Wondering on cost...

[krashmania]

How much would it cost to get set up to start reloading 9mm?

I mean all the equipment, along with ammo supplies?

What would the average cost per round end up being on that?
Not looking for super precision, just cheap plinking ammo that would run reliably.

And how much cheaper does it end up being long term reloading as opposed to buying everything pre-made?

Is it difficult to do?

I know, these are some pretty basic questions, but I know absolutely nill about reloading. Any other info would be amazing if you could provide it. I've never really looked into it before, and saw a few threads that made me curious. Not necessarily looking to start right now, but maybe in the future?

Thanks!

 

[Rockzilla]

you can use this spreadsheet to do some quick figuring, it's in Excel
someone else did this and all credits go to them.
use the cost tab to figure what each round / box will cost
the payback tab is for all of equipment you buy

View attachment Reloading.xls

-Rock

 

[montoya32]

you can use this spreadsheet to do some quick figuring, it's in Excel
someone else did this and all credits go to them.
use the cost tab to figure what each round / box will cost
the payback tab is for all of equipment you buy

View attachment 47008

-Rock

One hell of a job to whomever created that spreadsheet

 

[querty]

Thanks for the link to the spreadsheet... and thanks to whoever made it.

 

[Markp]

How much would it cost to get set up to start reloading 9mm?

What would the average cost per round end up being on that?
Not looking for super precision, just cheap plinking ammo that would run reliably.

Thanks!

I really believe that when you figure it all out, reloading is NOT cheaper than buying cheap (but relatively reliable) surplus ammo.

What reloading buys you is the ability to make custom loads that your gun likes, that suit your specific needs, and consistency (provided you pay attention to detail) that is not available without buying considerably more expensive ammo.

If you are just wanting to go plinking and build up skills, then a 22lr gun is the right answer. The basics ALL translate to proper shooting with other weapons, sight alignment, trigger control, and sight picture are not impacted by the size or power of the round that you are shooting.

My advice, buy a .22lr and use that for plinking, you'll save much more money than going down the reloading path.

 

[Baumer]

IMO the folks that stick with reloading for over a long haul are motivated by more than just cost, particularly for a caliber like 9mm that is widely available and relatively inexpensive.

I also think many folks forget to factor time into the equation. You can get a lee hand press, set of dies, and some powder dippers and load 9mm, which would be a low cost entry into reloading, but it's going to be painfully slow. So you have to ask yourself if it takes 4 hours to load a box of 9mm for plinking and you save $4-$6 over store price, is it worth it? If you're retired and need a hobby it might be. If you've got 2 jobs, 4 young kids at home, and you're lucky to make it to the range once a week for an hour, not so much.

OTOH if you're shooting competively, using thousands of rounds per year for practice and matches, tuning your reloads to your weapon, want to maximize trigger time, a progressive setup at $1K may seem like a bargain.

 

[Baumer]

Hmm - Post #111 on 111111

 

[krashmania]

I really believe that when you figure it all out, reloading is NOT cheaper than buying cheap (but relatively reliable) surplus ammo.

What reloading buys you is the ability to make custom loads that your gun likes, that suit your specific needs, and consistency (provided you pay attention to detail) that is not available without buying considerably more expensive ammo.

If you are just wanting to go plinking and build up skills, then a 22lr gun is the right answer. The basics ALL translate to proper shooting with other weapons, sight alignment, trigger control, and sight picture are not impacted by the size or power of the round that you are shooting.

My advice, buy a .22lr and use that for plinking, you'll save much more money than going down the reloading path.

Ironic that you recommend a 22, as the handgun I just bought has both 9mm and 22 conversions with it. Most of my shooting will be 22, just curious if there was a way to shoot the 9mm occasionally and save some, but from what it sounds like, I may as well just stick to cheap bulk for now.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Markp]

Ironic that you recommend a 22, as the handgun I just bought has both 9mm and 22 conversions with it. Most of my shooting will be 22, just curious if there was a way to shoot the 9mm occasionally and save some, but from what it sounds like, I may as well just stick to cheap bulk for now.

Thanks everyone!

Yep, saving money means buy 1000 rounds at at time.

 

[zombiehunter]

Ironic that you recommend a 22, as the handgun I just bought has both 9mm and 22 conversions with it. Most of my shooting will be 22, just curious if there was a way to shoot the 9mm occasionally and save some, but from what it sounds like, I may as well just stick to cheap bulk for now.

Thanks everyone!

Yep, saving money means buy 1000 rounds at at time.

If you're going to be shooting like that, then what Mark says is probably the best advice you'll get.

I've found that my reloading costs are minimal especially when I buy things on sale, in bulk or just get lucky. I haven't done the math for 9mm as I'm not set up to reload it yet but for me:

.40S&W:
3.2c/primer
2c/powder
14c/bullet
brass free from range pickup
(all of this is from memory my book is at home) = 19c/round
Walmart just raised their price to 35c/round

.38spl:
3.2/primer
0.8c/powder
0c/bullet (I trade wheel weights for cast bullets)
brass free from range
4c/round
Walmart is close to 40c/round

I use a Lee Classic turret press and have more than paid for it with just the savings from loading a few hundred rounds of .38spl.

So yeah, it depends a lot on how much free time you have, how much shoot, what you shoot and what your purposes are. I'm also reloading for my zombie-stash so that makes it a whole lot cheaper.
3.2c/primer

 

[montoya32]

The way I see it, reloading has a few advantages/benefits. Cost is one and usually the initial reason some folks get involved. You will more than likely have to buy factory loads 1st to get the brass. I know you can buy processed brass, but that's no fun 9mm is pretty cheap. The cost to reload is not going to save a whole lot on 9mm, especially after you calculate the cost of equipment and even more so if you calculate your time. The larger projectiles will definitely offer more room for savings. The other reason to reload is for quality control, customization and purposeful shooting. The more I shoot, the more I realize that different guns like different rounds. Being able to reload gives you the opportunity to tailor your rounds to your specific firearm and your specific activity. If you're starting from scratch and getting into reloading explicitly for saving costs, you will be reloading for years in order to see a savings. Just my .02.

 

[Rockzilla]

As noted by montoya32 above
To reload or not to reload..depends..some do it for the fun of it, desire, to tailor that load to a specific firearm, to get that last bit of accuracy, maybe that bullet weight is not available in factory offering, the cartridge is no longer made, not lastly a "wildcat" cartridge, or the cost of loaded ammo is sooo high, to use an example .338 Lapua at what $4-$5 each time you pull the trigger for factory, reloading for this will re-coup the cost of equipment rather quickly, same can be said for the .458 WM, .460 Weatherby as you tend to move away from the basic main stream calibers you save more. been reloading for 30+ years as time goes on you "acquire" more and more to either speed up the process, produce more, that last bit of accuracy or for some the latest n greatest equipment to come down the pike... then you may even get into bullet swaging, making your own from jackets or other fired casings...

-Rock

 

[zombiehunter]

The way I see it, reloading has a few advantages/benefits. Cost is one and usually the initial reason some folks get involved. You will more than likely have to buy factory loads 1st to get the brass. I know you can buy processed brass, but that's no fun 9mm is pretty cheap. The cost to reload is not going to save a whole lot on 9mm, especially after you calculate the cost of equipment and even more so if you calculate your time. The larger projectiles will definitely offer more room for savings. The other reason to reload is for quality control, customization and purposeful shooting. The more I shoot, the more I realize that different guns like different rounds. Being able to reload gives you the opportunity to tailor your rounds to your specific firearm and your specific activity. If you're starting from scratch and getting into reloading explicitly for saving costs, you will be reloading for years in order to see a savings. Just my .02.

I was reloading for about 3 hours and saw my savings:

500 rounds of .38spl, my cost $20
equipment = $200
Total = $220

Cost in the store is like $200 for the same ammo, so now anything after that is pretty much money in my pocket for more ammo

The savings can add up pretty fast. Even for 9mm, in Walmart it's now 23-24c/round and it can be reloaded for 13-14c/round. Cheaper if you shoot lead. You're saving $10/100 rounds and can probably load that many in an hour. If you're only going to shoot a few hundred a year then yeah, it'll take you forever to recoup your initial outlay. If you stash ammo like a manic squirrel you'll recoup it in an afternoon.

You're absolutely right though, it IS time consuming. If you're struggling for time then this isn't a place I'd spend it. I, however, work, sleep and play with my cat...there's only so much internet, I need to fill the rest of my waking hours with something lol.

 

[Deep Creek Rock]

My biggest issue with 22LR, is that it is inconsitent. Yes its cheap shooting, but the quality of most bulk 22LR, is usally something more to be desired. Actually most factory ammo- centerfire too, tends to be inconsistent IMHO. Most factory ammo is intended to be fired in almost any firearm chambered in that round, but it dosnt always yield the best accuracy in your gun.

When you handload - you are tailoring a round to your particular firearm. Once you find what a particular gun likes,(powder charge bullet combo etc etc) you generally find an improvement in accuracy,sometimes drastically- if the handloading has been done right. This is the primary reason I got into handloading years ago. Ive never looked back, and never regretted it one bit.

There seems to be a trend in thinking a progressive loader is an absolute must for handguns, and that really is not true. You can load handgun rounds on a single stage, by doing batch steps. Your less prone to have issues & mistakes doing it that way. You physically can inspect each step of the process to make sure everything is safe. The biggest issue with handgun rounds is powder charging. Alot of handgun rounds, do not fill the case with powder, and it is possible to double charge a case, which usally ends up costing you a damaged gun - at the least. When you single stage load, you can visually inspect each case to make sure your powder charges all look even, then move on to the bullet seating step. Im not knocking progessives, they have there use, and for high volume, there great.

9mm cases are everywhere, and probably can be had for pretty cheap, if not for free. With the price of cartridges these days, you can recoup the cost of loading handgun ammo pretty quick- especially if you are a frequent shooter. The biggest difference, will be your ammo will be of match quality, verses plinking/practice quality of most factory stuff. Again that is if the handloading has been done right. Usally, you find yourself shooting off more rounds when you handload, and thats a good thing!

If you get in bullet casting yourself, the price of reloading goes down even more. You can also recoup the cost of casting equip, pretty quick.

I would suggest picking up the book ABC's of reloading. Read it thouroughly, and see if it is something that you want to get into. The different types of equip is discussed in that book. There are plenty of kits out there in market, to fit most peoples budget. You do not have to start off with high end equipment. Should you decide you want to get a high end reloader, there are always other uses for an extra press (rifle loading, bullet sizing etc)

 

[hodgepodge]

In March of this year, I started reloading .45 Colt. Commercial ammo was running $.40 to .50 per round.

With the purchase of a Lee Anniversary kit, supplies, etc., it's down under 10 cents per round.

But with the revolvers and saving the brass from the lever action, brass is cheap. I've learned about some great sources here for powder, primers and bullets.

It was just under $300 to set up and produce the first batch. I used the spreadsheet and it estimated that I'd be breaking even at about 1000 rounds. Now, I'm ahead of the game.
Not to mention, I've learned a bit about ammo, and guns.

 

[Rockzilla]

There seems to be a trend in thinking a progressive loader is an absolute must for handguns, and that really is not true. You can load handgun rounds on a single stage, by doing batch steps. Your less prone to have issues & mistakes doing it that way. You physically can inspect each step of the process to make sure everything is safe. The biggest issue with handgun rounds is powder charging. Alot of handgun rounds, do not fill the case with powder, and it is possible to double charge a case, which usally ends up costing you a damaged gun - at the least. When you single stage load, you can visually inspect each case to make sure your powder charges all look even, then move on to the bullet seating step. Im not knocking progessives, they have there use, and for high volume, there great.

If you get in bullet casting yourself, the price of reloading goes down even more. You can also recoup the cost of casting equip, pretty quick.

Agreed..to this day I load in batches up to the powder dispensing part. Prep the brass, remove primers, remove crimp (if necessary), size, trim, have the brass in buckets or ammo cans, prime with hand primer, when the powder process comes into play is when I complete the whole round, up to that point I may have several buckets / ammo cans full. I do have progressives and use them also..but use my Rock-chuckers more...

Casting your own bullets is another fun part as said even brings your price down more, I'm currently waiting on some 4 cavity semi custom brass cramer style molds for .45, (reg solid / HP / Penta point) to arrive. Also if you get into reloading..if you can buy your components in bulk, some vendors offer free shipping, Widener's had IMI bullets on special with free shipping as example... this will save you more

-Rock

 

[lasher9999]

One thing to consider is the flexibility of whatever setup you plan to buy. I highly recomend the Dillon 550b. You can reload just about any possible caliber and it can be very fast.

 

[mbz300sdl]

I reload for 9mm and .45ACP just started ACP so I only really know cost of 9mm right now.

Primer 2.1 cents
bullett 8.0 cents
brass is free
powder 1 cent

so 11.1 cents per round

I am using a friends Dillion 550 so for me its worth it and we hang out and play computers games I make a day of it we normally do 500-800 in a day.

 

[Markp]

In March of this year, I started reloading .45 Colt. Commercial ammo was running $.40 to .50 per round.

With the purchase of a Lee Anniversary kit, supplies, etc., it's down under 10 cents per round.

But with the revolvers and saving the brass from the lever action, brass is cheap. I've learned about some great sources here for powder, primers and bullets.

It was just under $300 to set up and produce the first batch. I used the spreadsheet and it estimated that I'd be breaking even at about 1000 rounds. Now, I'm ahead of the game.
Not to mention, I've learned a bit about ammo, and guns.

You aren't factoring in your time, time is a valuable resource. Let's say you make 300 rounds an hour and you make $25.00 hour at work ($51k year, some make considerably more, some make considerably less) You would need to add $0.0834 to each round for a total round cost of $0.18 per round.

Still not bad, but when you compare it to the cost of surplus 9mm @ 0.23 a round, you would need 6000 rounds to break even just on the $300 investment (or 20 hours of reloading).

Still, I wouldn't reload for the perceived cost savings, it's fun to do anyway.

 

[obiii]

Nobody mentioned the most important reason. Where ya gonna buy bulk cheap ammunition when it's not for sale anymore? Inquiring minds want to know.