mnshutterbug
Member
I haven't reloaded anything for decades and when I did do it, it was to save money. In the case of 9mm, if a person shoots only 100 rounds per month, is it worth going this route?
Are the savings worth it?
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Probably not "worth it" from a strictly financial aspect. However, there is a lot of satisfaction to be gained from loading your own ammo. What is that worth? It may take awhile to recover your cost of entry, but from there, your reloads might only cost about 60% of store bought goods.
Amp
Member
For a hundred rounds a month, go buy your favorite color boxes and have fun.
Or set yourself up in a new hobby but not to save money.
Or set yourself up in a new hobby but not to save money.
gregintenn
Member
Nope. I wouldn't recommend it for money savings. I'd reload if it were more expensive.
The reasons I can see for reloading are as follows: You enjoy the process and the results, you are searching for all the accuracy your gun is capable of, to get ammunition in a caliber or load that isn't readily available for purchase at a reasonable cost.
The reasons I can see for reloading are as follows: You enjoy the process and the results, you are searching for all the accuracy your gun is capable of, to get ammunition in a caliber or load that isn't readily available for purchase at a reasonable cost.
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It depends....
There are several factors...
One is that you don't have to depend on what's commercially available especially during shortages. Which also means you can make anything from target loads to barn burners.
If you are determined to keep it as economical as possible and not buy anything that you don't absolutely need. There are hundreds of dollars worth of fun 'goodies' available. I'm on a budget, I have to buy only what I need. Therefore, I save money.
If you load cartridges that aren't common and cheap, like 9mm is now, you save more. .357, rifle cartridges and such you save tons of money over bought ammo.
I DO shoot a lot more, which totals more expense but I'm still ahead of the game.
If you go for broke and get a progressive, even 9mm is economical to reload. I have a single stage press so it is time consuming, but I'm retired, what the hey.
There are several factors...
One is that you don't have to depend on what's commercially available especially during shortages. Which also means you can make anything from target loads to barn burners.
If you are determined to keep it as economical as possible and not buy anything that you don't absolutely need. There are hundreds of dollars worth of fun 'goodies' available. I'm on a budget, I have to buy only what I need. Therefore, I save money.
If you load cartridges that aren't common and cheap, like 9mm is now, you save more. .357, rifle cartridges and such you save tons of money over bought ammo.
I DO shoot a lot more, which totals more expense but I'm still ahead of the game.
If you go for broke and get a progressive, even 9mm is economical to reload. I have a single stage press so it is time consuming, but I'm retired, what the hey.
How much do you value your time?
If you're currently shooting 100 rounds a month of 9mm para, let's look at what you'd save:
Brass - basically good for 10-12 reloads in 9mm para, perhaps a bit less as the little buggers get lost in a semi-auto. 9mm para brass is cheap as there's lots of it. Plan on $12 per 500, or 2.4 cents per piece. Even if you only get 6 loads out of it, it's under a half cent per shot.
Bullets - you can get copper plated 124 gr bullets for about $41 per 500, and hard cast bullets can be had for about $32 per 500.
Primers are about $30 per box of 1000.
You'll need maybe 5.5 to 6 grains of powder per shot. Assuming 6.0 grains, with 7000 grains per pound and $25 per pound, each shot will cost you 2.1 cents.
So you've got .4 cents for brass, 2.1 cents for powder, 3 cents for the primer and between 6.4 and 8.2 cents for the bullet, for a total of 11.9 and 13.7 cents per round, which scales put to $5.95 and $6.85 per box of 50 respectively.
If you want a good self defense bullet add another 10 cents per round and $5 per box of 50.
On the other hand, 9mm is everywhere and the prices are first cheap as pistol ammo goes, so it's a bit a buyer market if you're not picky about what you are buying:
You can find commercial ammo for around 14 or 15 cents per round if you don't mind the steel cased communist block ammo.
You can find factory remanufactured ammo with plated bullets or FMJs for around 17 cents per round.
You can find Federal 124 gr FMJ ammo for around 22 cents per round.
The only place you start saving money is if you're loading premium bullets to produce premium ammo. That's where you start to save some serious money with 9mm ammo.
On the other, other hand however, if you load your own you've got full control over the load and the quality and you can tailor the load to your specific needs. That can be handy.
I have a Uzi carbine for example and people seem to love them or hate them. A large part of that depends on the condition they are in (if the cover drags on the bolt they'll mis feed - you want .010" to .015" clearance). However a big part of it is having a load that generates enough recoil to get them to cycle properly, and not many of the low cost loads will do that. Load my own +p velocity loads however and it'll run like a swiss watch, even with inexpensive plated bullets, and with a reflex sight on top it'll produce 4-5" accuracy at 100 yards. Great fun on steel plates.
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So with 9mm para you won't save the kind of money you can with other pistol rounds, like .357 Magnum which seems to see for $30 a box even in cheap promo loads, but it may still be worth it if you like having more control over quality, consistency, and availability.
Brass - basically good for 10-12 reloads in 9mm para, perhaps a bit less as the little buggers get lost in a semi-auto. 9mm para brass is cheap as there's lots of it. Plan on $12 per 500, or 2.4 cents per piece. Even if you only get 6 loads out of it, it's under a half cent per shot.
Bullets - you can get copper plated 124 gr bullets for about $41 per 500, and hard cast bullets can be had for about $32 per 500.
Primers are about $30 per box of 1000.
You'll need maybe 5.5 to 6 grains of powder per shot. Assuming 6.0 grains, with 7000 grains per pound and $25 per pound, each shot will cost you 2.1 cents.
So you've got .4 cents for brass, 2.1 cents for powder, 3 cents for the primer and between 6.4 and 8.2 cents for the bullet, for a total of 11.9 and 13.7 cents per round, which scales put to $5.95 and $6.85 per box of 50 respectively.
If you want a good self defense bullet add another 10 cents per round and $5 per box of 50.
On the other hand, 9mm is everywhere and the prices are first cheap as pistol ammo goes, so it's a bit a buyer market if you're not picky about what you are buying:
You can find commercial ammo for around 14 or 15 cents per round if you don't mind the steel cased communist block ammo.
You can find factory remanufactured ammo with plated bullets or FMJs for around 17 cents per round.
You can find Federal 124 gr FMJ ammo for around 22 cents per round.
The only place you start saving money is if you're loading premium bullets to produce premium ammo. That's where you start to save some serious money with 9mm ammo.
On the other, other hand however, if you load your own you've got full control over the load and the quality and you can tailor the load to your specific needs. That can be handy.
I have a Uzi carbine for example and people seem to love them or hate them. A large part of that depends on the condition they are in (if the cover drags on the bolt they'll mis feed - you want .010" to .015" clearance). However a big part of it is having a load that generates enough recoil to get them to cycle properly, and not many of the low cost loads will do that. Load my own +p velocity loads however and it'll run like a swiss watch, even with inexpensive plated bullets, and with a reflex sight on top it'll produce 4-5" accuracy at 100 yards. Great fun on steel plates.
----
So with 9mm para you won't save the kind of money you can with other pistol rounds, like .357 Magnum which seems to see for $30 a box even in cheap promo loads, but it may still be worth it if you like having more control over quality, consistency, and availability.
I guess that would depend on what you are paying for your favorite 9mm ammo now.
I am old, retired and dirt stinkin' poor. I buy only when ammo is on sale and I use every trick and discount in the book to keep my cost down.
This year I've paid between 14.5¢ and 18.5¢ per 9mm round... brass case ammo... brand new... USA-made... name brand stuff... including 6.25% MA sales tax.
Let's use 16.5¢ as an average. 100 rounds per month would be $16.50 per month. The reloaders say they can beat that if you don't include the cost of the reloading equipment or the value of your time.
Because I have no place to set-up a reloading station anyway, it's all sort of a moot point for me. I have the reloading equipment available but I really don't care to use it and probably wouldn't bother to do so even if I had the room in the house to set it up.
$16.50 per month. Chickenfeed even to a ****-poor guy like me.
++++++++
Note: I don't expect others to do as well as I do consistently without some considerable planning and price-watching effort, so please take that into account.
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OP
mnshutterbug
Member
Thanks for all the insight, especially you BB57. I just bought 4 boxes of Luger bullets for $9.95 after e-bates so a lot will have to do with how much I really shoot. Since I've had this pistol for only a few weeks it will take awhile to see how serious I get with shooting.
Guess I should also keep my eyes open for more sales like TTSH.
Guess I should also keep my eyes open for more sales like TTSH.
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scattershot
Member
Probably not worth it from a cost saving standpoint. I reload 9mm, for example, for about $6.00 a box. Some new rounds can be had for around 9.00 or so, if you shop carefully.
Consider this, though. During the last great unlamented "shortage", I had ammo when some folks couldn't find any to save their lives.
Too, as mentioned above, 9mm is cheap and plentiful right now. You won't find .45 Colt or .44 Magnum for $9.00 a box, I'll guarantee.
Consider this, though. During the last great unlamented "shortage", I had ammo when some folks couldn't find any to save their lives.
Too, as mentioned above, 9mm is cheap and plentiful right now. You won't find .45 Colt or .44 Magnum for $9.00 a box, I'll guarantee.
Depends on what you're reloading.
For my practice ammo in my pistols I reload for almost nothing. I buy old wheel weights at the scrap yard for .50 cents lb. That = out to about 60 115 gr 9mm bullets for two quarters. If you buy your bullets you won't save a lot, but making your own sure cuts down the cost.
For my practice ammo in my pistols I reload for almost nothing. I buy old wheel weights at the scrap yard for .50 cents lb. That = out to about 60 115 gr 9mm bullets for two quarters. If you buy your bullets you won't save a lot, but making your own sure cuts down the cost.
OP
mnshutterbug
Member
Ah yes, the dirty old wheel weights. I remember buying those and using them for slip sinkers and bottom bouncers for fishing tackle when I used to be in the business.
I reload for 2 reasons and the first is I enjoy doing it like I do tying Flies for fly fishing. That aside, the most important thing is I have the components to load whatever ammo I need without the worry of not being able to get the ammo I need.
Collo Rosso
Member
I could not afford to shoot the amount I do if I didn't reload.
Before reloading I would shy away from calibers like 44 magnum because of the price per round. Now I think nothing of blowing off 50 rounds of it, tailored to a comfortable recoil.
For 100 rounds of 9mm a month it's not worth it. Shoot 100's of rounds a month of many calibers and it's well worth it.
Before reloading I would shy away from calibers like 44 magnum because of the price per round. Now I think nothing of blowing off 50 rounds of it, tailored to a comfortable recoil.
For 100 rounds of 9mm a month it's not worth it. Shoot 100's of rounds a month of many calibers and it's well worth it.
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I have 1 1/2 tons of WW lead on hand(all free)......Lots of bullet molds(32 S&W to 45/70).....And TIME(retired)...So I only have to buy powder & primers. I cast bullets between the end of deer season(Jan 1st) to the beginning of turkey/fishing season(Mar 20th)......Supply keeps me shooting all summer......Shortages?----What shortages?
OP
mnshutterbug
Member
Are you a retired tire dealer? That's a lot of wheel weights.
For 9mm, probably not. I load .45 auto, .38, and .357. I still don't consider it a financial decision, but to allow me to customize my loads to my preferences. I shoot primarily light target loads, which are hard to find or don't even exist commercially.
MyDads38
Member
The Federal Aluminum case ammo at Walmart is $9.97/box 50 rounds in my area. 100 rounds = $19.94 + tax. I have shot this in all my pistols (9mm, 40 S&W and 45 auto) and if I DIDN'T reload, I'd shoot this all the time! There are other benefits, as listed above for reloading your own. At 100 rounds/month I'm not sure I would. But I load for 4 pistol and 2 rifle cartridges; so it's well worth it to me.
And you don't have to spend a lot of money on equipment to get started, just buy the basics and buy smart
And you don't have to spend a lot of money on equipment to get started, just buy the basics and buy smart
Many folks seem to go down the road of valuing their time - which is fine if you would be using the time at the reloading bench doing something to make money instead.
So along those lines - I tend to look at it like this: If I wasn't spending time in the loading room, what else might I be doing?
* Watching TV or a movie
* Surfing the web
* Doing chores around the house
* Exercising
In no case do my loading time alternative result in me *making* money. Items 2, 3 and 4 I make time for no matter what. Therefore, I'm trading off time sitting around watching the boob tube (and wasteful web surfing). So saving a whopping $10 by spending over an hour making 100 rnds of 9mm on my single stage press is MORE than "worth" it to me - especially when you add in the pride of bringing ammo I made to the range.
OR
So along those lines - I tend to look at it like this: If I wasn't spending time in the loading room, what else might I be doing?
* Watching TV or a movie
* Surfing the web
* Doing chores around the house
* Exercising
In no case do my loading time alternative result in me *making* money. Items 2, 3 and 4 I make time for no matter what. Therefore, I'm trading off time sitting around watching the boob tube (and wasteful web surfing). So saving a whopping $10 by spending over an hour making 100 rnds of 9mm on my single stage press is MORE than "worth" it to me - especially when you add in the pride of bringing ammo I made to the range.
OR
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