9MM reloader needed
- Thread starter BigPapi
- Start date
Well, what is your budget?
The reason I ask is that reloading really can be one of those things that can be answered with "what do you want to spend?" There is no end to how much money you can dump into it.
That said, you will want to be realistic with how much you want to spend, and what you expect to achieve.
Obviously, the cheap end of the spectrum would be a single stage press. While cheap, it is also time consuming. Not an issue if you are planning to shoot 50 rounds a week or two, but if you are expecting to shoot hundreds a week, as in competitions, you will want something faster.
The top of the spectrum would realistically be some sort of progressive press. These can be a bit daunting to get set up correctly, especially if you are new to reloading. They are also fairly spendy. If you are really planning on shooting hundreds, if not thousands of rounds at a time, this might be a bit much.
I am going to hazard a guess, and assume you want to spend as little as possible, and still get a reasonable volume of rounds loaded in an hour. Expect all sorts of members here to poo-poo on the suggestion, but I have had good success with the Lee brand. Yes, they are cheap, and yes, you get what you pay for, but in my experience they work. For a basic volume based reloading setup I would suggest,
The Lee Classic turret press
The "Classic" press is an iron based press, and more robust.
The list of things to buy would include (prices are old, and likely a few dollars higher than posted here)
Lee "Classic" Turret Press $129.95
Lee Deluxe Pistol Die Set - 9mm $53.99
Lee Safety Prime system $28.99
Lee "Pro" Auto-Disk Powder Measure $49.99
Lee Micro Adj. Charge Bar $ 9.99
Lee Auto-Disk Riser $ 9.99
You would also want to obtain a loading block, reliable trimmer, deburring tool, and a decent scale (to check powder throw weights), and some caliper for measuring lengths.
I would suspect all this would come in at around $450 or so. I am not sure if that is within your budget, but I think you would be hard pressed to find a less expensive setup that would let you pump out a reasonable amount of ammo in minimal amounts of time.
The reason I ask is that reloading really can be one of those things that can be answered with "what do you want to spend?" There is no end to how much money you can dump into it.
That said, you will want to be realistic with how much you want to spend, and what you expect to achieve.
Obviously, the cheap end of the spectrum would be a single stage press. While cheap, it is also time consuming. Not an issue if you are planning to shoot 50 rounds a week or two, but if you are expecting to shoot hundreds a week, as in competitions, you will want something faster.
The top of the spectrum would realistically be some sort of progressive press. These can be a bit daunting to get set up correctly, especially if you are new to reloading. They are also fairly spendy. If you are really planning on shooting hundreds, if not thousands of rounds at a time, this might be a bit much.
I am going to hazard a guess, and assume you want to spend as little as possible, and still get a reasonable volume of rounds loaded in an hour. Expect all sorts of members here to poo-poo on the suggestion, but I have had good success with the Lee brand. Yes, they are cheap, and yes, you get what you pay for, but in my experience they work. For a basic volume based reloading setup I would suggest,
The Lee Classic turret press
The "Classic" press is an iron based press, and more robust.
The list of things to buy would include (prices are old, and likely a few dollars higher than posted here)
Lee "Classic" Turret Press $129.95
Lee Deluxe Pistol Die Set - 9mm $53.99
Lee Safety Prime system $28.99
Lee "Pro" Auto-Disk Powder Measure $49.99
Lee Micro Adj. Charge Bar $ 9.99
Lee Auto-Disk Riser $ 9.99
You would also want to obtain a loading block, reliable trimmer, deburring tool, and a decent scale (to check powder throw weights), and some caliper for measuring lengths.
I would suspect all this would come in at around $450 or so. I am not sure if that is within your budget, but I think you would be hard pressed to find a less expensive setup that would let you pump out a reasonable amount of ammo in minimal amounts of time.
I agree but... I have never known anyone who trimmed there 9mm brass.
As for the OP, there are several places to go so it would help greatly if we had an idea of where you were from.
Moose308 - great post.
To me, there are a number of things to be considered.
1. As noted, how many rounds you need a week/month/year.
2. As noted, your budget.
3. How much time you have to devote to reloading.
4. What round you are shooting is also critical. That allows you to figure out savings per round; some are dramatically cheaper than others (the top of that list being 7.62x39mm right now). A quick look at one sponsor's site shows that 9mm Para can be bought for less than 25¢ a pop. Based on that low price, savings per round will be small and it's going to take you a lot longer to pay off the costs of your equipment than if you were loading something like .358 Win or .500 S&W Mag.
To me, there are a number of things to be considered.
1. As noted, how many rounds you need a week/month/year.
2. As noted, your budget.
3. How much time you have to devote to reloading.
4. What round you are shooting is also critical. That allows you to figure out savings per round; some are dramatically cheaper than others (the top of that list being 7.62x39mm right now). A quick look at one sponsor's site shows that 9mm Para can be bought for less than 25¢ a pop. Based on that low price, savings per round will be small and it's going to take you a lot longer to pay off the costs of your equipment than if you were loading something like .358 Win or .500 S&W Mag.
+1... No need to trim straight wall pistol brass. 9mm is a little higher pressure, but I have 45 ACP brass I have reloaded so many times the headstamps are nearly worn off... And they still measure well within spec.
OP, keep in mind that pistol is all about quantity... Might not start out that way, but its just a matter of time. I would recommend a progressive loader and just load cases one by one by hand until you get very comfortable with what happens. It can be very overwhelming to observe 3, 4 or 5 things going on at once, while maintaining the right "feel" to the lever so you can sense cycling/priming issues and keeping an over all check on safety. Seems like a no brainer, but you are working with explosives (primers) and very flammable substances (powder).
Gunner4life
Regular
- Location
- Vancouver BC
There's a dealer that has a package deal on a Rockchucker Single Stage kit for $300, $250 after the mail in rebate with RCBS. It has everything you need to get started minus the dies and the shellholders. That deal seems like the cheapest way to go if you're not reloading in volume. When I got started relaoding I spent probably around $300 piecing together a setup using stuff I found at gun shows. Using a single stage setup I load around 150 rounds per hour.
Component wise, the cheapest powder is probably Titegroup, seeing as how I use around 4 grains or so per case, so one pound of that powder will probably last you somewhere between 1500 rounds or so. If you can round up a few guys the best pace to order from is Higginson Powders in Ontario, if you order 21 pounds or more they waive the haz-mat fee in shipping.
For bullets I use Berry 124 and 115 grain FMJs, cost is around $95 after tax and shipping per box of 1000 from Jo-Brooks. They have a sale going on right now on those, hard to beat that price.
And finally for primers, I get mine from Budget Shooter Supply, $36 a box which is by far the cheapest I've seen. I've looked around locally and they range from $55 to $36 per box of 1000.
All in all it costs me about 15 cents per round if you're collecting brass from the range. There's no shortage of 1F brass, so I've never had to pay for cases.
Hope that helps.
Component wise, the cheapest powder is probably Titegroup, seeing as how I use around 4 grains or so per case, so one pound of that powder will probably last you somewhere between 1500 rounds or so. If you can round up a few guys the best pace to order from is Higginson Powders in Ontario, if you order 21 pounds or more they waive the haz-mat fee in shipping.
For bullets I use Berry 124 and 115 grain FMJs, cost is around $95 after tax and shipping per box of 1000 from Jo-Brooks. They have a sale going on right now on those, hard to beat that price.
And finally for primers, I get mine from Budget Shooter Supply, $36 a box which is by far the cheapest I've seen. I've looked around locally and they range from $55 to $36 per box of 1000.
All in all it costs me about 15 cents per round if you're collecting brass from the range. There's no shortage of 1F brass, so I've never had to pay for cases.
Hope that helps.
ambishooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Southeastern Canuckstan
+1 for the Lee Classic Cast Turret kit. Got the Classic Turret Press Kit (90304) in April from Williams Arms for under $ 300. Buy a digital scale, deluxe 4 die pistol set, caliper, reloading manual, a small worklight and you are good to go. Also, a solid bench to mount the press. I would say (assuming you have brass), for 1000 rounds, powder, bullets and primers, you are looking at between $ 500 - 600. But before you get excited, try several loads (grains) before you do bigger batches.
Well, what is your budget?
The reason I ask is that reloading really can be one of those things that can be answered with "what do you want to spend?" There is no end to how much money you can dump into it.
That said, you will want to be realistic with how much you want to spend, and what you expect to achieve.
Obviously, the cheap end of the spectrum would be a single stage press. While cheap, it is also time consuming. Not an issue if you are planning to shoot 50 rounds a week or two, but if you are expecting to shoot hundreds a week, as in competitions, you will want something faster.
The top of the spectrum would realistically be some sort of progressive press. These can be a bit daunting to get set up correctly, especially if you are new to reloading. They are also fairly spendy. If you are really planning on shooting hundreds, if not thousands of rounds at a time, this might be a bit much.
I am going to hazard a guess, and assume you want to spend as little as possible, and still get a reasonable volume of rounds loaded in an hour. Expect all sorts of members here to poo-poo on the suggestion, but I have had good success with the Lee brand. Yes, they are cheap, and yes, you get what you pay for, but in my experience they work. For a basic volume based reloading setup I would suggest,
The Lee Classic turret press
The "Classic" press is an iron based press, and more robust.
The list of things to buy would include (prices are old, and likely a few dollars higher than posted here)
Lee "Classic" Turret Press $129.95
Lee Deluxe Pistol Die Set - 9mm $53.99
Lee Safety Prime system $28.99
Lee "Pro" Auto-Disk Powder Measure $49.99
Lee Micro Adj. Charge Bar $ 9.99
Lee Auto-Disk Riser $ 9.99
You would also want to obtain a loading block, reliable trimmer, deburring tool, and a decent scale (to check powder throw weights), and some caliper for measuring lengths.
I would suspect all this would come in at around $450 or so. I am not sure if that is within your budget, but I think you would be hard pressed to find a less expensive setup that would let you pump out a reasonable amount of ammo in minimal amounts of time.
You have the dexterity to run one for sure. Otherwise get a Dillon. 
I would also recommend the Lee Classic Turret kit. You could stop by or call Williams Arms or order online from FS Reloading in the states.
Classic Turret Kit 90304 $208
9mm 4 die set 90963 $37
Auto Disk riser 90041 $8
Powder Funnel $3
Modern Reloading 2nd ed. manual 90277 $18
Digital calipres from Canadian Tire or Home Depot $15-30
small pistol primers, W231 Powder, 115 or 124gr .355-.356" 9mm bullets and empty 9mm cases.
Safety glasses, note pad to record what you made/tried, 1/4" bolts, nuts and washers and a bench or table to bolt press to.
Later if you decide to load rifle you can buy the dies and Lee case length gauge for your calibre to load and trim rifle cases
Classic Turret Kit 90304 $208
9mm 4 die set 90963 $37
Auto Disk riser 90041 $8
Powder Funnel $3
Modern Reloading 2nd ed. manual 90277 $18
Digital calipres from Canadian Tire or Home Depot $15-30
small pistol primers, W231 Powder, 115 or 124gr .355-.356" 9mm bullets and empty 9mm cases.
Safety glasses, note pad to record what you made/tried, 1/4" bolts, nuts and washers and a bench or table to bolt press to.
Later if you decide to load rifle you can buy the dies and Lee case length gauge for your calibre to load and trim rifle cases
This is what I have for my reloading setup.
LEE BREECH LOCK CHALLENGER 50TH ANNIVERSARY KIT 90050 1 $108.54 $108.54
308 WIN LEE CASE LENGTH GAUGE/SHELLHOLDER 90139 1 $4.84 $4.84
LEE PRO 4, 20 LB MELTER 110 Volt 90947 1 $65.77 $65.77
LEE INGOT MOLD with HANDLE 90029 1 $11.98 $11.98
LEE "MODERN RELOADING 2ND EDITION" MANUAL 90277 1 $17.99 $17.99
Sub-Total: $209.12
UPS Standard: $39.48
Total: $248.60
From Titan Reloading
Haven't even used the melter or ingot mold yet either...so I didn't really need to buy them. The Lee Anniversary kit, some dies, and the book are the basics you need. Beyond that you'll need to buy separate powder, cases, projectiles, and primers. I replaced the Lee Safety Scale pretty quick though, I'm tall and it was hurting my back to lean down to check it. Replaced it with an RCBS digital scale, much easier to read.
I don't know the prices for 9mm, haven't gotten into that yet but I'm planning to fairly soon.
I go pretty slow and do 50 cartridges a night with plenty of time for watching a show or two afterwards, someone could easily do far more if they worked quickly or longer. As mentioned a notebook is very very useful. Especially if you're dealing with powerful powder or doing load development. A good funnel is essential, it will save you so much grief to get one that won't clog up if you dump a whole charge of powder into it.
For my reloading bench I bought four project panels, some L brackets, nuts, studs, and washers from Home Depot. Measured and marked holes to match up with the brackets, drilled the wood, and put it together. Pretty simple set up, and best of all I can easily disassemble it without doing any harm to the wood. Nuts and studs win over wood screws in my opinion. Probably less than $100 for the materials. There is also a Lee reloading stand/tripod thing that serves much the same purpose if you don't have a large area to work in.
All in all though, bare minimum you're still looking at probably $500 to get set up for several hundred rounds. Shop around though, prices can vary wildly, but don't be suckered in for cheap prices at distant retailers when the difference will be more than accounted for by the shipping costs. The good thing is that unless you are using powerful loads, or abusing your brass, it should be good for many reloads.
Or if you find a good deal, maybe even buy loaded ammo first, then just get projectiles, powder and primer to reuse that brass. Some of the deals out there seem cheaper than reloading, or something like 1/4 of a penny per bullet off.
LEE BREECH LOCK CHALLENGER 50TH ANNIVERSARY KIT 90050 1 $108.54 $108.54
308 WIN LEE CASE LENGTH GAUGE/SHELLHOLDER 90139 1 $4.84 $4.84
LEE PRO 4, 20 LB MELTER 110 Volt 90947 1 $65.77 $65.77
LEE INGOT MOLD with HANDLE 90029 1 $11.98 $11.98
LEE "MODERN RELOADING 2ND EDITION" MANUAL 90277 1 $17.99 $17.99
Sub-Total: $209.12
UPS Standard: $39.48
Total: $248.60
From Titan Reloading
Haven't even used the melter or ingot mold yet either...so I didn't really need to buy them. The Lee Anniversary kit, some dies, and the book are the basics you need. Beyond that you'll need to buy separate powder, cases, projectiles, and primers. I replaced the Lee Safety Scale pretty quick though, I'm tall and it was hurting my back to lean down to check it. Replaced it with an RCBS digital scale, much easier to read.
I don't know the prices for 9mm, haven't gotten into that yet but I'm planning to fairly soon.
I go pretty slow and do 50 cartridges a night with plenty of time for watching a show or two afterwards, someone could easily do far more if they worked quickly or longer. As mentioned a notebook is very very useful. Especially if you're dealing with powerful powder or doing load development. A good funnel is essential, it will save you so much grief to get one that won't clog up if you dump a whole charge of powder into it.
For my reloading bench I bought four project panels, some L brackets, nuts, studs, and washers from Home Depot. Measured and marked holes to match up with the brackets, drilled the wood, and put it together. Pretty simple set up, and best of all I can easily disassemble it without doing any harm to the wood. Nuts and studs win over wood screws in my opinion. Probably less than $100 for the materials. There is also a Lee reloading stand/tripod thing that serves much the same purpose if you don't have a large area to work in.
All in all though, bare minimum you're still looking at probably $500 to get set up for several hundred rounds. Shop around though, prices can vary wildly, but don't be suckered in for cheap prices at distant retailers when the difference will be more than accounted for by the shipping costs. The good thing is that unless you are using powerful loads, or abusing your brass, it should be good for many reloads.
Or if you find a good deal, maybe even buy loaded ammo first, then just get projectiles, powder and primer to reuse that brass. Some of the deals out there seem cheaper than reloading, or something like 1/4 of a penny per bullet off.
Papi, one thing I was told when I first started reloading was to learn on a single stage first then get a progressive. This is good advice to learn the ropes but I never did, I started off with a progressive but I had a great teacher right off the bat. Trust me, you have a family with kids like me and time is extremely valuable. If you want to make 200-300 rounds per week you will want a progressive.
Wise advice. Not everyone needs to use my nuclear option, but don't kid yourself.
You will spend more on ammo then you will on the gun. Spend wisely.
The same goes for your time. CHeap out now, and you will pay forever.
Get a Dillon press and don't look back. I went with the 550b because it lets me load pistol and rifle calibres. It works well, produces about 400/hr (for me working fairly deliberately) and if something goes wrong dillon fixes it for nothing.
No need to trim 9mm cases, ever.
The thing about reloading is that it is cost heavy on the front end. Truth is you likely wont truly save any money doing it. But you will be able to shoot alot more, with better ammo, for the same money.
Some people will tell you 9mm is not worth reloading. I be to differ. I save about five bucks a box vs commercial ammo and the ammo is better.
For a shadow you will find that you have to load the bullets a bit short.
No need to trim 9mm cases, ever.
The thing about reloading is that it is cost heavy on the front end. Truth is you likely wont truly save any money doing it. But you will be able to shoot alot more, with better ammo, for the same money.
Some people will tell you 9mm is not worth reloading. I be to differ. I save about five bucks a box vs commercial ammo and the ammo is better.
For a shadow you will find that you have to load the bullets a bit short.
Nothing wrong with starting out with a progressive... Just begin by maually loading one case at a time until you're intimately familiar with the process and "feel"... Then load 2... then 3 and work up until you get up constant load.
As for brands... Don't get caught playing that game. Pick according to your budget and intended volume. Yes Dillon makes a nice press, as does Hornady, etc, etc, etc. They all have their pluses and minuses. As for LEE, many like to hate on them, but they do make good products that are perfectly capable of delivering quality ammo in volume. Some may take a bit more time to get used to or perhaps a bit of care in using them, but believe me, they work. I have several presses... and many pistols. One of my favorite to this day is my M&P40... It sees a very high volume of ammo. And the sole source of assembly for my hand cast 40sw ammo, is my Lee 1000. You have to keep it clean, but if you do, its flawless and cheap to maintain. And if you're wondering about volume, I consume 40sw at a rate of approx 1-1.5k a month... And that's before even looking at my 9mm and 45acp (loaded on a different press).
Just some thoughts to consider.
As for brands... Don't get caught playing that game. Pick according to your budget and intended volume. Yes Dillon makes a nice press, as does Hornady, etc, etc, etc. They all have their pluses and minuses. As for LEE, many like to hate on them, but they do make good products that are perfectly capable of delivering quality ammo in volume. Some may take a bit more time to get used to or perhaps a bit of care in using them, but believe me, they work. I have several presses... and many pistols. One of my favorite to this day is my M&P40... It sees a very high volume of ammo. And the sole source of assembly for my hand cast 40sw ammo, is my Lee 1000. You have to keep it clean, but if you do, its flawless and cheap to maintain. And if you're wondering about volume, I consume 40sw at a rate of approx 1-1.5k a month... And that's before even looking at my 9mm and 45acp (loaded on a different press).
Just some thoughts to consider.
