Giving up on bulk 9mm

Is it worth loading bulk 9mm ammo

  • Yes, worthwhile

    Votes: 8 22.9%

  • No, not worth the effort

    Votes: 16 45.7%

  • No (cost), but do it anyway

    Votes: 11 31.4%
  • Total voters
    35
  • Poll closed .
Sasquatch

Sasquatch

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Prices have kept going down on 9mm to the point that it's not possible to justify making bulk ammo. 115 grain has always been cheap, but I don't shoot it much. Usually for competitions I use 147, but for my PCC I use 124 grain. I've had good luck with RMR bullets, but they only have really cheap sales a couple times a year when I stock up.

Brass .02
Primer .03
Powder .03
124 FMJ .082 (in quantity of 1000)

Ok, adding that up, it's just over 16c a round, provided that my labor is nothing. Yes, I could pick up free brass, but that's more labor.

Academy is selling new Browning 124 grain, everyday price for 16.8c a round . So unless I really value my time in a negative sense, it's stupid to continue loading bulk ammo.

I'll still tune 9mm 147 for competition, and I'm enjoying the heck out of rifle loading, but can't see wasting my time on the bulk.

(and yes, I will keep supplies on-hand if another shortage happens)
 
I load cast or coated 147 around 13 cents per round.....9mm brass is free and plenty. The cheapest I remember seeimg 147 grain recently was about 24 cents per round.

However if I primarily used 115 grain......i would probably just buy it.
 
For me yes, but probably for reasons different from most. I'm not a competitive shooter just shooting for fun, mostly feeding full auto subguns. I can't justify buying ammo in the quantities I need without feeling guilty.

I have collected buckets of brass and most of my primers were purchased with CC points which leaves powder. Max cost here is some Vihtavuori running about $17.50 per thousand with 147 subs. I cast & coat lead projectiles (lead is free) so add in some propane and electricity then round up to $20/K and I'm blasting 9mm & 45 ACP cheaper than 22LR.
 
I have been buying more factory ammo. I shoot 124gr most of the time but will plink with 115. When I reload I reload 124gr I can get quality 124 or 115 these days for between .$16-.$.18 a round.

I reload with HP-38, S&B primers or Win primers with RMR FMJ. It costs me $.10-.12 to load depending 0n the primer.

So at this point I have chosen to keep my stock of primers, powders etc... and use factory until the market changes. To me it is a better use of current resources. It saves me time which for me it worth the small change in cost.
 
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I can certainly understand the cost/benefit for buying bulk 9mm right now. But, for me, it comes to about $0.11 per round to reload it. That is running RMR 115gn plated, or RMR 115gn FMJ, when they are on sale (generally just shy of 7 cents each). I know I could get into casting, but that is more labor and is another rabbit-hole I don't want to go down. One of the main reasons I prefer to load my own is so I get exactly what I want, and that is hard to put a price on it. I also don't look at reloading strictly as a means to save money (I gave up on that idea a long time ago) but more as a hobby that I enjoy.

I was at the Academy store in Apex on Sunday, and they have a small reloading section there. There was a young man looking at the reloading items, and he started asking me questions as soon as he realized I knew something about reloading. He mentioned that he mostly shot 9mm and, from what I gathered, he doesn't shoot that much. I convinced him that with the current prices of ammo, he would not really be justified in buying reloading equipment.
 
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I need something to do beside watch TV. So for a week twice a year I load instead of watch. I enjoy doing it. If it was about money alone I would just click [buy] and go back to my shows.
 
Catfish said:
I need something to do beside watch TV. So for a week twice a year I load instead of watch. I enjoy doing it. If it was about money alone I would just click [buy] and go back to my shows.
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You make a good point about the enjoyment of reloading. When I got into it I was partially looking for something else Gun related I could do since I couldn’t get to the range as much as I wanted. I had more time and the cost savings was just a bonus. As my time had gotten more and more limited the “labor” cost has gone up so I haven’t reloaded in quite a while. It became worth it to me to pay a few extra bucks to buy it instead.


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B00ger said:
You make a good point about the enjoyment of reloading. When I got into it I was partially looking for something else Gun related I could do since I couldn’t get to the range as much as I wanted. I had more time and the cost savings was just a bonus. As my time had gotten more and more limited the “labor” cost has gone up so I haven’t reloaded in quite a while. It became worth it to me to pay a few extra bucks to buy it instead.
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right there with you broham. I haven't pulled the handle in 11 months, and since we are packing to move, not really looking good for the near future either. I will say this: I will never NOT reload my own ammo, just having a hiatus right now due to life.

And seriously LOW ammo prices ;)

The Academy 124gr everyday price deal is almost too good to be true. I've been shooting a metric farquad of rimfire as well. But I really really really wanna load develop for my .30-06, as in reduced loads. I blew a shoulder off a deer last week and just like 30 rounds in the magazine, I realized I don't need 2800 FPE to KILL A DEEYAH lol. I'm thinking 125gr at around 2500fps will give em all they can handle out to 200yds.
 
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B00ger said:
You make a good point about the enjoyment of reloading. When I got into it I was partially looking for something else Gun related I could do since I couldn’t get to the range as much as I wanted. I had more time and the cost savings was just a bonus. As my time had gotten more and more limited the “labor” cost has gone up so I haven’t reloaded in quite a while. It became worth it to me to pay a few extra bucks to buy it instead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I also like the flexibility to do both. The winds can change quickly theses days and having the ability to pivot from factory back to reloading gives me piece of mind that I will still be able to shoot if there is a run on ammo. If components dry up I still have a decent par of factory to keep me going. For me it does not have to be exclusive.
 
wvsig said:
I also like the flexibility to do both. The winds can change quickly theses days and having the ability to pivot from factory back to reloading gives me piece of mind that I will still be able to shoot if there is a run on ammo. If components dry up I still have a decent par of factory to keep me going. For me it does not have to be exclusive.
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True, and in many ways that was why I got into reloading in the first place. Components are relatively easy to store, last a long time, and are a good hedge against drought.
 
Hey Sas, I agree that loading bulk practice ammo for cost doesn't make sense. Your math is right. As my best friend explained to me when I first got into reloading, you don't do it for cheaper ammo but for more consistent, match grade ammo.

Then once I got into doing it, I realized (like @Catfish) that I really enjoy the process of reloading. It's a calming and therapeutic activity in the sense that I just focus on the task at hand and can block everything else out -- and I enjoy the fact that I have something good to show for my time/effort.

So, what do I do? I buy the heck out of 115gr 9mm bulk ammo when it's on sale and put the store bought rounds into storage or use it if I need some for a last minute, ad hoc range trip. Otherwise, I continue to load match grade 9mm on my non-progressive turret press when I don't have rifle dies and powder set up for loading.
 
wvsig said:
So at this point I have chosen to keep my stock of primers, powders etc... and use factory until the market changes. To me it is a better use of current resources. It saves me time which for me it worth the small change in cost.
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My thought too.
 
Agreed, with current ammo prices you don’t load for the savings. I’m loading 147gr 9mm for 10c so even the cost still makes sense to me but for the past 9mo+, I’ve just been primarily stockpiling components when deals arise. I’ll begin loading again when prices go up.
 
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Brass I got buckets of, the rest is always bought on sale. Best powder I've found for me is Shooter's World Cleanshot at $18 a pound. I load maybe 50 or 100 rounds on a weekend day just for relaxation, no speed records involved. That's for 9 & 45. 308 I load for accuracy. Mostly I find the methodical rhythm of lever pulling and occasional weighing to be soothing
 
Jerzsubbie said:
Agreed, with current ammo prices you don’t load for the savings. I’m losing 147gr 9mm for 10c so even the cost still makes sense to me but for the past 9mo+, I’ve just been stockpiling components when deals arise. I’ll begin loading again when prices go up.
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This is the best approach for factory ammo and for components. I always am on the lookout for sales on primers and powder. I can consistently get RMR bullets at a 5-7% discount. I have had good results from their 9mm & 45 ACP.
 
I bought a case of Win SPP early this year, I think I paid $137 shipped with a code from Brownells. Still haven't cracked the seal on a box. Now I need to do the same with SRP
 
Ikarus1 said:
I bought a case of Win SPP early this year, I think I paid $137 shipped with a code from Brownells. Still haven't cracked the seal on a box. Now I need to do the same with SRP
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I still have S&B primers that I picked up from Cabelas for $18 a thousand.
 
Curmudgeon said:
Brass I got buckets of, the rest is always bought on sale. Best powder I've found for me is Shooter's World Cleanshot at $18 a pound. I load maybe 50 or 100 rounds on a weekend day just for relaxation, no speed records involved. That's for 9 & 45. 308 I load for accuracy. Mostly I find the methodical rhythm of lever pulling and occasional weighing to be soothing
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That pretty much describes me.

Regardless of what goes on with ammo prices, I would stock up on reloading supplies. I was just getting into reloading when the last 'big scare' happened. I remember the ammo disappearing from the shelves, and reloading supplies soon followed. Small pistol primers seemed to be the first thing to go, then pistol powders. Now is the time to buy. I think I have enough supplies to last me through 8 years of a liberal administration. Maybe not enough, I think it would take more time to recover from that!
 
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