Ammunition & Hand Loading > Cartridge and Shotshell reloading

Research on Reloading 9mm

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OnTheFly:
I am considering reloading 9mm for target shooting.  Just some generic 115gr round nose jacketed (or maybe plated) bullets to start.

Could you tell me the best deal you have found on cases, bullets, primers and powder in the following format for each?

Retailer:
Brand:
Quantity:
Price (Including shipping):

Thank you,
Fly

SemperFiGuy:
FLY

You might try www.berrysbullets.com.

In 9mm 115gr they have three different offerings.   Here's one:
#19355 - Box of 250   $25.30

They offer even better prices for quantities of 1000.   Shipping is free (and pretty fast) if order is over $50.00.   They are in St. George, UT.   My order last Friday (late night) arrived mid-day on Wednesday, this week.

Bullets are plated, not jacketed.   Can't go over, say---1200 fps, but you aren't going to do so anyhow on light load target ammo.

I've loaded 3-4 thousand, including the hollow base variety.   They work very well for me.   Other people at the range speak well of their experience with them.

Berrysbullets are excellent quality, especially considering the price.   Their #43234 124gr .356 FP bullets work consistently and accurately in my .357Sig reloads at about 1200 FPS.

Good luck on your search.   My apologies for format rearrangement.


sfg     

OnTheFly:
Thanks for the reply SemperFiGuy.  I did find Berry's Bullets online and had incorporated their 1,000 bullet pricing in my calculations.

The reason I am asking for this information, is that I am trying to figure out just how much money I can save by reloading myself.  I downloaded a spreadsheet where you plug in all the information and it produces a price (per round, 100, etc.).  It even considers how many times you plan to reload the brass in its calculations.  However, what I am finding is that I am only saving at the most about $8.00 per 100 rounds and at the least about $3 per 100 rounds.  If I step up my shooting and reload 3,000 rounds, that means I save $90 on the low end and $240 on the high side.  This does not even include buying reloading equipment since my friend said I could use his.

The other aspect I am looking at is that if I was good at it, I have been told that I could crank out 1,000 rounds per hour.  So just reloading, not including case prep time, etc., I will be at this for 3 hours.

With all the things I have going on, including trying to find time to shoot, it does not seem like reloading is going to be that worthwhile considering the time and financial expenditure. 

I keep having people tell me how much they save on shooting and that "You may spend the same as you were buying factory ammo, but you will get to shoot a lot more".  I would like to have someone show me with hard numbers for ALL their reloading supplies (including shipping) and compare that to some of the deals I have been able to find locally or online for factory ammo.  From my calculations, I'm not seeing a huge savings.

Fly

whatsit:
@OnTheFly I've got to agree with you. I shoot 9mm, too. When I looked into it, I had to factor in the cost of reloading equipment, too and it just wasn't worth it for me. I can watch Walmart and catch the WWB or Federal sales and save more money than buying reloading equipment.

The best arguments I've heard for reloading are either: 1) the ammo you shoot isn't made or is hard to find (9mm is everywhere so that one's out). 2) It's relaxing and a good way to spend your time -- I'm cool with that one, but like you mentioned, 3 hours for 1k rounds... I don't know... I understand those that do it for this reason, but I'm not sure this would be relaxing, for me. So, I buy my ammo.

Just FYI, you can get re-manufactured ammo online if you're willing to risk your gun on someone else's reloading skills / operation. I've heard good things about Jack Ross ammo and Freedom Ammunitions, but haven't tried either, yet. When you factor in shipping, you might run into the same mathematical problems.

NE Bull:
Fly.  I save a little on .38s and quite a bit more on .45 even with buying the supplies and giving my brother a little extra per hundred for him reloading it all.  But the biggest thing for me is being able to find that load that works the best for me and my gun.  We were able to 'build' a .38 special load that shoots a pattern I could not get anywhere near with factory ammo.  Most factory ammo is 'tuned' to be average in the most popular firearm. As in my case I have 4 inch revolvers but the more popular pistol would probably be a 2" snubby.  Factory ammo got flighty after 10 yards, with our reloads I am still holding a decent group out to 15-20.  The .45ACP I was able to go with a 185gr bullet (berry's) and a load that reduced recoil, but tightened up groupings, big time. (of course at speed I still can't hit crud, but..)   What I'm saying is when you are doing your figurin', keep in mind the Factory ammo you are buying cheap in bulk (while good enough) is nothing compared to 'custom' rounds.   
Brother shoots Cowboy Action and has tuned pistol rounds for recoil, and has rifle rounds built for long range.  With some research and trial I have seen him built some awesome rounds.
Oh, yeah, we also have went to Berry's plated for everything (other than SASS)
Once again, my $.02

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