9mm reload cost vs store bought?
- Thread starter nwills
- Start date
I belong to a club with 4000 members. They sweep up several 5 gallon pails of brass each day. Fortunately for me I am a local and might have access to some of that brass.
Unless it's IPSC or IDPA practice day at the range, reloaders like us I think are in the minority. At least they are at the ranges I frequent. While at the range you'll recognize the non-reloaders because they'll have boxes of factory ammo in front of them. Most ranges have "pick up your brass" policies, and asking such a person if you can pick up their brass usually results in a positive outcome because they think you're doing them the favor!
This time of year when a rapid snow melt happens often reveals brass on an outdoor range ground so thick you can't walk without stepping on them. If your timing is right, you can walk away with a 20 liter bucket full of 9mm before you get tired of being bent over. It's also a great time to retrieve other calibers that are normally picked up but get lost in the snow, such as .45 ACP.
If you have friends or acquaintances who already shoot in your area, ask them for brass. If you don't have a tumbler, you'll need to invest in one sooner than later. Even if you buy new brass (which I've never done), you'll need to clean them after shooting for reloading again (and again, and again, and....)
Most shooters don't load I can salvage 200-400 brass every range session
With picked up brass,
bullet .10 124 Gr. Campro
primer .05 CCI SP
powder .025 (4.5 grs Titegrup)
About 17.5 cents a round $175 a 1000
The cheapest I can get locally is $350 a 1000 Blazer
With picked up brass,
bullet .10 124 Gr. Campro
primer .05 CCI SP
powder .025 (4.5 grs Titegrup)
About 17.5 cents a round $175 a 1000
The cheapest I can get locally is $350 a 1000 Blazer
I use a Lee Turret and make ~250 rounds of 9mm/hour. I've made over 4000 rounds with 0 problems loading or firing. Accuracy is better than store bought as you can find exactly what primers, powders, amount of powder, and bullet weight your gun likes.
I reload 147gr 9mm campro ($110/1000) or I reload X-metal 9mm 124gr ($88/1000)
So my current pricing is:
$110 for 147gr (110/1000 = 0.11/round)
$50 for primers (CCI or Winchester) (50/1000= 0.05/round)
$35 Titegroup powder (@ 3.9grains/bullet / 1lb = 7000grains = ~1794 bullets I can make) 1794/$35.00 = 0.019 cents per round
So per round is costs me: ~ .18 cents / round, let's say .20 cents. That's 20 cents for the best ammo your gun can show if you do some testing and messing around with to see what your gun loves.
Brass I find or have saved from store bought in the past.
I reload 147gr 9mm campro ($110/1000) or I reload X-metal 9mm 124gr ($88/1000)
So my current pricing is:
$110 for 147gr (110/1000 = 0.11/round)
$50 for primers (CCI or Winchester) (50/1000= 0.05/round)
$35 Titegroup powder (@ 3.9grains/bullet / 1lb = 7000grains = ~1794 bullets I can make) 1794/$35.00 = 0.019 cents per round
So per round is costs me: ~ .18 cents / round, let's say .20 cents. That's 20 cents for the best ammo your gun can show if you do some testing and messing around with to see what your gun loves.
Brass I find or have saved from store bought in the past.
This is likely a dumb question but I won't find out otherwise. I own an SKS. Can I reload the surplus ammunition or do I have to buy all non-corrosive in order to reload? I like to shoot that rifle and with prices steadily going up for the ammunition, if I could reload that AND 9mm, that would be worth it for me.
If you mean corrosive steel case 7.62x39 casings? You are better off leaving them in the brass bin. If you have boxer primed brass in 7.62x39 then you are in business...
Absolutely. And you get something useful to show for the effort.
last night I separated 40 cal from 9mm range pick up brass, and then sized all the 40 cal and put it in the tumbler to de-lube and polish over night. Tonight I will size the 9mm and put it the tumbler overnight.
I have a little flat screen TV at the back of my bench so I can follow a program while doing some of the simple grunt work - like sizing brass.
My pistol ammo costs about 12 cents a round for bullet, primer and powder. I buy DRG cast lead bullets for around $70/1000
My reloads are just as good or slightly better than normal commercial grade ammo. If you are doing precision ammo then you can make cartridges tuned to your firearm so they can be better than commercial at about half the cost. Yes there is a learning curve to reloading. When I first started I was getting a reject rate of 2-3 % but these days after sorting out all the bugs and developing a feel for my press (Dillon 550) my reject rate has dropped to about 0.2-0.3" and usually that is the primer only. Primers not going in correctly is far and away the most common problem especially with mixed brass. I tend to use one or two types of brass these days and this is part of the reason the reject rate has dropped. Follow a good reloading book. Just take your time, use a bulky powder like Hodgdon HS6, much harder to overcharge a case with bulky powder. Double charging cases is quite easy when using Titegroup for example. Double charging very bad gun can go boom. Overall Cartridge length is also very import making cartridges shorter can increase the case pressure dramatically. Again very bad. I always do mine at the longer end of the range.
Personally I enjoy reloading it is a hobby in itself. If you are just reloading to save money then it can become a pain as it is time consuming and takes a decent amount of care.
