Reloading...........anyone?

[JRG]

I think I have decided to get into reloading for my 9mm XDm. I have never done any reloading before and when I go to the different websites I become hopelessly confused about what I would need to get started. Hopefully, you guys/girls here can help me.

What do I need to get to be able to perform the reloading for 9mm? What equipment? Supplies? bench? scales? primers?

If I am asking too much, is there a book or specific website available where I can read up on it?

Your help is much appreciated!

Joe

[longtooth]

Best book I have found is ABCs of reloading.

Best way to learn is a friend let you use his stuff. You buy the components & load under his experienced eye.

[Salty1]

Check out the reloading section of this forum, lots of information there....

[danpaw]

Unless you shoot a whole lot 9mm may not be the most cost effective round to reload. I'm fixin to get back into reloading and 9mm is the one caliber I'm not even planning to buy dies for. At least as long as I can buy them for $10 or $11 a box.

[Rifleman55]

Longtooth has the best idea, find someone that reloads and get them to teach you.
Like Longtooth said the ABCs of reloading is good I have a Lyman manual that is good also.
Be careful about advice from the web, there is a lot of good and also some bad.

[michael e]

Unless you shoot a whole lot 9mm may not be the most cost effective round to reload. I'm fixin to get back into reloading and 9mm is the one caliber I'm not even planning to buy dies for. At least as long as I can buy them for $10 or $11 a box.

Reloading them cost me 4-5 a box. I enjoy reloading also, go in the room and no one bothers me .

[danpaw]

That's about what it cost me 25 years ago. It's good to hear the cost hasn't gone up.

[mr surveyor]

Unless you shoot a whole lot 9mm may not be the most cost effective round to reload. I'm fixin to get back into reloading and 9mm is the one caliber I'm not even planning to buy dies for. At least as long as I can buy them for $10 or $11 a box.

Reloading them cost me 4-5 a box. I enjoy reloading also, go in the room and no one bothers me .

what are you paying for bullets?

[Jumping Frog]

what are you paying for bullets?

Ballpark, about 5.6 cents per bullet is easily achievable. That is about $2.80 in bullet cost per box of 50 .

[Dusty Harry]

Can't say enough good things about Dillon Precision. The best company I have ever dealt with, regardless of type of product, and their equipment is outstanding. Back when I was shooting competitively and burning through about 10-15K rounds a year, I had 3 of their reloaders (a 550, a 650 and a square deal) up and running. Get yourself a Square Deal and you are set for the next decade or so, and its easy to swap out die heads to reload for other calibers later on.

The most difficult aspects of getting started are 1) getting your dies properly adjusted 2) settling on your loads for each type of bullet/use, and 3) particularly for the 9mm because of its tapered case, note that they are particularly sensitive to variations in case length to get the crimp consistent. It is worth the effort to keep brass segregated by brand & number of rounds you have fired through them.

Happy reloading!

[CWOOD]

Hi Joe.

You will save money on each round you reload. The rate at which you use ammo will determine how long it takes to offset the cost of your basic equipment. The more you shoot, the faster you will overcome your start up costs for the press, dies, scale, caliper, case tumbler, inertial bullet puller, etc.

One question to ask, and I don't know, is does the XDm reliably shoot lead ammunition. If it does, you will save more money. If it does not, you will save a bit less money.

Also are you looking for a new hobby, or are you just trying to make your current hobby (shooting) less expensive?

Other questions to ask yourself, is "are you a person who will pay attention to detail?" and "do you have a place where you can set up your equipment and work comfortably with few interruptions?"

I had these same considerations about 4 years ago. I shoot IDPA and use a Glock 30, which is my carry gun, and is 45ACP. I shot about 2000 to 2500 rounds a year and buying ammo was getting expensive. A box of 50 had then gone up from $8-9 to around $15. Now it is $15-20. A box of Winchester white box 100 packs is now about $40. That is 40 cents a round. Too Much. I have been reloading for an average cost of 15 cents per round and I am buying 230 gr. jacketed bullets because most Glocks don't like lead ammo. I just bought primers and powder(a lot) and my cost for the next 4-5 years will be only about 16 cents per round. I paid for all of my reloading supplies in the first year of use and then averaged shooting at about 50% the cost of purchased ammo. Now, with the inflated cost of ammo it is closer to 40% of the cost of purchased ammo. 16 cents rather than 40 cents per round.

I am not sure what 9mm is going for but it is at least, what $30 per 100. 30 cents a round? I just looked on Cabelas website and a UMC 250 pack is $66. That is 26.4 cents a round. You can easily beat that. Reloading can save you 50% even buying jacketed bullets instead of lead.

Here is how it breaks down.

If you can use lead and want to invest in equipment to melt and mold the lead into bullets and to scrounge around a get free lead you can make bullets for less that a nickle a piece, maybe 3 cents each. This will also increase your up front expenditure and the amount of time you will have to devote to make shooting cheaper. If you need a NEW hobby, this may be for you. Personally, I have neither the time or interest in this process.

If you just want to reload and/or the XDm doesn't like lead ammo you might consider jacketed bullets. I use, and am very pleased with Precision Delta (.com) and you can get 115 gr. jacketed 9mm bullets delivered to your door for 8.5 cents per round.

Powder will cost you about 1 cent per round.

Primers will cost you about 2 cents per round.

I am sure you know that there are 4 major components to ammo. Bullet, primer, powder and case. The cases is where the big savings lie. Google "once fired brass" and your can find sellers that will charge your in the range of 5 cents each. Then consider that you can reload each case many times and the fact that at most IDPA or IPSC matches you can fill your pockets and range bag with as much 9mm as you can stuff in them for free (range rules permitting), this expense is almost ZERO over time. So in summary:

bullet $0.085
primer 0.02
powder 0.01
brass 0.00

total 11.5 cents per round or $11.50 per hundred rounds. Compare that to the 250 pack at 26.4 cents per round. It is a savings of 14.9 cents per round

If you shoot 1000 rounds per year you save $149/ year.
If you shoot 2000 rounds per year you save $298/ year.

With this info, you can price your equipment options and see how long it will take you to pay off reloading equipment and supplies.

I chose the Lee Classic Reloader Kit from Cabelas. Here is the link.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lee-Prec ... l+Products" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


It is very reasonably priced. It will function as a single stage press which can be useful while you are first learning the process. Later after you have acquired experience your can engage the auto advance on the turret and it will operate in a SEMI-progressive manner which will let you reload pistol ammo at a rate of between 125-175 rounds per hour fairly comfortably. It is a high quality piece of equipment and I have had ZERO problems in 4 years. You can change calibers in about than 5 minutes and it will even load rifle rounds from 223 out to 30.06. You can add a case polisher (tumbler) and calipers and a bullet puller for less than $100. So your set up cost is under $350.

Dillon equipment was mentioned above. It is wonderful equipment by all reports and has a outstanding warranty and reputation. They are progressive loaders and can crank out 400 rounds per hour. They are expensive and the cost to change calibers is expensive. Their least expensive model is the Square Deal B. It cannot reload rifle rounds. Check their reviews and prices.

In conclusion, if you got the Lee Classic Turret kit and you shoot 2000 rounds per year or more, you would break even on equipment in less than a year and a half.

If you shoot less than 1000 rounds per year you might try one of the single stage press from Lee or Hornady or just buy ammo, or just plan to take a little longer to pay off the equipment.

If you shoot in the 5000+ rounds per year range, you might consider the Dillon Square Deal B, if you never expect to reload rifle rounds.

If you want another hobby and have the time and inclination, and your pistol will handle lead then you can save another 5 cents per round+/-.

To learn more about the various aspect of reloading I strongly recommend reading The ABC's of Reloading by C. Rodney James. Available at Amazon. Latest edition is the 9th. It is about $18 and has lots of info.

A FINAL HINT: When you purchase powder and primers, buy in the largest quantities as you can afford and try going in with someone to save freight and haz mat (Hazardous Materials) fees which everyone charges to ship this stuff. If you just go to a gun shop and buy a pound of powder and a few hundred primers at a time your costs per round will increase dramatically. To figure your powder costs remember a 9mm round will require a bit under 5 grains of powder and there are 7000 grains in a pound.

I hope this is some help in your decision process.

Regards, Carl

[JRG]

Hi Joe.

You will save money on each round you reload. The rate at which you use ammo will determine how long it takes to offset the cost of your basic equipment. The more you shoot, the faster you will overcome your start up costs for the press, dies, scale, caliper, case tumbler, inertial bullet puller, etc.

One question to ask, and I don't know, is does the XDm reliably shoot lead ammunition. If it does, you will save more money. If it does not, you will save a bit less money.

Also are you looking for a new hobby, or are you just trying to make your current hobby (shooting) less expensive?

Other questions to ask yourself, is "are you a person who will pay attention to detail?" and "do you have a place where you can set up your equipment and work comfortably with few interruptions?"

I had these same considerations about 4 years ago. I shoot IDPA and use a Glock 30, which is my carry gun, and is 45ACP. I shot about 2000 to 2500 rounds a year and buying ammo was getting expensive. A box of 50 had then gone up from $8-9 to around $15. Now it is $15-20. A box of Winchester white box 100 packs is now about $40. That is 40 cents a round. Too Much. I have been reloading for an average cost of 15 cents per round and I am buying 230 gr. jacketed bullets because most Glocks don't like lead ammo. I just bought primers and powder(a lot) and my cost for the next 4-5 years will be only about 16 cents per round. I paid for all of my reloading supplies in the first year of use and then averaged shooting at about 50% the cost of purchased ammo. Now, with the inflated cost of ammo it is closer to 40% of the cost of purchased ammo. 16 cents rather than 40 cents per round.

I am not sure what 9mm is going for but it is at least, what $30 per 100. 30 cents a round? I just looked on Cabelas website and a UMC 250 pack is $66. That is 26.4 cents a round. You can easily beat that. Reloading can save you 50% even buying jacketed bullets instead of lead.

Here is how it breaks down.

If you can use lead and want to invest in equipment to melt and mold the lead into bullets and to scrounge around a get free lead you can make bullets for less that a nickle a piece, maybe 3 cents each. This will also increase your up front expenditure and the amount of time you will have to devote to make shooting cheaper. If you need a NEW hobby, this may be for you. Personally, I have neither the time or interest in this process.

If you just want to reload and/or the XDm doesn't like lead ammo you might consider jacketed bullets. I use, and am very pleased with Precision Delta (.com) and you can get 115 gr. jacketed 9mm bullets delivered to your door for 8.5 cents per round.

Powder will cost you about 1 cent per round.

Primers will cost you about 2 cents per round.

I am sure you know that there are 4 major components to ammo. Bullet, primer, powder and case. The cases is where the big savings lie. Google "once fired brass" and your can find sellers that will charge your in the range of 5 cents each. Then consider that you can reload each case many times and the fact that at most IDPA or IPSC matches you can fill your pockets and range bag with as much 9mm as you can stuff in them for free (range rules permitting), this expense is almost ZERO over time. So in summary:

bullet $0.085
primer 0.02
powder 0.01
brass 0.00

total 11.5 cents per round or $11.50 per hundred rounds. Compare that to the 250 pack at 26.4 cents per round. It is a savings of 14.9 cents per round

If you shoot 1000 rounds per year you save $149/ year.
If you shoot 2000 rounds per year you save $298/ year.

With this info, you can price your equipment options and see how long it will take you to pay off reloading equipment and supplies.

I chose the Lee Classic Reloader Kit from Cabelas. Here is the link.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lee-Prec ... l+Products" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


It is very reasonably priced. It will function as a single stage press which can be useful while you are first learning the process. Later after you have acquired experience your can engage the auto advance on the turret and it will operate in a SEMI-progressive manner which will let you reload pistol ammo at a rate of between 125-175 rounds per hour fairly comfortably. It is a high quality piece of equipment and I have had ZERO problems in 4 years. You can change calibers in about than 5 minutes and it will even load rifle rounds from 223 out to 30.06. You can add a case polisher (tumbler) and calipers and a bullet puller for less than $100. So your set up cost is under $350.

Dillon equipment was mentioned above. It is wonderful equipment by all reports and has a outstanding warranty and reputation. They are progressive loaders and can crank out 400 rounds per hour. They are expensive and the cost to change calibers is expensive. Their least expensive model is the Square Deal B. It cannot reload rifle rounds. Check their reviews and prices.

In conclusion, if you got the Lee Classic Turret kit and you shoot 2000 rounds per year or more, you would break even on equipment in less than a year and a half.

If you shoot less than 1000 rounds per year you might try one of the single stage press from Lee or Hornady or just buy ammo, or just plan to take a little longer to pay off the equipment.

If you shoot in the 5000+ rounds per year range, you might consider the Dillon Square Deal B, if you never expect to reload rifle rounds.

If you want another hobby and have the time and inclination, and your pistol will handle lead then you can save another 5 cents per round+/-.

To learn more about the various aspect of reloading I strongly recommend reading The ABC's of Reloading by C. Rodney James. Available at Amazon. Latest edition is the 9th. It is about $18 and has lots of info.

A FINAL HINT: When you purchase powder and primers, buy in the largest quantities as you can afford and try going in with someone to save freight and haz mat (Hazardous Materials) fees which everyone charges to ship this stuff. If you just go to a gun shop and buy a pound of powder and a few hundred primers at a time your costs per round will increase dramatically. To figure your powder costs remember a 9mm round will require a bit under 5 grains of powder and there are 7000 grains in a pound.

I hope this is some help in your decision process.

Regards, Carl

Wow!! Thank you Carl for the thoughtful, incisive, informative post. I sincerely appreciate the information and the time it took you to type it. You have made my decision much easier.

Joe

[CWOOD]

Joe,
You are very welcome, I am glad you found it useful.

Remember this is all based only on my personal experience. Like all free advice, it is worth every penny you pay for it.

Reloading is not rocket surgery. It is a very repetitive process and fairly straight forward. It can also be fairly pleasant to do and is very satisfying when you shoot your own hand rolled rounds.

One early problem I had which I think is fairly common is getting the primers seated properly. Rounds with high primers do not fire reliably on the first strike bu may fire the second time you try to fire them. Easy to fix, just be aware.

Also I always like to visually inspect each round as powder is being added to ensure that powder was added and that there was not a double charge. Both can create problems.

Read a lot, start at the low end of the powder charge scale and work up and stay away from the upper end for range ammo until you have experience.

Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions.

Regards
Carl

[CWOOD]

You have made my decision much easier.

Joe
*********************************************************
So, Joe, curious minds want to know.
WHAT WAS YOUR DECISION?