Why load 9mm ammo?

[LiveLife]

Why load 9mm ammo?

I'd still answer the OP by saying that if I am going to spend my money and time loading, I'd rather spend it on something more interesting than 9mm ... More savings

Reloading 9mm savings is relative to how much you shoot and what you shoot.

I started building 9mm AR carbines during the "Great Component Shortage" of 2013 when 22LR prices went above $5/50, just about the cost for me to reload 9mm with components I bought in bulk.

I also found AR based 9mm to offer same manual of arms training and drill practice as AR15s at close defensive distances and for plinking with acceptable accuracy from various powders (Sub 1" 10 shot groups at 25 yards and 2" 10 shot groups at 50 yards).

Since then component prices have gone up but buying in bulk, my reloading cost was still kept around $6/50 or about half the cost of buying factory.

So if you shoot around 500 rounds a month, cost savings could be:

• $60/month or $720/year (pre-pandemic pricing of $12/50)
• $270/month or $3240/year (post-pandemic pricing of $33/50)

Now if you shoot more, say around 1000-1500 rounds a month, just double or triple the cost savings.

And if you shoot 9mm PCC instead of .223/5.56, your cost savings could exceed $10,000 a year.

I am glad that I got set up for large volume 9mm reloading and CMMG 22LR conversion bolts for my AR15s as I got to stock up for retirement when primers were $20/1000 and copper plated RN/HP 22LR were selling for $16-$19/500 and now can shoot as much as I want without worrying about finding ammo.

So yes, I am glad I reload 9mm as I am saving over $10,000 a year every year until ammunition prices come down.

After spending over $176,000 on reloading 600,000+ pistol rounds and untracked amount of rifle rounds the past 26 years (I told my wife I saved her like $150,000+ over buying factory ammo), I am going to tell my wife that I will be saving her additional $200,000 in the next 20 years.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Money/availability wasn't an issue for me when I started loading 9mm Luger, I enjoy it and prefer my ammo to factory fodder.

 

[Cannibul]

I'm about to start casting for 9mm.. lol

I've been casting for 9mm for quite a while.

Good luck finding dies and components at a reasonable price.

Smart people were prepared, most of us have been through at least one shortage, some of us 3-4 of them.

9mm is not the easiest cartridge to reload for. There is a learning curve to it, even more when you add cast bullets to the mix.

I load for 9mm because with my cast bullets my cost is under $5/100. 45 ACP is right at $5.05/100.

I shoot enough that I "save" enough money every year I could buy a new Dillon 750 with accessories. Sadly my wife pretends to not understand the math and won't let me have the "savings".

 

[mmb617]

I started loading 9mm when I could buy factory ammo for not much more money because I enjoy reloading as a hobby. Now I'm seeing prices as high as a buck a round for 9mm factory ammo so it really makes sense to reload.

 

[kcofohio]

We have about 10 or so guns here that chamber the 9mm Luger round. One is a revolver, and some cheap ammo bullets will pull out and jam the cylinder. I like to avoid surprises. Plus I can custom the loads and ensure that all the guns will accept the cartridge.

 

[bullseye308]

I have been loading 9mm for 20+ years because I can do it cheaper than factory, but more importantly, I tailor the load to the gun for the most accurate round and the least recoil. I load for 6 different 9’s and I load 3 different loads now. One load fits 3 guns, 2 loads work in 2 guns, and 1 likes its own load.
I got half a ton of lead years back for free and have always picked up every piece of brass I could. What brass I didn’t need I traded for components and the rest is being used. 9mm costs me 42/1000 to load, as does 38, 357, and 45 so the more I shoot the more I save.

 

[doubleh]

I started reloading back in the dark ages. With a wife and two small children to support dollars were in rather short supply and I have continued to reload because of two reasons, to save money and have more accurate ammo. When I decided to start shooting 9mm blaser was available for $5.50 a box and Monarch was even cheaper at less then $4. It really wasn't worth the effort to reload because the savings were very small and it was just plinking ammo to me and still is for the most part. When the price started it's upward trend I bought a set of dies and a couple of molds. At today's prices the nines or any other of my centerfire guns would just be put away. I have a good supply of components on hand so maybe I can weather this latest storm.

 

[buck460XVR]

9mm became such a popular caliber because at one time with all the surplus ammo available and the relatively low demand, it was cheap to feed 9mm guns. Surplus has dried up and demand has increase exponentially. Only makes sense in a Capitalistic society that the price has increased. Like many others, I got into reloading to save money on calibers that were expensive. I've since moved on to calibers where I want ammo that is more accurate and more consistent in my guns than standard factory ammo. Many times that means my ammo costs as much, if not more, than cheap bulk ammo. Now I reload everyting I shoot because i enjoy reloading as a hobby and I enjoy shooting ammo I created. Not to say I don't buy factory ammo yet when I find a bargain.

 

[sequins]

I can't afford the eley match 124gn RMR projectile factory ammo, so I load my own

 

[mdi]

I quit counting pennies for my reloads decades ago. I reload because I like to...

 

[Jim Watson]

Because commercial 9mm 147 gr subsonic is much more expensive than 115 gr econoball and I like the heavy bullet.

 

[Eugen]

I don't shoot 9mm anywhere close to what the OP shoots. But, I have collected pounds of 9mm casings from new rounds I've shot plus may more from the range over the years. Some range buddies made fun of me for collecting 9mm and 9mm short. Now I have all the pistol casings I need for my needs. They don't.

I'm also glad I happened to have a few thousand boxes of primers before the famine hit. I'll admit I have reduced my range time to ensure I have plenty of ammo if things get worse.

 

[hardheart]

I quit counting pennies for my reloads decades ago. I reload because I like to...

I still check, but only to make sure I'm under factory costs. The very act of buying anything reduces the amount of money we have, so buying is never saving anyway. There's no financial return on recreational shooting or reloading, it's all exchanging money for something other than money. Just doing it slowly or quickly.

 

[Charlie98]

After I bought my Browning HiPower back in the '90's, I started handloading for it... and got completely frustrated. So much so that I gave up on loading 9mm, sold all of my components... including a 3K+ box of Winchester component bullets... and just bought factory. Granted, ammo was cheap back then, but, eventually, I gave my BHP away and got out of the 9mm business altogether.

Around 2010, I parked my carry .380 for a Kahr 9mm... and was back into the 9mm business, again. Even during the Dark Ages, 9mm was fairly easy to find, and cheap enough... but I knew better. I went ahead and picked up dies and components to load for it... and here we are, again. 9mm is Unobtanium... but I've got enough to get me by until things free up.

Generically speaking, I don't load 9mm when I can get factory ammos... the trade off in time vs the money saved isn't a big deal for me when compared to the other cartridges I load for... like .41MAG, and most of my rifle cartridges. I don't have infinite time to handload, so I have to pick my battles. I would say the same about 5.56mm... I buy factory ammos by the case rather than waste my time reloading for it... but that doesn't mean I don't have the components to do so. Luck favors the prepared.

 

[Speedo66]

For all those who have asked the question for years "why bother loading 9mm when its so cheap, its not worth it?". Below is your answer.View attachment 949556

I was buying Russian steel for under $6 a box, and good brass 9mm for under $8, didn't pay to reload as far as I was concerned. I still have a large stash of ammo, no need to reload for that caliber. I save reloading for the expensive stuff.

If you're at the point where you're considering paying $33 a box for Russian steel, you're doing it wrong.

 

[KYregular]

I don't shoot 9mm anywhere close to what the OP shoots. But, I have collected pounds of 9mm casings from new rounds I've shot plus may more from the range over the years. Some range buddies made fun of me for collecting 9mm and 9mm short. Now I have all the pistol casings I need for my needs. They don't.

I'm also glad I happened to have a few thousand boxes of primers before the famine hit. I'll admit I have reduced my range time to ensure I have plenty of ammo if things get worse.

Now thats being smart. I have been reloading bulk Hornady XTP for some time for emergency PD. Cheap, accurate, and efficient. I figured out years ago if 22 could skyrocket then 9mm certainly could.

 

[THe Dove]

66 cents per round for Tula 9 MM ammo. BWAHAHAHAHA

 

[jebova2301]

For me, I didn't really stockpile many 9mm components, as the cost savings opposed to buying new ammo at the time while I was stocking up just wasn't really there. I prefer jacketed bullets, and after all was done, I was going to be saving about 2 cents per round over buying factory new. For me, it was easier to just amass a stockpile of loaded ammo while the ammo was so cheap. I mean, I was looking at 9 cents per bullet, 3 cents per primer, and one or two cents worth of powder, breaking it down to about 13-14 cents per round. When I was able to buy a case of 1000 rounds for 160 bucks(16 cents per round shipped to my door), the savings in reloading just wasn't there. I do reload for some 9mm, but it isn't really my thing. For me, it was far easier to just pay the little extra, get the new brass with the loaded ammo, and not have to deal with the time involved in reloading it. I normally only go through about 3000 rounds of 9mm a year, so when I ended up buying somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 rounds throughout the year while they were dirt cheap, I knew it was going to last me a good long while. Sure, I could have bought the components that would have lasted me for about 17,000 rounds, but I also value my time to some extent. It was just one of those oddball cases where stockpiling components compared to loaded ammo still didn't carry enough value for me to be worth it over buying factory ammo. There is a big difference for me when comparing it to something like 223 where loaded ammo was going for 260-270 a case shipped(26-27 cents per round), but I can load for 15-16 cents per round. That big of a savings made it worthwhile to buy the components rather than the ammo, since I could get so much more of a stockpile of components.

I know the argument is always "You can stock up components cheaper than you can loaded ammo!" In this case, 9mm was one with such a minimal difference in price between components and factory ammo that I wouldn't have been saving enough with components to justify it in my own mind. Like I said, I still keep some components on hand, but with my preference being jacketed bullets, the difference was so minimal that I was willing to pay the slight extra to save myself the time of reloading. If I wanted to make the value lean even further in favor of the loaded ammo, I can always consider the value I can get for the scrap brass if I choose to sell it as opposed to reload it.

 

[KYregular]

For me, I didn't really stockpile many 9mm components, as the cost savings opposed to buying new ammo at the time while I was stocking up just wasn't really there. I prefer jacketed bullets, and after all was done, I was going to be saving about 2 cents per round over buying factory new. For me, it was easier to just amass a stockpile of loaded ammo while the ammo was so cheap. I mean, I was looking at 9 cents per bullet, 3 cents per primer, and one or two cents worth of powder, breaking it down to about 13-14 cents per round. When I was able to buy a case of 1000 rounds for 160 bucks(16 cents per round shipped to my door), the savings in reloading just wasn't there. I do reload for some 9mm, but it isn't really my thing. For me, it was far easier to just pay the little extra, get the new brass with the loaded ammo, and not have to deal with the time involved in reloading it. I normally only go through about 3000 rounds of 9mm a year, so when I ended up buying somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 rounds throughout the year while they were dirt cheap, I knew it was going to last me a good long while. Sure, I could have bought the components that would have lasted me for about 17,000 rounds, but I also value my time to some extent. It was just one of those oddball cases where stockpiling components compared to loaded ammo still didn't carry enough value for me to be worth it over buying factory ammo. There is a big difference for me when comparing it to something like 223 where loaded ammo was going for 260-270 a case shipped(26-27 cents per round), but I can load for 15-16 cents per round. That big of a savings made it worthwhile to buy the components rather than the ammo, since I could get so much more of a stockpile of components.

I know the argument is always "You can stock up components cheaper than you can loaded ammo!" In this case, 9mm was one with such a minimal difference in price between components and factory ammo that I wouldn't have been saving enough with components to justify it in my own mind. Like I said, I still keep some components on hand, but with my preference being jacketed bullets, the difference was so minimal that I was willing to pay the slight extra to save myself the time of reloading. If I wanted to make the value lean even further in favor of the loaded ammo, I can always consider the value I can get for the scrap brass if I choose to sell it as opposed to reload it.

I also prefer jacketed bullets in general, but I shoot a lot of steel in training while moving, and plated like lead does not give near as much of a chance of jacket flack coming back at you, especially if you angle your targets down some. To me though, you cannot beat RMR match winner jacketed bullets for price and accuracy when they are available. I did amass a stock pile of factory ammo when it was cheap, but also components because I've seen this before.

 

[Spare Parts]

After spending over $176,000 on reloading 600,000+ pistol rounds and untracked amount of rifle rounds the past 26 years (I told my wife I saved her like $150,000+ over buying factory ammo), I am going to tell my wife that I will be saving her additional $200,000 in the next 20 years.

Over here, we call it "saving our way into the Poor House". However, I don't fault your logic. Some things are "the Owner's Draw", meaning it's a necessary "Live Life" expenditure.

My wife doesn't question my seeming-random expenditures on various commodities - like lead, copper, and nitrates. I find brass at the range for free.

 

[Skgreen]

I've been reloading 9 ever since I got a Progressive press. (FWIW, cheap 9 was everywhere back then. Didn't matter)

Stockpiled ~all I needed~ as far as components when they were on sale. Bought more Factory ammo when it was 'super-cheap-on-sale'.

Doesn't mean I'll never run out, but I'm certainly not loosing any sleep over it at this time.

 

[mjsdwash]

better reason, Colt pattern AR-9, GI 1911 clone in 9mm, Loadmaster in 9mm, THR member Longdayjake selling bullets, $6.50/box loaded.... cheapest around here it $13.00 pre-panic..... Perfecta occasionally on sale for $11.00 before Walmart dropped it. 50 rounds takes about 5 minutes with the prep. So around 600 rounds per hour.

 

[JussRight]

I use small rifle primers for 9mm without issue. They were the only ones available.

I did not know that. Thanks for the info

 

[BCR#1]

The only real issue IMO.

Poor planning is all.

Bill

 

[Bat Rastard]

I did not know that. Thanks for the info

They will fit, but there are things to watch for.
1. They throw more flame. That will affect your pressure.

2. They are harder. Does your pistol have strong enough springs to fire them? Some do, some don't.

It is certainly not a plug and play option. I experimented with it, and abandoned the project.