How much does it cost per round to reload 9mm?

Paul-ish

Paul-ish

Regular
Rating - 100%
12   0   0
Location
Lethbridge, AB
I'm considering getting into reloading.
Me and friends have sure thrown out a lot of brass in the last few years...
Really i'd like to reload 9mm and .223 but have no idea where to start on equipment....

Anyway, All said and done what does it cost you per round?
Thanks!
 
It all comes down to how cheaply you can acquire components.
For 9mm:
Plated bullet will cost about $0.10 each
Small pistol primers about $0.05 each
About $0.02 - 0.03 of powder.

So very roughly speaking about 0.18/round, assuming you have brass and the reloading equipment. But that can vary a lot depending on how cheaply you can source components.

there is a cost calculator at x-reload.com/load-cost
 
Last edited:
For 9mm, the cost of powder is minimal. I buy Titegroup in 8lb jugs. That is a lot of 9mm. Primers about 5 cents each. What bullets are you going to use? Cast them yourself? Buy lead bullets? Plated bullets? Jacketed bullets?
With plated bullets, I figure about $180/m. Cheapest commercial, tax in, will be about $100/m more.

For .223, there isn't much point in reloading if all you need is indifferent plinking ammunition like Chinese surplus.
Serious ammunition, with match grade bullets is cost effective to load, rather than purchase.
 
tiriaq said:
For 9mm, the cost of powder is minimal. I buy Titegroup in 8lb jugs. That is a lot of 9mm. Primers about 5 cents each. What bullets are you going to use? Cast them yourself? Buy lead bullets? Plated bullets? Jacketed bullets?
With plated bullets, I figure about $180/m. Cheapest commercial, tax in, will be about $100/m more.

For .223, there isn't much point in reloading if all you need is indifferent plinking ammunition like Chinese surplus.
Serious ammunition, with match grade bullets is cost effective to load, rather than purchase.
Click to expand...

If you want to shoot .223 accurately, then reloading is more economical than buying quality ammo. If you are happy with 4-5 inch groups at 100 yards, by the cheap, bulk s***.
 
Incidentally, if you are going to load handgun ammunition in quantity, a progressive press makes a lot of sense.
 
If you are looking at saving money these are not ideal calibers to do it with. While the numbers are pretty reasonable at 180 per thousand when you buy components unless you are next door to a discount reloading supply store shipping can be a bit pricey. There are hazmat fees on powder. 9mm can be bought for 240 shipping included commercial remanufactured is available now as low as 200 from x metal. These include cases that are worth about 30$. So remanufactured ammo is available at 170 if you are recovering your brass.
 
This is a great Win 231 powder load! Thanks for posting this Mark. Fairly cheap to load, a Progressive Press is what you need if you're going to load thousands, for sure. Dillon is great but pricey to get into. New check out a Lee Progressive......
 
For 9mm the greatest savings are realized by casting rather than buying bullets. Years ago when cast bullets were dirt cheap there was little to be saved by doing it yourself. However, today even commercially cast lead bullets are going to cost you almost 10 cents each with tax in even if you don't have to have them shipped. Plated and jacketed bullets raise the price even higher.

Assuming you can get wheel weight lead for $1/pound, 1000 124 gr. 9mm bullets are going to cost you about $18 in materials. Add $70 for a mould and $100 for a Lee 20 pound casting pot and your initial investment is about $200. Once you cast 2000 bullets the mould, pot and WW are paid for. After that you're looking at $18/1000 for bullets vs. $100 or more for commercial. That cost can go down to as low as $0 if you can get the WW cheaper or scrounge range lead for free.

A properly cared for mould will last for 10's of thousands of rounds.

My cost per round has worked out as follows:
brass - free (lots of 9mm brass laying around at the range)
powder - 1.5 cents per round (Bullseye, Titegroup, etc.)
primer - 5 cents each
bullet (range lead powder coated) - free

Cost per round - 6.5 cents or about $3.25/box of 50.

I'm saving at least $11 per box of ammo. Let's say my equipment cost me $220 (mould $70, pot $100, 1 lb. of powder coat $20, size die $30). $220 divided by $11 = 20. So once I've reloaded 20 boxes of ammo (1000 rounds) my entire setup is paid for. After that the only cost involved is primers and powder. Even if you had to occasionally buy cases or wheel weights your average cost should never exceed $5/box. That's a huge savings over commercial ammo and you get to tailor your loads to whatever performance level you want out of them.
 
ted_dent said:
For 9mm the greatest savings are realized by casting rather than buying bullets. Years ago when cast bullets were dirt cheap there was little to be saved by doing it yourself. However, today even commercially cast lead bullets are going to cost you almost 10 cents each with tax in even if you don't have to have them shipped. Plated and jacketed bullets raise the price even higher.

Assuming you can get wheel weight lead for $1/pound, 1000 124 gr. 9mm bullets are going to cost you about $18 in materials. Add $70 for a mould and $100 for a Lee 20 pound casting pot and your initial investment is about $200. Once you cast 2000 bullets the mould, pot and WW are paid for. After that you're looking at $18/1000 for bullets vs. $100 or more for commercial. That cost can go down to as low as $0 if you can get the WW cheaper or scrounge range lead for free.

A properly cared for mould will last for 10's of thousands of rounds.

My cost per round has worked out as follows:
brass - free (lots of 9mm brass laying around at the range)
powder - 1.5 cents per round (Bullseye, Titegroup, etc.)
primer - 5 cents each
bullet (range lead powder coated) - free

Cost per round - 6.5 cents or about $3.25/box of 50.

I'm saving at least $11 per box of ammo. Let's say my equipment cost me $220 (mould $70, pot $100, 1 lb. of powder coat $20, size die $30). $220 divided by $11 = 20. So once I've reloaded 20 boxes of ammo (1000 rounds) my entire setup is paid for. After that the only cost involved is primers and powder. Even if you had to occasionally buy cases or wheel weights your average cost should never exceed $5/box. That's a huge savings over commercial ammo and you get to tailor your loads to whatever performance level you want out of them.
Click to expand...



###
 
Last edited:
I've had a lot of people raise an eyebrow at the range when I say I reload 9mm. For most shooters it just isn't worth it. I give the same advice to everyone though. If you aren't strapped for time and have a local source for inexpensive components (being in Ottawa I have amazing local stores for components), reloading 9mm is worth the savings if you shoot 2000+ rounds a year. I'm in the 4000-6000/year range depending on what else I have going on (last year was on the lower end with CRPS and PRS taking up some of my time). If you shoot 1000-2000rnds/year it's really questionable if it's worth it as it'll take so many years to recoup the costs of your equipment. If you shoot less than 1000rnds a year I would recommend against reloading 9mm.

FWIW my cost is currently about $.16/round. I can get XMetal 9mm bullets for $90/1000 locally and collect and sort my own brass.
 
Google some Canadian component suppliers, and add up the retail cost per round of bullets, brass, primer and powder charge.

The bullets, primers and brass are easy to do.
Powder charge is your cost per pound, divided by 7000gr per pound. Then divide that by your desired powder charge (mine being 4.2gr of titegroup) gives you your cost per powder charge.

After you do that, you’ll have your cost per round at retail pricing for components. Anything you buy second hand or on sale will bring the cost down from there but atleast you’ll have your rough, maximum retail cost to reload your desired calibers.

As for tools, how many rounds you intend to shoot will dictate what suits you best. If you and your friends shoot under 5000 rounds a year, I wouldn’t bother with a big expensive progressive unless you’re going to be shooting more than that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom