Reloading 9MM Today

[1sailor]

I can never figure out how guys are reloading ammo for "$2 per box". If I was given the bullets for free, I could not reload anything for 4 cents per round. Loading 9mm with TiteGroup it costs 1.5 cents for powder and another 3.5 cents for the primer (if you bought them 2 years ago). We're already at a nickel per round and that's assuming free bullets and everything else on the cheap. I'm not saying nobody can do it, I just don't see how.

 

[9mmPatriot]

I reload using 124gr MPR bullets from Rocky Mountain Reloading. I prefer to pratice with the same round I carry everyday.

Yes I can buy less costly bullets, but I'm okay with spending an extra $20/1k.

 

[smithra_66]

I need to introduce a word of caution for 9mm reloaders. The USPSA open class shooters have mostly switched to shooting 9mm handloaded ammo which is very 'hot', high pressure stuff. These shooters routinely leave the brass on the ground. I see people harvesting that brass. I recommend being very cautious re-using brass from a range where USPSA shooters are active.

I have personally witnessed a gun blow up which was shooting used 9mm brass,

The brass case isn't what keeps a gun from "blowing up." Even if it ruptured because it was fired 50 times previously, as long as your load is within saami spec and the gun is in proper working condition, you're not going to blow up a gun.

If you saw someone blow one up, it's because they crammed too much powder in there or had a plugged barrel!

 

[BE Mike]

I reload a lot of 9mm and have for a few years. I used to load much more .45 ACP and .38 SPL. My equipment has been amortized many years ago. I'll keep loading 9mm to save money and to get the loads I want. My Dillon presses let me load pretty fast. My loads are very accurate to at least 25 yards. I shoot, on average, around 150-200 rounds a week. It isn't my job to convince someone to reload or not. I can only say that it works for me and has for around 50 years!

 

[9mmPatriot]

There are lots of videos out there of guys that have blown up their glock pistols while shooting reloads. This is as a result of the clock not having a fully supported chamber

 

[smithra_66]

There are lots of videos out there of guys that have blown up their glock pistols while shooting reloads. This is as a result of the clock not having a fully supported chamber

Balderdash. I've shot oodles of reloads out of oodles of Glocks.

This is simply a silly statement.

Once again: If you blow up a gun, it's because you used too much powder, or you had a plugged barrel.

Do you really think Glocks would have achieved the status they have if you couldn't safely shoot reloads in them? This is an Internet wives tale. Don't fall for this. Imagine all the competitors that shoot reloads out of Glocks in competition. This is almost as bad as "Glocks won't set off a metal detector."

 

[Cdog]

I have more 9mm brass than I'll ever wear out or lose. Same with .38 Special.

My point is that I enjoy handloading. I despise buying factory ammo of any caliber.

With primers being what they are I feel as if I'm wasting money putting them into 9mm case now.

My primary reason for handloading is better ammo. I'm very anal about my rifle loads. Most of my handgun shooting is now limited to 50ft target, plates, etc. I can load those on a progressive because with the mid to slow burn rate powders I use a bit of variance ain't going to change a lot at 50ft.

I love to shoot .38 Special D/A .38/.357revolvers. I also love my 3 Screw Ruger .357 loaded with .38 Special. There's simply no caliber I enjoy more. There's no better marriage than a 1911 and .45 ACP, but I fell hard for the .38 Super round from a 1911.

.38 Special ain't cheap and plentiful anymore. .38 Super never has been in my lifetime.

If primers are plentiful @ $35-$40/K who cares about where I use them?

With 9mm being plentiful and prices coming down daily I simply can't justify wasting primers loading it.

My wife and grandchildren enjoy shooting the 9's more than any revolver round, so I keep lots of them ready to shoot.

My complaint is primer availability and price have forced me to choose not to load for the 9 now, not if I want to enjoy my other small primer powered rounds.

By the way, I put the "S" in scrounger.

 

[9mmPatriot]

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=08a_Ri-aH1o&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

 

[Moo Moo]

Reminds me of this previously Posted Star Wars meme.

 

[smithra_66]

WARNING!!!!° DONT SHOOT RELOADS OR REMANUFACTURED AMMO IN ANY GLOCK... - YouTube

Oh well then this settles it. One guy made a video on youtube!

HAHA.

Edited: Look at the comments of that video.

You can find one guy who blew up probably any gun ever made with his reloads.

 

[9mmPatriot]

Actually if you spend a few minutes searching you'll find more instances of this occurring.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I like to shoot and reload but when the prices hit my wallet too hard, I just go fishing or find something else to do.

Shooting is not a do or die thing, for me, so I can wait another two years
and see if the price is doable, again for my hard earned $$.

I have learned to BBQ, smoke food and have a cold one, now and then,
helps pass the time for me, while waiting.

 

[randyp]

I keep on reloading 9MM because every time another tragedy/shortage occurs I have sufficient ammo whereas everyone that did not purchase significant quantities of cheap 9mm have little or no ammo to shoot because all of the cheap ammo has dried up. I prefer to buy the primers for use in .32ACP, .32S&W, .32H&R, .380, 9MM, .38 special, .357 Mag, .40S&W and small primer pocket .45ACP. I can direct primer usage to whichever round is in short supply. The same arguement for blowing up glocks occured in .40S&W years ago due to an unsupported chamber.

 

[GypsmJim]

I can never figure out how guys are reloading ammo for "$2 per box". If I was given the bullets for free, I could not reload anything for 4 cents per round. Loading 9mm with TiteGroup it costs 1.5 cents for powder and another 3.5 cents for the primer (if you bought them 2 years ago). We're already at a nickel per round and that's assuming free bullets and everything else on the cheap. I'm not saying nobody can do it, I just don't see how.

2.8 cents for a primer + 1.2 cents for powder = 2 bucks a box of 50.

These prices were from early March 2020. They were from the day that Eyewitness News said the word "pandemic".

Both items were on sale that day. Two days later everything was sold out. (some people remember past crises and act proactively)

The boolits were from wheel weight lead, basically gotten free from a gas station.

The brass were also free, from once fired range pickup after the local police dept. rented the club range for a day.

Even at 2 bucks, it was still an awful price. In 1974 I loaded nines and 45s for 50 cents a box.

2 bucks is normal inflation. 12.50 today is, well, something else.

 

[9mmPatriot]

I like to shoot and reload but when the prices hit my wallet too hard, I just go fishing or find something else to do.

Shooting is not a do or die thing, for me, so I can wait another two years
and see if the price is doable, again for my hard earned $$.

I have learned to BBQ, smoke food and have a cold one, now and then,
helps pass the time for me, while waiting.

Agreed.


I enjoy going to the range, it's my quiet time. I can forget about everything else in my life and focus on proficiency, trigger pull and recoil control.



Someday we might be able to reminisce about the bad old days when primers were out of reach for the common man....

 

[LostintheOzone]

If you want to reload 9x19 today using the primer/powder/bullet/case prices I doubt many people are that crazy about it.

The thing about reloaders is they generally don't count on component prices being stable. So they buy it cheap when it's available and stock pile it. Lots of different powders will work just fine in that cartridge. Also most reloaders scrounge the brass when nobody else wants to collect it. Same with .223/5.56. The cost is minimized when you have 8 lbs of powder and 5K cases handy, which I do. Bullets and primers have been a challenge lately but again, those are easily and cheaply purchased most of the time.

It could easily happen that commercial ammo might become scarce for more than a few years depending on the political climate and military production requirements. During ww2 you couldn't buy tires, fuel or much of anything that was deemed necessary for war time production, yet the US was an industrial giant. In 1943 pennies were minted with steel instead of copper.

Unfortunately not too many people can make those things but you can build ammo if you know how and have the components on hand to do it.

I think reloading is becoming a survival skill about equal to cost savings. It's at least an inflation buster if you plan ahead.

 

[Cdog]

My ability to explain myself is obviously lacking.

Racer X said it all in one short statement.

I still have primers I bought @ $14/K. Unless I never replace them that price is meaningless.

What it cost to replace them is reality. I need the primers for several calibers that I can't buy at anywhere close to handloaded prices.

When I could easily pickup primers @ $30/K or buy factory loaded 9mm range loads @ $10 to $12 a box it was still my choice to roll my own.

Other calibers cost savings were easy to see. .38 Special .45 ACP, any magnum rounds, etc I could save considerably loading.

I wasn't really saving anything loading 9mm and picking up my brass, but I wasn't concerned about using resources and their replacement cost either.

Bottom line while some folks said it was foolish to handload 9mm when it could be bought so cheap. Maybe it was, but I didn't feel stupid for choosing to do it.

With today's replacement cost I do feel foolish for wasting primers better used for my .38's etc.

I may have 10K+ SPP primers that I paid less than $30/K for, but I can't replace them for that. I'm now seeing brass case 115/124gr ball ammo for as low as $14 per 50rd box. Why use my limited resources primers to load it now?

I can put those same primers and bullets to use in .38 Super and still come out way ahead.

 

[max503]

I don't think I've ever figured the cost of reloading. If I want to shoot I make some ammo and shoot it. Even when 9mm was dirt cheap I didn't buy it.

 

[mtgianni]

I can never figure out how guys are reloading ammo for "$2 per box". If I was given the bullets for free, I could not reload anything for 4 cents per round. Loading 9mm with TiteGroup it costs 1.5 cents for powder and another 3.5 cents for the primer (if you bought them 2 years ago). We're already at a nickel per round and that's assuming free bullets and everything else on the cheap. I'm not saying nobody can do it, I just don't see how.

Several of us don't buy in small quantities. I have ordered primers in 5K lots and buy powder in 8 lb kegs. If you shoot it adds up, even when it takes a few years to go through it.

 

[BE Mike]

Actually if you spend a few minutes searching you'll find more instances of this occurring.

So after over 50 years of reloading ammo, almost all pistol ammo, I should be frightened and quit? I've rarely used new brass. Yep, I've had a case failure a couple of times like this. No injury to me or the gun. Put the extractor back in and carry on. Order a backup if you are prone to losing one or buy a big magnet to sweep the area to recover it. You are much more likely to be injured by shooting steel targets. Always wear good quality eye and ear protection.