Entry level reloading for 9mm?

Paul-ish

Paul-ish

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Hi there!

I just bought a S&W FPC 9mm rifle and have had the most fun shooting since my AR turned into a paper weight....BUT...
Ammo has gone way up since I last bought any and I have a family of 5 that shoot my guns (Along with friends and neighbors too!)


I'm curious what I need to start reloading my own 9mm rounds and how much is the potential savings?
Sorry I have ZERO knowledge on reloading... But I figure this might be a good place to start.
 
I'm still using powder and primers from when they were cheap, so my reloading costs have not increased.

I found that it 'used' to be about half price from factory ammo to reload, but realistically I reload so I can shoot more rather than to save money.

FWIW powder has gone from $35-40/lb to $80 plus in the last 4 years - edited to say Titegroup as used below can still be had for $50/lb
Small pistol primers used to be under $5 per 100, now they are $12 or more
Pistol projectiles have not gone up as much but they still have had increases.
Brass for 9mm I either save or get free at the ranges I belong to by scrounging the pails (it is allowed to scrounge at the ranges I use).

To start a used single stage press can be had fairly cheap at gun shows - kits have too much stuff you probably won't use or is of less quality.
A good set of dies (3) - again, used at gun shows.
You need a good scale and powder drop mechanism. Digital calipers. Some method to bulk clean brass.

Honestly for 9mm these days I suspect buying cheap bulk ammo would be preferred over reloading.

Looking at Tenda prices today, cheapest factory is around 36c per round in bulk. If you can reload for around 30 then 5-6c/round takes a while to even pay for your equipment.
 
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For my 9mm needs I range goblin used brass, wet tumble to get rid of any dirt/debris. Unless I'm loading for a USA trip, I use bulk stuff. Cam-Pro bullets 124 HP, TITEGROUP powder, and whatever primers I can find for use. Bulk bullets, while not the most accurate they work. For powder, TITEGROUP gives me 1500+ rounds from the pound bottle (1lb =7000grains BTW)
A single stage press, dies, a scale that weighs in grains (gn), a decent set of calipers, a kenetik hammer for mistakes.

In this playlist, I cover tools and methods I use. feel free to ask for clarification !
 
You need all the components (Brass, primers, powder, projectiles), a press, a set of dies, a scale to weigh powder, a caliper of some kind to measure loengths, reloading data (Manual, or online), a means to clean brass if you're not buying it clean, aaaand a basic knowledge on how to not blow yourself up. There's usually good instructions in reloading manuals.

There's multiple different types of presses, from single stage to progressive. Single stage is cheap and slow, progressive is expensive and fast.

Cost savings are faaaairly negligible over sale prices of factory 9mm. Considering you're going to have to buy brass, you can't reload a 9mm round at current component prices for much less than 30 cents. I've seen factory 9mm go on sale for not much more than 30 cents.

So if you compare reloading ammo to stocking up on enough factory ammo during each sale to get you through to the next one, it would take many, many thousands of rounds to recoup your costs by reloading. And that's even if you don't put a value on your time.

I'm probably into my Dillon 650 setup for a couple thousand dollars by now, but I'm reloading ammo that has a much bigger cost differential between factory loaded ammo and components. I also reload 9mm, but if I were to be reloading ONLY 9mm, it wouldn't be worth it to me.
 
I’d start with a single stage press a set of dies and a scale. Scrounge range brass clean it up whatever way is cheapest find some small pistol primers and a couple powders of powder to go with it and use somethjng like cam pro projectiles. Cheapest option other then casting your own and loading it that way.

Biggest issue with everything is price has gone up and theirs shortages of some powder.
 
I'm reloading 9mm for just under $0.28 per round (taxes in).
Going with a single stage press or a cheaper progressive might be tempting. But if you're serious about reloading and will do a fair bit, buy a Dillon press. If you buy anything else, frankly you're going to want to upgrade one day. A Dillon 550 will serve you great. A 750 is a bit nicer.
Just my 2 cents (spending your money) :D
 
toxic said:
I'm reloading 9mm for just under $0.28 per round (taxes in).
Going with a single stage press or a cheaper progressive might be tempting. But if you're serious about reloading and will do a fair bit, buy a Dillon press. If you buy anything else, frankly you're going to want to upgrade one day. A Dillon 550 will serve you great. A 750 is a bit nicer.
Just my 2 cents (spending your money) :D
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I wouldn’t recommend a progressive to a new reloader.
 
I'd go with a Lee turret press. Then you just remove the index rod and you can switch stations without having to remove dies and hope the lock ring did not move.

All my dies are on its own turret plate. 9mm, 45, 38/357, 308, 30 Carbine,303.
 
antiqueguy said:
I wouldn’t recommend a progressive to a new reloader.
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I started with a 550 for my handgun calibres (9mm, 45ACP, 38, 357 Mag), then went to a separate Single stage later for my rifle rounds.
I do load 44 Mag and 45LC on the single stage as well as I don't shoot a lot of those in my revolvers.

The learning curve was not too bad with the progressive to start. Did a lot of reading and watching YouTube vids.
 
OkayShooter said:
I'd go with a Lee turret press. Then you just remove the index rod and you can switch stations without having to remove dies and hope the lock ring did not move.

All my dies are on its own turret plate. 9mm, 45, 38/357, 308, 30 Carbine,303.
Click to expand...
Agreed, I started with one for pistol rounds and just stayed with it. Budget machine that works well.
 
antiqueguy said:
I wouldn’t recommend a progressive to a new reloader.
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You could start with a progressive if that's what you plan to be using once you get rolling, but at first (or later after changing anything) send just one round around at a time and understand and check what's happening at each station, then another single round to be sure of that, before you're comfortable enough to start a new round every cycle and go into mass production.

9mm is one of the trickier rounds to reload, because bulgy brass off the range floor ideally needs to be roll-sized and that's extra equipment. And it (along with .22LR, 12ga, .223, and .308) are the five available in the greatest bulk and hardest to beat reloading.
 
I’ve been reloading 9mm for many years now. As has been said, it used to be able to be done for far less than the present. That said, I use Campro 124gr bulk plated bullets for the most part and either Bullseye or Power Pistol for the most part. Bullseye will yield over 1500 rounds/pound. I have lots of 9mm brass so there is no additional cost there.

But, in terms of brass, what I have noticed for various cartridges at various times is that it is sometimes cheaper to start out with loaded ammo as a source of brass as opposed to buying empty brass. I’m not sure if that’s the current case with 9mm, but it may be worth checking out. Primers have increased exponentially since I started out and cost north of $100/1000 these days, but without them you have nothing but little paper weights.

In terms of set up, I’ve been using the same set of Lee dies on the same Lee turret press that I started out with as a student, a long, long time ago.
 
I don't understand why people think the "I paid this price back in 1972, so I can reload everything for a nickel bla bla bla" posts are helpful to a guy that's looking at getting into reloading today. Unless you're willing to sell him some of your components at the prices you paid? Lol



antiqueguy said:
I wouldn’t recommend a progressive to a new reloader.
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Meh, I started with a Dillon 650. But I bought case feed and primer feed disconnects, which were a huge help when I wanted to slow things down a bit and maybe un-#### things, lol. The fundamentals are the same, you just spend a lot of time with the locater pins out, pulling cases off the shell plate to check things.
 
If you are planning to shoot lots of 9mm

The best we found is 124 campro with Titegroup, any primers even Ginex as they all go bang.

Don’t cheap out, no single stage or torrent presses. A Hornady LnL Ap is about $900
Or a Dillon 550 or 650/750, prices $1000 / $1400. Anything else is a waste of time and money.

PM if you need more info, I may be able to hook you up city wine one in Lethbridge fire help and supplies.

We are fortunate enough to have a few small businesses that support our competitive shooters.

Ken
 
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madcow said:
If you are planning to shoot lots of 9mm

The best we found is 124 campro with Titegroup, any primers even Ginex as they all go bang.

Don’t cheap out, no single stage or torrent turret presses. A Hornady LnL Ap is about $900
Or a Dillon 550 or 650/750, prices $1000 / $1400. Anything else is a waste of time and money.
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This post pretty much nailed it on the head. Even using current pricing, 1K of 9mm should cost you ~ $255 all in, IF you get the brass for free ($100 for primers, $125 for bullets, $30 in powder). Assuming what another member above said is correct, and 9mm on sales is currently sold for $300 + tax, that would be a savings of ~$80 per 1K. IF you shoot a lot of 9mm, like I do, then that will start to add up pretty quickly. I think a lot of members don't see the value in loading 9mm because they go out and shoot a box every other month. What happens if you shoot 10K, 20K, 40K+ per year? All reloading will save you money, that's a fact, but some people put a high value on their time and I can certainly understand that point of view too.

Things you'll need:

- Progressive press - I like Dillon.
- Dies - A set of Lee dies will get the job done. Also, look into some type of powder check system/die. You can't have enough safeguards.
- Tumbler (wet or dry) - FART but the budget friendly corn cob media tumblers are ok to start.
- Calipers - Any digital pair will do for pistol.
- Digital scale - Something cheap like the FA will do for pistol.
 
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I’ve loaded over 1 million rounds in 35 years, I have the used primers to show it 😱

Hornady even offered to trade my old press for a new one because they couldn’t believe what it went through.

It’s not just reloading to save money, it’s to get the perfect round that works with your firearm. When you find the sweet spot you will be amazed how the gun feels and how accurate it is.

Expect to spend $1500-$2000 to do it right with all equipment.
 

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Learn how it all works with a single stage. I started with a Hornady LNL kit for 500 bucks from Cabela's. It has almost everything you need to get started including a book of loads and information about reloading. You will quickly learn you can save major money reloading more expensive cartridges like 44 mag, rifle calibers and even 45acp.

For reloading 9mm a progressive press is the way to go. I run a Lee loadmaster it was 450 bucks. I've loaded around 50,000 rounds on it since 2022, and it works. Approx 500 to 600 rounds an hour with a bullet feeder and case feeder added.

I should also mention I've never once had a squib from this press. Knock on wood.

Here's a video I made.


The worst part of reloading isn't even being discussed in here yet... Processing brass... Ugh lol
 
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