Getting into reloading 9mm

O

Octane25

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Hey guys,

My buddy has a basic LEE single stage press that he uses to reload rifle ammunition, and mentioned that if I buy the dies and consumables that I was welcome to use it whenever I want to reload 9mm. Now realistically I would prefer to go out and get the Dillon Square Deal B progressive right off the bat, as I know that would be much better suited if I'm going to be shooting a lot as I plan to, but I figured I would try a few hundred rounds with the brass I have collected currently on the single stage first to see how I like it. My question is a.) how much can I look to save over retail? Especially considering no equipment cost as of yet... I am paying $15+ HST per box of 50 for the cheapest S&B/Federal/Remington FMJ ball ammunition, b.) what powder(s) should I look into using? and c.) is there any huge disadvantage to using regular lead round nose projectiles? The local shop sells "DRG" cast lead bullets, they seem pretty cheap...I am shooting a Smith&Wesson M&P 9mm at the moment so if anybody has specific data for that pistol in particular that would be great also. I am not too concerned with match-grade accuracy just yet as my shooting still needs much room for improvement, more looking for cheap target loads to plink with.

Thanks for any advice.
 
A. You won't save anything but you will shoot a lot more. With my current batch of projectiles I bought I'm paying about $6 per box of 50.

B. tight group, w231/hp38, unique, power pistol, the list goes on. I personally use the first 2.

C. use what ever works, I shoot mostly plated because I got a good deal but I also just got a 9mm mold so I've been shooting a lot of cast lately. I have a stock glock 17 and 1911.

Are you new to reloading? If so read up and ask for your buddies help.

Also i never include the cost of reloading equipment into my ammo costs because you can get at least 60-70% back if you sell it. And I've more then paid my stuff off.
 
I load 4.3gr of unique behind any 124gr projectile for 9mm. Do a little ladder test for your pistol, you may as well shoot a load that your pistol likes.

Last I bothered to check I was spending $125/1000 on components to load 9mm (it's hella cheaper if you buy in large quantities)

I have put (conservatively) 19,500 reloaded rounds through one of my M&P 9s....... Most of that lead round nose.

When I was loading 9mm single stage, I was averaging 12hrs per 1000 rounds. If memory serves I loaded 5-6000 rounds that way, before I purchased a SDB. I sold the SDB after 2200 rounds and bought a lee 1000........I have 20,000(ish) through it and no plans to switch!

If you are going to shoot lots of lead you may have to season the barrel of your M&P........

Cheers and good luck!
 
I load all my ammo on single stage 9mm,45acp,41 mag plus all my rifles.It takes me one hour twenty minutes to load 100 pistol rounds not including my casting time.I will eventually go progressive but i have no trouble keeping a thousand of each caliber ahead shooting 160/200 a week in the winter.
 
I reload 9mm on a single stage. You just break it up into steps, that's all. I do mine over winter when I can't shoot anyway.
 
This is the first time I've heard of someone selling a Dillon press to go to a Lee. :onCrack:

To the OP: your initial thought of going with a square deal is a good one - if you are ok with only loading for pistol. If at any time you may think you'll want to reload rifle too, consider a 650
 
punkrockboy said:
In my opinion, it is best to learn to reload on a single stage, you learn all of the steps.
Click to expand...

just run 1 shell through the progressive at a time. That being said most can always use a single stage for small batches or messing around. And you can always sell it.
 
I use a lee single stage and like someone else mentioned, break it into segments. I just started reloading for my 9MM and have been using 124gr Berry bullets with 4.0 of Titegroup. I have it firgured at about $7.00 for 50.
 
The Lee Loadmaster is a great press.I am glad i didnt listen to all the bad talk about then as it was for the older ones i guess.i started out on it and have had great success with it loading .45 acp,9 mm and 38 special/357 magnum(same die).I just ordered a 5 hole turret for each cal. i load and all you need to do is set the dies up once.
308 cal is next to to try out.i would recommend the loadmaster but if you are just loading pistol the pro 1000 will work fine.you could always use your buddies for rifle rounds.i use Titegroup for all my diff cals so far.Will change for Rifle.

As for speed once it is set up you will pump out rounds like a factory :) Observe following video :

 
beltfed said:
This is the first time I've heard of someone selling a Dillon press to go to a Lee. :onCrack:

To the OP: your initial thought of going with a square deal is a good one - if you are ok with only loading for pistol. If at any time you may think you'll want to reload rifle too, consider a 650
Click to expand...

It's going to be two now... My SDB is my backup press and I use Lee Pro 1000's for 9, 40, 45 & 223. I just bolt on the 1000 in the caliber I want and crank away. The Dillon is a superior press but the lack of caliber changes and just grabbing the 1000 I need works well for me. Takes a half hour of tuning for a 1000 when you first get it but I can crank ammo out of the 1000 faster than I can the SDB.
 
I started on a Lee single, you'll want a powder thrower like the Auto Disk, that takes most of the time. Once I got an Auto Disk, I could do about 200/hr once I was practiced. I did about 2000 that way then bought a Progressive 1000. You might want to start there, since you buy them with a die set of your choice for about $240. I actually bought the 9mm set, then cleaned it and the Auto Disk I bought, and returned them in order to buy the progressive. Net difference was about $170 so I would suggest you just start there. I can do about 500/hr on it.

DO NOT BUY THE BULLET FEEDER. It is a big piece of ####. Buy extra die plates if you load more than 1 caliber so you don't have to swap dies in and out.
 
I use a Lee Pro1000 and definately recommend it for the money. As said before, a little tuning is needed but then runs like a champ. I bought mine from titanreloading.com in the US. Press was around $150. I got extra dies for 40cal and .223, shell plate for 40cal, extra turrets, case trimmer, 12ga slug mould, double disk kit for .223 loading, case lube, etc etc came out to around $400 tax duty shipping in.
 
That's great, thanks for all the advice everyone.

I have been able to find just about everything I need locally, although dies were hard to find a local store had one set of Hornady dies in stock. But unfortunately nobody has small pistol primers so I'll have to dig a bit deeper for those - I have a feeling Hummason will have them, and they're only ten minutes away so I'll have to try them. I went with Unique powder and DRG 125gr cast lead round nose projectiles.

I'm going to load 200 on my friend's single stage and see how I like it first, and then probably put together a progressive setup of my own. I only plan to load 9mm at the moment and .45ACP in the near future when I get my 1911, but I don't want to rule out the option of reloading .223 in the future should I decide to finally buy a CQ-A. Ideally I'd like to spend under around $500-600 for the whole setup if I can do that without sacrificing quality too much.

How clean does the brass really need to be for target loads? I have a bunch of once-fired factory brass that was picked up off the concrete floor at the range and washed in soap and near-boiling hot water and rinsed and dried thoroughly. They appear pretty clean although the inside obviously has some black residue. Will that be fine for what I'm doing or should I invest in a media tumbler too? I have a varsol parts washer and am getting an ultrasonic cleaner too if either of those would work...

Thanks
 
Sounds like your brass is clean enough. A tumbler is nice, but not essential: I clean mine in hot water and a bit of phosphoric acid, then rinse in hot water, and then I put the basket they're in (an old basket for cooking french fries in a pot) over the floor vent for the furnace. Stir while the furnace is on, they come out clean and dry and ready to load.
 
I personally like my Lee 4 hole turret press. I am reloading 9mm, 45ACP and .308 right now. For brass cleaning I use the old method of 1 cup vinegar, 4 cups boiling water, 1tbs salt and 1tbs dishsoap, then into the oven on a baking sheet at just under 150F, any hotter will discolor the brass. For 9mm it isn't much cheaper, but I enjoy reloading and experimenting with variations in load. Not much else to do in Saskatchewan evenings during winter anyways. The only problem is that it seems like everyone is now reloading, and hoarding. Small primers, powder and bullets are very scarce, as a matter of fact, I have been trying to buy IMR4895 or 4350 and there doesn't seem to be any around in Saskatchewan.
 
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