I want to reload 9mm?

[Tony7141]

Is it worth it to reload 9mm? Can I do this in my apartment safely? If the awnser to those questions is yes, then what is the most ecinomical way to get started. I have collected quite a bit of brass over the years.

 

[Tydeeh22]

Is it worth it to reload 9mm? Can I do this in my apartment safely? If the awnser to those questions is yes, then what is the most ecinomical way to get started. I have collected quite a bit of brass over the years.

gonna take me a minute to get all of it together.

but you can reload 9mm for about 5-10 cents a pop depending on how you buy your components. brass is free meaning one component is out of the picture.

powder = 2-3 cents per round
primer = 3 cents
bullet = 2-3 cents if lead (6-9 cents for me if jacketed)
time = whatever your time is worth to you.

your basic lee turret press is great to get learning on. with packages starting at 200 bucks on ebay, it is really easy to get into reload cheaply. dies will run you 40 bucks +/- for the lee 4 piece set including factory crimp. (which you want). a reloading block is nice, but old factory bullet holders work.

Press kit = 215
dies.......= 40
powder...= 20 bucks per pound
bullets....= 80 bucks per thousand for jacketed
primers...= 30 dollars per thousand
brass.....= Free! (free is GREAT)
Total......= ~385 dollars will get you in the game and well on your way to having the guarantee of knowing the quality of ammunition you are shooting is above what WWB offers while still costing a mere 11-13 cents per round with the figures above.

any other questions? just ask. someone is always happy to help around here. have a good night.

 

[joshualee49]

I'm going to be looking into reloading 9mm as well at some point. You can find factory stuff on the cheap most of the time but can still save a good 50% by reloading. 9mm brass is everywhere on the range.

Plus if you are a guy who likes to create things with his own hands there will be a certain intangible unprice-able bonus for doing it.

 

[45calibre]

gonna take me a minute to get all of it together.

but you can reload 9mm for about 5-10 cents a pop depending on how you buy your components. brass is free meaning one component is out of the picture.

powder = 2-3 cents per round
primer = 3 cents
bullet = 2-3 cents if lead (6-9 cents for me if jacketed)
time = whatever your time is worth to you.

your basic lee turret press is great to get learning on. with packages starting at 200 bucks on ebay, it is really easy to get into reload cheaply. dies will run you 40 bucks +/- for the lee 4 piece set including factory crimp. (which you want). a reloading block is nice, but old factory bullet holders work.

Press kit = 215
dies.......= 40
powder...= 20 bucks per pound
bullets....= 80 bucks per thousand for jacketed
primers...= 30 dollars per thousand
brass.....= Free! (free is GREAT)
Total......= ~385 dollars will get you in the game and well on your way to having the guarantee of knowing the quality of ammunition you are shooting is above what WWB offers while still costing a mere 11-13 cents per round with the figures above.

any other questions? just ask. someone is always happy to help around here. have a good night.

do you cast your own bullets? is that how you came up with 5 cents per round?

 

[geronimojoe85]

I actually just posted this on Facebook:

If you're like me you have a trash can full of 9mm brass that you never seem to get around to reloading. I mean, why? 9mm is probably the cheapest center fire pistol round in common use today. Frankly, I have better things to do with my time than reload a caliber that has such a slim margin of money savings. But for some reason I still pick up those little cases. I mean, I'm already bent over and they get stuck on my 45 acp cases, so heck I might as well fill up my hat, and then range bag with the 9mm that the guy next to me shot and left. I mean if you saw a penny or a nickel on the ground you'd probably just leave it, but if you found a pile of pennies and nickels on the ground, well you get the point. So here I am with this pile of stupid little brass cases nagging at me every time I pass them while doing laundry. Ok, screw it, let's do something with this junk. So I dust off the green machine and start the process of decapping and resizing. After about two hours and barely a dent in the pile I've learned a few things. First, if you feel little to no resistance when you run it through the die, check the head stamp because it's probably .380. Second, if it's a little hard to size, it's probably got a crimp on the primer, just toss those cases. Yes, really toss them, it's not worth it to try and swage the crimp out. Third, if it's feels like the it's bottomed out, it's berdan primed, toss these cases too. Finally, if the brass has any defects like splits, kinks, dents, scratches, corrosion, or just gives you an "iffy" vibe, toss it. Look at it this way, it's 9mm brass, it's like Doritos, they'll make more. Don't stress yourself and waste time on junk or "iffy" cases. If you got the stuff for free anyway it's not like you're really out anything. So, as I continue to trudge through the laborious process of reloading this round out of sheer spite, I have decided that I'm going to load 1000 rounds of the cheapest blasting ammunition that I can and find a friend with a machine gun.

While you do save by reloading those little cases, you save A TON more when you reload 45 or something like that. If its what you shoot then absolutely go for it, just don't expect your investment to pay for itself any time soon. But then money isn't the only motivation to reload either.

 

[Tydeeh22]

do you cast your own bullets? is that how you came up with 5 cents per round?

i have friends who cast their own. their costs are minimal. honestly its kinda crazy. and about that one guy who shoots his lead into the hill to dig it back out again, (these are those guys).

i prefer jacketed / plated ammunition myself.

 

[Tony7141]

I actually just posted this on Facebook:

While you do save by reloading those little cases, you save A TON more when you reload 45 or something like that. If its what you shoot then absolutely go for it, just don't expect your investment to pay for itself any time soon. But then money isn't the only motivation to reload either.

I shoot 38 special, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP as well, just not nearly as much. Muy real thought was this would give me a project to keep me motivated in the winter time. I shoot more 9 mm than anything else, was just thinking that might be a place to start.

Still not sure about reloading in an apartment though?

 

[joshualee49]

Reloading should be safe enough with the proper precautions. Casting on the other hand....

As long as there are no small children \ curious pets around I wouldn't see any danger in it. Keeping everything cool and dry and covered..

 

[Tydeeh22]

I shoot 38 special, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP as well, just not nearly as much. Muy real thought was this would give me a project to keep me motivated in the winter time. I shoot more 9 mm than anything else, was just thinking that might be a place to start.

Still not sure about reloading in an apartment though?

youll be fine.

 

[45calibre]

i have friends who cast their own. their costs are minimal. honestly its kinda crazy. and about that one guy who shoots his lead into the hill to dig it back out again, (these are those guys).

i prefer jacketed / plated ammunition myself.

that is hard core reloading

I actually just posted this on Facebook:

While you do save by reloading those little cases, you save A TON more when you reload 45 or something like that. If its what you shoot then absolutely go for it, just don't expect your investment to pay for itself any time soon. But then money isn't the only motivation to reload either.

you save about 40% if you shoot lead 9mm over the cheapest ammo available.

 

[lowendgenerator]

What got me started on my reloading path was lack of 9mm at my local stores. I called every Walmart in NWI, and found nothing but a few boxes of TulAmmo. It wasn't worth my time to drive 45 minutes to pick them up. Even Cabela's selection sucks most of the time, and I wasn't about to pay $15/50 at my LGS. I fear it will only get worse when November rolls around and all the political BS gets people whipped into a frenzy. It's good to know I have a skill that allows me to make, and maintain, a healthy supply of ammo.

It's also making me want to buy a 45!



Reloading in an apartment:

I have a 14"x16" corner of my kitchen for my press and tools. When I throw charges, my Uniflow is clamed to the computer desk in the OTHER corner of the kitchen. I keep my primers and ammo locked in a tool box, and my powder on the top shelf of my cleaning supply cabinet. My tumbler runs in my utility room. My brass is stored in ziploc bags or 5 quart ice cream tubs. I keep my work area tidy, and clean up after every process. I keep a healthy supply of ziploc bags and paper towels on hand. As well as a Sharpie to label everything.

As long as you're diligent, clean, and organized, reloading in an apartment is just as safe as reloading anywhere else.

BTW: I am always accepting 9mm brass donations.

 

[kevinsr98]

When I buy my reloading components, I buy in bulk. I load 9mm for .08 cents per round and .45acp for .11 cents per round. You can easily and safely reload in an apartment. However I would not attempt casting in limited space. Good luck.

 

[Eric86]

For me its that I dont feel like I have to conserve ammo because I buy supplies in bulk. I hate going shooting with friends and running out of ammo. You will have the ability to bring twice as much ammo with the same amount of nagging from the wife or less likely, you will shoot the same amount and just spend less.

 

[Broom_jm]

I reload for 20 different cartridges, either to save money or simply because they don't make what I want. The reason I load 9mm is because I like the idea of buying a good supply of components and making them at MY leisure, instead of depending on a LGS to have what I want, when I want to shoot.

The other thing is people will compare the cost of quality handloads with the cheapest bulk ammo they can find, and that is not apples-to-apples. I can load excellent quality SD ammo, from a variety of different weight JHP bullets, for about the same price as WWB costs, off the shelf. To buy factory SD loads in 9mm, like the ones I load at home, can run right around $1/ea but I'm only spending less than a third of that. I'm talking about ammo like Corebon +P ammo, with a 124gr XTP bullet. When you're loading that kind of ammo, yes...you can save a lot on 9mm!

But to be perfectly honest, I reload because I enjoy it. If I didn't save much at all, I'd still do it. I like taking something that is "junk" to someone else and meticulously crafting it back into something very useful and effective. I enjoy reloading as much as I do shooting, or hunting, or doing habitat improvement. It's a hobby, but instead of creating a negative cash-flow, it's a hobby that either saves you money, or is at the very least, cost-neutral. Ya can't say that about golf!

 

[EzShot]

i buy lead bullets from Indiana Bullet Company ("Slim400" on this site) 125 grains 9mm for $44/1000. i get primers and powder from indiana gun club at $135/5000 and $104/8lbs. and of course brass is free from local ranges
this averages out to a little under 8 cents a round.

the cheapest bulk bullets i can buy are american eagle LRN at 21cents/round
so for me thats a savings of 60%

if i cast my own bullets it would be cheaper but it would require more time and another investment in equipment

 

[chuddly]

I dont have the full price break down on mine but i am loading for about 50% and i am useing jacketed bullets. To me saving 50% is nothing to sneeze at and i get to shoot more for the same money. Dont give me the line that you dont save loading 9mm. I have about $400 total in my one caliber set up so at my math that means i have to load about 3k rounds to completely pay for the press and im getting a high quality ammo at that (it you bought the ammo its about $250/1000 shipped to your door for higher quality ammo). Im saving half so im saving $125/1000 so im real close to the $400 at 3k rounds. I also load other calibers so i saved much more much faster. I have loaded way more than 3k rounds already so all my equipment is paid for and its all savings from here on out. Plus its a nice relaxing enjoyable hobby so no complaints at all.

 

[straight-shooter]

Sole purpose of casting my own and reloading them is accuracy.... Although cost is still much lower than factory. For my 9mm I size to .357 and this has proven to not lead the barrel or tumble into the target, .356 on the other hand was terrible for tumbling and leading.

 

[EzShot]

it seems i need a higher post count to answer pms!! anyway the indiana bullet company cast bullets are a great buy in my opinion very uniform. a bit of extra lube here and there but nothing to worry about just check seating depths every 20 rounds or so as it can build up on the seating stem.

 

[Tony7141]

Thanks everyone, I think I will go for it, sounds like a good winter project to get started, or maybe I wont wait that long. As far as casting, I think I'll pass on that for now.

 

[Freedom556]

You will save some money reloading your own. Beyond saving money on ammo you will have a nice hobby that can be relaxing and gratifying.