ammo

[AR15barrels]

How much were you able to reload 9mm for?

I am currently reloading 9mm for $48 per 1000.
That's plated bullets with powder and primers I bought when they were cheap and brass I pick up off the ground.
Someone recently gave me some powder and primers for loading 223 so I bought 4000 M193 bullets for $195 shipped.
Once I collect up another 5 gallon bucket of 223 brass, I will be loading 223 for 5 cents a round.

 

[jdwhisler]

Get your ffl03/COE, it'll save you money in your first few orders, and you'll get more rounds per dollar from access to cheaper ammo.

How do we get one of those and do u have to have anything special to get one

 

[jdwhisler]

I am currently reloading 9mm for $48 per 1000.
That's plated bullets with powder and primers I bought when they were cheap and brass I pick up off the ground.
Someone recently gave me some powder and primers for loading 223 so I bought 4000 M193 bullets for $195 shipped.
Once I collect up another 5 gallon bucket of 223 brass, I will be loading 223 for 5 cents a round.

Do u sell these or just make them for ur self ive always wanted to learn how to load my own ammo but dnt know anyone around me that knows what there doing unfortunately

 

[BCar777]

How do we get one of those and do u have to have anything special to get one

Gunownersradio.com has a great video and link with the steps to take. This and reading the FFL03/COE thread here were very helpful.

 

[AR15barrels]

Do u sell these or just make them for ur self

I only reload for my personal use.
You can not reload ammunition to sell without a federal firearms license.

 

[NorCalBusa]

Use the same hourly $ amount that you get paid to do any other hobbies or even while you are just lounging on the couch watching TV.
That's the exact value of your free time.

If your only justification is to save money, then reloading is not for you.
You should simply take all that money that you get paid watching TV and buy your ammo.

If your interest is in customizing your ammo to best suit your specific guns and possibly shooting a lot more for relatively the same cost, then reloading is probably for you but only if you are willing to buy components in large quantities when they are cheap and store them for use in times they are too expensive.

Not looking for any kind of justification, but thanks for putting words in my post. I am curious about how it pencils out (and time ain't free for sure).

 

[Skilly]

I am currently reloading 9mm for $48 per 1000.
That's plated bullets with powder and primers I bought when they were cheap and brass I pick up off the ground.
Someone recently gave me some powder and primers for loading 223 so I bought 4000 M193 bullets for $195 shipped.
Once I collect up another 5 gallon bucket of 223 brass, I will be loading 223 for 5 cents a round.

this is starting to look more and more attractive. Although, rifle round casings are harder to find for cheap(especially off the ground).

I built an AR Pistol out to 300 AAC just in time for those rounds to about double in cost. I had grabbed 1k rounds of bulk from Target Sports for under 50 cents/rd and by the time I went for more the cheapest I could find with a brass casing was 65 cents, and now its pushing 90 cents a round.

The raw materials look cheap enough, it's just grabbing the right equipment, avoiding costly mistakes along the way that concerns me. It looks like while its expensive, they hold their value as much as guns, but its difficult to jump in fully without a recipe for exactly what to purchase and get going.

 

[psun786]

this is starting to look more and more attractive. Although, rifle round casings are harder to find for cheap(especially off the ground).

I built an AR Pistol out to 300 AAC just in time for those rounds to about double in cost. I had grabbed 1k rounds of bulk from Target Sports for under 50 cents/rd and by the time I went for more the cheapest I could find with a brass casing was 65 cents, and now its pushing 90 cents a round.

The raw materials look cheap enough, it's just grabbing the right equipment, avoiding costly mistakes along the way that concerns me. It looks like while its expensive, they hold their value as much as guns, but its difficult to jump in fully without a recipe for exactly what to purchase and get going.

To be honest, I find the hardest part of reloading is picking up the brass I just shot. It’s not only hard on my back, but it also extremely awkward to do at a public range.

 

[ar15robert]

It's different now because powder is expensive.. All inputs are now higher than they used to be.

case - free to $0.04 once fired brass
$0.06-.09 projectile
$0.05-.07 primer
$0.02-.04 powder

So at the low end .14c but prices have moved up to now $0.22 ish. When 9mm ammo is cheap it's not worth it, but the reloading smooths out these price fluctuations and also more consistent. If you're a high volume person, then you like the consistency. If you're low volume ~500 / mo 6k a year or two just buying bulk when it's cheap is probably better.

Avg is about $.18c but now i've moved off and sold my stuff and just get it through Masterclass Ammunitions since I've been shooting a lot less and sold off my equipment. They're $0.30c but I don't shoot at the volume anymore and they're USPSA certified.

I do 45 and 10mm but 9 I just buy it. Was getting it for 215 otd a case in oct went to 300 otd last month but cheap to buy. Now the others it ain’t cheap to buy why I reload those.

 

[five.five-six]

If the amount per hour reloaders factor in for their time is $75 (pick your number), what's the real savings by reloading?

That’s like factoring in the money you would have made at your job while you are shooting your ammo. Most of us enjoy making ammo. All of us enjoy not paying taxes or having to register our ammo with the state. I really enjoyed never running low on anything for the entire 4 year scamdemic. 9mm was 8-9CPR and as much as I wanted any time I wanted.

 

[five.five-six]

To be honest, I find the hardest part of reloading is picking up the brass I just shot. It’s not only hard on my back, but it also extremely awkward to do at a public range.

Really?

Get one of these: They aren’t perfect but they work real well on concrete and hard pact soil.

CALDWELL SHOOTING SUPPLIES BRASS RETRIEVER

Check out CALDWELL SHOOTING SUPPLIES BRASS RETRIEVER with 1 review and an overall rating of 5.0, available Online at Brownells Today and many more Brass Catchers products are available in our Gear Department.

www.brownells.com

I’ve never felt awkward picking up brass. Often times people are very interested in what I am doing. I’m pretty friendly. It’s pretty common for someone I have spoke with about loading just hand me a bunch of their brass when they are done.

 

[five.five-six]

It's different now because powder is expensive.. All inputs are now higher than they used to be.

case - free to $0.04 once fired brass
$0.06-.09 projectile
$0.05-.07 primer
$0.02-.04 powder

So at the low end .14c but prices have moved up to now $0.22 ish. When 9mm ammo is cheap it's not worth it, but the reloading smooths out these price fluctuations and also more consistent. If you're a high volume person, then you like the consistency. If you're low volume ~500 / mo 6k a year or two just buying bulk when it's cheap is probably better.

Avg is about $.18c but now i've moved off and sold my stuff and just get it through Masterclass Ammunitions since I've been shooting a lot less and sold off my equipment. They're $0.30c but I don't shoot at the volume anymore and they're USPSA certified.

Rifle brass is more expensive but I load for all sorts of things you just can’t buy. Try finding ammo for .38WCF (39-40) or 7.5X55 Swiss or non corrosive 8 mauser or non corrosive X54R I cook those up for 25-35CPR and make them however I want.

 

[psun786]

Really?

Get one of these: They aren’t perfect but they work real well on concrete and hard pact soil.

CALDWELL SHOOTING SUPPLIES BRASS RETRIEVER

Check out CALDWELL SHOOTING SUPPLIES BRASS RETRIEVER with 1 review and an overall rating of 5.0, available Online at Brownells Today and many more Brass Catchers products are available in our Gear Department.

www.brownells.com

I’ve never felt awkward picking up brass. Often times people are very interested in what I am doing. I’m pretty friendly. It’s pretty common for someone I have spoke with about loading just hand me a bunch of their brass when they are done.

I’ve got a tool similar to that, but it definitely struggles on gravel. Most indoor ranges aren't big on people collecting their brass anyway (supplement income). Besides, I don't bother with 9mm casings since the savings from reloading over buying factory target rounds isn't worth the hassle.

 

[five.five-six]

I’ve got a tool similar to that, but it definitely struggles on gravel. Most indoor ranges aren't big on people collecting their brass anyway (supplement income). Besides, I don't bother with 9mm casings since the savings from reloading over buying factory target rounds isn't worth the hassle.

Out of curiosity, what is the total tax and shipping and FFL fees on 1K of 9? Do you need a real id or just a regular id?

 

[Spork]

Out of curiosity, what is the total tax and shipping and FFL fees on 1K of 9? Do you need a real id or just a regular id?

You don't even need an ID since the documentation (FFL-03 and COE) are enough for them to ship it to you and no BG checks. I got a case of Fiocchi for 280 ish a few weeks ago, prices have been going up slowly as when I got my FFL originally in February a case was like 240 ish.

Still much better than my LGS, when I picked up my MP 2.0 i grabbed a couple boxes to support em and it was almost .50 a round with taxes.

 

[Skilly]

Out of curiosity, what is the total tax and shipping and FFL fees on 1K of 9? Do you need a real id or just a regular id?

the "to your door" price for decent range ammo from Target Sports is $270 bucks. Prior to a few months ago, you could find it for $220 all in, so its gone up.

The price of entry to get there is something to think about though:

Target membership: $99/year
COE: $71 one time & $22/year renewal
FFL-03: $30/3 years
Livescan: $140

so year 1 cost: $320 (FFL-03 + COE + Membership + Livescan)
ongoing annual costs: $131 (includes all 3 - no Livescan required unless you let your COE expire before renewal)

Same Ammo purchased off the shelf in CA all in is roughly $350/1k rnds. So it takes a min to break even (for 9mm at least 4k of rounds in year 1).

 

[mcnaugcl]

the "to your door" price for decent range ammo from Target Sports is $270 bucks. Prior to a few months ago, you could find it for $220 all in, so its gone up.

The price of entry to get there is something to think about though:

Target membership: $99/year
COE: $71 one time & $22/year renewal
FFL-03: $30/3 years
Livescan: $140

so year 1 cost: $320 (FFL-03 + COE + Membership + Livescan)
ongoing annual costs: $131 (includes all 3 - no Livescan required unless you let your COE expire before renewal)

Same Ammo purchased off the shelf in CA all in is roughly $350/1k rnds. So it takes a min to break even (for 9mm at least 4k of rounds in year 1).

My live scan was only $20 at a UPS Store.

 

[Skilly]

My live scan was only $20 at a UPS Store.

thats a smokin deal. I did it at UPS too but must have got ripped off! My CCW was close enough so I tried to use that but the COE intake flagged it and made me do a new one. The bright side for me, is even with that added cost I burn through ammo enough that its still a great deal to have the FFL-03/COE

 

[AR15barrels]

this is starting to look more and more attractive.

The raw materials look cheap enough, it's just grabbing the right equipment, avoiding costly mistakes along the way that concerns me. It looks like while its expensive, they hold their value as much as guns, but its difficult to jump in fully without a recipe for exactly what to purchase and get going.

Please realize that I purchased some of these components 15-20 years ago.
The components I am loading today are not available today at the prices I am quoting.
I also do not have a source for more of the free components I am using to load my ammo today.
I am simply quoting what costs I have into the ammo I am loading today.
I likely have over $5,000 invested into reloading machines too so you have to divide that into the maybe 250,000 rounds I have loaded in the last 30 years.

 

[Skilly]

Please realize that I purchased some of these components 15-20 years ago.
The components I am loading today are not available today at the prices I am quoting.
I also do not have a source for more of the free components I am using to load my ammo today.
I am simply quoting what costs I have into the ammo I am loading today.
I likely have over $5,000 invested into reloading machines too so you have to divide that into the maybe 250,000 rounds I have loaded in the last 30 years.

This a very real answer - thank you! At least for me, that gives me a more realistic perspective - preparing your own ammo is really about the love of the game, than saving money. If its the later, I probably want to rethink that math!

that said...the way I practice at the range, I think I'll get to that 250k round count a LOT faster!