Saving $ Loading 9mm

[Goodcat]

When I first started reloading I was pretty heavy into bullseye pistol shooting and kept at it for a long time. The cost savings of my reloads over factory match ammo was tremendous. It allowed me to amortize my equipment costs pretty quickly, even when I kept upgrading. Even when I had a demanding job with long hours, I still found time to reload. Like goodcat says, it is nice to be able to tailor loads for different guns and purposes. I can't say that I have ever enjoyed the process of reloading, but there is a satisfaction in shooting the ammo I have created, especially when I won a match.

Being a numbers guy, I cannot justify the means by savings alone. If I load 150 an hour on my turret press, that's paying myself $15/hr. I cannot justify my time. But man does it feel good to make and shoot your own ammunition!! It's not about the savings. Time is money. It's about accomplishing something, especially when you win something as you mentioned!! I won a small steel match last week using my 147gr reloads in production class. Only six competitors in production anyways, but man does that steel ring especially well when you loaded your own. I like looking at my the cartridges as I load them and think, "What will you be doing for me, little guy?".

 

[Bennettjh]

I find myself shooting more on a range trip than if I use factory ammo. I figured it up once and I'm about 12¢/round on 9mm I think. I enjoy reloading and doing the numbers, plus they're more accurate. I do a lot of loading in the winter when I'm cooped up so I look at the cost as secondary.

 

[Bfish]

I cant get away from 147gr. Sometimes I shoot suppresed and it's much easier to load all subsonic ammo so I don't have to adjust my dies. Maybe I'm just lazy.

Same here, I can buy the 115's cheaper but at this point I just buy all 147's. I think I end up with like $7 more per thousand rounds... It's worth it to be lazy at that point I almost feel like, and then I don't have to keep thing separate in ammo cans etc. Unless I'm practicing with my carry pistol I almost shoot elusively suppressed anymore. The savings of loading 147's over factory compared to 115's is bigger though too

 

[Broom_jm]

Shoot more for the same amount of money spent, or spend less to shoot the same number of rounds...saving money per shot, either way.

Shoot better quality ammo for the amount of money spent, or shoot absolute top-quality ammo for the cost of white box/surplus junk...shooting better ammo, either way.

Doing something yourself instead of paying a premium for someone else to do it for you, knowing you're doing a better job than they could, anyway...that's called value, no matter how you look at it.

With all of that said, I wouldn't reload any ammo unless I enjoyed it. I don't count the cost of my time reloading because there are few things I would rather be doing. Some people say their time is "valuable"...and I rebut that by saying the time I spend reloading is invaluable​. YMMV

 

[Doublehelix]

I'm at about .11 - .13 a round as well (for 124 gr.), depending on the bullet cost.

Nothing new to add that hasn't already been said, but I know my ammo is better than the factory stuff, especially the low-cost factory options. Tailored loads, etc.

I love the puzzle part of reloading, putting it all together is the best part.

 

[ikendrick15]

I definitely am saving money on pistol ammo, but the truly big savings is if you reload match rifle cartridges. I can reload 168 grain Sierra MatchKing Rounds for around $0.60 whereas it would be over $1.00 per round from Federal. It's also a fun and interesting hobby.

 

[rvb]

I have been reloading for several now and one thing that guys don't figure in is the cost of the equipment in the cost per round.

many years ago I figured out the cost difference in factory vs reloaded. I knew that the press would "pay for itself" in so many rounds; that was my break even point. My press paid for itself some 12-13 yrs ago. I see no reason to continue to factor it in.

(btw, at 20k+ rounds per yr, my Dillon and all related equipment pd for itself in just over a year, even only loading 9mm. a couple hundred thousand rounds later, let's just call equipment cost "negligible.")

-rvb

 

[Lanternman]

It depends on what you shoot and how often.

When I first started, .45 Colt was hard to find, and when I did it was expensive. The first 500 round I loaded paid for my initial setup.

I could do that today with .32 H&R. It's about 1.00 a round. I can reload for .10. I could easily save a $100 every time I go to the range.

Assuming I would shoot as often if I bought factory ammo, I'm saving a bundle. In reality, I just shoot more. And I enjoy loading.

 

[Cameramonkey]

TLR

I did want to say the old adage "you wont save any money, you'll just shoot more" is incorrect. I dont shoot any more than I used to, but my bullets do cost less.

9mm has the worst ROI. Especally 115gr bulk. I can buy a case of reman 115s for $200 from Bobcat Armament. Thats dirt cheap. Or under $20 at walmart for 100 Winchester White Box. Yes, I can reload my own (which I do) but figuring in my time, thats not much savings. (I value my free time)

Now if I switch to 124s or higher, there is more savings. If I want to tailor my rounds, vs paying a shop to do it for me, that too is a savings. But when I get busy, its no big deal to not save a few cents per round.

Now when you get into 45ACP and other bigger rounds, the difference between reloading and retail are a bit bigger and the motivation is much clearer.

Yes there are guys that cast that say they can produce 9s for 5 cents or less because they use nothing but recovered lead, range brass, etc. They conveniently leave out the cost of their time to scrounge and process those raw materials. Which if they dont care is fine by me. But I have kids to play with, and other fun stuff to do instead of spending it all sorting brass, melting lead, etc.

 

[spencer rifle]

My 124 gr JHP rounds just got cheaper to make:
https://rmrbullets.com/shop/bullets...ow-point-made-in-house-by-rmr/?v=7516fd43adaa

Reliable expansion for less than 9 cents a round.

 

[BE Mike]

My 124 gr JHP rounds just got cheaper to make:
https://rmrbullets.com/shop/bullets...ow-point-made-in-house-by-rmr/?v=7516fd43adaa

Reliable expansion for less than 9 cents a round.

I don't know if their 115 gr. FMJ bullets are any good, but the price is!

 

[turnerdye1]

I've been using nothing but RMR 115 fmj for the past year now and have zero complaints! I just bought 1k of the 124 JHP to try out and ive test loaded 100 so far and they shoot just as accurate as anything else. I'll load up the next 900 and keep stored back for my SHTF pile.