# AVG Cost Per Bullet (.40 and/or 9mm)



## cbrgator

I know cost will vary based on the different components, but could anybody give me an estimate on what it costs them per bullet to reload ammunition on .40 and/or 9mm? Also, whether or not that cost includes using purchased brass or re-used brass. Thanks!!!!


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## Wandering Man

I just started reloading last July. I use a Dillon XL650 progressive press. I load for .380, 9 mm, and .45ACP. I haven't broken it down by caliber, but I can tell you that at this point my cost per round is .22 if I only look at the cost of components.

I use mostly range brass, but there is some store bought stuff in there, as well.

If I include the cost of _everything_, including the press, dies, reloading books, calipers, scale, bullet puller, etc., etc., then my cost per round is .45 after 8,600 rounds. This cost continues to fall, as I reload more. I feel that I've had a pretty good return on my investment after only 6 months.

Even not considering the costs, the investment has been worth while, simply as a hobby. It keeps me off the couch in front of the TV.

WM


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## Wandering Man

The last time I figured it, this was my cost, broken down per component.

*9 mm*

Powder...........$0.03
Primer............$0.03
9 Bullet...........$0.07
9 mm Brass....$0.13
Total...............$0.26
Total Box........$12.94

I think prices may have risen some since then, but I also don't "shop" prices and don't necessarily by the least expensive stuff.

WM


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## Baldy

Here's a cost calculator that will tell you what you are spending. Just go to this page.http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp


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## cbrgator

I appreciate the thought but I have not begun reloading yet so that calculator wont really help me. I was asking the question to try and determine if it would be financially beneficial to reload.


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## Dsig1

I pick up a lot of once shot .40 brass at my range and take it to a re-loader outside of Philadelphia. He charges .18 per round to load lead 165 gr. bullets. I am taking him another 1,800 shells next week. You may do well to look around your area for someone reloading as a business. Gunbroker.com will also have auctions for once fired brass that nets out at about .04 to .06 per shell. Couple that with the other costs from Wandering Man's estimates and you are between .17 and .21 per bullet. Hope this helps.


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## JeffWard

I only pay 15 cents a piece at Walmart for 9mm... 25-28 cents for .45ACP...


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## cbrgator

Yea me too, its 15.72 for 100 rds of 9mm and 21.88 for 100 rds of .40. The costs you guys are telling me seem to make reloading equal in price at best, if not more expensive.


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## Wandering Man

Note that used 9mm and .40 cal brass is easy to find at the range. The breakdown above shows about .13 a round for brass. When the brass is free, that reduces the cost of the round to less than your .1572.

Also, as I said, I don't shop price for the bullets. The cost in the above breakdown is Remmington 115 gr. JHP; .06645 a piece.

So yeah, saving money can be iffy unless you produce thousands of rounds a month.

But having a good time and tailoring rounds to suit your needs is definitely a positive.

One more thing. I enjoy not having to go to Wal-Mart or Academy and fight the crowds or wait for their staff to wait on me.

WM


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## Dsig1

Wandering Man said:


> Note that used 9mm and .40 cal brass is easy to find at the range. The breakdown above shows about .13 a round for brass. When the brass is free, that reduces the cost of the round to less than your .1572.
> 
> Also, as I said, I don't shop price for the bullets. The cost in the above breakdown is Remmington 115 gr. JHP; .06645 a piece.
> 
> So yeah, saving money can be iffy unless you produce thousands of rounds a month.
> 
> But having a good time and tailoring rounds to suit your needs is definitely a positive.
> 
> One more thing. I enjoy not having to go to Wal-Mart or Academy and fight the crowds or wait for their staff to wait on me.
> 
> WM


Agreed. Plus, my Wal*Mart is often out of ammo or only has a box or two on hand. My re-loader quoted me .18 per bullet using my free brass, making the cost $9 per box of 50 or $18 for 100. As stated, I am taking 1,800 rounds. Hard to find 36 boxes of ammo at Wal*Mart. The last batch of 1500 yielded only a few duds. I also have .45 and .38 loaded by the same guy. I also enjoy the monthly trip to the shop to drop off brass. I can check out his inventory and talk guns and ammo with some good guys, not a 19 year old drop out clerk.


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## K Bob

I can load lead rounds for 4.50 per 50 and JHP 6.50
I use range brass.


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## Baldy

K Bob said:


> I can load lead rounds for 4.50 per 50 and JHP 6.50
> I use range brass.


That's the same price it is costing me give or take a few cents depending on what bullet I am using. You can cut that in half again almost if you make your own bullets and get your wheel weights free.:smt023


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## cbrgator

K Bob said:


> I can load lead rounds for 4.50 per 50 and JHP 6.50
> I use range brass.


I like the sound of that. Can you tell me what you are using?


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## 9mmFan

Baldy - thanks for the link on the Calculator. That sure makes it a lot easier.
It shows I get a box of 50 for $6.11 or .0122 per round with buying the bullets from cabela's for 9mm -115gr RN bag of 100/$7.95. I use mostly used brass that we pick up at the range that we shoot or others at our club leave behind.
Now with this it makes me want to start looking for a better deal on bulk bullets. Will have to work up the cost of 38/357 and 45 auto now.
Anyone out there shoot a lot of lead out of their 9mm? Have loaded my 38/357 in lead but not any of the 9's.


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## harryk

I currently load 40 at the following cost.

primer .027
powder .015
brass free
bullet .05


One round .092 or 9.2 cents per round. 4.60 per box.
When I go to the range I ask the guys if they save their brass. If not, I ask them to dump them in my bag. I have a bunch of clean brass for calibers I do not even own. Yet!:mrgreen:


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## cbrgator

harryk said:


> I currently load 40 at the following cost.
> 
> primer .027
> powder .015
> brass free
> bullet .05


May i ask what primer, powder, and bullets you are using?


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## 2400

Wandering Man said:


> The last time I figured it, this was my cost, broken down per component.
> 
> *9 mm*
> 
> Powder...........$0.03
> Primer............$0.03
> 9 Bullet...........$0.07
> 9 mm Brass....$0.13
> Total...............$0.26
> Total Box........$12.94
> 
> WM





cbrgator said:


> Yea me too, its 15.72 for 100 rds of 9mm and 21.88 for 100 rds of .40. The costs you guys are telling me seem to make reloading equal in price at best, if not more expensive.


The cost might be equal if you need to buy brass when you start loading. Remember you only buy the brass once when you reload not every time when you buy new. So to figure cost subtract the $0.13 a round since you aren't buying brass anymore. Using WM's figures for the second loading subtract $6.50 from his figures since you don't need to buy brass again. That gives you a cost of $6.44 for 50 rounds.

Sometimes you get lucky with components, the last time I loaded 9mm, I used powder a friend of mine gave me (8#'s Unique) and some bullets another friend gave me (3500 124 gr) I had 5K+ 9mm brass I either kept after shooting or picked up at the range. The only thing I had to buy was primers, I paid $82 for 5K primers. My total cost was $16.40 for 1000 rounds. :smt033


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## spacedoggy

Three years ago I could buy a box of 9mm for 5.25 per box of 50 at Dick's Sporting Goods in CT. It was a lost leader for them to get people to go up to their gun area. I knew when the truck came in every week and I would wait for it. Within an hour they had the ammo in the department. I would buy them out each week which could be 1 to 4 cases a week and most of the time it was 2 cases. The manager hated me but the other employees loved the fact that I would buy them out. At one time I had 180 boxes of 50 in a storage ammo box that I made. Before we moved to Texas I had my kids and their 4 friends go shooting with me at a sand pit. Out of the seven of us we shot around 8000 rounds with 15 9mm pistols. They will never forget that day. Even the police showed up because of a complaint that a person had called 911 saying there was a war going on and one of the cops joined us when I invited him and showed him a letter allowing us to shoot at the sandpit by the owner. Back to subject. It was cheaper than reloading. I moved to Texas and we did not have a Dicks and a box of 100 now is 24.58 at walmart. That's 0.24 cents.

My reloading cost at this *TIME *is 0.11 cents. Why I emphasis *TIME *is because I did not order this time in bulk which would bring total cost down. I did factor in the shipping and HAZMAT fee into the price of the powder and primers. I did not factor in a waste figure and if anyone knows what the percent of waste per lb of powder is, let us know.

TOTAL COST PER POUND OF RED DOT IS *18.56 *(I did buy 4 8lb tubs}
TOTAL COST OF 1000 PRIMERS IS *16.72*
TOTAL COST OF 1000 HORNADY 115 GN METAL JACKET *84.99 (this is where I did not buy bulk)*

THE LOAD PER ROUND OF RED DOT IS 4.7 G (yes I know it's a hot load but it works great.)

Using that great calculator Baldy gave us (he is one person I wish I could go shooting with) the final reloading cost is

Cost per RD *0.114*
Per 50 *5.71
*1000 *114.10

*Walmarts price per round vs my reload .024 - .11 = .13 that I saved.

per 100 box I save 24.58 - 11.42 = 13.16 That's only a small reason why I reload. I bought last year 5000 bullets and save big time and if I used that in my computations I could make them at 0.026 cheaper, so a box of 50 would cost me *4.41*

I never bought brass. I think I have well over 10000 brass cases just in 9mm. I'm hope to get a table at the next gun show to sell once fired brass 100 per bag. I will be selling range memberships and a Basic reloading class that I offer and a few guns I want to sell. That money will go to bulk buying, handgun bullets and rifle powder.

What I think is neat is that the most expensive part of reloading is the brass and I get it free. I only buy bulk powder in the winter months due to summer heat when the powder would be subject to four or five days of 100 degrees or more storage. I don't have the money this time unless I make money at the next gun show. I bought 4 8lbs of green and 4 8lbs of red. I have gone through 24000 rounds of 9mm and have yet to go through one tub of the red or green. I sold a red and green tub last week to a guy I met at the range. It's nice to know that I could make up to 5000 9mm most of the time due to what I have on hand. Same goes for 45 and S&W40. I am short on S&W 40 brass.

When I first started reloading I did not buy anything in bulk. I wanted to find out what works best. I hope to narrow my powder needs to four types for handguns and three for my rifles. I reload 10 different handgun calibers and three calibers for my rifles. Soon to be five when I get a 243 barrel and 300 win mag barrel for the Thompson Contender.

Time to go and reload some 9's and 45's.


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## harryk

cbrgator said:


> May i ask what primer, powder, and bullets you are using?


winchester spp 2.69 per 100
power pistol 4# for 60.00
cast 170 gr from Missouri bullets 26.00 per 500


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