what do i need to make my own9mm bullets?
If yous're like me, then cost is a driving gene whether you pursue an endeavor. Therefore, when ammo started drying upward in early on 2020 I began researching how to reload. Unlike many avid shooters, I shoot pistols almost exclusively. Many of you may be wondering about the price of reloading 9mm rounds vs. buying cartridges from the factory. Today I'm going to cover my calculations, and how I decided whether reloading 9mm was price constructive.
Up Front Cost For Reloading Armament
If y'all're looking for the up front costs of reloading, you'll need to check out my other article. In that article I talk over the equipment you'll need to purchase for your reloading station. Just exist aware that those supplies are the minimum of requirements.
However, today is all most the costs associated with really sourcing and pressing your own 9mm ammunition. Therefore, this article discusses what is need from a materials and labor perspective for reloading.
Finally, we'll practice a cost analysis and compare the cost per round (cpr) of reloading 9mm vs. buying it.
Calculating Costs For Reloading 9mm Ammo
The post-obit sections are dedicated to the sourcing, organization, and delivery fees associated with 9mm reloading supplies. Reloading whatever cartridge, from 9mm to 300 blackout, requires these same basic components.
Although some materials costs will vary, other costs will remain unchanged. I'll try to cover which costs are variable for anyone who stumbles across this article on reloading.
What Supplies You Need To Reload 9mm
When it comes to reloading 9mm armament, you demand 4 fundamental supplies. Get-go, y'all need to learn contumely casings. Purchasing fresh from the factory brass is going to cost more than sourcing used brass. Even improve you can pick upward brass from the ground at your local range — just clear information technology with the RSO first.
Second, you need to acquire smokeless pulverisation. The toll of powder will vary past brand and amount of powder you purchase. I'm using Accurate No.2 for my 9mm reloads. Mostly because it was i of the options in the Hornady reloading handbook (on Amazon) so I don't have to scour for the reloading data.
Third, you need the bullets — the actual projectile. When the gun goes "boom" this is what is sent downrange. The type of bullet (FMJ, Coated, JHP, etc.) will cause a variance in cost. For simplicity sake, I'll utilise coated round olfactory organ bullets in my calculations because they were the to the lowest degree expensive option I found.
Finally, y'all need the e'er elusive primers — small pistol primers to be exact — when reloading 9mm ammunition. Although costs will vary slightly by make, I've found that the cost variance to be negligible.
Ownership Supplies In Bulk vs. As Needed
As with just nigh anything else, the more you purchase the less yous pay per unit. Reloading 9mm ammunition is no different. Ownership whatsoever of the components listed above in bulk is going to lower your price per round.
Conversely, if yous buy the minimum amount (ordinarily in lots of 1000) your average cost per round is going to be higher. Considering I bought some raw materials in majority, my costs are going to be lower and information technology is important to recall this when doing your ain calculations.
Reuse Brass To Relieve Money Reloading 9mm
Another way to lower the cost per round is to recycle your casings. After shooting your reloads you can collect your contumely back upwards to deprime and reload once again later. Each successive reload of a example lowers the cost. If yous visit your range frequently plenty, you tin skip the initial purchase of once-used or new brass altogether. It'due south completely up to you and/or the policies of your local shooting range.
Hazmat & Shipping Costs For Reloading Ammo
Ane cost that is often overlooked past many during many calculations is the shipping fee and hazardous materials fee. Powders and primers are considered chancy materials and to lower the touch on of hazmat costs yous should:
- Buy in bulk simply do not exceed shipping weight limits
- Purchase primers and powder at the same time and transport together
Aircraft tin admittedly destroy your cost per round, so do everything you lot can to salvage money by bundling products and placing a single lodge. Due to the ammo shortage, my cost calculations are negatively impacted. Ideally you'll be able to produce ammo at a cost of $0.25 per cartridge or less.
Different delivery services have different commitment fees. Typically distributors will utilise a major shipping company in lieu of USPS for hazardous material. The price for hazmat aircraft ranges from $xix.95 (UPS) to $37.50 (FedEx Signature Required).
Additionally, different retailers use unlike shipping companies. Therefore, the rates you're going to pay for shipping will vary. I pay anywhere from $13.95 – $22.56 in aircraft costs for the same production from dissimilar vendors. Obviously, the weight of the shipment will also play a pivotal part in your cost to reload.
Omitted Costs For 9mm Reloading Calculations
Alright folks, I tin't business relationship for every penny I've spent on my setup for reloading 9mm cartridges. Some things are an "unnecessary" cost such as my organizational supplies like storage bins.
Additionally, some things are such depression cost that I did not gene them into my calculations. For instance, I did not factor in the cost of 3 tbsp of Dawn dish detergent to wash 1K cases. I'm also not factoring in the price of case lube either.
For these items, the cost equals out to fractions of a cent. Additionally the variance of cost is dictated past how much of the product is used during your reloading process. Either style, they are non included in my beneath calculations.
Cost Breakdown Per Reloading Component
Alright, here's the moment yous've all been waiting for. What does it cost to reload 9mm ammo? According to calculations from my nearly contempo reloading supply orders, it price $0.30 per circular and the toll to reload 1,000 cartridges of 9mm is roughly $300.00. This breaks down to $0.07 per primer, $0.06 per casing, $0.04 for powder, and $0.13 per bullet.
Product Ordered: Primers
Manufacturer: Federal Modest Pistol Primers
Quantity In Order: 1,000 units
Total Order Cost (including hazmat): $69.90
Cost Per Primer: $0.07
Product Ordered: In one case Used Brass Casings
Manufacturer: Mixed
Quantity In Order: 4,250 units
Total Social club Toll: $255.14
Price Per Casing: $0.06
Product Ordered: Copper Coated 9mm Round Nose Bullets
Manufacturer: Xtreme Bullets
Quantity In Guild: 3,000 units
Total Social club Cost: $396.78
Cost Per Bullet: $0.13
Product Ordered: Smokeless pulverisation
Manufacturer: Accurate No.2
Quantity In Order: 5# container
Total Club Toll (including hazmat): $136.90
Estimated Cost Per Powder Drop*: $0.04
*Pulverisation drop recommendations will vary by manufacturer co-ordinate bullet grain, bullet type, and other factors. Powder used is field of study to some loss (during initial measurement) or variance during actual powder drops.
Reduction In Price Of Shipping & Hazmat
Each of the above orders was a completely dissever club with information technology's own shipping cost. Call back before how I said shipping will kill your cost per round. If I could cut my paying shipping costs in one-half I would save $0.02 per round.
Furthermore, if I could eliminate the hazmat cost associated with the primers with bundled shipping of the powder I save another $0.02. This isn't far fetched as both components were from the aforementioned supplier
So, as I said before save money wherever you can on the shipping because it will destroy the cost savings for reloading. Assuming these cost savings, the price to reload would stop up being $0.26 per circular.
Fourth dimension Is Money When Reloading
Another aspect that is omitted during the reloading cost analysis is your fourth dimension spent on the project. All those minutes and hours spent depriming, washing, drying, testing loads, and more affect your ultimate costs. You lot have to ask yourself, "how much is your time worth?"
In this regard, your process will likewise impact your lesser line. Do yous deprime contumely before washing to get a clean primer pocket, or exercise you not care? Are you running a progressive press or unmarried station? Are you reloading in a single sitting or across multiple loading sessions?
Too many variables are at play to definitively say how much it costs to reload 9mm when information technology comes to man hours. My best communication would be to figure out an hourly charge per unit and fourth dimension how long it takes y'all to load ane,000 rounds of 9mm to figure out the labor cost.
Cost of Buying 9mm Ammo
Unfortunately, buying manufactory cartridges from a benefactor will run the gamut when information technology comes to prices. Are you ownership online? Perhaps you're picking up from a gun testify. Either way the cost of buying factory ammunition is going to vary greatly.
Additionally, you need to discern what grain of ammo y'all are buying and from which manufacturer. Finally, you need to account for outside economic forces on the toll of armament. I'll cover this more in a afterwards department.
Cost Per Round Reloading vs. Buying 9mm
No doubt, many of you have arrived at this folio because y'all're looking for a cost effective source of ammunition amidst a national shortage. Therefore, I'm going to provide two split calculations for the price of reloading 9mm ammunition vs. buying it.
Commencement, I'll talk most the costs before the pandemic hit when ammunition was plentiful. Subsequently I'll talk most the cost of reloading 9mm ammunition during a shortage and why your costs will likely vary.
Costs Analysis Pre COVID-nineteen
In a time long forgotten, you used to be able to buy 9mm ammo for a price that outmatched even the virtually frugal of reloaders. At that time, circa 2018, 9mm ammo was selling for $175-$225 for 1K rounds.
Unfortunately, I wasn't reloading at the time so I can't say for certain whether reloading components were priced similar to what I used above. Even so, costs would have to be significantly reduced (or at least available for local pickup) to bring downwards the cost sufficiently to justify the toll of reloading 9mm ammo over buying it.
Pandemic Prices 2020 – 2021
Equally you probable already know, the ammo shortage and subsequent primer shortage of 2020 and 2021 continues. With backlog orders into the billions of dollars, the toll of ammo prior to 2020 isn't likely coming dorsum in the near future.
Nowadays, you'll encounter ammunition priced at a 300%-400% markup from those days. Common rounds like 9mm are no exception and it'due south not unheard of to see small lots of 9mm going for $1 a round. When comparing my to a higher place adding (from component orders during the shortage) information technology becomes increasingly evident that the cost to reload 9mm ammunition is far meliorate than ownership it.
Parting Shots
Hopefully I haven't bored you with the details too much when it comes to the cost of reloading 9mm rounds vs buying them. Even so, I wanted to exist extremely thorough in my assay, findings, and journey.
I'chiliad sure there's probably something I forgot (nobody's perfect). If you retrieve there'south an important slice of data I've left out, please share with the community. Contrarily if you lot found this information helpful then please do me a solid and like, share, or leave a comment. It helps me out immensely.
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Source: https://everydaycarryconcealed.com/cost-of-reloading-9mm-rounds-vs-buying-them/
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