Cost info of shooting 9mm Para VS 45acp please.

[ART338WM]

I am most likely going to join and give shooting in USPSA a try and have seen several posts recommending to those who shoot 45acp to switch to a 9mm para as the 9mm is significantly cheaper to shoot then the 45acp is. Does anyone out there have any actual per 1000 cost of relaoding for eithor or both the 45acp and the 9mm para? If I do indeed join as soon as would like and the 9mm para is the way to go in terms of cost, then i will have to buy another XD Compact Tacticle in 9mm. I at present own a 45acp XD 5" Tacticle.

Also is there any disadvantages of shooting a 9mm in USPSA vs a 45acp? or any reason I should not shoot a 9mm in USPSA? I have no illusions of becomming a national level competitore, I am doing this mostly to make myself get out and shoot. I struck me scarry hard that because of family and work I am now only shooting about 20% of what i use to, so i am hoping that by compeating I will shoot once again like I use to, or at the least 50-60% of what i use to.

Oh, forgot to add I plan on reloading 100% of all my ammo and if i realy like shooting in the USPSA, I will buy a progressive reloader as all i have at present is a single stage Rockchucker. My reloads for competition would be only mid-range in power to keep costs down and get my max no# of reloads per 1lb of powder.

Thanks for the help,
Arthur.

[The Knight Of Light]

This will give you an idea of what it would cot to reload your ammo. Get some different prices off the net and you will be able to figure out what your costs will be.
Handloading Cost Calculator

[The Knight Of Light]

A quick version of my cost show that 9mm is 122$ for 1000 rounds.

45ACP is 211$ per 1000.

These are very accurate loads for USPSA shooting competition.

[ART338WM]

Thanks for sharing with me the light of your knowledge, Sir Knight so to speek. Would you mind sharing the powder type and primer you use with me? I am getting back into reloading for my handguns after being away for nearly ten years and could use some suggestions on what handgun powder and primers to start with. I will buy the cheapest brass and FMJ bullets I can find. So far it looks like Remington brass and Rainier TMJs from NatchezSS.

As 9mm is slightly more than 40% cheaper to load per 1000 than 45acp, it seems likely I will be investing in another XD. This one will be a 5" Compact Tacticle in 9mm. In satinless Bi-tone like its 45acp big brother. As i will be reloading for both, I will try to compeat with both as well.

Thank you again,
Arthur.

[The Knight Of Light]

I use Tightgroup powder, Winchester Small rifle primers(only because they work in several different cartridges I load), Zero bullets from Ghostholster.com, and brass that I have accumulated over the years I have been shooting.

[SoupOrMan]

9mm is definitely going to be cheaper. You might want to keep your 9mm version as stock as possible and use it for Production class and save your .45 for Limited.

[Aristotle13]

I guess it depends on how much you buy the components for. Here's a break down of what I spend per reloads as I reload 9, 40 and 45.

9mm =
Bullets, Rainier Ballistics: $26 per 500, $52 per 1k.
Primers, Mag Tech: $18 per 1k
Powder, TiteGroup: $14.95 per 1lb
Brass: Free range brass

1k of 9mm $85

.45 =
Bullets, Rainier Ballistics: $42 per 500, $84 per 1K
Primers, Winchester LPP: $22 per 1k
Powder, Titegroup: $14.95 per 1lb
Brass: Free range brass

1k of .45 $121

As for advantages/disadvantages, it's all relative to what division you are wanting to shoot.

For production, you will be at a disadvantage shooting .45, because they do not score "Major" or "Minor" powerfactor, so you are shooting your .45 against guys shooting 9mm, and being scored exactly the same. Advanted goes to the lighter recoiling round, unless of course you are just as proficient in .45.

I shoot my XD Tac .45 in Limited 10. Which is a division that DOES break down "Major" and "minor" factor and scores differently. So shooting a "major" load gives me a distinct advantage over someone shooting in "minor".

Hope this helps.

[The Knight Of Light]

Originally Posted by SoupOrMan

save your .45 for Limited.

Limited 10