Reloading 9mm . . . does anyone?

[Prof Young]

I have a Hi-pointe 9mm compact that I bought just for the fun of havning a semi-auto handgun. I hunt with every other gun I own. I've been reloading my own 44 mags to save money. I've already bought the dies and supplies I'll need to reload a couple hundred 9mm, but after looking at some sale prices of factory 9mm ammo, I'm not so sure I'll be saving much $$$. There is, of course, just the fun of reloading. Comments?
Live well, be safe.
Prof Young

[keebo52]

Yep, some 9mm ammo is pretty cheap. I can get 50 rounds for under $9 at Wally World. But I save $$ by casting my own 9mm bullets from wheel weights that I get free from the local tire store. Makes them really cheap to load.

[zxd9]

I reload 50 rounds for $5.64. I can't find them anywhere for that price. Plus I enjoy making them.

[Jim Watson]

I don't reload for fun, and I don't reload 9mm for economy. I reload 9mm because I can tailor MY ammo to MY gun and MY game. (IDPA ESP; 9mm 147 at 880 fps. Much softer to shoot than 115 gr econo-ball; very much like a .38 Special except in an automatic.)

[CrustyFN]

I'm with Jim here. I shoot IDPA and go through a lot of 9mm. I can load with plated bullets for $3.50 per 50 rounds. I am just getting into lead and can load them for even less.
Rusty

Edit: I do enjoy reloading still.

[armoredman]

I don't count what it costs to load 9mm. I enjoy doing it, as a fun, relaxing, and productive hobby. I know I spend less on ammo than if I bought the generic WalMart stuff, but I also can fit the ammo to my particular sidearm. I also just started casting, and picked up a 9mm 124gr mold. We'll see how well that works.

[Tuzo]

I reload premium 115 grain JHP with HS-6 for $0.09 per round. Retail cost for a similar round is $0.24 (Midway catalog). Of course, a lot of 9mm ammunition can be bought for about 9 cents per round but the accuracy and quality may be questionable.

My S&W 5904 stovepiped and sent bullets to an unpredictable impact point with cheap factory ammo. Even my reloads stovepiped occasionaly (but accuracy was very good) until I developed the current reliable combination of powder and bullet. The Smith is my wife's pistol and she is quite accurate firing reloads at targets 50 feet away from the muzzle.

[nobody_special]

I load 9mm with Rainier 115gr. plated bullets, 5.5 gr. of Ramshot Silhouette, and Wolf primers... I think it works out to around $0.10 per round. It doesn't save much over WWB at WalMart, but I'm just learning how to reload and I will work my way up to .308 and possibly other calibers.

[kellyj00]

I reload using bullets that are about $34 per 1000.

My total cost per round, about 6 cents. I get all my other components from powder valley....cheapest place I've found yet.

I started reloading for the sport of it, then I stuck around for the feasibility of it. If I weren't reloading, I wouldn't be shooting with today's prices.

[swmike]

Reload 9mm? Absolutely! Over 3,000 rounds last month. The days of cheap 9mm are either over or comming to an end. Good 9mm ammo is selling for $170+ per thousand now and more for "Premium".

Wal-Mart may have WWB for less than $10 now but it is a good bet that it will be gone shortly as manufacturers have raised prices as of Sept 1. Prices are probably limited to warehouse stock and will go up as new arrives.

Savings depend on the type of ammo you want to shoot. If you want cheap "blasting" ammo you will probably save a few cents per round. If you want a good, accurate, and reasonably powerful round you will save far more. A round with 115 gr FMJ, traveling @ 1300 fps or so will cost a reloader in the area of $0.06-$0.08 each. The same "Factory Rounds" will cost a minimum of $0.17 and up.

[Sevens]

I've seen a number of people say that it's not saving much, or not saving a whole lot, but they do it anyway.

You guys are calculating anywhere from 6 cents to 10 cents per handloaded round of 9mm. That's $3 to $5 per box of 50 rounds.

The cheapest 9mm I can find anywhere near me is CCI Blazer Brass (the reloadable stuff) for $7.67 per box of 50 at Wal-Mart. You might be able to find it cheaper in a 500 rd or 1000 rd bulk purchase somewhere.

So how is it that you don't figure it's much of a savings? It's still a huge savings! Maybe it's not as big a savings as you'll see over loading .500 S&W Magnum or some obscure imported rifle round, but this is still quite a savings.

[Peter M. Eick]

Sure why not? I have the dies, brass is everywhere so I can sweep it up. Bullets are cheap, powder is cheap and I enjoy the time in front of the press.

I just got 2000 Rem 115 JHP's in tonight for a reloading session.

[jsflagstad]

I load accurate 9mm rounds for 3.5 cents per round. Mold my own bullets, and I use top shelf Vithavouri powder. These are excellent shooting rounds.

JSF

[Prof Young]

TUZO - Stovepiped? I'm still fairly new to the guns and ammo world. What does it mean when a weapon stovepipes?
Prof Young
Live well, be safe.

[Sevens]

"Stovepipe" is a term used to describe a particular mis-feed or malfunction in a semiautomatic pistol. When the spent cartridge case gets jammed in the slide after ejecting from the pistol, typically pointing straight up in the air, keeping the pistol from going in to full battery for the next round.

Usually points to ammo that doesn't have quite enough energy to properly cycle the slide.

[Prof Young]

Steve:
Thanks. I understand. I've had that happen, but not often, and not in my 9mm hi-pointe.
Thanks again.
Prof Young
Live well, be safe.