Is it worth reloading 9mm

I did 9mm on a single stage for about a month and got fairly efficient, at about 200/hr. But even a cheap Lee Pro 1000 blows that out of the water at about 4-500/hr if you're coordinated and sharp-eyed. They can be a little finicky to set up and get into the rhythm but it'll pay for itself long before a Dillon.

$250 for the press, $100 for casting equipment pays back in about 1500 rounds at .30/rnd cheaper than storebought. That 1500 rounds would be a day or so of casting, sizing, and loading.
 
This depends entirely on how much you value your time. I rough price my fee time at about $150/hour. Loading almost anything is not a value proposition. I only load for precision shooting because you can't buy ammo that good at any price. Generally, I use factory ammo. In addition, I would never use (waste) a hand load on a semi-auto. All my hand loads get hand loaded into one of my bolt actions. For plinking, I usually just blast through piles of cheap bulk ammo. I then use the brass for my special hand loads.
 
time is worth nothing unless using it takes away from time that you could be earning. I figure it will cost about $300 for me to get set up for 9mm (turret press, 4 die set, case tumbler, auto primer, boxes, etc.). going to bring back pretty much everything next time I'm in the U.S. if I can find it. should recover the cost in about 1-2 years I figure. I agree that the biggest advantage is compensating for uncertainty in the future supply of factory ammo. once I get a decent stock of power, primers, bullets and cases I don't have to worry about that.
 
To me it is worthwhile for sure. It costs me about 8 dollars to reload 50 rounds whereas the cheapest I have ever been able to buy loaded 9mm for was 12 dollars a box, and that was off someone selling off everything that they had. In a store it seems to be 13-14/box before taxes. So, if you shoot alot of 9mm you will likely save at least a third off of the cost of buying in store and that will add up in a hurry.

Also, reloading allows you to tailor the ammo to your pistol so you can get better, more accurate ammo than store bought when you roll your own.

Many people do factor their time into reloading and add a dollar value to this. As a poster above mentioned, if reloading is not taking away from your earning time, then the time really doesn't have a dollar value as you are not losing money-making time by doing it. It is also a fun hobby!
 
I got into reloading in hopes of saving money but what ended up happening is I shoot a crap ton more. It used to be an occasion when I'd get a couple of 20 round boxes of 50AE and I'd try to make them last. Now, I go through 50 rounds every range visit. So if you're hoping to decrease your ammo budget, I doubt it will happen. You'll just get a lot more for the same money.
 
I haven't decided on an indoor range yet but I expect to drive close to an hour. That will certainly cut down on how often I go (maybe 2-3 times a month), but I will easily blow off 100-200 rounds each trip. no point paying 20 bucks in gas to only shoot 10 bucks of ammo.
 
Rifleman700 said:
How's it going? I had a quick question is it financially beneficial to reload 9mm para?
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YES it is beneficial,. this depends if your have the brass.. if you need to buy then it will costs more to load, but most shooter save them and reload them later. other's pick up 1st fire range brass (free).. powder loads vary ,, using about 4.0gr of powder usually net about 1250 rds so, here some figures you can use: free brass, .04cents/primer, + 0.24 cents for powder X 50rds - $2.90 per box.. (casting your own bullets) from here the price goes up..so if you can save 80% this add up on the cost of equipment pay back..example $29.00/krds or $145.00/5000krds. based 1000rnds you pay $350.00/1000 your pay back is in the first 1000 reloads, use a progressive press . loading about 200-rounds /per hr . this does not include set up time..
also helps with the learning curve.

enjoy!!:wave:
 
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9mm is NOT worth it from a pure economical stance if you have option of spending same said time working a decent job.

Is it fun, YUP, additive, YUP. Another hobby.

And anyone that tells you they can do more than 300 rounds without a dedicated setup doing thousands at a time with lots of additional equipment is BSing. Quoting just the time at the press is misleading, gonna add prep time for case, primer, adjustments, QC, packaging cleanup.
 
For all those that figure their time is worth hundreds of dollars per hour, maybe you should be working instead of shooting. After all between shooting, sleeping, and ####ting, you are loosing a fortune.

For me, I load about 70 rounds in 10 minutes, but that doesn't mean 420 per hour, after all, I have to stop to fill the primer tray, fill the case tubes. Lets say that cuts me down to 350 per hour or 7 boxes an hour. Sure I need to clean the cases, that has to take a good 10 minutes or so to dump a few hundred cases into the tumbler plug it in, and then dump them out when they are finished, or can I count the 2 hours of time sitting watching the tumbler watching the brass go round and round.

Not sure what decent 9mm is worth per 1000 delivered to my door, but about the cheapest I see in the stores is about $13 to $15 a box, plus taxes. If I can reload for $8 a box or buy for $15 with taxes, I am still saving $7 a box, or $49 an hour. Now I could take that hour and sit and reload ammo, or I can sit and watch American Idol or Survivor Staten Island or the all time greatest example of US culture, Honey Boo Boo, or like some here go to work and make $150 for that hour.

So if I shoot a thousand rounds a month, that's 20 boxes for a savings of $140 a month, maybe I'd rather blow the $140 and watch TV. Up to you.
 
If you have most of the equipment and only have to buy dies, probably.

If you are starting from scratch and have to buy everything it would take a long time before it would be cost effective seeing as 9mm is so cheap.
 
ren666 said:
time is worth nothing unless using it takes away from time that you could be earning. I figure it will cost about $300 for me to get set up for 9mm (turret press, 4 die set, case tumbler, auto primer, boxes, etc.). going to bring back pretty much everything next time I'm in the U.S. if I can find it. should recover the cost in about 1-2 years I figure. I agree that the biggest advantage is compensating for uncertainty in the future supply of factory ammo. once I get a decent stock of power, primers, bullets and cases I don't have to worry about that.
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For all those that figure their time is worth hundreds of dollars per hour, maybe you should be working instead of shooting. After all between shooting, sleeping, and ####ting, you are loosing a fortune.

For me, I load about 70 rounds in 10 minutes, but that doesn't mean 420 per hour, after all, I have to stop to fill the primer tray, fill the case tubes. Lets say that cuts me down to 350 per hour or 7 boxes an hour. Sure I need to clean the cases, that has to take a good 10 minutes or so to dump a few hundred cases into the tumbler plug it in, and then dump them out when they are finished, or can I count the 2 hours of time sitting watching the tumbler watching the brass go round and round.

Not sure what decent 9mm is worth per 1000 delivered to my door, but about the cheapest I see in the stores is about $13 to $15 a box, plus taxes. If I can reload for $8 a box or buy for $15 with taxes, I am still saving $7 a box, or $49 an hour. Now I could take that hour and sit and reload ammo, or I can sit and watch American Idol or Survivor Staten Island or the all time greatest example of US culture, Honey Boo Boo, or like some here go to work and make $150 for that hour.

So if I shoot a thousand rounds a month, that's 20 boxes for a savings of $140 a month, maybe I'd rather blow the $140 and watch TV. Up to you.
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There is an excellent book written by a very smart man named Thomas Sowell. The title is "Basic Economics". You'd both enjoy it. :rolleyes:
 
don't include the full cost of your reloading equipment as you can generally sell most of it for 60% give or take what you paid for it.....
 
Unless you are learning how to reload, it's really not worth it to reload 9mm on anything but a progressive press.

Once you know what you're doing and you got your press setup, it totally is worth it.

Most mornings before I go to work, I spend 20-30 minutes in my reloading room, and I crank out 100 rounds. With 9mm about $0.23 per round, for factry relooaded, and with my component purchases coming out to around $0.14 per round, that's $0.09 per round, or $18 / hour saved vs buying factory ammo.

Not even close to my hourly billiing rate, but still nothing to scoff at.

I like doing it too... It helps me clear my head and gives me a chance to rock out to some epic My Little Pony dubstep remixes.
 
I suppose if people are looking at it from a strictly utilitarian point of view, it may not be worth their while. And, as I said previously, my cost savings/box of ammo is significant. However, I don't worry about how many hours spent reloading versus earning. Reloading is an interesting hobby in its own right, and allows me to escape into my own little world of manliness...other than when charging cases, I will relax, throw on a "Battlefield" DVD, or "Rome" or "The World at War" or some other such DVD. If I decide to have a barley pop while so doing, I will. I just leave the charging of cases until the next day, or my next opportunity to relax and finish the batch I am working on. Whether 9mm, or .45-70, I find it's always worthwhile.
 
I prefer to reload 9mm than to buy it.

Is it "worth" it? do the math. it depends on alot of factors.
Do you enjoy reloading, how much money do you earn, how much free time do you have, etc.
I enjoy reloading, it probably costs me more than shooting surplus ammo, I don't care, it's a hobby. Money is not the deal breaker.
 
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