How many times to use the brass

[FlyFish]

I make no attempt at keeping track of how many times I reload 9mm brass. It all gets tossed into the same bucket after cleaning to be used again.

That's pretty much what I do with all my pistol brass, shoot it until I lose it or the case mouth splits. Rifle brass is another thing entirely because of the potential for case head separation and other issues after repeated trimming, but pistol brass never gets trimmed and I don't worry much about it.

 

[Tsquared]

The only strait walled pistol pistol brass that I have had any issues with is TULAMMO. I swept up some at the range and noticed it when I was doing my case prep. I sorted it out and I started with 47. After the first reload I was down to 44 due to split cases. After the second reload I had smiles in all of the brass. These were middle of the road loads that were closer to the minimum load than the max load. After the 3rd firing I trashed them as they had smile bulges large enough that they would need to index to drop in the barrel.

The rest of the brass I do not bother to count how many times I load them. I will run across a split case, bulge, or head separation ever so often but I sweep up enough extra brass to offset what I loose.

 

[rodfac]

Just doing the math, at a savings of $7.00 per box if you're getting 9mm for $14, and shooting 250 per month, that's $35 per month x 12 = $420 per year. And that, my friend, will get 3/4 of the way to a good, really good, setup.

If it's hand gun ammunition you need, I'd suggest a Dillon 550B plus a good scale, calipers and a chamfering tool. That'll bump you up another $100 or so. All that said, I'll predict that you won't save a penny, over the long run, but you will shoot more and enjoy it more.

BTW, a good way to get into it is to share the cost with a buddy....I did that 53 years ago with good success, but have long since bought more equipment as needs and locations changed.

Best Regards Rod

 

[oldengineer]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I've been shooting pistol and reloading for about 6 months and rodfac's post echoes my exact thoughts and experience. I own the RL550B, Dillon Dterminator scale, Lyman 1200 tumbler, Lyman case trimmer, a good dial caliper and a few assorted goodies. I've got about $850 invested including 2 caliber conversion kits and die sets and shoot about 200 rounds a week. I reload 9mm for 12 cents and 40 S&W for 15 so saving 15 cents a shot it'll take about a year to recoup my investment.

 

[emcon5]

The time involved is not a factor as I'm retired. It will be the supplies I need to figure.

You may rethink that when you start doing it. For some folks reloading is a hobby of itself, and they like nothing more than sitting in the shop/garage/wherever making ammo.

Others, like me, consider it a necessary evil if I want to go shooting a lot. I really don't mind doing it, it is just that there are a whole bunch of things I would rather do.

9mm at a cost to reload of $.11 per round, using a commercial ammo cost of $.20 per round works out to about $30/hour.

9mm at a cost of $.15 per round to reload works out to about $15 per hour, using a commercial ammo cost of $.20 per round.

45ACP at $.12 per round using a commercial cost of $.30 per round ($15 per box) works out to about $60 per hour.

Sure, using the output per hour of a ~$600 Dillon 650. How is it with a $100 Lee Turret press, or more realistically for a beginner, a single stage?

 

[Jim243]

If you use inexpensive bullets at about 0.09 cents each you should be able to repay yourself for your reloading equipment ($295) in about 2 months just with reloading 9 MM. If you reload other calibers, your payback should be much faster.

I am figuring 9 cents a bullet, 4 cents a primer and 2 cents a round for powder. (one pound of powder is 7,000 grains or enough for 1,400 loads (5 grains), approximately) Case of course are free since you already have them.

There are other items you may want to get so your payback might be a bit longer, but reloading is well worth it.

Have fun and stay safe.
Jim

PS: you can use pistol brass over and over again, and you will lose cases before they become unusable.

 

[Machineguntony]

9mm brass will reload almost forever. I've been using the same 9mm brass for 3+ years, and I reload and shoot a lot. With 9mm, I do not factor in the cost of brass because 9mm brass is free for me. 99% of people at the range throw it away, and the range guys let me sweep up the brass around me. My 9mm brass collection grows every time I go to the range.

223 brass I throw out after about 5-10 reloadings. I reload 223 in batches of 1000 pieces of brass. After a while, I'll start seeing cracks in the neck. Once I start to see cracks, I throw out the entire batch.

I can't comment on 308 brass in a title 1 gun. I reload lots of 308, however, for my specific guns, 308 lasts for 2 reloadings. I shoot 308 out of open bolt belt feds, and belt feds have larger than normal chambers, and their feed and extraction is quite violent, so they tear up 308 brass. If I try to reload a third time, I encounter problems, specifically broken cases. Rather than throw out the cases, and since I prefer not to sell the brass, I give the brass away. The brass is usually good for one more reloading to be used in a bolt action only (the guys who accept the brass are confident they can extract the broken case, even if it does break).

If you're getting into reloading to save money, you won't save money. You will spend less per round, and you'll save money per round, but you will shot a lot more. A whole lot more.

Every time I go to the range, it is always the reloaders who have the most ammo and stay the longest. I am uncomfortable going to the range with less than 1000 rounds. In my 20+ years of shooting, I've never seen a factory ammo shooter with 1000 rounds.

I can also tell which reloader owns a progressive press by how fast they shoot.

Welcome to the hobby. It's an awesome and fun hobby. Be safe and enjoy.

 

[Worc]

The problem with reloading for 9mm is that the cost is almost as expensive as buying new. You can get factory 115 grn new blazer brass for $.20 per round. You're going to spend about $.10 per bullet and $.05 for the primer and powder on your reloads.

I'm at 11.54 cents per round with plated bullets for my 9mm loads. My reloading equipment was paid for in a short time. When buying cheap ammo on line, you usually have shipping you need to add to the cost per round.

 

[AL45]

I've got .45 Colt brass I've reloaded close to 30 times.