NavyVet1959
New member
There's a great article in the current Dillon Blue Press about the economies of handloading 9mm vs. buying .22. Of course, the whole debate revolves around how available and how expensive ammo is. Handloading 9mm, without being extremely conscious of maximizing the benefits, costs ten cents to twelve cents per round.
While there may be a store, somewhere in the United States that has bricks of rimfire for $20, there's no place within 50 miles of where I live that anyone can walk into, and buy a brick for less than $50, and probably nor for less than $70.
CCI Stingers, which used to be my go-to, when they cost $6 per 100, are now $17 per hundred (that's the buy it now, today, price, not the pitch-a-tent-outside-Cabela's-the-night-before-ammo-is-restocked price), or about 50% more than handloaded 9mm!
Someone who wants to buy a rimfire gun for "cheap plinking" would be better served by spending that money on a handloading rig.
Another thing to consider is that if you are shooting a larger caliber, then you are less likely to shoot as many rounds than if you are shooting a .22LR firearm. So, even if you are willing to camp out at Wal-Mart and snag one of the mythically available bricks for $21.72, the 9mm is not necessarily going to be more expensive during a shooting session since you are less likely to fire as many rounds. Then again, if you are spending your time casting the bullets and loading your own rounds, you might be a bit less inclined to spray a lot of rounds down range like you see many of the .22 shooters do.
The cheapest 9mm load that I can achieve with the molds that I current have is probably $2.62 per 50-round box. That is with 4.1gr of Red Dot and a 115gr cast lead bullet. You can only reduce the powder expenses so much before the brass will no longer eject. If you want to go lower, you probably should go with a .38 / .357 revolver or a single shot gun. You can cut your powder costs in half with one of those since you can really get down into the "cat sneeze" area. In my opinion, these lightly loaded .38 / .357 loads are even quieter than the standard velocity .22LR loads. In my opinion though, the biggest advantage of the revolvers or single shot guns is that you are not having to chase your brass around.