9mm worth it to load?

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nemesiss45

New member
I just added a Walther CCP to my collection, which will be the first 9mm I will shoot regularly.... but looking at the economics of reloading 9mm.... it hardly seems worth the time for practice loads.

what do you all load for 9mm? what are your most economical and your favorite self defense loads?
 
I was just wondering this same thing earlier, so I added it up. I can reload 9mm for about $0.10 per round. Cheapest I could find to buy it was $0.18, most of the time near $0.22-$0.25. That answered my question pretty quickly.

However, I also cast my 9mm bullets, so that cuts the cost significantly. If I had to buy bullets, I don't know that it would be much cheaper than factory.
 
Maybe with a Lee six cavity mold, cheap or free WWs and no life it would work out for you...What kind of pathetic person would do that? I'm just waiting to get the mold.
 
^LOL!

I don't think I'm saving all that much but I hate driving all the way to wally world to get the cheap stuff.

I guess I'm breaking even at best.
 
It is $210 per 1000 to buy. I can load for $135 with free brass.

Pretty good savings. Adding my time in really minimizes this, but my job doesn't pay OT, so I would have to get an ammo specific job!
 
Since I buy reloading supplies in large bulk it cost me $6.50 a 50rd box.
The down side is I am always hunting bulk powder and have to buy it when and where I can find it.
Finding 8lb or larger jugs of pistol powders is getting harder to find.
 
Cost savings with reloading 9mm can be pretty good or not, it all depends on a lot of things.
But mostly it depends on how much you enjoy reloading.
If it's a fun hobby, then the answer is obvious.
If not, then spending more time practicing and shooting, rather than reloading, will be more productive.
Never forget the fun factor.
 
If you already reload there is no down side to buying another set of dies and some bullets. If you don't already reload, then it may not pay for you to start reloading 9 MM.

In either case, when ammo shortages start coming back again, you will wish you had been reloading them.


Stay safe.
Jim
 
9mm

Buy components in bulk and you save a ton of $ on 9mm.

$200/1000 store bought= $0.20each plus shipping

or

Bullet 7 cents or less
primer 2 to 3 cents
powder .75 cent
Brass-free if you scrounge any range in America

I load 115gr plated extreme for 9 cents total by buying my entire supply on black Friday, and getting primers for $20 per 1000 at cabelas locally when they are on sale, along with buying powder in 8lb jugs locally without hazmat fees and shipping.
 
My cost just dropped on reloading with a bulk buy on bullets and S&B primers from Cabella's. The cheapest decent 124gr commercial target ammo is $220 or so per thousand and SD rounds are over $300. Here is my breakdown per thousand:
Plinking/target is $108.06
Primers 20.57
Powder 18.35
bullets 69.14

SD is $163.92
Primers 20.57
Powder 18.35
bullets 125.00

I have never purchased 9mm casings so I haven't figured that in. I can load 9mm for about what 22LR is going for locally. The biggest thing is my reloads are more accurate than the economy factory ammo. This makes me a better shooter as I hit where I am actually aiming and not the fliers that I get shooting White box, Yellow box, or Blazer.

Where I really do good on reloading is my 45GAP and 6.8SPC. The GAP has about he same discount but it is hit or miss if it is in stock at my LGS and you will never see it at any big box store. The 6.8SPC can sometimes be found for 75 cents per round but it is not very consistent or accurate ammo. I can reload 6.8spc for about 22-30 cents per round to get very consistent and accurate ammo. Bastard calibers are economically feasible to shoot if you hand load.
 
I load a premium bullet, Montana gold, and my cost for 9mm is around $6.50 per box --- compared to $ 13 - $15 a box retail....

So, yes, it's worth it..../ and I reload a better quality round than most of the cheap stuff..
 
I use plated bullets (X-Treme) and reload 9 mm for about 14 cents per round. That is still about 10 cents cheaper than local prices. That is enough to make it worthwhile for me, because I find reloading to be relaxing. If you take a hobbyist's attitude toward reloading, you probably will come out ahead. If you take an accountant's approach and decide you need to make the equivalent of a professional's salary during your reloading sessions, it won't happen.
 
Yes! It's worth it! That is if you don't judge you shooting activities by dollars and cents. I don't count how much my hobbies cost me, no matter what the cost of store bought stuff. When I wrapped my own fishing rods, I never considered how much it cost to catch a 30+ lb. Albacore. When I get that 2" group outta my M1, I don't think about money.

I like reloading. I reload to get custom ammo for each gun. I know much, much more about my guns because I reload. Besides, reloading keeps me "in touch" with my guns/shooting hobbies... A nickel cheaper per shot? Who cares? :D
 
Cast lead (commercial, 1k-2k piece purchase, $0.0625 / bullet)
Efficient powder
Free brass
Costs me about $0.104 / round. Or $5.20 / box (50).
(Buying in "case" quantities, I could run Montana Gold for another $0.03 / round, like BigJimP.)


Cast lead (mine - $0.019 / bullet)
Efficient powder
Free brass
Costs me about $0.061 / round. Or $3.04 / box (50).


And the above figures are based on using primers at $29 / 1,000. **
However... I'm currently using S&B, Fiocchi, and MagTech primers that cost me less than $14 / 1,000 (purchased 8,000 at a time, or 4,500 at a time for Fiocchi [1,500 ct 'brick']). So my actual cost is $0.015 / round, or $0.75 / box lower.


**(I know some of you have to pay more for primers in other parts of the country, but that's what I am currently seeing in the local shops that I visit. You have cheaper gasoline. We have cheaper primers. Such is life.)
 
I sure hope I'm saving something. Since around late Sept I have loaded and shot most of around 6k rounds of cast and Berry's 115 & 124gr based upon the primers I have replaced..

I do admit that some have gone through sme friends and family members pistols while we were testing loads.
 
Try not to think of reloading as "saving" money.

What you really get is the ability to make ammo when none of the stores have it, the means to shoot more for the same price, inclusion to a whole other enthusiast 'club', and the capability to adjust your loads as you see fit.

In either case, when ammo shortages start coming back again, you will wish you had been reloading them
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Exactly.

Reloading FMJ is just the beginning. I've since graduated to casting and powdercoating.:eek: I get a kick out of seeing someone at the range with two boxes of 9mm while I pull out 400 rounds of my spiffy multicolored reloads in a Ziploc bag.
 
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For the next 10k 9mm rounds, I'm loading for .007 cents each. I have a ton of free brass, and primers, plus I get free lead and cast my own. Really all it's costing me is price of powder charge.

After that, I'll be reloading them for .037 cents each. That's pretty dang cheap.
 
I've been loading for over 3 years now. I have a friend I shoot with about every other week. He caught me off guard a few weeks back and wanted to hit the range. I hadn't manufactured new rounds, was still working on processing the brass I brought home. My friend suggested that I actually buy rounds.

Buy rounds??? Buy rounds??? My head started to spin, the dollar signs were going by me quickly. I almost fainted...

Once you begin this addiction your thinking changes. The focus is dedicated to finding components at a "good price" (or make them yourself) and having sufficient supply. The concept of procuring factory ammunition vanishes. Never, never, never again.

By the way, during the next shortage, you'll be asking yourself why you didn't get into this sooner.
 
If you already reload there is no down side to buying another set of dies and some bullets. If you don't already reload, then it may not pay for you to start reloading 9 MM.

In either case, when ammo shortages start coming back again, you will wish you had been reloading them.
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I agree with this, completely.

The bullets are the most significant cost component. I only load cast for playtime.
 
YES!

I started loading it to see what I could do with it. I've made some real accurate loads..but found they wouldn't reliably cycle my P89. I've made rounds that have virtually ZERO muzzle rise from my P89 with its ported barrel.

When the ammo shortage hit I was still shooting! Having 1,000 Win 115 gr. HP's on hand to load as well as 2k plated plinkers around meant I wasn't up the creek w/o a paddle. ;) Having already done my experimenting.. I knew what was going to work.
 
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