Is it worth reloading 9mm yet?

[max384]

What it cost me to make 45 cal...

1273 rounds (loading each shell with 5.5gr) of Bullseye powder from one 1 lb container $15.95 (ends up $12.53 per a 1000)

185 GR FP Berry's bullets, Box of 1000 = $117.84

1000 primers = $32.00

Brass = Free

Total per a 1000 = $162.37 or 0.16237 each or $8.12 for 50

Average price of 50 from a store = $25.00+

Savings of $16.88

I don't think you've done much ammo pricing lately. 9mm isn't anywhere near $25 a box.

Also, skip the Berry's bullets and go Precision Delta. They're cheaper and jacketed, not plated.

EDIT: I just reread your post and saw that you were referencing 45 ACP, not 9mm. Although, everything I said still is true (even 45 isn't $25 a box anymore).

[IronButt]

How many times can you safely reload brass?

That depends. The less you "work" the brass, the longer it'll last. Don't expand the case mouths any larger than necessary to get the bullet started, & it'll last a long time. I usually lose my pistol brass before I have a chance to wear it out.

[Delerius]

I don't think you've done much ammo pricing lately. 9mm isn't anywhere near $25 a box.

Also, skip the Berry's bullets and go Precision Delta. They're cheaper and jacketed, not plated.

EDIT: I just reread your post and saw that you were referencing 45 ACP, not 9mm. Although, everything I said still is true (even 45 isn't $25 a box anymore).

Thanks... I'll check out Precision Delta. I was just thinking the other day how I would like to find a different bullet for my 45's. I like Berry's but lately their 45 plating (185gr) just hasn't been to my liking.

You are correct on the pricing. I'm not sure what it sells for in store so I was basing my figure upon what other places were selling 185gr. The last time I bought ammo was at Walmart, I got a 100 count of Winchester for $33. which i believe was 230gr.

[max384]

Thanks... I'll check out Precision Delta. I was just thinking the other day how I would like to find a different bullet for my 45's. I like Berry's but lately their 45 plating (185gr) just hasn't been to my liking.

You are correct on the pricing. I'm not sure what it sells for in store so I was basing my figure upon what other places were selling 185gr. The last time I bought ammo was at Walmart, I got a 100 count of Winchester for $33. which i believe was 230gr.

I actually wouldn't have mentioned the pricing thing if I realized from the beginning that you were talking about 45 ACP instead of 9mm. I guess my reading comprehension isn't good this morning. lol

I really like Precision Delta. Their customer service is top notch, their product is good, and their prices simply cannot be beat (on jacketed/plated rounds). I prefer jacketed over plated simply because you can load to whatever velocity is listed; you don't have to load to lead bullet specs.

[Dave_n]

Just calculated my 9 MM costs for lead using relatively liberal figures for pricing (as like some of the other posters, I have significant stashes of components) and I come out at a hair under 11 cents per round. Cost of equipment, amortized over 30 years (much less than a cent a round). My time...it is a hobby...not a business. If I used my normal charge-out rate then these would have to be gold plated to make any sense, but since it is a hobby...no cost. Add to the fact that I reload older calibres as well that are around a $1 a round if you can find them (pistol level), then reloading is the only way to go irrespective of size. For fun, have you tried pricing 0.25 ACP lately?. Dave_n

[Nate7667]

Max384 hit the nail with PD. Ive bene using them for almost 2 years now. They make great stuff.
Just a word of warning. They do "runs" of different types of bullets. You may order a few thousand 9mm 115gr and they may not have any instock and you will have to wait a few months before they run them again. They wont charge you until they ship though.

With PD bullets, i have been reloading 9mm 115 and 147 for around $.10/round.

[Fr0sty]

Lately my collection has really grown in the 9mm arena. Previously I only had a couple of 9mm's that I shot very rarely so scoring dies and primers were not really worth it to me. I would like to put a little more focus on "RARELY shot them". I shot maybe a box of 50 every 6 months.

Since my 9mm gun collection has evolved, I shoot this caliber more than any other. An average range day consumption of 9mm is some where in the ball park of 1,000rds - 2,000rds.

Here are some examples of what I am feeding. My MP5 clone eats a heavy diet of 147gr. My G17 and my G34 are also very hungry animals from 115gr FMJ to 147gr cast. I have plenty of other 9mm's that also get shot often so the need is now there.

Every time I go to the gun shop or make an order online I add at least 500 9mm to my order (The locals shops know this, and always add it to my order). In addition to the random 500 order I tend to purchase in bulk a couple of times a year for anywhere from 5K - 20K at a time depending on the deal I can work out and the need.

When I reload I tend to make a day of it. If I know I am going shooting over the weekend I take a night or 2 (or 1 sitting until I am done) and work the Dillon 550 until I fill up about 2 30 cal cans of 9mm. I normally come back with some left which goes in my 20mm container so that I have some on hand if I want to go out shooting with no notice.

Average cost ready to shoot is 86.00/1k. Some are a little cheaper and some are a little more. I don't factor in 9mm brass as I have over 25K pieces (3 filled 5 gallon buckets and much more unsorted)

This ammo is high quality excellent shooting ammo and because I space this cost out over a great deal of time, it isn't that bad. I really don't know where I could find quality 9mm for that price.

Sometimes I shoot up to 5 days a week, other times I shoot as little as 3 times a month depending on my work schedule, range availability and weather conditions. Now if I got out 5x a week, I am shooting about 250-500 rounds. So basically I have a steady flow of items coming in and a random flow of items going out. It ends up working itself out nicely.

The funny thing is, I don't carry reloads. The hardest part for me is to the pay the retail price for quality carry ammo.

[tsafa]

It runs me about the same to reload vs buy at Walmart. The difference in price in negligible per 100 rounds when you factor in all reloading supplies needed.

There is a significant difference in power though. It costs very little additional money to reload right up to the "never exceed" load.

I have been testing Walmart Ammo and comparing to my reloaded ammo. I have posted the results near the bottom of this webpage:
http://mysite.verizon.net/tsafa1/tra...reloading.html

The performance I get with 9mm reloads is more in line with what you would expect from something like Speer Gold Dot... at half the cost.

[Yoder]

Bullets from PD 115 gr/1000 $74 free shipping no tax when you order 2000.
Powder $20/lb
Primers $28/1000
Brass $0

Using a 5gr powder charge this costs $5.81/50 to reload.

What is Walmart running right now? Say $10/box for a low estimate. Your savings is $4.19/box. That's $83/1k rounds.

I shot about 15k rounds in the last two years. So total savings $1245.00. Two yrs ago prices were over $12/box so my actual savings was even more. $1300.00 would buy a sweet ass Dillion progressive press all the accessories and you would still have money left over.

To figure out your true costs use this:

http://handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp

[Fr0sty]

Another way to keep the cost down is to use Wolf brand primers. Almost cuts normal primer cost in half. Projectiles is the biggest place to save, so buy big and get the lower costs is my advice.