I'm looking into reloading and the first question is "Does it pay?"

 

I shoot 9mm and can usually get it online for around .20 to .23 cents a round. So far I haven't developed a "taste" for any particular grain weight or otherwise. In fact, I'm prefectly happy to shoot the 115 gr. steel cased Russian stuff.

 

With that said, I'm sure as we (my son shoots too) expand the events and gain more experience, we'll likely develop a stronger preference one way or the other. I'm told that is one of the reasons why people reload...so they can cook up their own specific recipe for the results they seek.

 

So, my first question..."Does it pay?"

 

I know it will take some time to recoup the investment in equipment. Trying to figure out how long.

I know it will take some time to recoup the investment in equipment. Trying to figure out how long.

 

 

It will eventually pay off, how fast depends on how much you spend for a press, and how many rounds you fire off.

 

You can spend 300 bucks on a single stage setup, or you can spend 1600 bucks on a nice progressive and pump out rounds like they are going out of style.

 

You're price per round will always be cheaper reloading, Figure you'll probably be picking up your brass cases for free at the range, there are PLENTY of 9mm shooters out there who dont care for picking up their brass. - Figure you can get 1000 small pistol primers for $26 before fees, 1000 bullets for about $60-$80 dollars, and a 4lb jug of powder for around $60-$100 dollars.

 

Like everything else, there is cheap ways to go about it, and better quality ways, which will depend on you.

OK here's what it cost me / round.

 

Based on $20/lb - powder

$30/ 1000 - primers

$90/ 1000 - bullets

 

Brass = free

 

Component can be found cheaper but these are fair prices and the cost is about $0.134 / round

 

Here's a calculator: http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp

 

Now I loaded approx 15k rounds in 2010. So that's a significant savings.

...So, my first question..."Does it pay?"

 

I know it will take some time to recoup the investment in equipment. Trying to figure out how long.

 

I did a "back of the napkin" analysis on 9mm reloading/equipment costs in a much earlier thread if you want to read through it:

 

http://njgunforums.c...post__p__170188

 

My take away at that time was that reloading 9mm saved ~$0.07 per round versus "cheap" factory ammo, and that I'd need to shoot ~4,800 9mm rounds to realize enough savings to recoup the initial reloading equipment purchase. That was assuming a gift of "starter brass", not including brass prep equipment/supplies, and not assigning any value to the time required for the reloading process.

I'm just about the same as Old School, 0.132 cents per round. Thats $6.61 per fifty rounds. On top of that I know it will cycle in my gun every time and go bang every time.

I'm just about the same as Old School, 0.132 cents per round. Thats $6.61 per fifty rounds. On top of that I know it will cycle in my gun every time and go bang every time.

 

+1 and if you chase sales and group buys, shoot lead you can shave quite a bit off that 13 cents. Like Wolf primers are available for $17/1000 at times.

 

Now I qouted 115gr FMJ because I shoot tupperware and can't shoot lead.

It's worth it...if you shoot enough and have spare time. I'm also around 13-14 cents/round (picking up brass). You also have to factor in that you could always sell your reloading equipment. That amount of 'equity' should be factored in to the overall picture...even better if you pickup a decent setup used.

 

The one thing I hear often is that you don't actually save much money by reloading, you end up shooting more at the same cost...more is good by me

 

Also, a good load tailored for your gun will shoot and feel significantly better than most factory ammo. Everytime someone shooting factory ammo asks me about my reloads, I let them shoot it and they never preferred their factory ammo.

So far I haven't developed a "taste" for any particular grain weight or otherwise. In fact, I'm prefectly happy to shoot the 115 gr. steel cased Russian stuff.

 

Have you tried reloaded ammo? If not, try some 124gr or 147gr bullets with some N320...night and day

Yes it pays, if you shoot a lot, or plan to. The more you reload and shoot, the quicker the return on investment in the equipment pays off. Once fired 9mm brass is fairly cheap, you can find it all over the inet.

 

The added bonus is you get to tailor your rounds to suit your gun and needs. This is especially handy when shooting competition.

I'm just about the same as Old School, 0.132 cents per round. Thats $6.61 per fifty rounds. On top of that I know it will cycle in my gun every time and go bang every time.

 

And you will make power factor..

It's worth it...if you shoot enough and have spare time.

 

You have to factor in opportunity cost. How much money are you losing by by reloading your own ammo if that time could be spent doing something else? If you make $250,000 a year as a lawyer, does it really pay to spend 1 hour a box of ammunition, when you bill clients at $250 an hour?

 

If you are a competitive shooter, it's certainly worth it. Ditto if you shoot .44 magnum or .50 S%W.

 

I don't reload by own ammunition. First off, I love smoking cigars. And any free time I spend is usually spent with a cigar in my mouth. If I tried to combine that with reloading...

 

And you will make power factor..

 

Absolutely, it makes 130.2pf.

 

 

 

 

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I also have no desire to reload....

To me.... Time is a cost. I have no patience to sort clean or pull on a press handle.

One of the reasons i shoot 9mm is the low cost.....

I would rather tinker with the GTO .....

 

 

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I reload 9mm at 12.44 cents a round. When talking about "cheap" ammunition like 9mm and .223, I think the cost savings really only make it worthwhile when you consider that you'll most likely be reloading for your other calibers as well, offsetting the initial equipment expense. For instance I reload .357 at around 15.73 cents a round, which is pretty significant when a box of 50 is $25-$30.

Many folks tend to compare thier reloads to bottom of the barrel sale price ammo for a price basis check, but the reality is that the ammo we tend to make ourselves is a higher quality than the dirt cheap WWB, UMC and the like. Consistency is better, reliability is better, accuracy is better, and if you choose the right components and powder, recoil is better. Realistically you'd have to compare the ammo we make to a much more expensive retail product, but if you simply want to get an absolute cost savings comparison to anything that will go boom, its a fair analysis i suppose. Quality, accuracy and consistency tends to be a forgotten factor when it comes to common pistol caliber ammo since we rarely put it to that kind of test.

Many folks tend to compare thier reloads to bottom of the barrel sale price ammo for a price basis check, but the reality is that the ammo we tend to make ourselves is a higher quality than the dirt cheap WWB, UMC and the like. Consistency is better, reliability is better, accuracy is better, and if you choose the right components and powder, recoil is better. Realistically you'd have to compare the ammo we make to a much more expensive retail product, but if you simply want to get an absolute cost savings comparison to anything that will go boom, its a fair analysis i suppose. Quality, accuracy and consistency tends to be a forgotten factor when it comes to common pistol caliber ammo since we rarely put it to that kind of test.

 

Well said Jon.

There are some of us who actually enjoy reloading as a hobby also. On a rainy day when you can't do much outdoors spending some time reloading is quite enjoyable for me.

 

 

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How much time does it take you to load say a 1,000rds of 9mm?

Consistency is better, reliability is better, accuracy is better, and if you choose the right components and powder, recoil is better.

Very valid point Jon when you mention the quality of reload being superior to the cheap steel cased surplus stuff I shoot.

 

I haven't developed an appreication for better accuracy yet because frankly, I'm still in that new shooter learning curve stage. I can't speak about reliability either as I've yet to have any centerfire round fail to fire on me.

 

I'm sure that reloading is in my future, if for no other reason that with at least 2 dedicated shooters, and the potential for 3 more in my family, I'm not going to have much of a choice.

 

And I sold my boat and gave up fishing to do this (shooting) thinking it might be cheaper. Silly me...

How much time does it take you to load say a 1,000rds of 9mm?

 

I'm in no rush when I reloading, but the last time I reloaded 9mm, I did 700 rounds in about two hours. This includes loading primer tubes and such to keep the machine running.

I am preaching to the choir here.

 

Does reloading ammo save you money (per box).... YES

Does reloading ammo save you money? NO

 

You tend to load alot more and shoot alot more. lol. I am at about 15,000 rounds a year for handgun stuff now.

 

Time... absolutely has to be taken into consideration. I have my reloading press setup at the office, so if I am on a long conference call, where I am just listening in, I will usually put on the headset and go load a few rounds. With the Hornady Lock n Load with Case Feeder, I can easily do about 400 rounds an hour.

 

I do not reload too much 9mm, mostly 40 cal, and I do save money.

 

For match grade loads...

 

This is for 40 cal.

Cost / round $ .122

Cost / 50 $6.09

Cost / 1000 $121.8

 

VihtaVuori N320 Powder $96/4 lb, CCI primers @ $25/k, 4.9 grains of powder, range pickup brass, Xtreme Plated bullets which were on special for $80/k.

 

I can get that down to under $4.56 a box of $40 cal if I use Winchester powder, 4 lb jug for around $64, and lead or moly coated bullets.

 

For 9mm, it will be maybe $.50 less.

 

The bigger the caliber, the more you can save, especially rifle rounds.

 

Really, you can't look at reloading just for money savings, as others mentioned, it is the piece of mind in your ammunition and quality components, as well as the pride that you made your own.

 

Lastly, with all the incidents and crap quality of commercial ammo recently (Winchester White Box with no flash hole, Fiochi, and others), I would be more afraid to shoot commercial than my own... especially since with a proper setup you can eliminate most problems seen in factory ammo, such as...

 

1. No flash hole - During reloading, step one is the resize, deprime. Even if it is new brass, it would punch a hole through. Reloading eliminates that problem.

2. Squib or Double Charge - If you invest $40 in an RCBS lock out die, this will NOT happen. The lock out die, once you calibrate it, will prevent the press from going on if it detects too much or too little powder.

 

the issue you still have to look for are case uniformity, bulges, and missing or flipped primers.

 

If you load your ammo into 100 round ammo boxes, a few mins, placing the ammo bullet down, primers up, you can make sure all primers are there, and you can check visually for major variations in the over all length.

 

Bulges you would have to manually inspect them... or before a match, (for match ammo), you would hand check each round in the chamber, or get a chamber checker gauge.

 

With Lee dies, I have not had any issues with 9mm or 40s&w glocked brass, as Lee dies tend to resize the brass closest to the rim. Secondly you can run the factory crimp die which will also give a nice post loaded resize to the case. RCBS dies I had issues with, Lee dies, never.

How much time does it take you to load say a 1,000rds of 9mm?

 

This is the one thing that kills 9mm for me. The case and bullet are just small enough they give me fits trying to go fast. On my progressive, without a case feeder, I could do about 450-490 an hour in .45 (the duplo blocks of reloading), about 350-400 in .40, and about 200-250 in 9 between fumbling components and $@!?*%# crimped primers sneaking in.

The absolute answer to reloading is no it won't save you money cause you will buy more and more faster =P side not tailoring loads hot to snot loads is what it's all about

Reloading is fun.

 

Does it save me money or time... nope. That's not the point for me. I truly enjoy heading down the basement and spending an hour at the bench. I reload 9mm and .357. I hate reloading 9mm as I'm basically on a single stage. But, I do it in batches and that makes it bearable. I also really like the fact that the rounds I load are very smooth shooting. That plus the fact that they get thru my 9mm 1911 makes me very proud.

 

Good luck.

 

C

If you load in a good progressive press for volumn and shop your components you can definitely save cash, if you shoot enough and like to shoot.

 

If you're shooting for real accuracy you must reload to tailor the round.

I've read the replies here (thanks everyone, btw) several times, and started reading other stuff on reloading.

 

As I understand the process:

 

1) Clean brass

2) remove primer, debur

3) reprime, load powder

4) load bulet and set

 

That's about the gist of it?

 

A progressive press will accomplish steps 2, 3 and 4 with one pull, and single stage press requires multiple handeling of the round for each stage, yes?

Pretty much.

 

Single stage fantastic for precision loading or rifle rounds... quite a bit slow for pistol... (where you do not usually have to trim or deburr the cases).

 

Turret press is a decent option to get started on.

Oh, btw, my 9mm rounds are about 13 cents as opposed to at least 20 cents per for the cheap stuff. Shoots "better" than factory.

 

Take a look at the Lee Classic Turret Press. It's a great option as you can take it nice and slow to learn on and it will move along nicely once you are comfortable. It may be my next reloading purchase once I clear my plate with the other stuff I have in the works.

 

Good luck.

 

C