Newbie here: Reload 9mm or Factory Buy
- Thread starter DarcyM
- Start date
Reloading saves good money. No debate about it.
If you dont shoot lots then it takes longer to recoup costs.
With a quality progressive setup, you’ll save 40$ an hour Minimum producing better than factory ammo.
Buy only a proper setup. The biggest Dillon you can buy.
If you dont shoot lots then it takes longer to recoup costs.
With a quality progressive setup, you’ll save 40$ an hour Minimum producing better than factory ammo.
Buy only a proper setup. The biggest Dillon you can buy.
You can do a combination of both. Find some inexpensive turret press that’ll reload say half of what you’d shoot every month. That way you can ease into the reloading to see if you like it. If you want to save more and you have the time you can scrounge for tire weights and cast your own bullets. It’s a fun hobby. I cast bullets for all my pistols and the AR. But I have the connections to get lead for free. Just depends on how resourceful you are.
Ok, so I am reading a ton of things about the presses. That I need a progressive, or I don't need one, and my cousin has a RCBS rockchucker. He says that works great for all of his ammo. Is the progressive better because I don't have to change dies, which saves labour, or does it do something specific for the 9mm load that I can't get anywhere else? I don't want to spend more than I have to if I go the reload route, but I also want it to be efficient and done correctly. Thanks!
The problem with the single stage like the Rockchucker is that it'll take forever to build any amount of pistol ammunition.
I have one for reloading precision rifle ammunition, all I'd need to load 9mm is buying a set of dies. It just isn't worth the time I'd spend slowly building pistol ammo.
If I ever go down the pistol reloading rabbit hole I'll buy a Dillon progressive, most likely a 550.
I have one for reloading precision rifle ammunition, all I'd need to load 9mm is buying a set of dies. It just isn't worth the time I'd spend slowly building pistol ammo.
If I ever go down the pistol reloading rabbit hole I'll buy a Dillon progressive, most likely a 550.
If you don't want to spend more than you have to then buy the setup that's appropriate for your needs. Progressive presses produce ammo quickly, that's their main advantage. So if you're going to be producing pistol ammunition AND shooting a fair amount of it a progressive press is the way to go. Imagine the time it would take to make 3K of 9mm on a single stage press. With a progressive press each pull of the handle performs 4-5 functions (one at each station) greatly increasing your speed. I can load approximately 700 rounds an hour on my 650 w/ casefeeder.
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I used a single stage for years for everything. I would do one operation for all my brass at a time. It isn't too bad, if you aren't competing and are going thru tons of ammo. I just got a Dillon 650 not too long ago, and the one thing you soon find out is that, you have the basic press at about $700 (old price). But then everything you need to make it go fast is an option. A case feeder is pretty much a must (@ a couple hundred) unless you want to keep filling the tube every minute and a half or so. Then I added a mini bullet feeder (not a must, but nice, also a couple hundred), a powder checker is also a must as far as I'm concerned ($50 or so) having helped someone get a squib out of their barrel at a match. Then you get into caliber conversions. It isn't so bad if you aren't changing primer sizes, but most people get the kit which also includes a powder measure so you aren't screwing around changing your loads. It turns into a significant investment, and you can go with lesser units, but I decided when I made the jump, to buy once cry once, and am not regretting it. I find reloading a chore these days and this is the way to go if you can justify it. If I only shot a couple of K 9mm/year I would just buy it when it comes on sale which it does frequently
mississaugagunnut
Regular
- Location
- mississauga
I can load 100 rds of 45acp in 7 minutes on my Dillon 650, end of story. Anyone not using a progressive press for pistol ammunition is wasting their time or has way too much spare time.
Unless you want to learn a new hobby, buy factory reloads. I load 9mm on a Dillon, but when friends want 9mm, I buy them Wolf re-loads. Does not cost much more than the cost of my components.
If you get a rifle or pistol in another caliber - time to learn to roll your own. You can start with a simple single stage press.
If you get a rifle or pistol in another caliber - time to learn to roll your own. You can start with a simple single stage press.
See that sounds realistic. I am retired due to illness and spend A LOT of time sitting at home while everyone else has a life. And when I feel well enough to be out and about, I'll go shooting and do my other fun things. So I have the time. I have zero knowledge of doing it yet, so I would have to learn about the whole process to see what it will save me. Maybe buying at 26 cents and selling my brass is good enough until I get more calibers. I don't mind at all doing manual work, but I also won't do it if I despise doing it even if it saves money unless I'm saving gobs of money over multiple calibers (I'm realistic about what I'll spend my time doing when I feel well and poorly). The Dillon presses seem to be the way to go. Are they safe to buy used? I don't know enough to be able to tell if the dies etc are good, and if I will get myself into trouble buying a used system. And I don't have access to anyone near me that could look at it with me to make sure I'm not buying a lemon.
Even if you buy a "lemon" (hopefully you don't) Dillon will fix it for free, no matter how many times the press has exchanged hands. They have the best customer service of any product I've ever bought, period. Dies are a personal preference but I've used Dillon (my personal preference), Lee (cost effective), RCBS, and Redding with good results.
Just remember that the initial investment can be substantial and only you can know what's best for your situation. I shoot a fair bit so I was able to recoup my costs within a year. Oh by the way, I currently load 9mm for .17 a round all in (CamPro bullet, S&B primers, Titegroup powder and free brass).
Reloaders of 9mm. Question. What does a bag of 1,000 rounds go for if I was to collect my brass and sell it to someone instead of reloading just 9mm? Is this a good way to reduce cost without adding labour and expense of a Dillon for 1 calibre? Thanks!
Henry Nierychlo
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Surrey, B.C.
Well I have to throw in my 2 cents worth.
I agree that Dillon makes a great press, but they are pricey, I think that Hornady also makes a great press & is a little more realistically priced. For reloading handgun rounds a single stage will make you crazy in the first 30 minutes because it's so slow & tedious. For a beginner I recommend a Lee Turret press that can be used as a manual indexing press or have it index automatically. It will make handgun ammo a lot faster than a single stage. They are also reasonably priced. Caliber changeover time is short & they will make rifle ammo just as quickly. Multiple Lee Turret presses for each caliber is a economic way to go. Watch some Youtube videos & see the difference in presses.
That's my 2 cents worth.
Regards, Henry
I agree that Dillon makes a great press, but they are pricey, I think that Hornady also makes a great press & is a little more realistically priced. For reloading handgun rounds a single stage will make you crazy in the first 30 minutes because it's so slow & tedious. For a beginner I recommend a Lee Turret press that can be used as a manual indexing press or have it index automatically. It will make handgun ammo a lot faster than a single stage. They are also reasonably priced. Caliber changeover time is short & they will make rifle ammo just as quickly. Multiple Lee Turret presses for each caliber is a economic way to go. Watch some Youtube videos & see the difference in presses.
That's my 2 cents worth.
Regards, Henry
I reload the Hornady 125g HAP projectile in 9mmx19 to get the best possible target accuracy.
The usual open-base FMJ projeciles loaded in bulk 9mmx19 ammunition is not as accurate.
Not all firearms or operators will be able to demonstrate the difference.
It's not routinely available as loaded ammunition in Canada, so I reload it.
Even if it was available loaded in Canada, it would be premium priced - which would make reloading attractive.
https://www.hornady.com/bullets/hap#!/
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/9mm-luger-125-gr-hap-steel-match#!/
https://shopwilsoncombat.com/9mm-Bill-Wilson-Signature-Match-125-gr-Hornady-HAP-1075-FPS-5-Barrel-100_Box/productinfo/A9%2D125%2DHAP/
The usual open-base FMJ projeciles loaded in bulk 9mmx19 ammunition is not as accurate.
Not all firearms or operators will be able to demonstrate the difference.
It's not routinely available as loaded ammunition in Canada, so I reload it.
Even if it was available loaded in Canada, it would be premium priced - which would make reloading attractive.
https://www.hornady.com/bullets/hap#!/
https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/handgun/9mm-luger-125-gr-hap-steel-match#!/
https://shopwilsoncombat.com/9mm-Bill-Wilson-Signature-Match-125-gr-Hornady-HAP-1075-FPS-5-Barrel-100_Box/productinfo/A9%2D125%2DHAP/
Factory ammo "sale of the week" is all over the place, as far as P.O.I. at 25yds/m firing single handed..
Wasn't worth the frustration when using fixed sights, or for that matter changing my adjustable sight with each ammo box or batch.
I reload and the P.O.I. is consistent for the same bullet weight and load.
Course I like buying a case of 5,000 target 22lr for the same reason.
Wasn't worth the frustration when using fixed sights, or for that matter changing my adjustable sight with each ammo box or batch.
I reload and the P.O.I. is consistent for the same bullet weight and load.
Course I like buying a case of 5,000 target 22lr for the same reason.
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