reloading 9mm vs buying at Wal-mart...

[dave_in_delaware]

I was just curious about something and wanted to get a short, quick answer from the guru's here....

What is your actual cost of the components (or end $/round cost) of reloading 9mm target/practice ammo?

And how does it compare (higher or lower) to the price Wal-mart sells it for?

I ask because, while the concept of reloading my own ammo intrigues me, I'm just afraid that it would be too time-consuming, and end up costing me more for the reloads than it would at Wal-mart.

Perhaps if I would also reload rifle cartridges (not just 9mm) it would work out in a cost savings...

.. but then there's the gathering up all the brass, or buying brass, powder, primers, bullets, etc from sonewhere else, shipping charges, etc...

I only shoot 9mm (handgun), .22lr rifle, 7.62x54r Mosin, and 12 gauge shotgun.

Here's my main problem/concern: I only shoot a few times per YEAR (maybe 6 times if I'm lucky). Even if I'd shoot 2x per month, I still wonder:

Is reloading truly worth my consideration?

Honest opinions, please.

Thanks for any help and insight.

[ichy_trigger]

Unless you get a progressive press, your going to think its too time consuming. I know some folks like the Lee stuff but I will never buy a progressive press thats not blue.

Reloading is ALOT cheaper, even though the components are going up. It seems they are going up in price along side the manufactured ammo so its a wash. I can load my .40 ammo for .11-.12 a round, which is still cheaper than 9mm from Walmart. I would say that you could relaod 9mm for around .9 per round or maybe less, depending on the powder, primers and bullets you use. It would take quite a bit to recoup your money if your only shooting 6 times a year. If you watch ebay and some of the classified ads on like Brianenos.com you can find used gear for a decent price. a Dillon Square deal is a basic progressive press that sells used quite a bit because people step up as their shooting increases.

I dunno if I was of any help but I sure got to be the first poster

[dave_in_delaware]

Yes, you helped. Thanks.

I guess my hesitation it the whole thing is my infrequency in shooting in the first place to make it cost-effective, especially the up-front costs for the equipment.

I'm also "worried" about paying a lot of S&H costs for the components, which would probably drive the price per round up to near what the stores sell it for anyway.

Can someone provide a breakdown of component costs as an example, please? Say you're going to copy the WWB 9mm 115gr FMJ ammo from Wal-mart. What does each "part" cost for reloading?

Casings: (if bought from a store, not "free" from the range)
Bullets: (obviously new)
Powder: (nothing special)
Primers: (cheap yet reliable)

Did I miss anything? (I probably did since I'm clueless about reloading).

Thanks for the input here.

[Salilus]

Once Fired Brass: 30.00 per 1000
New Magetch Brass 12.00 per 100

Remmington FMJ 30.00 per 500

Powder usually 19-22.00 per pound
there are 7000 grains in a pound so using 5 grains in a load (hot) give you 1400 rounds per pound

Primers usually run about 20-22 per 1000

So if we scale all of this to price per round....

Brass .03
Bullet .06
Powder .015
Primer .02

Grand total 0.125 per round.

But if you collect your brass after an outing that drops to .09 per round or 9 bucks per hundred.

Benifits are using cleaner burning powders, matching a load to your pistol, and accuracy. It also gives you something to do when not shooting.

[fredj338]

ichy is right, about 7c-9c/rd depending on bullets & powder. You should NOT be buying brass. If you are shooting factory now, save your brass, pick up the other guys brass. In short time you'll have 2K of brass to load. There are places where shipping cost are quite reasonable if bought in bulk (hazmat) & compared to paying sales tax at your WM, you come out about the same plus no gas to go get ammo.
Powder, 5gr = .015c/rd (WST, HP38, etc)
primers = .022c/rd
bullets (FMJ)= .058c/rd
If you use a plated bullet sub. .01c/rd. If you use cast lead sub. .02c/rd. So you decide but you can get a Lee progressive setup or A Dillon SD for under $300. You save $2-$4/50 so once the gear is payed off, you save that much more. My break point for handloading would be 500rds/month. You would pay off your gear in one year. The other thing to consider is you are going to always have ammo when you want it. The ammo you load is almost always better than the cheap practice tuff you buy IMO.

[dave_in_delaware]

Thanks for the answerrs, guys!!

Originally Posted by Salilus

Brass .03, Bullet .06, Powder .015, Primer .02... Grand total 0.125 per round.

But if you collect your brass after an outing that drops to .09 per round or 9 bucks per hundred.

Benifits are using cleaner burning powders, matching a load to your pistol, and accuracy. It also gives you something to do when not shooting.

Thanks for the breakdown.... Haha! When I'm not shooting I'm usually working at my side job or spending time w/ my kids (who are too young to handle firearms yet). Not much time for reloading I guess.

Originally Posted by fredj338

You should NOT be buying brass.... There are places where shipping cost are quite reasonable if bought in bulk (hazmat) & compared to paying sales tax at your WM, you come out about the same plus no gas to go get ammo.... The other thing to consider is you are going to always have ammo when you want it. The ammo you load is almost always better than the cheap practice tuff you buy IMO.

Yeah, I figured collecting brass yourself is better than buying it bulk somewhere.... I live in DE, so there is no sales tax....

It would be nice to "roll my own" so I wouldn't be low on ammo, and it makes sense to "experiment" and create the best combination for your weapons.

Hmmm... now you guys have me re-thinking all of this!!!

Question: can the same press do pistol and rifle ammo? Or do you need two different set-ups?

What presses do you guys have set up in your homes?

Sorry for the newbie questions here.

Thanks again, though, for all the great info!!

[ichy_trigger]

The SD press is pistol only, a 550B will do just about anything but the price goes up a bit.
Rolling your own rifle ammo is pretty cheap but it also requires more time and equipment in the case prep dept. Pistol brass you just reload, rifle brass has to be trimmed to length and you SHOULD at least clean the carbon out of the primer pockets.

Pistol powder can be purchased for as little as $15.00 per lb.
Loading pistol ammo on a Dillson SD takes around 1 hour for several hundred rounds. I just go into my reloading room and crank out 100 rounds on my 550 during a commercial and then go back to the family room and watch more TV. or when i get home from work I will sit down and do 100-200 and then go spend time with the family.

[dave_in_delaware]

I'm getting the "reloading bug" you know, right?

The idea of cranking out 100 rounds of pistol ammo here and there is appealing. So is the possibility of making my own 7.62x54r for my Mosin, since surplus ammo for that is hard to find, and the new stuff seems a little overpriced to me.

Geez: there are too many things I *want* to get into or do, but it seems that I either don't have enough money or time.

[fredj338]

If you want to load rifle & psitol on the same progressive, I would look at the Dillon 550B or Lee LM (bought I'm not a Lee fan). Loading 7.62x54 is not a problem. You just need dies, shell plate & boxer primed brass (Norma I think).

[Tard]

I don't reload 9mm because if you sniff around you can still get good prices on cases (1,000 rounds). Also, when I shoot in classes there isn't time to pick up the brass, so I don't sweat throwing them away.

I do reload .40, .45ACP, .308 WIn and it's well worth doing.