I was talking to a few guys at my local gun shop this weekend, and reloading came up. I had mentioned I was looking for a place to buy supplies locally (the nearest place I've found so far is 45 minutes from my house) and when I said I was looking to reload 9mm ammo, 2 of the 3 guys said I'd be wasting my time, I won't save enough to make it worth the time I spend reloading it and should just keep buying factory loads.

Now, I fully intend to reload 9mm ammo, even if only until I get a larger caliber gun and reload 9mm only for experiance. But it got me thinking, is there going to be a noticable savings? I fire about 100-150 rounds of 9mm a month. Is this going to be strictly a learning experiance, or will it actually keep a few dollars in my wallet?

Also, kind of along the same lines, I've heard that hand loaded ammo (when done correctly) tends to be more accurate. Do you guys notice that in your own loads?

I used to load 9mm but gave it up years ago because I found it a PITA, the components were small and hard to handle with my big fingers and the cost of factory stuff was so low that it seemed like a waste of time. However, because of recent ammo (but, unfortunately, also component) cost escalation I do believe that you'll save some $ by reloading, although not quite as much as you would with many rifle or magnum handgun rounds, but the experience will be worthwhile. Go for it.

I used to be able to buy 9mm cheaper than I could reload it but not at todays prices. I can buy the copper clad lead bullets in bulk to reload for my Glocks. With other pistols you can just use lead bullets. And if you cast, they even get cheaper. Hopefully the ammo prices will go down.

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HardCase, I'm pretty much looking at reloading 9mm for the experiance. I probably won't have the money for another new gun until next spring (sad, I know) But atleast I can get the mechanics of reloading down over the winter.

mtsurette, you will not regret starting to reload. As I have said my times on the forum, reloading becomes a hobby in itself. I spend more time at the reloading bench than I do anywhere else.

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A truely successful life is mostly based on how well you handle PLAN B.

Jodum, thats actually one of the main reasons I was looking into it. I figure that that'll give me something to do for a couple hours after work during the week.

I bought my metallic reloader about 1973 and reloaded for years but I quit when my shooting volume dropped dramaticly. I started back recently because I had so much stuff, long paid for and my need for pistol ammo rose.

I find reloading relaxing, the main reason I load everything with a single stage tool. My routine is to do batches thru the individual steps and when I get tired, I take a break. But I'm soon drawn back to it. Its just FUN!

I've loaded 9mils and they are a bit trickier. Now I load .38 and .45ACP in pistol, .270 and 7mm-08 in rifle. Matter of fact, I have 50 primed cases of .45 waiting on me in the shop now, primed up earlier today. I'll go out in a little while and in a few minutes, I will have another box of 45ACP range-ready.

I cast my own boolits and can make 9mm ammo for about $6/100.

Haven't seen it in the store that cheap.

I started reloading after I retired from the service with the M1911 A1..now I reload all my weapons
9mm / 45 acp / 35.rem / 30-30 and true I love to do it fun and relaxing. the 9mm is small and it does
get upsetting at times but I just have a cold beer and start back later on.

With ammo prices so high these days you are bound to save money (or shoot more for the same money) by reloading. I load about 6000 to 8000 9mm each year with a Dillon progressive press. I only load fmj practice ammo and carry factory ammo for defensive purposes.

The 9mm is not very complicated to load. The main quirk when dealing with it is to make sure you are doing a proper taper crimp and seating to the correct depth. I use a factory cartridge with a similar bullet profile to the one I am using as a template to adjust my seating die, and always function check the first few rounds loaded before turning out a big batch.

The only problems I have had are with the soft copper plated bullets such as those by Berry and Ranier. You need to back off the crimp setting a bit with those bullets to avoid swaging a little oversize ring on the bullet just forward of the cartridge case. That ring can prevent easy chambering. This issue does not exist with true jacketed milspec bullets because the gilding metal jacket is hard and thick enough to prevent the ring from forming.

The only other problems I have ever had have been with reduced or mid-range loads that didn't have enough oomph to operate the slide...keep the loads at standard factory levels and you will have no problem.

Ditto what the others have told you. If you continue shooting, you will get drawn deeper into reloading and be happy to know that you have learned how to do it and have accumulated all the tools you need to do it with. In my case, I had been reloading for a number of years when I purchased a 9mm SIG for my wife. A set of dies and some components put me in the 9mm reloading business. Besides, at my local range, there is so much once-fired 9mm brass left on the ground that I never have to buy cases. If you enjoy shooting, I say go for it.

I only shoot my reloads. That goes for all my guns & rifles. I'll have someone give me a box of factory ammo once in awhile. I find it satisfying & downright theraputic reloading for all calibers. Accuracy? You bet! You'd be surprised how you can come across a charge that your gun likes. Just do it & heck with what those other guys tell you. After you get the hang of it, compare your targets with theirs.

I've been reloading for about 25 years. And enjoy it very much. Have helped a few friends get into reloading, and they really like it to. Nothing better than casting your own bullet , reloading it, then shooting a deer with it. Gives me a feeling of accomplishment. If your friends shoot 9mm and don't reload have them keep the brass for you, one less thing to buy.

Back before the current scarcity/high cost of components and ammo, I loaded 9mmP. At that time, you could find 9mmP components at the gun show at distressed prices because of the prevailing idea that it wasn't worth the bother of loading for. Of course that has changed some now, but I still load for it.

If you have a pistol that likes lead bullets, that's a good way to keep cost down as 9mm lead bullets are fairly small and inexpensive. The springs in some pistols limit this, but others are more forgiving and you can get down to some fairly light loads that still work the action with them.

Bullet seating depth is critical with 9mmP because case capacity it limited and pressures can spike if you seat too deeply.

One thing that bugged me about loading 9mmP is case distortion when I would use a carbide sizing die. The 9mmP has some taper to the case. The carbide dies do not have a "form fitting" profile to the sizing cavity ion the die; they have a rather short carbide ring at the base of the die that does all the sizing, so this irons out some of the taper of the case. Consequently, with the case narrowed more than usual in part of the forward end, seating the bullet sometimes causes an unsightly bulge in that area. This also can cause the bullet to cock off center slightly, affecting accuracy adversely. This situation becomes exaggerated with the use of Lee design dies, which do not have an expander ball per se, only a flaring plug in the expander die.

For the reason I have mentioned above, I mostly load 9mmP with steel dies which do not tend to distort the taper of the case. You can get steel dies second hand at a fairly low price -- most people have gone over to carbide dies. I don't mind the extra step of tumbling or liquid cleaning the case lube from the brass. The RCBS liquid case lube is water soluble, so it just takes patience while the water dries. I'm never in a hurry when I reload anyway.

Ive been reloading the 9MM for many years and i find it to be great fun. For the beginner i will past on to you some details about this round. The 9mm is made just about all over the world,also every ammo company in the US makes it. With that said not all brass is the same,some are longer, some have thigher heads and some have different internal capaticys. All of this must be dealt with before finding the load with will give you the tight group which we all seek. IE take Winchester brass they make two differnt verisons, one stamped WCC which is the Mil-Spec brass, which has less internal capicty then the comerical brass which is stamped WIN. There's a crimp is the primer pocket of the Mil-Spec brass, which must be removed before the new primer can be put in. Differnt brands of brass have different thickness in the mouth,which will efect the amount of flare needed to seat the bullet, and how the brass will hold the bullet after it has been taperd crimped. With that in mind, always sort your brass by head stamp useing the same brand during testing. Hope this helps and good luck