New to pistol shooting - cost of reloading .38 .40 .44 rem .45 vs shooting cheap 9mm

rocklobster

rocklobster

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Lets say I shoot 1000 rounds a year.

I am looking to get an idea of how much the general costs are for reloading the 'other' pistol calibers vs the 1000 round packs of 9mm for under $300.

Lets say if I was looking to get a 1911 and I already have single stage reloading equipment is it worth it to get a .45 ACP instead of 9mm?

I am just kind of tossing the pros and cons of staying vanilla 9mm for now or just plunk down on something a little more interesting like a .45 1911 or a revolver in .357 or .44 rem mag...

I guess I am just looking for others experience in the pistol shooting realm. On the whole what do you find better blissfully blasting 9mm or scrimping and reloading every .38 special to keep your favorite smith warm?
 
I reload 9mm, 38 special, 357 magnum and 40 smith & Wesson, all on a single stage press. Financially, it would be about equal or during sales, cheaper to go with commercial ammunition or commercial re-loads. The thing is, I like reloading and very much enjoy making my own ammunition. I can also make up specials like Hornady XTP's at a cost that does not break the bank.
 
I reload 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP, 38Spec and .357mag for pistol, and 45-70 for rifle. I've kind of left 9mm on the back burner for the past few months because I just don't enjoy loading for it as much as the other calibers.
One thing I will say though, if I weren't able to get most of my brass for free off the range floor, I probably wouldn't be reloading. That's kind of the key for me, since brass is such a significant chunk of the cost of loading your own.

If you have depreciated all your equipment and have the components it is cheaper to reload, but if you're constantly buying new types of bullets and powder to experiment with(like I do), not so much.
Much like Dave, I really like reloading; it's a great hobby. I'll also add that I really don't like reloading for 9mm, whereas all of the other calibers are either much easier or much more interesting to load for.
With the cost of some 9mm the way it is nowadays, I honestly wouldn't bother with reloading it unless you're competing with it and absolutely have to have that special load. For anything else, if you already have a press, dies and scale I'd say go for it.
45ACP and .40S&W are by far my favorite pistol calibers to load for and to shoot, and I definitely do save money by saving my brass and loading my own. I would recommend it to anyone to load for these calibers.
 
As long as you are reusing your brass then reloading always saves money over buying new, it's just a matter of how much. By my calculations reloading 9mm only saves you about 10c a round over buying factory loads. Reloading the other calibers will save you more; I save about 25c a round when reloading .357 magnum.

The question you should be asking yourself is are you ok with just shooting 9mm or are you interested in shooting guns in other calibers as well? I love revolvers but I hate moonclips so getting a 9mm revolver is out of the question for me.
 
Well just doing a quick check with current costs. If using picked brass, you should be able to laod 45acp for around 15 cent/round. Might be able to knock it down with large bulk orders but wont be that much, cent or two. So even right there is a substantial savings over buying but you do invest a lot of time on a single stage. I say any reloading is worth it if you enjoy it and/or are happy exchanging some time to fire you gun more, as most who reload just end up shooting more.
 
Reloading .44 mag is very worthwhile, saves me about $0.65 per round. Which totals something north of $10K so far. The financial benefits for 9mm are much smaller but the ability to customize is nice.
 
I like reloading but I am not breaking even this decade. Well 5yrs at least. Keep buying bits and pieces, upgrades etc etc.

However I get to reload 9mm 147gr, 160gr 358 in a 9mm case for Icore and 40S&W with clean VV powders and lead free primers. I first shot factory Speer 40 in my new 40 and those are nasty dirty rounds. My rounds burn CLEAN with exact PF.

For 2 shooters too btw.
 
Load for big bore revolvers. More fun per shot and bigger savings. Shoot cast and costs get very low vs fun factor. A 9mm is like driving when you first get your license. After a while it loses its appeal.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, yeah I don't see myself getting into reloading 9mm especially with the single stage press.

I guess that I am just trying to figure out what to shoot in a pistol. I think that I am going to start with a 9mm semi possibly a Norinco NP29 to get my feet wet and then save up for a nice revolver or a 1911 in .45. I think that I will be happier shooting a revolver and reloading is part of that fun.
 
1000 rounds a year....

Lets say you are loading 45ACP which you would see the most savings on.

1000 manufactured rounds costs what? 400$

Lets assume you already have a collection of brass
Bullets will cost you ~200$ for 1000 rounds.
Primers ~50$ per 1000
Power say, 0.6 pounds @ ~22$

so your reloads will cost $272 per 1000

Saving you $128/year

How long would it take for you to pay off your equipment?

As others have said,
If its a hobby, go for it
If its for accuracy, go for it
If its to save money..... it makes more sense if your round count is higher.

(PS no one really saves money.... they just shoot more)
 
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Yes, some reloading does save money. Even when I shoot my 375 a lot, reloads save me money over shooting factory ammo. I would guess 460S&W/500S&W would be similar.
 
For 45ACP, checking Tenda's website. $150 for 1000 bullets, $44 for 1000 primers and $35 for powder. You're looking at less than $230 for components.

You can get started with the Lee 50th Anniversary Kit for $200. Add a set of dies for $40 and you are ready to go.

You have pretty much everything you need to break even on the cost and after that first 1-2000 rounds you are saving money. All you have to do is figure out what your time is worth.
 
emerson said:
Yes, some reloading does save money. Even when I shoot my 375 a lot, reloads save me money over shooting factory ammo. I would guess 460S&W/500S&W would be similar.
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I have 2 loads for my 500. The first is cast lead, sized and lubed and powered by 10 grains of Trailboss. If these cost me more than 15 cents a round I would be surprised. The second load is the Hornady bullets with full power these cost me just under $1.30 to load. Compare those prices to almost $4 per factory round.
 
Currently I only reload 38/357 for pistol and its costing me
10 cents per bullet, 5 cents per primer and about 2 cents for powder. Brass is saved/ picked up factory.
On a single stage hornady that I also load rifle on .
I dont shoot much 9mm right now so the factory I have stored up is enough to last me this year
 
coreyd said:
You can get started with the Lee 50th Anniversary Kit for $200. Add a set of dies for $40 and you are ready to go.

You have pretty much everything you need to break even on the cost and after that first 1-2000 rounds you are saving money. All you have to do is figure out what your time is worth.
Click to expand...

I really wouldnt recommend that kit for loading pistol.
You will hate it after 100 rounds.

Yes you will get by and it does make more economical sense. You will not enjoy it though.
Just my .02

(If you are only making 100 rounds of specialty ammo at a time then again, it makes more sense then)
 
If you are only loading one calibre, you can't beat the Dillon Square Deal; more than one, changing it over is a pain. I load my small-primer stuff (9mm & .38) on the Square Deal, the large-primer stuff (.45, .44) on the Hornady LnL AP. But the LnL is not a new-reloader's toy; d@mn thing is finicky and crotchety, you have to know what you're doing and watch it 'cause it'll $crew-up on you. I've had one primer-pop that was my fault; the LnL powder-thrower likes to unlock itself from the toolhead, and for the round in question the powder-thrower was just going up-and-down instead of dispensing powder = but it was up to me to watch for shtuff like that.

Ideally - bite the bullet now and go for a Dillon 650.
 
gwesson said:
If you are only loading one calibre, you can't beat the Dillon Square Deal; more than one, changing it over is a pain. I load my small-primer stuff (9mm & .38) on the Square Deal, the large-primer stuff (.45, .44) on the Hornady LnL AP. But the LnL is not a new-reloader's toy; d@mn thing is finicky and crotchety, you have to know what you're doing and watch it 'cause it'll $crew-up on you. I've had one primer-pop that was my fault; the LnL powder-thrower likes to unlock itself from the toolhead, and for the round in question the powder-thrower was just going up-and-down instead of dispensing powder = but it was up to me to watch for shtuff like that.

Ideally - bite the bullet now and go for a Dillon 650.
Click to expand...

As far as the powder measure coming loose two ways to fix that. A larger diameter o-ring which some say works but I didn’t like it or the best way is phone Hornady and they will send you some shims that go between the o-ring and bushing. In about 25,000 rounds my powder measure has never come loose with the shim installed.
You are right about the LNL having to be setup but once the priming and shell plate timing is set properly and mounted on a bench that has zero flex it’s as trouble free as a Dillon. At least mine is.
 
JoKa said:
I really wouldnt recommend that kit for loading pistol.
You will hate it after 100 rounds.

Yes you will get by and it does make more economical sense. You will not enjoy it though.
Just my .02

(If you are only making 100 rounds of specialty ammo at a time then again, it makes more sense then)
Click to expand...

I agree 100% but it's a start.
 
Pistol rds...go progressive machine....When I bought my Dillon 550 I wondered if the cost would ever pay down....15 yrs later and now loading for 9mm luger, 38 special,357 mag,45 ACP,45 Colt 454 Casull and 44 mag and 460 S&W....machine and up grades have paid for it self many times over. For rifle I use single stage Rockchucker and again...it pays for itself....7-30 Waters, 35 Rem,45/70 Government, 223/5.56, 300 Blackout,450 Bushmaster and now looking into 458 Socom
 
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