Should I start reloading 9mm or use factory

S

strikeraj

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Kitchener, ON
I am just starting to shoot 9mm in IPSC production.
If I can shoot around twice a week, is it worth o reload myself?
If it is, how much saving am I looking to get and how long does it take to recover the cost of reloading equipments?(let's say I go with the LNL progressive and all other equipments for cleaning and measuring)
Thanks very much
 
Couple of things that you may or may not have though about....
You don't reload only because of cost... You want reliability and consistency
You can custom tune your ammo to you and your gun....
9mm is pain to reload
 
Bullet ............. $0.06 to 0.09
Primer............. $0.03
Powder.............$0.03

Total............12 cents to 15 cents a round

For 50 rounds that is $6 to $7.50 a box of 50.

As I tell my wife.....the more I shoot the more money I am making by not buying factory!
 
where do you guys find bullets that cheap?
Cause in my local gun store they ask $20 for 100 rounds of hornady FMJ 124Gr
On top, cause there is a LEE loadmaster with 9mm dies on clearance in the store asking $250
Should I go with it?
Cause I am still a student shooting with money from Co-op jobs, so the cheaper will be better.
And other than a press and the stuff included in those starter kits, wt else do i need to start loading?(except brass, bullets, powder and primers)
thanks very much
 
I reload 9mm to cut costs but to tailor my ammo as well.

You can get professonally reloaded ammo that is geared toward IPSC production power factors through combat masters that will be cheaper than regular factory ammo as well.

If you are concerned with shooting a fairly large volume of ammo every week, you'd be crazy not to handload. (eg. 150 rnds per session, 2 sessions per week is 300 rounds a week. 300x50 weeks is 15,000 rounds. Even if you cut that number in half, you'd probably make up the cost of a loading set up in a year, maybe two.)
 
bear.23 said:
Couple of things that you may or may not have though about....
You don't reload only because of cost... You want reliability and consistency
You can custom tune your ammo to you and your gun....
9mm is pain to reload
Click to expand...

why do you fined 9mm a pain to reload :confused:
 
strikeraj said:
where do you guys find bullets that cheap?
Cause in my local gun store they ask $20 for 100 rounds of hornady FMJ 124Gr
On top, cause there is a LEE loadmaster with 9mm dies on clearance in the store asking $250
Should I go with it?
Cause I am still a student shooting with money from Co-op jobs, so the cheaper will be better.
And other than a press and the stuff included in those starter kits, wt else do i need to start loading?(except brass, bullets, powder and primers)
thanks very much
Click to expand...

Hornady bullets are great but you don't buy them to save money. Cast lead bullets are a lot cheaper. Plated bullets are a little more expensive. Usually you buy in boxes/pails of 1000 to get a reasonable price.

I bought all my presses used. Most I spent for a Lee progressive is $100 and typically about $80 (I have 5). If you need it Now then you are stuck paying regular prices. If you can wait you can usually pick up a bargain from guys getting out of the sport (usually getting married or equivalent).

I bought about 40,000 bullets and a bunch of targets for $450. The guy I bought them from bought the lot at an auction then tried to sell them/ He was not a shooter, I gave him an offer and he took it. I wonder what he paid.

Make sure you get a scale or can borrow one for a while.
 
Last time I did the math, a box of 9mm cost me $1.86/50
Range Brass = FREE (9mm brass is considered as GARBAGE)
Primer = $26.00/1000
Powder = $19.00/lb
Bullets = Cast wheel weights (FREE) or if you buy as scrap $20 for 200lbs.
My cost for 50x .9mm comes to $1.80

I use a progressive press, so reloading 9mm or 40S&W or 45ACP or 38 SPL is no big deal. One pull of the lever = one bullet.

At less than $2.00 a box of 50, I'm laughing all the way to the bank! And before anyone remarks... I put the accuracy of my reloads up against any factory load any day of the week.
 
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I just got A Dillon setup (square deal) and am really happy with it. I'm loading for IPSC and need lots of practice!!! It's super easy to use, and their "no B.S." warranty is great. A bit more costly but I love the reassurance that if anything goes wrong they replace it. I paid $80 for a 1000 fmj 115grn. I feel ok with that, but if you got a better price let me know!
I pay about the same for powder and primers as the other lad up there mentioned.
I love reloading, it's taken me deeper into the sport and given me a greater understanding of how everything works. I load 9mm and have no problem with it.
The extra stuff I bought was:
A case gauge (9mm)
primer tray
bullet puller
a powder scale


Here's a bullet cost calculator if you like!

http://handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp
 
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I'll be the dissenting voice I guess.... reloading for pistol sucks. Do it only if you have to.

After tumbling your brass, you have to inspect every piece for cracks. Since the cleaning media likes to jam up the casefeed tube (at least on my Dillon 650), you also have to ensure that the flash holes don't have a piece of media jammed in there. I don't know how fast other people do this, but it takes me a couple of hours per thousand rounds. After that mind numbing task is done, you get to move onto actually making ammunition. 500 rounds per hour. 1000 rounds per hour. It doesn't matter. Cranking that handle over and over again for an hour or two is not enjoyable. Monotony sounds like a small price to pay for cheap ammo, but it really isn't because reloading ammo isn't cheap anyway. Buy 5,000 primers. Buy 2,000 bullets. It not only adds up, but you have to buy the components in volume to start realizing a decent savings. Even if you're the one guy in a thousand that has a free source for obtaining wheel weights, you still have to collect it, clean it, melt it, and then cast every single one of those damn bullets. Naturally this requires more equipment and again more time. It quickly starts to feel like two hours of shooting means spending six hours reloading.

The pro's? Over the long haul you will recoup your investment costs and eventually start turning a savings. You can make hot loads, soft loads, and loads that you just can't buy off the shelf (a hotloaded wad cutter!). Economies of scale force you to stockpile components so you'll still be able to make ammo and go shooting even when your wallet is empty.

Why do I reload for pistol? Because I have a ton of money invested in reloading equipment and I need to recoup my investment. Also, the wife doesn't seem to notice when I drop a hundred here and a hundred-fifty there buying components whereas if I spent $300 on BDX ammo every couple of weeks, she'd go ballistic.
 
Don't forget if you shoot factory you need to stockpile that as well when you find a good price so you can actually have more money tied up than in components. If you can afford the factory and it does what you want then I agree I can find better things to do than load. If money is an issue then by casting you can shoot cf almost as cheap as rf.
 
that l/m for 250 with dies is a REALLY GOOD PRICE- it's listed at 360+ at wsl and others- i've got one and i'm throughly happy with it , there's also 2 things to consider 1 i reload because of the cost, 2 bullet weights- you can't always get what you want- and 9mm lead is cheap enough to practice with- save the expensive stuff for matches- just load the bottom round jacketed so it cleans out the lead every 10 shots, to ease on cleaning-
 
JB asked:
why do you fined 9mm a pain to reload
Click to expand...
well its kind of fiddely size wise compared to my larger pistol cartridges.

CanFire, that's a fairly realistic asessment of the reloading discipline. I reload because I do like munitions & propellants etc...........and I refuse to pay commercial ammo prices on a regular basis.
 
I'd definitely buy 9mm ammunition - waste of time to reload (my opinion); unless you need small batch of special ammo for an event as mentioned.

I buy .40S&W in 500rnd cases 'cause it's cheap enough to do so and still not worth it to reload (when you factor in your time).

I do reload for 10mm Auto because it is so damn expensive to buy; my reloads are also much, much better than the ammunition for sale in Canada.

If I had a .44 Magnum or .500 S&W you bet I'd be reloading only as well; the great thing about reloading is that it opens up new caliber options like these for your next pistol purchase :D

I do it for money mostly and getting the most bang out of each cartridge ;)
 
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JB said:
why do you fined 9mm a pain to reload :confused:
Click to expand...

While I can't speak for the OP of that comment, I do agree with him. Why? Simply because it is a tapered case. I got the stuff for 9mm with my used press and gave up on loading it because of all the jams I got. You have to lube the stuff even with carbide dies....A complete mess and hassle, so never again...

I don't have any problem with 10mm, .40, or .45, so it must be the one thing about the 9mm that is different and that is the taper (however slight). Besides 9mm is about the cheapest CF pistol ammo going so it is no great loss to buy factory, at least to me.
 
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