Powder usage question: 1lb=?loaded Cartridges

sigcurious · January 4, 2012, 07:09 PM

The time for me to start reloading is near. and I've been trying to figure out the best way to get components. Local prices are pretty high on powder and primers, so I'm looking at buying some in bulk online. That being said, I plan on using W231 to load 9mm and .45acp. I understand depending on what loads and how many of each type I load the number will vary, but about how many rounds will 1lb of W231 load?

From a grains to lb conversion, Im guessing ~1000 rounds per pound for 9mm and .45, but I wanted to double check with peoples real world results.

Don H · January 4, 2012, 07:25 PM

Well, there's 7,000 grains per pound. If you use a 5 gr load, you'll get 1,400 loads. 7 gr loads will get you 1,000 rounds per pound. I'm sure you can extrapolate from there.

savagelover · January 4, 2012, 07:33 PM

Well, there's 7,000 grains per pound. If you use a 5 gr load, you'll get 1,400 loads. 7 gr loads will get you 1,000 rounds per pound. I'm sure you can extrapolate from there.

yeah what he already said.......
__________________

Misssissippi Dave · January 4, 2012, 07:38 PM

Since your charge is by weight you will only get so many rounds per pound of powder. Start with 7000 grains per pound and you can calulate about how many rounds you will get. No componet used to reload is really cheaper then the powder in just about all cases. When I started trying to find out how much extra it was costing me to load 9 mm rounds with AA5 compared to W231 I found I would save about $0.003 by using W231. 3/10 of a cent per round isn't much compared to all the other parts. Unless you are using VV powders they really don't vary a lot.

I do agree that if you are buying on line getting larger quantities is the way to go to off-set the Hazmat charges. I spent some money recently at the LSG getting just a pound of different type of powder to see if there was something better then W231 or if I just liked loading something different. Once I use each pound or at least half of it I will review my notes to see which one I will be buying in 8 pound containers. HP-38 is the same powder as W231. Often you can get HP-38 a little cheaper. You have to be loading thousands of rounds to start seeing any savings if powder is the only place you try to cut your costs.

sigcurious · January 4, 2012, 07:41 PM

thanks, looks like I was underestimating a little bit, but good to know thanks again! I'd probably be completely lost and unwilling to try reloading without the advice I've gotten here in the past couple of months. Going to order my equipment in the next week or so, should be posting results soon after that. Well probably more questions after I get set up and load some rounds, but then results!

Brian Pfleuger · January 4, 2012, 07:44 PM

If you buy powder and primers from Powder Valley, you will likely need no more than two pounds of powder and 1000 primers to MORE THAN off-set the local prices, without even considering any local sales tax.

My local stores can not come even close to Powder Valley. I don't mind paying a slight premium for the local guy but 75-100% higher is ridiculous. When prices are near double, it doesn't take much to off-set a $25 hazmat fee.

Powder Valley's prices on bullets and cases are usually cheaper than most other places too.

Misssissippi Dave · January 4, 2012, 07:52 PM

Doing anything new is much easier to do when you can get help. You tend to make fewer mistakes that way too. I can't think of a single person that has ever reloaded ammo that didn't need some help or should have asked for it. Gathering information is the first step you should do before venturing into something new. It sure does save you from a lot of problems. Before you know it you will probably be starting to help out the next group of reloaders too. I have been surprise by the number of people wanting to get into making their own ammo but didn't do it because they didn't know where to start.

sigcurious · January 4, 2012, 08:24 PM

I was just looking at powder valley and yeah their prices pretty quickly offset the hazmat and shipping. When compared to local prices+tax. Only thing I plan to buy local are a couple of 100rd boxes of bullets to make sure my guns like the bullets before ordering some 1000rd batches.

mrawesome22 · January 4, 2012, 10:23 PM

I must be the only person on earth that can get powder and primers locally for less than online. I feel lucky

Brian Pfleuger · January 4, 2012, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrawesome22

I must be the only person on earth that can get powder and primers locally for less than online. I feel lucky

How?! Do you live next door to Powder Valley?

William T. Watts · January 4, 2012, 11:23 PM

I've never placed an order with Powder Valley before, I was wondering if they ship promptly once payment has been recieved? At the moment MidwayUSA is on my list of companies I do not want to order from because of past aggravations. I am actively looking for another source for components for my 1911 A1.. William

mrawesome22 · January 4, 2012, 11:57 PM

Buckeye outdoors. Hebron, OH

serf 'rett · January 5, 2012, 07:12 PM

Quote:

I must be the only person on earth that can get powder and primers locally for less than online. I feel lucky

Had to check that one. One example:

Buckeye Outdoors Marine (Vance Outdoors Inc.) - CCI500 SP primers @$36.99/1K

Powder Valley - CCI500 SP primers @ $24.00/1K

Ya'll must be using that new math up there in Ohio.

You getting some kind of backdoor deals for better prices than shown on Buckeye's internet site?

rbursek · January 5, 2012, 10:59 PM

Well in Appalachia, when you run out of fingers and toes you stop counting, that sad thing is, it may be an odd number!!!!

10-96 · January 6, 2012, 12:14 AM

Horsefeathers. Nobody has ever come out and said it's law that you can only count your OWN fingers and toes.

FrankenMauser · January 6, 2012, 12:47 AM

Quote:

How?! Do you live next door to Powder Valley?

Quote:

You getting some kind of backdoor deals for better prices than shown on Buckeye's internet site?

You two are assuming too much. Just because YOU can't find cheaper primers, doesn't mean WE can't.
And... not everyone wants to (or can afford to) order 4,000+ primers at one time.

Right now, CCI LR (#200) primers are running $27-28 / 1000 at three of my local shops*. In order for Powder Valley to beat that, I would have to order more than 9,000 primers, at one time. As things are right now... I can pick up 1k here; 1k there; and another 1-5k any time I feel like it.

In my opinion, and the opinion of many people I know... that qualifies as "cheaper than online". When you have to consider an economy of scale, the concept of "cheaper online" becomes compromised.

(* Patriot Arms; Compact Firearms; and a place that asked me to stop spreading their name, because their lazy "reloading guy" couldn't keep up with the orders.

)

Brian Pfleuger · January 6, 2012, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankenmauser

You two are assuming too much. Just because YOU can't find cheaper primers, doesn't mean WE can't.
And... not everyone wants to (or can afford to) order 4,000+ primers at one time.

I never said "nobody" could... but from reading the posts on this forum it's plainly obvious that MOST people pay exorbitant local prices.

It doesn't take remotely close to 4000 primers from PV for me (or most people) to beat local prices. Without including tax, it takes me about 1 pound of powder and 1000 primers to match local prices. If I buy 2,000 primers (and nothing else) I beat local prices by over $15 BEFORE tax.

Since I have to buy bullets somewhere (no one local carries what I use at ANY price), I can either add them to my PV order (for essentially free shipping) or pay ANOTHER $15 or so shipping them from somewhere else.

So, if I buy 1 pound of powder and 1000 primers, I beat local prices, not by much but a little. If I'm buying ANYTHING else, anything at all, I will save between $25-$50 on a typical order.

Plus, there are LOTS of guys who buy 8 pound jugs of powder (not me, but lots who do). This is another thing that I have simply NEVER seen (literally never) at any local store. If I buy 8, 1 pound jugs it would cost me a solid $50 more than an 8 pound jug from PV.

GTOne · January 6, 2012, 03:30 PM

Quote:

I've never placed an order with Powder Valley before, I was wondering if they ship promptly once payment has been recieved?

As fast as anyone, 4-5 business days to my door. They do not wait around and leave one wondering about the order, like some places.

lockinload · January 7, 2012, 08:46 AM

+1 for Powder Valley. BTW, how hard is it to get a friend to split an order with you for powder and primers. My locals are at least $5.00 a lb higher for powder plus local sales tax. It's a no brainer.

January 4, 2012, 07:09 PM	#1
sigcurious Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2011 Posts: 1,755	Powder usage question: 1lb=?loaded Cartridges The time for me to start reloading is near. and I've been trying to figure out the best way to get components. Local prices are pretty high on powder and primers, so I'm looking at buying some in bulk online. That being said, I plan on using W231 to load 9mm and .45acp. I understand depending on what loads and how many of each type I load the number will vary, but about how many rounds will 1lb of W231 load? From a grains to lb conversion, Im guessing ~1000 rounds per pound for 9mm and .45, but I wanted to double check with peoples real world results.

January 4, 2012, 07:44 PM	#6
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	If you buy powder and primers from Powder Valley, you will likely need no more than two pounds of powder and 1000 primers to MORE THAN off-set the local prices, without even considering any local sales tax. My local stores can not come even close to Powder Valley. I don't mind paying a slight premium for the local guy but 75-100% higher is ridiculous. When prices are near double, it doesn't take much to off-set a $25 hazmat fee. Powder Valley's prices on bullets and cases are usually cheaper than most other places too. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

January 4, 2012, 11:23 PM	#11
William T. Watts Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2010 Location: Central Arkansas Posts: 1,074	I've never placed an order with Powder Valley before, I was wondering if they ship promptly once payment has been recieved? At the moment MidwayUSA is on my list of companies I do not want to order from because of past aggravations. I am actively looking for another source for components for my 1911 A1.. William Last edited by William T. Watts; January 5, 2012 at 12:29 PM.

January 5, 2012, 10:59 PM	#14
rbursek Senior Member Join Date: March 30, 2011 Location: Milwaukkee, WI Posts: 152	Well in Appalachia, when you run out of fingers and toes you stop counting, that sad thing is, it may be an odd number!!!! Last edited by rbursek; January 5, 2012 at 11:08 PM.

January 6, 2012, 12:14 AM	#15
10-96 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2005 Location: Tx Panhandle Territory Posts: 4,160	Horsefeathers. Nobody has ever come out and said it's law that you can only count your OWN fingers and toes. __________________ Rednecks... Keeping the woods critter-free since March 2, 1836. (TX Independence Day) I suspect a thing or two... because I've seen a thing or two.

January 4, 2012, 07:25 PM	#2
Don H Senior Member Join Date: May 8, 2000 Location: SLC,Utah Posts: 2,704	Well, there's 7,000 grains per pound. If you use a 5 gr load, you'll get 1,400 loads. 7 gr loads will get you 1,000 rounds per pound. I'm sure you can extrapolate from there. __________________ Don http://www.utahconcealedcarry.com/forum/

January 4, 2012, 07:33 PM	#3
savagelover Senior Member Join Date: March 5, 2011 Location: Alpine,,NY Posts: 254	Well, there's 7,000 grains per pound. If you use a 5 gr load, you'll get 1,400 loads. 7 gr loads will get you 1,000 rounds per pound. I'm sure you can extrapolate from there. yeah what he already said....... __________________

January 4, 2012, 07:38 PM	#4
Misssissippi Dave Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2009 Posts: 1,411	Since your charge is by weight you will only get so many rounds per pound of powder. Start with 7000 grains per pound and you can calulate about how many rounds you will get. No componet used to reload is really cheaper then the powder in just about all cases. When I started trying to find out how much extra it was costing me to load 9 mm rounds with AA5 compared to W231 I found I would save about $0.003 by using W231. 3/10 of a cent per round isn't much compared to all the other parts. Unless you are using VV powders they really don't vary a lot. I do agree that if you are buying on line getting larger quantities is the way to go to off-set the Hazmat charges. I spent some money recently at the LSG getting just a pound of different type of powder to see if there was something better then W231 or if I just liked loading something different. Once I use each pound or at least half of it I will review my notes to see which one I will be buying in 8 pound containers. HP-38 is the same powder as W231. Often you can get HP-38 a little cheaper. You have to be loading thousands of rounds to start seeing any savings if powder is the only place you try to cut your costs.

January 4, 2012, 07:41 PM	#5
sigcurious Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2011 Posts: 1,755	thanks, looks like I was underestimating a little bit, but good to know thanks again! I'd probably be completely lost and unwilling to try reloading without the advice I've gotten here in the past couple of months. Going to order my equipment in the next week or so, should be posting results soon after that. Well probably more questions after I get set up and load some rounds, but then results!

January 4, 2012, 07:52 PM	#7
Misssissippi Dave Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2009 Posts: 1,411	Doing anything new is much easier to do when you can get help. You tend to make fewer mistakes that way too. I can't think of a single person that has ever reloaded ammo that didn't need some help or should have asked for it. Gathering information is the first step you should do before venturing into something new. It sure does save you from a lot of problems. Before you know it you will probably be starting to help out the next group of reloaders too. I have been surprise by the number of people wanting to get into making their own ammo but didn't do it because they didn't know where to start.

January 4, 2012, 08:24 PM	#8
sigcurious Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2011 Posts: 1,755	I was just looking at powder valley and yeah their prices pretty quickly offset the hazmat and shipping. When compared to local prices+tax. Only thing I plan to buy local are a couple of 100rd boxes of bullets to make sure my guns like the bullets before ordering some 1000rd batches.

January 4, 2012, 10:23 PM	#9
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	I must be the only person on earth that can get powder and primers locally for less than online. I feel lucky

January 4, 2012, 11:57 PM	#12
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	Buckeye outdoors. Hebron, OH

January 7, 2012, 08:46 AM	#19
lockinload Member Join Date: November 30, 2011 Posts: 91	+1 for Powder Valley. BTW, how hard is it to get a friend to split an order with you for powder and primers. My locals are at least $5.00 a lb higher for powder plus local sales tax. It's a no brainer.