9mm luger. cheap reloads?

[slickest]

I am thinking about reloading for my glock 23. I have the 9mm conversion barrel that is fully supported.

My goal isn't to make a better round for the same cost as what I can buy bulk. I am looking to reload cheaper than the price I can purchase the manufactured cartridge for. I like to shoot and lately it has been a 10000 rounds a month and the price is starting to add up. Right now I can purchase a 1000 rounds and have it shipped to my house for about 20.1 cents a round.

So is it possible to reload a descent plinking round cheaper than this? Im assuming it would have to be with cast bullets and I am not sure about what type of powder and primers I should be looking at.

So what do you suggest on a brand of cast bullets, powder, and primers? I have plenty of brass as of right now so that purchase isnt a issue.

Any info or suggested load to look at is appreciated. thanks

[keith44]

I don't load 9mm, but with salvaged brass and cast (hard cast) (linotype) round nose bullets, and bulk powder purchases (8#), and primer purchases (both bought locally) You should be able to reduce the costs, assuming you do not look at the time involved.


Should you have to pay the hazmat fees on powder and primers, however, I doubt you could realize much savings

[hornady]

Everything is a trade off. Yes cast bullets are the cheapest way to go however they can be problematic. I shoot nothing butcast in my handguns. But you do need to read some of the problems others have had with cast bullets. If just starting out reloading and it sounds like you want to shoot high volumes of ammo I would start out with a plated bullet, they are a little more money than cast but much cheaper than jacketed.
There are many choices for cheap primers, most are foreign manufacturers, I tend to shoot CCI there are cheaper primers but I have always had good luck with CCI and they are much cheaper than Win, or Rem.
As to powder I would start out with HP-38, this is almost the same powder as Win-231 but runs about $1.00 a pound cheaper. But then like all things on forums others will have other opinions.
Powder and primers are best bought locally and prices can vary greatly depending on your area.   

[Savage]

As mentioned, cast bullets can be more trouble than some want to deal with. Lot's more cleanup involved. I shoot cast in 9mm/.40/.45. My cast 9mm bullets come from Missouri Bullets @ about $70 per 1000 (147gn) and about $14 shipping. If you buy 3k they all ship for the $14. Saves a bit on shipping there. Primers are currently going for about $30 per k. I use Bullseye powder @ about $16 # when purchased in 8# kegs. My IDPA load is less than 4 gns so a pound of powder loads about 1750 rds < $.01 per shot. Added up, that's roughly $.12 each. Pretty substantial savings over factory.
Savage

[slickest]

thanks for the info. I think im going to purchase some bullseye to start out with. I havent decided on what bullets yet. I was looking at some plated bullets but they Lyman book I have doesnt have info for 124 grain hp bullets. Any suggestions on a book, site, or magazine to look at for some info for that grain and type of bullet? Also I am having a little trouble finding CCI or winchester pistol primers in bulk. any idea on where to look?

[LaOtto222]

Lets see $.201 each X 10000 shots a month = $2010.00/Month  [/size]Yikes! I would have been reloading a long time ago. Buy a Dillon and start picking up your brass. I am not sure when you are going to have time to do any reloading, shooting 10000 rounds takes some time. I am not sure if you are going to have time to do any reloading. Most people will not shoot that much in a year, let alone a month. If I am shooting heavy, I shoot some where around 3000 rounds in a year, but 10000 is a lot. Did I mention that you shoot a lot? I guess if you are going to shoot a lot of center fire handgun, the 9mm is about as cheap as it gets. The plated bullets are about as cheap as it gets. I would buy cheap primers too, maybe Wolf primers...got to save where you can. So what if one out of 1000 is bad?

Good Luck...Really, you already Shoot Good!
[/size]

[slickest]

Lets see $.201 each X 10000 shots a month = $2010.00/Month  Yikes! I would have been reloading a long time ago. Buy a Dillon and start picking up your brass. I am not sure when you are going to have time to do any reloading, shooting 10000 rounds takes some time. I am not sure if you are going to have time to do any reloading. Most people will not shoot that much in a year, let alone a month. If I am shooting heavy, I shoot some where around 3000 rounds in a year, but 10000 is a lot. Did I mention that you shoot a lot? I guess if you are going to shoot a lot of center fire handgun, the 9mm is about as cheap as it gets. The plated bullets are about as cheap as it gets. I would buy cheap primers too, maybe Wolf primers...got to save where you can. So what if one out of 1000 is bad?

Good Luck...Really, you already Shoot Good!

sorry. I didn't realize it said 10000. I meant 1000

[Savage]

Berry's says to use the cast loading data with their plated bullets.
Savage

[hornady]

The two links below are for Berry and precision, the precision’s are a hard molly coated bullet. Both have free shipping, the precision’s are a little cheaper than the Barry. I have shot both and for the money not a bad deal. There are several places you can buy primers on-line, just remember there will be an added Hazmat fee of $25.00. Powder valley being one
http://www.precisionbullets.com/products.html
 http://www.berrysmfg.com/products.aspx?c=2
 

[slickest]

The two links below are for Berry and precision, the precision’s are a hard molly coated bullet. Both have free shipping, the precision’s are a little cheaper than the Barry. I have shot both and for the money not a bad deal. There are several places you can buy primers on-line, just remember there will be an added Hazmat fee of $25.00. Powder valley being one
http://www.precisionbullets.com/products.html
 http://www.berrysmfg.com/products.aspx?c=2

so unless I am making a big order from one place I am more than likely better off buying my powder and primers locally because of the hazmat fee? Will I be charged a seperate hazmat fee for each item?  Like if purchased two 1000 round lots of primers and two different types of powders would that mean four hazmat charges if all purchased at the same time or would it only be one hazmat charge?

[Mikey]

Slickest:  you're up to about $200/month for your bulk ammo.  1,000 good slugs that will slide down your bore with fair accuracy and minimal leading will probably cost around $75; primers around 30 or so, then there is the powder but don't forget  your time and the value on that.  I would opine that unless you are all set up currently to roll your own with a progressive press and all of that you come pretty close to breaking even. 
I reload, and the 9mm is included, but I don't shoot 1000 rounds of any one caliber per month.  If I was going to get that serious I would still buy bulk for general practice and shooting, but handload for the field and 'personal preference'......., and save myself some more time for shooting....and cleaning up afterward, of course........

[LaOtto222]

It depends on who you buy your supplies from. Some places will throw your whole order on to one Hazmat fee. Some put primers separate from powder orders. Powder Valley and Mid South are two places that will combine your order with one Hazmat fee. I buy in bulk to save money. By doing so, even with Hazmat fees, I can save a bunch of money. For instance, my local supplier charges $4.00/100 on primers. They charged $5.00 during the shortage, so I decided that I would not buy another primer from them, no matter how cheap they got. I can buy on line for less than $3.00/100. Powder cost $30/pound, on line $20/pound. You can pay for Hazmat fees in short order. 3 pounds of powder you are even, after that you start going into the black.

 Good Luck and Good Shooting

 

[hornady]

If you do not have a local source for powder and primers at a good price and not already set up for reloading. Its pretty hard to justify reloading as a savings for just one round, especially the 9MM. Like many of the reloaders on here I reload multiple rounds, and I cast several pistol and rifle bullets. The real savings in reloading today is with casting your own bullets. I could not shoot as much as I do if not for casting and reloading. I reload for a total of 14 different rounds. But I look at it as something I enjoy doing and not a choir, but then I am retired. So my time at the reloading bench, is not time needed for other things. I started out with one caliber, the 38/357, but that was back in 1970 and reloading was much more cost effective back then. There is no truer statement than. Reloading is not cheaper than buying ammo. You just shoot more.
Ordering on-line the companies I have used they will put up to 50 pounds of powder and primers on one Hazmat fee. The on-line orders I have made, I have two other reloaders and we split a large order. A couple thousand primers and a couple pounds of powder would be pretty hard to make up the extra $25.00 Hazmat.