how beneficial for 9mm?

[spanky1968]

For my personal use, my costs are the same as the others. For plated 124 gr RN range bullets my cost per round is around $0.12 ea. For 124gr HP's my cost is about $0.25-30 ea.

I also "save" money building my own deer bullets. I can load a premium nosler bullet that shoots one hole at 100 yards in my 03-a3 for about $0.65-.70 per round versus $1.50 per round buying factory Federal Premiums. Same with varmint bullets. If I bought premium HP ammo to shoot prairie dogs it would double my ammo costs. I load my own .223 premium HP's for about $0.40/round.

Now if you factor in increased shooting, you consume more so you have to load more. Cyclical relationship.

 

[Toprudder]

For me, 9mm costs about 11 cents per round. Plated 115gn from Xtreme when they have their black Friday sales are about 7 cents each, primers are 2.8 cents each, powder at about 1.3 cents each. (I can get pistol powder for $20 per pound or less, and get about 1500 rounds out of a pound.)

But as other have mentioned, it isn't about saving money, at least not for 9mm. It is a hobby, and I love the fact I can tailor my ammo to my gun, and my own (or wife's) shooting preference. Plus I can keep loading when the shelves at Walmart are completely empty - which is the main reason I started reloading.

Now for other calibers like 357 or 44mag, or even .380, that is where the real cost savings will occur.

 

[mdi]

I wish my reply would/could be helpful, but...

I have no idea how much it costs, per round to reload my 9mms (or any other caliber I reload). I reload because it is one of the most satisfying aspects of my shooting hobby(s). I like reloading. I like researching various loads, looking through one of my manuals and considering which load I would like to try. I like getting all the components together. I like assembling the ammo in my carefully prepared brass. I especially like shooting my custom ammo. I like recording and analyzing the results...

 

[FROGO207]

I do not really look at price per round all that much either. I ENJOY reloading in and as of it's self. Also I can assemble whatever I want that is more accurate than factory and have it whenever I want it---with a bit of preplanning and supplies. No going to the LGS to come up empty or have a 2 or 3 box limit before I can to go to the range.

It was not all that long ago that a 50 RND box of Blaser Brass was a mere $3.99 at the local WM. Now I am still loading mine for around that cost when buying lead bullets and the usual supplies.

 

[Esoteria]

I just shifted to a progressive press and started loading 9mm only when I did that. I love reloading, but I don't think it's worth the time to load 9mm 7 less you're on a progressive. It'll save you maybe $5 a box even with carefully selected cheaper components, and on a single stage or turret press it takes too long to make 50 rounds for that $5 savings to be worth it, especially once you factor in your initial equipment investment.

Also, I definitely don't recommend starting on a progressive unless you are a very careful and patient person, because there is a lot to learn.

However I don't want to discourage reloading in general. It's a great hobby of its own. I just don't want you to be frustrated by a low return on investment if you start out with 9mm. If you shoot other calibers, go for it, and reload 9mm while you're at it to get more practice. If it's 9mm exclusively and you're not a super high volume shooter willing to put in the time to learn a progressive, I just can't recommend it.

 

[Zendude]

I shoot at indoor ranges, so I must use brass-cased ammo. I can reload for about half the price of the lowest priced 9mm factory brass ammo. For other calibers, my reloads are about one third or less of the cost of factory ammo.

 

[gwpercle]

You don't really " save " money reloading. We tell our wives that , whenever we buy more reloading stuff...." look how much I'm saving ! " You do shoot a whole lot more.
It's a fun hobby , I've been enjoying it since 1967. Can't stand golf , so I reload and shoot !

It's like when the wife goes to a big sale , comes home shows you all these new clothes and says " see how much money I saved ... !" Right !

 

[gbw]

You won't save any money.

You will shoot more, likely considerably more.

Sorry! Guy above me already said it. But I do love to play golf!

 

[SCC]

After my first year of shooting I realized that I could have paid for a 650 with my savings had I been reloading my 9mm. This was during the height of the shortage and at times I was unable to buy either ammo or components. My planned expansion into 300AAC (subsonic) made reloading a necessity, both economically and functionally. So I bought that 650.

Over the last year or so my average cost per 9mm round has been around 16 cents using components bought at inflated prices. More recently bought components should result in a cost of about 13.5 cents per round. 300AAC is running under 35 cents a round for my favorite subsonic load and about 30 cents for supers. With factory ammo costing more than double that, it puts the cost of shooting blackout on par with shooting .223 factory ammo.

Net of it all is that I get exactly what I want in 300AAC at an acceptable cost and also save some $ on 9mm which I consider to be a commodity item. I shoot more, enjoy it more, and also enjoy the process of making my own. However with all the stocked up components, I won't be seeing those savings any time soon.

---Scott.

 

[anbrumm]

I am currently loading for about 15 cents per round. It could be a little cheaper, but I bought my bullets by the box of 250 because they were out of both 500 and 1000 boxes. This added about 15 dollars to the total cost. After using this batch of bullets my reloading cost will be closer to 12 cents.

Typically I was paying 14.99 per 50 at local stores. Currently I am reloading for half of the cost of factory ammo. I use a square deal b, and it takes me about 30 minutes to load up 100 rounds (mostly because I am new to it. Could be more rounds per hour).

Overall to me it is definitely worth it to reload.

 

[bullseye308]

P

Definitely cast your own, you will see a better savings. I put an ad on Craigslist looking for lead and someone had half a ton he didn't need anymore that I got for free. eBay has lead, tin, and pewter you can get cheap if you are diligent and don't overspend. Also check local recyclers, tire shops, plumbers, roofers, and anyone else that might have lead.

I dont know your budget, but if it is small or you just want to keep startup costs low to try it out get a Lee single stage press, Lee dies, Lee sizing die, Lee scale and Lee molds. Get something sturdy to bolt it to. If you don't have a workbench you can use a 2x6 x2' and clamp it to a table. Pick up every piece of range brass you find. What you don't use you can trade or recycle later on. Find small pistol primers locally and some powder and you are off(after reading a reloading manual a time or 2). Once you get the hang of it you can move up to a turret and have confidence that you know what to look for, what is going on, and what you are doing. Document every load good or bad and when you find "the load" crank them out and stock up on primers and powder for it.

Buying powder and primers in the largest qty you can adds to your savings per round especially if bought locally. The last time I bought powder I got a good price on 2 8# jugs of Bullseye and 30k CCI 500's. That was a few years ago and I'm just getting to them now. My loads for 9mm, 38, 357, 40, & 45 run me $40/k as I got a lot of free lead, picked up all my cases at the range, and only pay for powder and primers. My equipment paid for itself in a few months and I really enjoy reloading, so it's all a benefit. I had the opportunity to buy Dillon and bought the Lee. I don't mind tinkering with it to get it running smoothly and once dialed in it just runs. The $ saved went for components.

Something else to consider is you can tune the load to your gun, off the shelf ammo won't do that. Once stocked up shortages are not an issue and you will have the range mostly to yourself if another ammo shortage happens. When others can't go shoot because Walmart is out of ammo you can shoot all you want. You are not limited to whatever is on the shelf and hoping they have what you want, you make it yourself, the way you want it.

If you shoot 357 or any odd calibers and most rifle you will see much more savings. And it just gets better.

 

[Bartojc]

To the OP, I reload 9mm for at least 50% of that you said factory ammo costs. Berry's or RMR, free brass, and a few pennies for powder and primer.
Of course in the end nothing is saved. Just like everyone else here it is spent to buy more components so you can shoot more, or more firearms so you can load a different caliber, or........

-Jeff

 

[cfullgraf]

One will always save money reloading versus buying factory ammunition. What you do with the saving is up to you. Being able to take the significant other out for a nice dinner or shooting more are nice benefits of the savings.

It has been decades since I figured what my reloading cost per round is. I enjoy reloading and I really do not care to be obsessive about the cost. I always keep a supply of components on hand.

Some folks do not care to reload, do not like it, or don't have or won't allocate the time for reloading so buying ammunition is their option. That is just fine.

Part of having reloading equipment is I get to enjoy firearms that use difficult to find ammunition, obsolete ammunition, or wildcat ammunition.

 

[thomas15]

On the day I handloaded my first 9mm round of ammo I had about 1000 rounds of factory 9mm on my shelf. Since then I have shot about 25000 rounds of 9mm. Today I still have 1000 rounds of factory, those are the same factory rounds I had 25000 rounds ago.

 

[spanky1968]

I reload for another reason. Reloading helps me stay connected to the things taught to me by my dad and our shooting heritage. He died in 2014, so for me, using his tools and my tools together to make custom bullets is a huge plus.

 

[joem1945]

I started loading .30-06 for .18 per round but I bought surplus powder and bullets and other surplus powders. Now the surplus is no more so cost is going up. I still save a little bit by shooting cast lead for pistols but not much any more. Now I reload to shoot and shoot so I can reload.

 

[CZ9shooter]

On the day I handloaded my first 9mm round of ammo I had about 1000 rounds of factory 9mm on my shelf. Since then I have shot about 25000 rounds of 9mm. Today I still have 1000 rounds of factory, those are the same factory rounds I had 25000 rounds ago

I would have shot that factory ammo up by now. To "extract" the brass, so I could reload even more.

I've even disassembled a few handfuls of factory ammo that I didn't care for just so I could use the components in my own loads.

I may have a problem.

 

[Toprudder]

I reload for another reason. Reloading helps me stay connected to the things taught to me by my dad and our shooting heritage. He died in 2014, so for me, using his tools and my tools together to make custom bullets is a huge plus.

I have to say that made me smile.

 

[Bama Drifter]

I've vowed I won't be reloading 9mm until either
a) 9mm isn't easy to get
b) I finally get that Dillon 650

I generally stock up when I can get ammo for $0.20 to $0.21 a round. A case or two will last me a little bit.

I can reload it for about $0.12 to $0.13 depending on the quantity of projectiles I buy. Saving $0.07 to $0.09 a round isn't worth my time on a single stage.

I'll focus my reloading time and effort to the more expensive rounds like .30-06 or .38 Special.

As another single stage fella here, I spend my time more productively on .45ACP, .44mag, .357mag and more expensive rounds. I DO save 9mm range brass for the day I eventually move to Montana and have room and resources for a progressive press.

FWIW, I have 6 1911s, but only own one 9mm (G19) and feed it cheap Russkie steel case. My time is worth more than the price difference. I got toddlers to wrangle!

 

[CZ9shooter]

Idk, when I started I loaded 9mm on a single stage press. This went on for nearly five years. My volumes arent super huge or anything, but probably higher than average. I'd load a hundred rounds at a crack. Twice per month or so. I never timed it, but maybe an hour and half, once I got the hang of things. Thats no big deal to me. If not for reloading I probably woulda spent that time doing next to nothing anyhow. So putting it toward half price ammo, why not!?

I have since expanded into other more expensive calibers, and upgraded to faster presses. My time spent reloading has always been worthwhile, it is just more so nowadays.

 

[Dudedog]

I don't save any money I just shoot three times as much.
Depending on bullet, lead/coated lead/plated/jacketed
about $6-$8/50 (nice SD HP bullets are more expensive)
Bullet 1000 RMR 124 Plated FNs $81 shipped
Primers S+B SP $20/1000 Cabelas free shipping on $100 order + $20 HAZMAT makes them $24/1000 if you buy 5000, less if you buy more.
Powder $21lb (order with your primers on the same HAZMAT)



So for 50
$4.50 for bullets
$1.20 for Primers
< $1.00 for powder ( 4-5gr most powders, lets call it $1)
$6.70/50 or .134 a round including shipping
These also shoot better than thew cheap off the shelf 9mm stuff.

 

[armoredman]

I reload 9mm on a single stage press. I have fun doing it. For those who don't want to, be happy.
Wanna really freak people out on the firing line? Load up home cast hand loaded 7.62x39mm ammo...

 

[jwrowland77]

Another good thing about reloading 9mm, is you can truly customize it to your pistol.

One of the bullets I load is the Berrys 124gr HBRN-TP. I load them at 1.180" OAL. They feed great and have great accuracy with them.

 

[LiveLife]

how much money saved for reloading 9mm?

I pay about $24-29 per 100rounds depending on what I buy at Walmart.

not looking for super accurate loads just some plinking stuff.

For me, it's beneficial to reload 9mm.

My range sessions run several hundred rounds and I will shoot way over 10K rounds of 9mm each year. My current "plinking load" cost for 9mm is below $120/1000 using 115/124 gr RMR HM plated bullets and 3.8-4.2 gr of Promo. That's $1,500+ savings over factory ammo shooting over 10K rounds per year and $15,000+ over 10 years!

In addition to cost savings, I am interested in accuracy. With 100/115 gr RMR HM RN and HP-38, I initially got over 1" 10 shot groups @ 50 yards with JR carbine (I am working to reduce vertical stringing with more consistent muzzle velocity loads). I doubt I will get that with cheap factory "target" loads.

 

[ColoradoShooter77]

My cost breakdown for 9mm is like this:

Bullets = $70 for X-treme 115 grain plated on sale

Primers = $25/brick for S&B small pistol

Powder = 1.5 cents/round with CFE-Pistol at 5.3 grains/case. I bought an 8 pounder for $175 delivered.

That's $110/1000.