Surprising 9mm Reloading Cost Calculations

[Mitch]

Sorry, I didn't look at your break down - but saw 650 vs 1050 "AND" Mark 7

No doubt 1050 > 650 any day . . . Volume is king . . . Plus it's your health we are talking about

Is it over 2x better though? Sincere question, I'm thinking about a 650 but I don't want to be back in the market in 3 years.


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[Malamute]

. . Plus it's your health we are talking about

I was wanting to try loading a bit, see if I could do it with the shoulder and back still messed up. Was just going to use the single stage press for low volume tinkering around. It then occurred to me that with the 550, Id be doing 1/3 or 1/4 of the handle strokes for each round made. Same basic argument can be made for any of the higher volume machines I guess, less work for the end result.

[SPDGG]

Is it over 2x better though? Sincere question, I'm thinking about a 650 but I don't want to be back in the market in 3 years.

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If you can swing it & the cost to do caliber swaps . . . I'd say 1050 all day, every day.
If I tone down the calibers I load for - I'll sell off what I have and swap up to 1050s

[LittleLebowski]

Is it over 2x better though? Sincere question, I'm thinking about a 650 but I don't want to be back in the market in 3 years.

It depends. Are you planning to reload mil crimped 5.56? The 1050 caliber conversions are very expensive, most people leave their 1050 in one caliber.

[Mitch]

It depends. Are you planning to reload mil crimped 5.56? The 1050 caliber conversions are very expensive, most people leave their 1050 in one caliber.

At this point I only reload 9mm. I don't see that changing anytime soon, but if I added any other caliber it would probably be 308 or 300 win mag, and would be done on a separate press.


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[LittleLebowski]

At this point I only reload 9mm. I don't see that changing anytime soon, but if I added any other caliber it would probably be 308 or 300 win mag, and would be done on a separate press.

You'd probably be a good candidate for a 1050 considering that you already have a 550, right? Another consideration is if you shoot enough to use that 1050 and/or possibly have shoulder/elbow issues that would justify the lesser exertion form the 1050 over the others. Another thought is to sell off the 550 and get a 650 with appropriate caliber changes plus maybe a billet/precision toolhead for loading precision rifle or a single stage for precision.

Brian Enos no longer sells Dillon but Krakenpop took over his business. You should check out the package deals there.

[JCS]

I ordered some coated bullets from http://hsbullets.com today. They have free shipping on all orders and give a 5% discount to first responders.

I found out about them on another forum and ordered purely based on price. At $66 shipped for 1000 125 grn bullets I had to try. This will lower my cost per round by about a penny.

I ordered a couple hours ago and it's already shipped. Talk about quick turn around!

[Mitch]

You'd probably be a good candidate for a 1050 considering that you already have a 550, right? Another consideration is if you shoot enough to use that 1050 and/or possibly have shoulder/elbow issues that would justify the lesser exertion form the 1050 over the others. Another thought is to sell off the 550 and get a 650 with appropriate caliber changes plus maybe a billet/precision toolhead for loading precision rifle or a single stage for precision.

Brian Enos no longer sells Dillon but Krakenpop took over his business. You should check out the package deals there.

Thanks for the link, those are good prices.

That's mostly what I'm stuck between. I want a 1050 but $1700 is a bitter pill. I'm not sure if the 650 is enough better/faster to justify the expense of an upgrade from the 550.


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[SPDGG]

Thanks for the link, those are good prices.

That's mostly what I'm stuck between. I want a 1050 but $1700 is a bitter pill. I'm not sure if the 650 is enough better/faster to justify the expense of an upgrade from the 550.

Well, you have to factor in the case feeder for the 650 vs. the 1050 w/ included case feeder. I know it's still more but trying to nudge you towards the 1050
- If I had the choice again, I would have waited off & set up a 1050. Love the 650 but adding a Mark 7 later makes more sense for a 1050 then 650, IMHO.

[cooterbaldwin]

I love this place! Tons of great information in this thread.

I'm considering getting setup to reload for the first time. For the foreseeable future I'd be reloading 9mm only. Many a time I've read the "start on a single stage" advice. If I go single stage I'd likely go with a Forster Co-ax. The co-ax has quick and easy die changes, should last a lifetime and would be perfect for loading bolt gun ammo (mainly 223). I've also read that the 550 makes a good first press because you can operate it as a single stage. I've even read some posts or blog entries stating that starting off on a 650 is doable so long as you take your time and pay attention.

Regardless of press I'm planning on using pick-up brass. I've already been collecting my once-fired factory brass in anticipation of reloading someday. For brass prep the plan was de-priming and then wet tumble (although some of the brass sources listed in this thread have me rethinking that approach).

As I said, for now I'd be reloading 9mm only and shooting around 1k rounds per month. Any comments or recommendations?