November 19, 2013, 11:12 AM | #26 | |
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November 19, 2013, 11:14 AM | #27 |
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I take it the OP is not buying in bulk and bulk buying is where the savings start to accrue. Using current cost plus hazmat and shipping:
FMJ Basis: Precision Delta 115gr 9mm 1000 ea, Powder Valley 5K Tula primers, 8# W231 power – $0.131 per round Plated Basis: Powder Valley 5K Tula primers, 8# W231 power, Berry’s 115 gr 9mm 1000 ea – $0.112 per round Lead Bullet Basis: Powder Valley 5K Tula primers, 8# W231 power, MO Bullet 115 gr 9mm 500 ea – $0.099 per round
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November 19, 2013, 01:47 PM | #28 | |
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If you are practicing for a competition I would think you want ammo that behaves the same as when you are in a match. At least for IPSC and IDPA I would. You can't push lead as fast as jacketed, so the recoil will be different and the gun will run different. In those matches you are shooting quickly, so you want the same feel. But if you are just plinking or target shooting you'd be right, although personally I still wouldn't shoot plain lead in my gun. |
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November 19, 2013, 02:36 PM | #29 | |
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November 19, 2013, 02:39 PM | #30 | |
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November 19, 2013, 03:05 PM | #31 |
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I haven't worked the numbers lately but I think I'm still around .14 a round using Berry's plated bullets and powder and primers from my gun club (where members get a slight discount ... we also were served first during the shortage so I never had issues of running out ).
Used to be only sort of worth it when I could get new ammo for $18 / 100. It was almost a wash. I mostly reloaded about 50% of my 9mm because it was fun to do and it set me up so if there was another shortage (and what do you know, there was) I'd still be able to shoot. But now the best price seems to be more like $24 / 100 if you can find it. Makes it almost worth my time now.
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November 19, 2013, 03:06 PM | #32 |
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I don't buy brass...( I sweep up brass at my local range, clean, inspect and reuse )....so delete a penny per round there.../ but your situation might be different.
I'm using Montana Gold premium bullets 115gr FMJ and I buy in case lots / and primers in my area are right around $ 28 - $32 / 1,000 when I buy in case lots of 5,000 ( and I'm only going to use Winchester or CCI primers) ....powder I only buy in 8 lb kegs ...for 9mm you have a lot of choices, but I prefer Hodgdon powders. and I'm still right around $ 7.10 for 50 rds .../ but retail in my area is around $ 15 - $17 for a box of 50 rds in FMJ. Berry's plated bullets are a little cheaper than Montana Gold but not much... I can't shoot lead bullets in my local indoor ranges either... Last edited by BigJimP; November 19, 2013 at 07:38 PM. |
November 19, 2013, 03:11 PM | #33 | |
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The FleetFarm by me has started carrying some reloading supplies too. Prices aren't bad.
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November 19, 2013, 03:13 PM | #34 | |
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The hazmat was spread out amongst other items, as was shipping. |
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November 19, 2013, 03:16 PM | #35 | |
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I'm not a competition shooter - are lead projos not allowed? I would think that lead projectiles would be preferred, especially with steel targets, over jacketed. |
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November 19, 2013, 03:19 PM | #36 | |
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November 19, 2013, 08:24 PM | #37 |
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I have been buying Tula primers from Powder Valley. The last ones were up to around $23 per K plus shipping and hazmat. Since I normally get 10 to 15 k at a time and 16 pounds of WST the shipping/hazmat isn't adding that much per unit. $127 per 8 pounds of powder and 1400 rounds per pound keeps the cost pretty low. When buying bullets from PD I get as many as I can to get as much discount as possible. I still have to pay the sales tax since they are made in this state. No sales tax or shipping with MG bullets. Both load pretty much the same too for the same weight. Both are also match grade. You won't find much variance in the weight from one bullet to the next.
These bulk buys keep me loading for a good amount of time and also locks in my price for a given load until they are all gone. USPSA does allow lead/plated and jacketed bullets. They must meet a minimum power factor and not exceed the max power factor they list. This also makes it more consistent and easier on the steel targets. Some factory ammo is too hot to make it within the limits and some is also too week. The best ammo to use is what you reload and have checked to meet the power factor. I did find some power is affected by temperature as well as altitude and humidity. It is good to give yourself a little comfort zone to allow for all the differences. Only loading to the minimum power factor allowed will probably get your ammo disqualified when tested. The power factor is easy to figure. Weight of the bullet (measured weight) X speed in fps / 1000. |
November 19, 2013, 08:44 PM | #38 |
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I handload 9mm to tailor my ammunition at reasonable cost.
Mostly I load to power factor for IDPA. You don't find mild subsonic or 1903 spec ammo at Cheapmart. Or high velocity JHP at a price comfortable for defense gun practice. When I win the lottery, I will keep an order in place with Atlanta Arms for Sevigny match loads and a Federal distributor for HST. Now, about those .45s... |
November 19, 2013, 09:01 PM | #39 |
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You guys need to shop a bit more...
Bullets: http://www.bayoubullets.net/9mm.html for about 7 to 8 cents each, shipped. While my sponsor gives me brass, even if I bought it, it is about $25/1k around here, so call that 2.5 cents. My primers, in bulk are 2.6 cents each. My powder is less than 1 cent per round. So totaled up is 13.1 cents per round, but my actual cost is 10.6 cents per round. When I load Hornady HAP I am at 18 cents per round and the XTPs at about 22 cents per round. The cheapest ammo in stock anywhere today is the Freedom 115 blaster ammo at .24 cents per round. The cheapest match ammo is up at 40 cents plus and defense loads are up at 90 cents. By my math, I am saving a ton of money. Last edited by MarkCO; November 19, 2013 at 09:51 PM. |
November 20, 2013, 07:38 PM | #40 |
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After doing the math using my most recent purchases including shipping and hazmat charges it still comes out to $0.135 per round with Montana Gold bullets. I could go cheaper, but I'm happy with this load. I will have to recalculate once my order from PD arrives. It might be a little less. It is still less than what I could buy from WalMart if there is any on the shelf there. I don't count the cost of brass since I still have lots of brass from factory ammo not to mention the range pickups. I get between 25 and 50 reloads per case most of the time. Even if I did purchase brass you would have to divide the cost over the number of times you could load them. That brings the cost way down even for the brass.
Loading ammo is enjoyable for me. Being able to make the ammo I prefer for less cost than factory ammo is a bonus. Even if the cost turned out to only break even or slightly higher than factory ammo I would still be loading this caliber. |
November 21, 2013, 11:31 PM | #41 |
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I fortunately stocked up on $10.00-14.00 primers, a selection of powder at $10.00-12.00 per lb and 1000 lbs of wheel weights during the last decade. I'm not gloating, just feeling unusually lucky to pick the right time to stockpile. Even loaded up on some mil-sup stuff. I'm shocked each and every time I price retail 9mm and 45 ACP at the stores or shows.
The downside is instead of fully enjoying my inexpensive ammo, I think of the replacement cost as I blast away. |
November 22, 2013, 12:00 AM | #42 |
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I shoot handguns almost every weekend and have for many years. Cast lead bullets are all I shoot. I have them mail ordered to my door 2k at a time in many calibers and I have zero problems with lead nor do any of my shooting buddies have problems with their guns leading with their reloads.
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November 22, 2013, 07:56 AM | #43 |
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I only have 2 problems with loading properly sized lead bullets.
The first is I would have to flair the case mouth a little more to start them and that may give me a few less times I can use the same case do to neck splitting. It isn't really a big deal by the way. The second reason is I would have to be a little more careful not to over crimp. It does take more effort to over crimp jacketed bullets. Plated bullets should not be crimped to the point they cut through the plating to keep them intact all the way to the target. So, the main problem is with crimping to me. I can load all three types and get good results. I just choose to use jacketed bullets since I can afford to do so and I can set up quicker with good results. Match grade bullets also tend to give me more consistent results. Using powders my powder measure likes give me pretty consistent amounts of powder each time. This also lends to better loads. Smoky loads often comes from the type of lube used when loading lead bullets. I don't seem to see any of this with my jacketed loads since I'm not using bullet lube to load them. |
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