9mm reloading economics in 2023.

[Duelist]

I like having the capability of loading 9mm. If availability of loaded ammunition goes down, or cost goes up, I can keep shooting, but I don’t load it regularly when cost/availability of loaded ammunition is such that it trumps the time/cost to load it myself.

Other calibers, I handload almost exclusively: hunting rifle ammunition, .38/.357. Cost savings is almost always significant to stupidly significant. Hunting rifle ammunition is a relatively low volume use, so I don’t have to spend significant time doing it while saving up to a couple of dollars for every round loaded.

[JCN]

What am I missing? I have recently purchased a few thousand 124s, and I also have a couple thousand 115s. What’s the deal with 147s and USPSA?

Bigger bullets= less powder and are “softer” shooting. If you look at the uspsa survey 124s are still very popular.

I settled on 124ish because sigs didn’t like 147s accuracy wise. If it shoots accurate in the gun, I’ve settled on, it probably doesn’t matter that much in terms of my placement in matches.

My opinion is that it’s a function of the way power factor is calculated for games.

Power factor in games = (bullet weight) X (velocity) and has to be over 125,000.

If you take 127,500 power factor as a floor

Syntech 150gr @ 850 fps

Or

Random 115gr @ 1109 fps

The difference in the muzzle energy is actually quite different.

127.5 power factor

Syntech 150gr @ 850 fps = 241 ft*lbs (which is 380ACP level power)

Random 115gr @ 1109 fps = 314 ft*lbs

That’s quite a difference in actual energy transfer, and may explain some of the difference in feel.

[Jamie]

I handload the overwhelming majority of the ammo I shoot.

That's around 5K-6K/year. Roughly 2/3 of that is 147 gr 9mm.(I personally like it's subjective recoil impulse).
The other 1/3 is .38 spl, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R, and .357 mag.
It's mind-boggling to me how expensive it would be to purchase those revolver rounds. Handloading revolver rounds is where I too really appreciate the savings.

I do shoot a few hundred factory rounds each year, but that's usually just cycling out my carry ammo every 6 months +/-.

I'm fortunate to have been handloading since the late 80's because I've learned to save money buying bulk or even group purchases of components. This is the most protracted period of difficult to find and inflated cost of components I've ever seen.

I'm bumping 70 years old, so I don't shoot high round classes anymore. But the few classes I've taken over the past couple years were focused on particular skill development (like low light) and my weekly to bi-weekly range trips have specific drills or skills in mind.

I am mostly retired so that affords me the time. And I enjoy handloading! It's my "Zen Space" or a time to listen to podcasts.

[B]IF[B]I see decent, not cheap, 9mm 124 or 147 gr dip down to the $.20/round total price point I'll probably start buying some 9mm again.

Just my ever devaluing $.02 worth adjusted for inflation...


ETA My current handloading per round cost is around $.15/round.

[Jim Watson]

Bigger bullets= less powder and are “softer” shooting. If you look at the uspsa survey 124s are still very popular.

I settled on 124ish because sigs didn’t like 147s accuracy wise. If it shoots accurate in the gun, I’ve settled on, it probably doesn’t matter that much in terms of my placement in matches.

Right, the FELT recoil is less even though the Newtonian recoil figured as a momentum balance (power factor) is the same.

BUT, I am loading these 147s largely as a novelty. The difference between 147 and 124 at the same power factor is noticeable when standing still, shooting carefully. I am not sure it will be apparent at speed for USPSA. I will find out this week or next. I have to keep 124s in production, I am supplying my protege and her G34 does not like low velocity ammo.

[GyroF-16]

I’ll pitch in…

I load 147 gr for practice and IDPA with a recoil impulse that matches Federal Syntech 150 gr. It’s plenty accurate and makes power factor, and is considerably less expensive than Syntech.

X-Treme 147 bullet: .0925
3.5 gr of HP-38: .0246
Primers: .044-.095
Brass (reuse my own): 0

Works out to: $0.16 - 0.212 per round, depending on whether I use primers from pre-COVID purchases, or current prices.
The bullets were ordered in bulk (9,500) during a Memorial Day sale last year. The powder was all purchased pre-COVID. Looks like the powder is going for $10 more a pound now, so that would add about another penny a round.

All in all, I like the soft-shooting ammo for practice and competition, and enjoy being self-sufficient during ammo shortages. To top it off, I rather enjoy the time I spend reloading. The reloaded ammo offers a slight price advantage, but I’d probably reload until it’s LESS expensive to buy equivalent ammo.

Loading 300 BLK is a whole other story- I save 50% when I reload, and get equivalent- to higher-quality ammo for my trouble.

[MickAK]

I like having the capability of loading 9mm. If availability of loaded ammunition goes down, or cost goes up, I can keep shooting, but I don’t load it regularly when cost/availability of loaded ammunition is such that it trumps the time/cost to load it myself.

This is an important factor. In shortages both my cost/rd goes up and my reserve stock goes down.

Another important factor is the amount of time I spend thinking about it during shortages. Most people are familiar with the amount of time you consider whether an app is worth $10 when you'll spend quadruple that on dinner without much of a thought. So it is with ammo.

The increased cost is a fairly small part of my yearly budget but the time spent thinking about it is a factor too. People with 9mm reloading components probably spend less time reloading than I spend thinking 'Damn, ammo is high'.

[revchuck38]

I've got about 3.5k of small pistol primers left from before Covid. I also have about 2k of loaded 9x19 left. My remaining SP primers are going to be used for .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammo. I have almost a full case of LP primers, so when I run out of SP I'll load my big bore stuff. Actually, I'm down to ~100-125 rounds of .44 Mag from when I hunted, once that's gone I'll get some 240-grain LSWCs and load them to ~950 fps from my OMSBH, so that might be the next caliber up.

ETA: Once my 9x19 gets low, I'll probably buy factory ammo unless the primer prices come down appreciably.

[psalms144.1]

I'm also ready to drop loading 9mm on my Dillon, in order to save what primers I have left for .38s. My current stash puts me at about $0.20-.22/round. For ME, saving $.03-.05/round isn't worth the time/hassle, especially since my current RL550C is the least "smooth" operating Dillon I've ever seen, making loading anything a chore. When I figure out the time it takes to load primer tubes, clean/dry brass, fiddle with dies, confirm powder charge, etc, I'm really spending more time fiddling around than actually loading.

I did a conservative estimate, and I can realistically pull off 500 rounds/hour on my machine. If I'm saving 5 CPR, that means I'm paying myself $25 an hour to do the work, which doesn't "wow" me.

[mmc45414]

I did a conservative estimate, and I can realistically pull off 500 rounds/hour on my machine. If I'm saving 5 CPR, that means I'm paying myself $25 an hour to do the work, which doesn't "wow" me.

Yeah, I have loaded a bunch of ammo on my 550, but if I was still using a 550 I would probably be buying 9mm.

The OP has a 650 sitting there, and the 650 with a case feeder and a bullet feeder is probably the value sweet spot.
But then after I bought the bullet feeder I decided WTH and got the 1100. I financed it by selling stuff that was sitting in the safe, I figured it will be something I will use until I am unable to shoot anymore.

[Molon]

Yes, unless you really enjoy the meditation of reloading.

If you spend the time dry firing it’ll take less ammo to get to the same proficiency

IMO.

No rule that says you can't dry-fire as well as hand-reload and do plenty of live-fire.

...