Is it worth it to reload 9mm? Can I do this in my apartment safely? If the awnser to those questions is yes, then what is the most ecinomical way to get started. I have collected quite a bit of brass over the years.
gonna take me a minute to get all of it together.
but you can reload 9mm for about 5-10 cents a pop depending on how you buy your components. brass is free meaning one component is out of the picture.
powder = 2-3 cents per round
primer = 3 cents
bullet = 2-3 cents if lead (6-9 cents for me if jacketed)
time = whatever your time is worth to you.
your basic lee turret press is great to get learning on. with packages starting at 200 bucks on ebay, it is really easy to get into reload cheaply. dies will run you 40 bucks +/- for the lee 4 piece set including factory crimp. (which you want). a reloading block is nice, but old factory bullet holders work.
Press kit = 215
dies.......= 40
powder...= 20 bucks per pound
bullets....= 80 bucks per thousand for jacketed
primers...= 30 dollars per thousand
brass.....= Free! (free is GREAT)
Total......= ~385 dollars will get you in the game and well on your way to having the guarantee of knowing the quality of ammunition you are shooting is above what WWB offers while still costing a mere 11-13 cents per round with the figures above.
any other questions? just ask. someone is always happy to help around here. have a good night.
If you're like me you have a trash can full of 9mm brass that you never seem to get around to reloading. I mean, why? 9mm is probably the cheapest center fire pistol round in common use today. Frankly, I have better things to do with my time than reload a caliber that has such a slim margin of money savings. But for some reason I still pick up those little cases. I mean, I'm already bent over and they get stuck on my 45 acp cases, so heck I might as well fill up my hat, and then range bag with the 9mm that the guy next to me shot and left. I mean if you saw a penny or a nickel on the ground you'd probably just leave it, but if you found a pile of pennies and nickels on the ground, well you get the point. So here I am with this pile of stupid little brass cases nagging at me every time I pass them while doing laundry. Ok, screw it, let's do something with this junk. So I dust off the green machine and start the process of decapping and resizing. After about two hours and barely a dent in the pile I've learned a few things. First, if you feel little to no resistance when you run it through the die, check the head stamp because it's probably .380. Second, if it's a little hard to size, it's probably got a crimp on the primer, just toss those cases. Yes, really toss them, it's not worth it to try and swage the crimp out. Third, if it's feels like the it's bottomed out, it's berdan primed, toss these cases too. Finally, if the brass has any defects like splits, kinks, dents, scratches, corrosion, or just gives you an "iffy" vibe, toss it. Look at it this way, it's 9mm brass, it's like Doritos, they'll make more. Don't stress yourself and waste time on junk or "iffy" cases. If you got the stuff for free anyway it's not like you're really out anything. So, as I continue to trudge through the laborious process of reloading this round out of sheer spite, I have decided that I'm going to load 1000 rounds of the cheapest blasting ammunition that I can and find a friend with a machine gun.
i have friends who cast their own. their costs are minimal. honestly its kinda crazy. and about that one guy who shoots his lead into the hill to dig it back out again, (these are those guys).do you cast your own bullets? is that how you came up with 5 cents per round?
I actually just posted this on Facebook:
While you do save by reloading those little cases, you save A TON more when you reload 45 or something like that. If its what you shoot then absolutely go for it, just don't expect your investment to pay for itself any time soon. But then money isn't the only motivation to reload either.
I shoot 38 special, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP as well, just not nearly as much. Muy real thought was this would give me a project to keep me motivated in the winter time. I shoot more 9 mm than anything else, was just thinking that might be a place to start.
Still not sure about reloading in an apartment though?
i have friends who cast their own. their costs are minimal. honestly its kinda crazy. and about that one guy who shoots his lead into the hill to dig it back out again, (these are those guys).
i prefer jacketed / plated ammunition myself.
I actually just posted this on Facebook:
While you do save by reloading those little cases, you save A TON more when you reload 45 or something like that. If its what you shoot then absolutely go for it, just don't expect your investment to pay for itself any time soon. But then money isn't the only motivation to reload either.