Is it actually possible to reload 9mm for less than $139/1000?

[silverlance]

Fiocchi NIB 9mm 115gr: 139/1000.
Georgia Arms reload 9mm 124GR: 149/1000
Miwall reload 9mm 124Gr: 135/1000.

Can it actually be possible to reload for cheaper than that? Time is of no essence. I can watch a movie and reload at the same time. I've been told that it only takes about an hour to reload a thousand rounds with a good press, anyway.

ps: is it real messy? will i need to dedicate a lot of space to this?

I haven't reloaded all these years because people keep telling me that it's not worth it - now I put the same question to you folks who do.

 

[Car Knocker]

I've been relying on components that I've had stashed for a couple of years so I really can't tell you what current costs are.

I do think, however, that a thousand rounds an hour would be pretty tough to do, no matter what brand press you're using.

I can tell you that reloading while watching a movie or engaging in some other distraction is a sure prescription to a damaged firearm and/or an injury. Even though there are devices that help check powder levels, those devices can fail. I've had it happen to me. A double charge of powder is not a good thing; neither is a squib.

Reloading is not particularly messy and it can be done in a couple of square feet; more space is better.

 

[bouis]

300 rnds/hour is a much more realistic number, and about what I get with my Dillon 550.

Winchester White Box is currently, what, about $130/1000 with tax? It's almost not worth it to reload 9mm. But there are some savings to be had.

9mm can be reloaded for about $80/1000 with FMJ bullets if you shop around and buy in bulk to minimize shipping/hazmat fees. Lead bullets would be much cheaper but aren't optimal for the velocity of 9mm -- I've never tried them. Component prices are going up these days, but ammo prices will go up, too.

 

[WayneConrad]

I'm loading 9mm FMJ at about a dime a round, with components purchased recently.

6 cents for a Speer bulk bullet
2 cents for the primer
1 cent for the case
1 cent for the powder

Time wise, my single-stage press makes 200 rounds in two hours without being in a hurry.

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

Why shoot jacketed bullets at paper?

OK, I have shot a lot of lead. In several different calibers. So if I'm not buying jacketed bullets at premium prices, it's either free lead, (which I'm running out of), or $15.00 for 60 pounds at the local tire shop. So that's roughly 230 rounds per pound of lead. With a 6 hole bullet mold, I can easily turn out 125 bullets in 20 minutes.Then there's sizing and lubing them though... More equipment needed.

At 7000gns/pound

Call it $.01/bullet Or, if you're not willing to pour your own, 9mm lead bullets are available for ~$5.00/thousand.
4.3gns of powder per load is ~1625 loads/pound of $20-powder. Or still $.01/load.
I'll go with the fore-mentioned $.02/primer.
And $.01/case.

So that's $.05 each loading your own or with purchased lead -vs- your listed more than $.12/load. Double my numbers, and still, it's cheaper to reload. (The Dillon 550 is easily capable of 400+rnds/hour)

But factor time to reload without distractions. And then.... Factor that over the years I've quite possibly accumulated thousands of dollars of reloading equipment. Some say it's not cost effective to reload. But once the equipment is purchased, it doesn't take but a short time for an "avid" shooter to recoupe the costs. After that, there is a significant savings. Less savings if you're shooting premium jacketed bullets, and less if you're not shooting very often. But if you're shooting often, and shooting lead, it's deffinately worth it.

The only thing I don't reload for is 30/30win. For as much as I shoot the lever gun, it's not worth it when I can go to Wally World and get a box of 20 on sale for $7.00 plus tax. But for my 30-338 that's not a readily available cartridge on sporting goods store shelves, I have to reload.

Even for a 9mm, the satisfaction of building my own talored load for given shooting discipline, Well... It's difficult to quantify a dollar amount on each load.

You ask if it's messy? Not particularly. But I don't reload in my kitchen. I have a gun room dedicated to such.

Ok, if you've got a place to safely do it, and the initial cost of a good progressive press and components are possible, then just try it. You'll either get hooked, or not like it. Even so, you can usually recoupe at least 75% of your equipment costs if you decide to sell.

There are several sticky posts about the cost effectiveness of reloading. Read, read, read... Opinions differ, you'll have to make up your own mind. But everyone I know, that I shoot with, that's at the range when they aren't doing something else, -they reload. Mostly, because it's cheaper and allows them to shoot more.

-Steve

 

[JDGray]

1000 115gr winchester fmj - 49.00 shipped
1000 winchester primers - 18.00 w/tax
powder per/1000 - 14.85
cases free
Exersize for my right arm
total......................81.85/1000

I enjoy reloading almost as much as shooting, I would guess about 5 hours to do at 1 sitting, which I wouldn't enjoy.

 

[taliv]

$43/1000 FMJ bullets
powder is about $10,
primers are $14

reuse your cases

nets you something under $70/1000, cheaper if you use lead bullets

a dillon 1050 is advertised at a 1200 rnd/yr rate
i go slow and get something around 800ish without difficulty


DO NOT WATCH MOVIES WHILE RELOADING. concentrate on what you're doing.

I've found reloading to be extremely messy.

 

[Crosshair]

I come out ahead with reloading 9mm since I get all my cases for free at the range.

 

[target4fun]

If you do reloading for costs alone, for 9mm I wouldnt do it. Unless you are shooting thousands of round's. I never have reloaded 9mm (too cheap) but I hear from other members that it is a pain to reload versus reloading for 40/45 which is econmical to reload IMHO. I also agree reloading infront of a TV, isn't a good idea, I tried it it doesn't work. Even the radio, I wouldnt use at first but you can after you become used to your "rythm" of reloading its okay. If your still intrested in reloading, most dont do it for costs they do it because it is fun and a challenge. I would reccomend try a single stage press maybe from RCBS, start out with the cheap stuff then go progressive once your gung-ho cause it get pricey real quick.


Hope it help's some.

Stockton

 

[rchernandez]

9mm UMC is currently on sale at Sportsman's Warehouse for $5.88/box of 50. I still have a few ammo boxes worth from last years sale at $4.96/box. After my "N"th visit they waived the 10 box limit!

I reload .45acp, 38spl and 32S&WL, for cost and accuracy. 9mm on the other hand, I can't beat for what I can get it for! I'm sure one day we will cross the price point when it becomes more cost effective to reload. We're not there yet.

Since I'm only shooting 9mm out of my Glock, I leave the brass for others to collect

 

[Jim Watson]

I am at present loading 9mm P with components at the following replacement cost. (I have supplies on hand bought for less.)

$70/M bullets
$19/M primers*
$ 8/M powder*
free brass

*includes Hazmat ripoff but not freight, I can have components drop-shipped to the Trap & Skeet club.

That is $97 a thousand for tailored subsonic ammo I cannot buy at Cheapmart.

 

[silverlance]

thank you all

You've given me a lot of food for thought.

My conclusion:

How to make it worthwhile -

simple.

shoot a heckuva lot.

=)

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

Around here (N TX), Academy usually has 9mm blazer, 115 gr fmj, aluminum cases (non-reloadable), for $3.99/50 or less than $80/1000.

Andy

 

[robctwo]

I've been reloading since 2004. I started with 9mm. I figure I reload for about 1/2 price of WWB. I turn out 300 per hour on my Hornady LnL without hurrying. I listen to radio while reloading and watch what I'm doing. The reloading pays for the press after a few thousand rounds. Then it pays for the next gun, and the next, and the next.

You start reloading .40 and .45. Savings jump dramatically. You bought the .40 and the .45 with the savings. You buy more gear. You buy more supplies in larger quantities, the savings grow exponentially. You get custom guns. They are free, because the 500 to 1,000 rounds of ammo you are shooting per week would have cost three to five times what it did.

You buy more brass, because you understand why people need to have 3,000-5,000 rounds available in at least three calibers.

Of course reloading 9mm is cheaper than buying a few boxes of WWB every few weeks. That's what I tell my wife every month.

 

[BluesBear]

It's apparant that you haven't done much research into reloading.
At least you haven't done enough.

Before ANYONE should start they need , and I mean really NEED to read as much as they can. Study reloading manuals and books. Talk face to face with people who actually do it. Gather all of the knowledge you can from as many sources as possible.

Then and only then, after you have enough useful information, start buying equipment.

Reloading is a very enjoyable hobby. But it is also one of the most serious.

Never forget that reloading is one of the few legal hobbies that you can do totally within the confines of your home that could easily cause injury and/or death to you and to bystanders.

One mistake is all it takes.

 

[Jim Watson]

Dang, Andy, I have to check Academy. Around here they went up from $3.86 to $4.89 several months ago and I haven't been back in lately.
I prefer my own but always keep some econoball if I get behind in my work or want to shoot somebody else's gun.

 

[kid_couteau]

Lets seeeee

1000 bullets about $43.00
1000 primers about $20.00
Powder for 1000 rounds about $12.00

Follow cops around and get their free once fired brass

Lee Loader for 9MM $20.00

Lee powder dippers $8.00

Little wooden mallet $4.00

Case lube $5.00

$112.00 for 1000 rounds.

Next time around you only need powder, primers and lead so figure $75.00 per 1000.

Yup its slow. Yup you wanna kill yourself. But yup you can do it this way.

Kid

 

[ocabj]

Yes, it's possible to reload 9mm for less than $139 per 1000.

Yes, there is always a worthwhile reason to reload any cartridge. I like to reload 9mm because I like 147gr 9mm bullets out of a 5" Taurus and Beretta barrel. I like to reload 9mm because I still get cost savings over factory ammo in 115gr and 124gr loadings.

 

[raz-0]

I'm currently loading 9mm. 124gr bullets.. $46 per 1k shipped (recently)
Powder is about $15 a pound, which is good for about 1600 rounds or so.
Primers are about $17 a thousand.
Brasss is once fired pickup from matches. FREE.

So about $80 a thousand.

Now my reloading setup has set me back about $800 since I first started, the time to savings for 9mm is pretty long. However, I used to shoot a lot of .45 ACP, and after having loaded about 10,000 rounds of that, i'm about $280 into the black after 3 years. But the cost savings are about double that of 9mm. So don't expect to be averaging less than $130 per 1000 until you hit the 18-20k mark.

My main issue with loading 9mm is that it takes longer because the small size and tapered case makes it harder to handle. I'm getting into the groove finally and only hitting about 300 rounds per hour. With .45 i was getting about 420.

 

[fordman650]

9mm reloading

well after reading this post i think that i will start reloading 9's,unless i'm wrong the cheapest i can get is $6.99 a box which = $349.50 per thousand and if i can load for around $139 that is a savings even at $5.00 a box that worth it and it's a great hobby

 

[Hutch]

If your time is free, then it's a little better than break-even for 9mm. However, 9mm is probably the LEAST efficient measure. I shoot Cowboy Action, and the equation is much different for .44Spl and .45 Colt. The savings are dramatic. Also, if you ever get into serious target shooting, you can load more accurate ammo than you can buy.

 

[callgood]

All I reload/shoot in 9mm are 124gr Gold Dots. With brass, between 20-21 cents each. Reusing brass right at 14.2 cants each. I started reloading when I began shooting 10mm. You can save a bundle reloading 10mm.

 

[wrangler5]

You can see some, but not dramatic, savings on 9mm FMJ loads compared to White Box or Blazer. But if you CARRY a 9mm with premium defensive ammo (like Hornady XTPs or Speer Gold Dots) you CAN see some dramatic savings if you load your own defensive practice loads using the same premium bullets.

I carry factory loads in my carry guns, but I think it's useful to periodically put a few magazines worth of rounds downrange using my carry gun and carry ammo. That can get expensive, though, with ammo that's sold in boxes of 20. Speer and Hornady both offer defensive ammo, but they also sell their defensive bullets as components, and you can duplicate their defensive loads for way under half of retail if you reload.

For example, Midway sells Speer 9mm 124g Gold Dot ammo for $690/1000 rounds and Hornady XTP for about $600. (I know, you're probably not going to make up 1K of these, but it fits with figures others have posted earlier.) Midway sells the Gold Dot bullets separately for $128/1000, and XTPs for $150 (lower if you have a dealer or collector FFL on file with them.) If you use Jim Watson's figures from yesterday and substitute bullet costs, you come out with about $155/1000 for your own Gold Dot loads, and $177 for XTPs. Add in some shipping, maybe add a bit for some more powder for these full power loads, and you're still probably in the neighborhood of $200/1000 for these "premium" loads.

So go ahead, load up a thousand, and you've "paid for" your press.

 

[Berek]

I can reload at about $0.08 per round. $0.05 per round if I scrounge brass, which my range has no problem with. Of course, I give each case a thorough inspection before reloading....

But then, I'm not too keen on non-brass cases and have found, at least in my area, the Winchester White-box is getting unreliable. In my last 5 boxes of 50, I had 13 hang-fires, about as many misfires and 2 squibs. They did come from the same lot #, so it could have been that lot... I dunno....

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Why shoot jacketed bullets at paper?

Why pump more poison into the air with each shot in close proximity to you if you don't have to do so?

Around here (N TX), Academy usually has 9mm blazer, 115 gr fmj, aluminum cases (non-reloadable), for $3.99/50 or less than $80/1000.

Jim Watson is right. They went back up several months ago. It now roughly costs $100 per 1000.

---------------

Reloading is only cheaper if your time has zero dollar value. If you really enjoy reloading and have the time, then it can equate to a zero dollar value. For me, it is cheaper to buy because I don't have the time for such endeavors. Of the shooters that I know that reload (although I have met a couple of exceptions at gun schools), reloading becomes so encompassing that they seem to focus quite a bit on shooting to reload instead of reloading to shoot. In other words, the main focus, even while shooting, it the reloads, their performance, etc.