage that will cost $21/100 walmart. My reloads shoot much nicer than WWB for half the cost. By the way, that is absolutely worth my "time".

 

[mizer67]

I loaded about 26K of 9mm last year.

Yes, it's worth it. I would never have been able to purchase that much ammo at factory prices, and if I did, it wouldn't have shot or felt as good as my own.

 

[floydster]

Does a frog have waterproof ears??

 

[J_McLeod]

Not only does it save money and provide something enjoyable for me to do, I get to play around with the loads and get stuff I can't get elsewhere. Like 95gr FMJ loads, or 147gr LRN loads. Both lots of fun to shoot, inexpensive and hard to find at a store.

 

[cemjr]

(1) I reload 9mm for the same reason I reload all other calibers, if the day ever comes when you can't walk into a store and buy ammunition , my firearms will be usable for more than blunt force trauma.
(2) For the reasons previously posted

 

[Metal Tiger]

147gn bullets

I like the heavy for caliber 147gr bullets. Thats one of the reasons to hand load for the 9mm.