Reloading 9mm, is it worth it?

[TXSlade]

I reload a lot. Mostly large rifle calibers and large pistol, 338 lapua, 6.5 creed, 30-06, 454 casull, 45 colt, 45 acp, 357 mag, those are my most often reloaded rounds.



But 9mm, I have no dies, most of my brass comes from old machine gun ammo I bought years ago. Berdan primed, so its no good for reloading. I would have to start fresh to reload 9mm. I have never reloaded 9mm because I bought a lot of ammo in the early 90's that was Israeli MG stuff. I bought it for several class 3 weapons I own, and lately I am running low on that. Back then 1000 rounds was well under $100, and definitely not worth my time to reload.

Now it's 2017, 1000 rounds can be had for about $220. But components are a lot higher now as well. I don't shoot the full autos very much any more, but I have a couple 9mm handguns that I need to feed. I still kinda think its a round not worth reloading. I don't feel I will save much money, nor will I produce a better round than factory. Everything I reload, I either save money, make better than factory, and sometimes both.

I don't hunt with a 9mm, it really isn't my self protection gun, at least not the first I'd grab. I have a Wilson Combat Brigadier Tactical, and a M9A3. They are fun shooters, I tend to choose a heavier ball type ammo in them, Although they will feed anything. I don't know what I would use in them if I cast boolits for them, I don't have a cheap source of lead, so I honestly think I'm better saving my lead for my 454 and 357/38s. Although, I seem to recall a boolit that someone loved for 38 special and 9mm, maybe I should find it.

Lastly, the 9mm case is kind of small, is it a pain for any of you fellas with big hands to reload? Might be a dumb question, but I have a single stage and not a whole lot of room for my hands in there.

all opinions welcome
Thanks

[Gunslinger1911]

Depends - haha.
If you can scrounge decent brass from a range and get/ make good cast boolets, then yes, well worth it.

I get brass from the floor of the range ($0), lead range scrap (0.75/lb) to cast my own.

Something like $4-5 / 50 rds

[Scharfschuetze]

Yes, it depends...

If you plan on shooting large numbers of 9mm again, then yes. If only a box or two a year, maybe not.

I have thousands of cases from both LE work and the military shooting teams so brass has always been free for me. Lead, I've got a ton of the stuff, so it's only primers, powder and lube that I have to pay for so almost any 9mm that I load is at a savings for me. I like the RCBS 9mm moulds and have used them for years, although I may buy and NOE gang mould at some point. I shoot more 9mm rounds per year than I care to cast for, so I also buy 124 grain cast bullets sized to .358" diameter for my 9 mils.

I have no problems loading the small 9mm case in an RCBS Rock Chucker and, over the years, have loaded thousand of them that way. While it's not an issue for me to use the single stage press, I generally load all of my 9mm for the year in January on a Dillon 550B press. In a few days of off and on again work I load all the 9mm brass in the house and I'm generally good to go for the coming year.

[runfiverun]

I load the 9mm too.
10-K boolits only takes like 180 lbs of alloy.
the primer is the biggest part of the price for a finished round.

[cwheel]

Guess it depends on how much free time you have and what equipment to reload with. I generally will reload 9mm for training and practice slightly reduced rounds. These lower recoil rounds work out well for training grandkids. I have lots of scrap lead, lots of older powder and 3-4K cases I use for this, so it lowers the cost of a loaded round to between 4-5 cents a shot. Also, I'm loading these on a Dillon 550B, so they load quickly. Longest part of the loading cycle is casting the bullets, and I'm casting a Lyman 358242 120gr. Don't think I'd reload these without the Dillon 550 to speed it up when you can still go into Walmart and buy a box for $10 or so. It's a good way to pass the time when the snow shuts down the outside stuff. They sure can be reloaded on any press and 9mm die set and still turn out fine. Comes down to what your time is worth to you. I happen to have most of this stuff anyway, just another way to use it loading 9mm. It would take loading 50,000 rounds loaded to justify buying the reloading equipment that I already have, 9mm alone wouldn't be enough. If you also wanted to run your 38/357's and 45acp rounds through a 550B you are getting closer to justify buying a progressive reloading press. ( depending on your annual round count )
Chris

[daloper]

I also load 9mm. I use a Lee auto index loader so I only put one on and then take it off. For me the quiet time I get reloading and casting is as important as the cost savings. When my brother comes over we will feed 500 to 1000 rounds so factory loads are not an option.

[OptimusPanda]

My last batch of jacketed 9mm cost $6.50 a box of 50. When I use cast bullets it comes out to $3.70 or so. Even buying jacketed bullets is a third savings on the cheapest factory ammo.

[popper]

I cast & reload for 9mm because I can. Probably not worth it, very much like shotgun reloading. Box stuff is just (still) too cheap.

[gnostic]

When you begin buying, high end 9mm ammo, loading your own becomes worthwhile.

[SdRemmy]

With a single stage press 9mm might not be worth the time. With the progressive, casting the bullets, buying primers, powder, and brass in bulk and maybe on sale it is. You can get 1000 9mm brass for around $20 if you look around on here. I loaded 45 acp all day once on a single stage and ended up with 700 rounds. If I load all day on the progressive I have considerably more than that. I have bigger hands and don't have any problem reloading 9mm

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Class 3, as in full auto? I don't have any experience with cast in a machine gun, but it might require a little more work to get a suitable load. Maybe powder coat? I'd never bother loading jacketed, just not worth it. The price of factory 9mm has dropped 10-15% since the election.

[mdi]

If your only reason to reload is money, then no it ain't worth it. But I enjoy reloading and I have no idea what my reloads cost, and actually, I don't care....

[dh2]

I have had thoughts of stopping reloading 9mm, and .223 Rem because of not having the time I will always have to reload to feed bigger guns and wild cats. like 9.3x 62mm Mauser, .375 H&H Mag. .460 S&W and 45-70 and many more. but the way it is I have very little time to go shoot or work on guns, so to me the easy way to make up for some time is not reload for the cheap stuff

[quilbilly]

My 9mm reloads with 130 gr RFPB cost about 7 cents each on the high side.

[Phlier]

A local guy sells 9mm ammo at our range for 10 cents/round. The cheapest I ever see it at Sportsmen's, Scheels, etc is 12 cents/round. My cast loads cost 6 cents each. So for my family's large appetite for 9mm, yeah it makes sense. We'd never be able to shoot as much as we do without casting our own and reloading.

[DanishM1Garand]

I buy brass from the indoor range up the road at 29 bucks a thousand. I cast boolits from scrap lead. It still isn't that much more expensive to buy if you have nothing to load it with now.

If you plan to shoot a thousand rounds this year you need to get set up to reload. If you plan to shoot a hundred rounds? Go buy loaded ammo.

[Geezer in NH]

My 9mm comes out to less than $.05 each. I reload to shoot more.

[Mtnfolk75]

I buy 9mm in bulk for around $220 or less, also. The only handgun round I still load is .38 Special & occasionally .357 Magnum. The availability & cost along with the tapered case makes it easier to buy 9mm than reload, IMHO.

[mozeppa]

now i feel bad......i reload 7,200 25 acp's and 10 k .380's.....i hope to aspire to 9mm someday!

heck yeah it's worth it!...just for alone time!

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

it depends how much you pay yourself.

I run either my own cast Lee 120gr truncated cone bullets from a 6 cavity mold and powder coat them with harbor freight red or if I am running short on time to cast I buy Acme bullet company cast 124gr hitech coated 500 for 35 dollars or just about 8 cents a piece by the time you add states sales tax , my local dealer carries these. I load them over 1.53 cents of Aliant power pistol and Selior and Bellot primer at 2.2 cents for a total of 11.73 cents a piece

I think it is worth it I get a load tailored to what I want at half the price of anything on the shelf

do I sometimes wish I had a faster press , yes

I load on a Lee classic cast turret I run lee carbide dies , deprime/size , then powder that adds a flair , then bullet seating and follow up with a taper crimp