Is the 9 mm a pain to reload for?

R

Russ57

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My older brother, the reloader in the family, causally mentioned that he won't reload 9 mm. IIRC it was reasons like high pressure load with small case capacity (didn't care at the time as I had no intention of owning a 9mm).

Well now I'm getting ready to retire so will be at home and out in the public a lot more. Figure it is time to get my "zombie apocalypse double stack tupperware gun" and perhaps a CCW one too. 9 MM just seems like the obvious choice.

Could it be because he uses a Dillion 550? If I want to show up with dies and powder in hand what would y'all suggest? Or maybe it is cheap enough that reloading isn't worth the bother?
 
I started reloading 9mm when ammo got scarce and expensive, now I do it as therapy (seems I reload more than I shoot). Never had a problem with 9mm its pretty straight forward with plenty of data available and any visit to a range will provide you with lots of empty brass to play with. .380 on the other hand..............
 
I reload the 9mm like all other calibers I shoot except 22LR. As with any simi-auto, you can go through a lot of ammo in a short period of time. A Auto Progressive press is preferred. I don't own a Dillon, but with the 550 you will need a few more items beside dies and supplies. A shell holder/plate and a die holder (tool head) would be required if he does not have any spares. A lot of Dillon uses have a powder dispenser mounted on each die holder, so they do not have to set the dispenser every time. Dillons are not designed for easy removal like some mfg. Can be done, just a little more trouble.

As for as high pressure rounds, there are several that fall into that. The key is using a powder that meters accurately and has a good case fill. This way it's easy to detect over charge. You can also run in the middle of the load range if you gun will function at not max pressure. I use ball powders since they meter accurately, and fill the case.

Your brother may teach you if you ask and have all the necessary equipment and supplies. I have a open policy on teaching those who want to learn. I allow them to use my equipment under supervision as long as they supply the consumables, (primers, powder, bullet, brass.
 
With the small bullets and brass, it is a bit of a pain. Of course, if you have a progressive press with case and bullet feeders, those are non-issues.

I seldom load 9mm because it costs about $.20 per round to load plinking ammo (if you get your brass free and buy your bullets) and about $.25 to buy it. You can save a little more money if you are loading ammo with premium bullets. But I simply don't like wasting my small pistol primers on 9mm plinking ammo. I don't mess with premium 9mm. I use 357, or 45 instead.

I guess whether someone considers loading 9mm a pain depends on their equipment and preferences.
 
No issues with 9mm compared to most other automatic pistol cartridges.

You do have to make sure your sizing die gets rid of the Glock smile if you are picking up range brass, and pay attention to the taper crimp during setup.
 
I reloaded (400) 9mm on a Dillon 550 last night. As long as the instructions for setting up the dies are followed 9mm is no different than anything else.

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Russ57 said:
My older brother, the reloader in the family, causally mentioned that he won't reload 9 mm. IIRC it was reasons like high pressure load with small case capacity (didn't care at the time as I had no intention of owning a 9mm).

Well now I'm getting ready to retire so will be at home and out in the public a lot more. Figure it is time to get my "zombie apocalypse double stack tupperware gun" and perhaps a CCW one too. 9 MM just seems like the obvious choice.

Could it be because he uses a Dillion 550? If I want to show up with dies and powder in hand what would y'all suggest? Or maybe it is cheap enough that reloading isn't worth the bother?
Click to expand...
so as dad and I are an ffl and do gunshows fairly often we hear all kinds of crazy crapola BS at each show... The last one we did one of the vendors said he refused to reload 9mm but didn't explain why... I would say it's very worth it to reload as brass is basically darn near free lol. bullets can be had at reasonable pricing and just a few measly pounds of powder will last a long time... like an 8lb jug of Autocomp would basically last forever lol. Its especially worth it if you want to load subsonic 147gr ammo for suppressor use! or 115gr plinker loads... Ive shot some 80gr 9mm stuff that felt like I was shooting a airsoft gun lol...
 
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Reloading is worthwhile if accuracy is one of the concerns. I have always been able to work up more accurate reloads than the factory ammo could provide. Rifle and pistol. I do shoot jacketed 9mm bullets because I prefer them. I wouldn't spend the $$$ for jacketed factory ammo. Too expensive.

If I were to get really thrifty I could shoot cast lubed bullets. I have done this in the past and liked them. Cast and lubed just makes a mess on the internals of my 1911's and require more frequent cleaning.

If one is shooting thousands of rounds of 9mm a year there is a worthwhile savings in reloading 9mm.
 
I never found 9mm to be hard to load.

Some people hear tapered cartridge and start to panic. It really isn't much harder than any other cartridge.

I don't know what your situation is, but if you have to pay $100.00 /k for primers, you may just want to buy factory loads if you can get them for around $11.50/50.
If you have to pay $15.00 +/50 for factory loads, then buy the primers and show up at his house and say "SURPRISE!!".

When primers get back to a reasonable price then yes, financially, it makes sense to reload them. I can't say "Unless you enjoy loading " because you don't load. Your brother does.

When I can get a good deal on 9mm factory loads right now, I buy them. If I get a good deal on primers, then I load them. We seem to be in transition on pricing right now and I expect it to last for a while, at least until we get out of the war we're involved in.
 
Loading 9mm can be a little tricky with some combinations. You should plan to do a "plunk test" with a dummy round to confirm that the bullet does not start to engage the rifling before the round is all the way into the chamber. And then if your seating depth needed to pass the plunk test is deeper than your load data, you will need to compensate by using less powder or finding other load data. The 9mm is more sensitive to seating depth changes than many rounds. And note that most load data does not provide enough info for you to back out their seating depth if you are not using the exact same bullet they used. If this becomes a concern, many of us would be willing to help but you would provide us with the specific details first.

As long as you do the plunk test, are using plated or jacketed bullets and have good load data, you should be able to get a good shooting load for the 9mm. Some guns are "picky" about the components used, but this is true for all calibers.

Now if you want to use cast bullets, getting a "happy result" for the 9mm can require much more effort. Some folks get lucky and have no problems. Many do not get lucky and a good percentage of these people give up on cast bullets before they find success. It took me more effort than any other pistol round but eventually I came up with a "good load" that works reliably with no leading. 45 ACP or any common revolver round are generally easier to work with.
 
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I held off loading 9mm because I thought it would be to much trouble with such a small case. But then I got a SW 929 and started shooting USPSA & ICORE with it. Turns out 9mm is a lot fun to reload. Easy to visually verify powder in the case. Taper crimp is easy to adjust for. I load mostly all 147gr for Steel Challenge, GSSF, USPSA, ICORE and IDPA.
 
Never had ANY function problems loading 9mm in a 1/2 dz pistols. No real issues in the loading process neither....

However.... accuracy was always minute of Coke can at best. Finally pried open the wallet for a GC mould...a 130g NOE RNFP GC. Here was a bullet that really started to get on with the business of accuracy. Sitting on a lifetime supply of 700X. This is the combo that brought out an unfired,50 y.o. almost to the day,model 39-2 Smith 9mm from the depths of our safe. It's one of those magic moments in reloading. Heck,smiling as I write this....
 
It’s not hard but I’d say it’s more finicky than 45 ACP or any revolver round. When primers are $.10, bullets are $.07, and powder is .$03 it’s not too hard to see why most people just go for factory ammo at $.25 a round.

I still round 98% of the 9mm I shoot. Just put 150 rounds down range earlier today.
 
The only ammo I’ve purchased in eons has been .22 and carry ammo. I load down to .380 with ease and there are folks on here that load .32. When ammo is cheap, it can be hard to justify from a cost standpoint, but never from a quality control one. When shortages hit (I think I’ve lived through at least 4 I can remember) then you’re outa luck without a little something-something put by.
 
9MM is pretty easy to load to me. Though I have not loaded any lead bullets. I also don't find 380 to be hard to reload either. Neither are as fast on my Lee Turret as 40 S&W or 45 but that is mostly due to the smaller diameter bullets and my arthritis. I use Hodgdon Universal for all of my pistol calibers and you will know instantly if you get a double charge of powder when it spills out everywhere.

I find reloading 410 shells to be more tedious than 380 or 9mm due to shot wanting to bridge in the drop tube at times. And 410 shells aren't hard to reload.
 
Soonerpesek said:
What alphabet are you referring to…??

It wouldn’t be one of the most popular cartridges if it was difficult to reload…
Click to expand...
Maybe he’s also dyslexic?

Don’t judge. 🧐

Handloading 9mm is not any more difficult than handloading any other rimless pistol cartridges. The difficulty is in recouping the upfront costs and learning which components your guns like. Get the guns first, then decide if you want to spend the money on handloading. My 2-cents.
 
I keep a running stock of all reloading components that I use for several calibers. It took a while and considerable expense to get up to this level but I keep enough components on hand to carry me through presidential elections and the manufacturer primer/powder gouging we are going through now.

If called a hoarder I will plead guilty as charged but I have enough primers and powder to make it practical for me to continue reloading 9mm for a while. The difference between 9mm factory ammo and and reloaded cost is close now but the ammo manufacturers are not getting free labor like the reloaders are. I think the difference between factory ammo and reloads will become greater.

A brand new reloader wanting to invest in all the equipment just to reload 9mm certainly would not be worthwhile at this time. But I have all the equipment and bought components before and in between panics and the gouging that has been going on in past and present.

It's a shame but I will have to continue to do business this way.
 
If you think 9x19 is difficult to load, give 25ACP a try.

I do not find 9x19 any more difficult to load as any other 38/9mm cal ammunition.

If using pickup cases for reloading, many off or foreign brands can cause problems as their internal dimensions can vary alot.
 
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When I want to load cheap - I cast and powdercoat. My wife loves to support my reloading habit, so she buys components for me as well.
Dv46XgQ.jpg



Sometimes powdercoating can be fun

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When it's too blinking hot to cast, I use jacketed. Now the ideas has been brought up several times about the bare economics, I so I did a little number work.
Using the actual amounts I paid for the components I am using right now, doing cast 124gr powder coated bullets, I am loading for 11 cents each. Perusing MidwayUSA, where I buy a lot of stuff, the cheapest 9mm ammo is 29 cents a rounds. Sounds like a clear winner.
Adding the RMR Nuke bullets that I just found a love for, it moves to .239 cents a round.
Again, the cheapest at MidwayUSA .29 cents a round, and that is 115gr cheap training ammo, where I have 124gr JHP loaded to fit my pistol exactly that works as a training round, but is also moving above the threshold of expansion, so it might work well in an SD role if needed.
So, it looks like economics fails, at least in this quick and easy comparison - no doubt you have shops nearby selling loss leader ball ammo for cheaper than an online store.
But the real factor is - I like reloading. To me, it's fun and productive. I don't begrudge the time, (unless trimming 5.56mm brass, yuck), ad I have fun putting everything together. It's a hobby that is fun and productive.
 
BWS said:
Never had ANY function problems loading 9mm in a 1/2 dz pistols. No real issues in the loading process neither....

However.... accuracy was always minute of Coke can at best. Finally pried open the wallet for a GC mould...a 130g NOE RNFP GC. Here was a bullet that really started to get on with the business of accuracy. Sitting on a lifetime supply of 700X. This is the combo that brought out an unfired,50 y.o. almost to the day,model 39-2 Smith 9mm from the depths of our safe. It's one of those magic moments in reloading. Heck,smiling as I write this....
Click to expand...

BWS,
Woukd you please share your recipe using 700X with the 130g NOE RNFP bullet?
Thxs,
-b
 
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