A friend of mine bought me some bullets from a charity thing one of my favorite authors had going for Christmas. Unfortunately they're just the bullets and I don't know anything about reloading. My father in law had a set up he said he'd help me use but I need dies, powder, brass and primers. Does anyone have a tutorial they like or recommendations for the things I'll need to buy? The bullets 127gr 9mm.

Moved to the Reloading discussion section.

Well, the first question is . . . do you really WANT to reload? If not, then just sell or trade the bullets, and move on with your life. If reloading really interests you, though, then go for it! You'll need a lot of equipment and supplies to get started.

If this is something that you want to do, what other calibers do you think you'd reload for?

I've thought about it a few times, and mostly haven't pulled the trigger due to not having the time to shoot or reload. Some of my friends are getting more interested so that could change. As for moving the bullets on, I'd rather not, but I don't need a bag of random bullets sitting around either.

If I were going to really get in to it I'd do .45ACP, 9MM and 300BLK.

Steve raises a great point. A lot of us look at reloading as a secondary hobby to shooting that consumes a lot of time in and of itself. There is a steep learning curve but it's also a lot of fun to craft your own ammunition.

To help guide your decisions maybe a few questions to answer for yourself:
- Are you wanting to shoot for low volume/round count with precise accuracy (think precision rifle) or for high volume (think pistol shooting at range or competition)?
- Are you thinking to shoot mostly jacketed bullets or lead bullets?

This can help guide whether you go with a single-stage reloading press or a progressive press to start with and to a lesser degree what kind of dies.
There are several folks on the forum who regularly offer used reloading presses and components for sale which can help you to get started without mortgaging the family farm

As far as accumulating brass cases my two cents is just shoot factory ammo and collect up the spent cases, particularly if reloading for common handgun calibres like 9mm/40/45 or 38 Special. This way you can have fun shooting and build up a supply of cases for reloading at the same time.

A great way to get a first idea for what's involved is to pick up the Hornady Reloading Handbook (currently on 10th edition) on Amazon or Midway for around $30 bucks or so. Then read the introductory sections on safety and reloading practices. You can always bring whatever questions come up back to the forum for help and also for advice on what kind of equipment to buy or anything else that comes to mind.

Do you have any friends that already reload? If so, I would suggest going over to watch a reloading session, and maybe they'd let you load up your 9mm bullets while you're there. Getting hands-on experience and some in-person tutoring is hard to beat.

A lot of people recommend the book "ABCs of Reloading":
https://smile.amazon.com/ABCs-Reloading ... ce-Expert/

You'll also want at least one good reloading manual, such as:
Hornady
Lee

And then . . . this isn't a comprehensive list, but just to hit the biggies, you'll need:

Reloading press
Die set, one for each caliber
Shell plate or shell holder, one for each caliber
Tumbler and media
Powder scale
Calipers
Brass
Bullets
Primers
Powder
Case trimmer (for 300BLK)
Case lube (for 300BLK)

If you know someone with a set up that will allow you to reload...buy a pound of powder, a box of primers and collect some brass at the range/pits.

Give you buddy some money for the soap, citrus cleaner and case lube (a few or ten bucks), and for putting up with you and your zillion questions. Bring sack lunches (one for your buddy)

sit down and load until powder, bullets or primers are depleted.
(I think it's kind of like hotdogs and buns: you can buy 10 hotdogs but they sell buns by the dozen...)

Anyway, by that time you finish that first reloading session you will probably have at least an idea of whether it is a hobby you wish to pursue.

Do you enjoy spending "alone time" in your garage or shop? Like to tinker? Are you OCD? If the answer is "yes" to at least two of those questions, you've probably found a new hobby.

Judging by how luke-warm you initial post seemed, I wouldn't go spend a bundle on equipment until you get a chance to load with a friend and shoot what you've loaded.

DO NOT DO IT!

If you don’t know if you want to reload and you don’t have the gear and know how.

Especially 9mm


For the pure cost. There is clearly almost no benefit of reloading of 9mm. Unless you do massive amounts of thousands upon thousands of self defense loads.

Basically you can save yourself a lot of money and headache. Don’t do it.

Full disclosure - not a reloading guy.
I like to empty my brass not load them.

"Full disclosure - not a reloading guy.
I like to empty my brass not load them."

Speaking for all us guys that do reload- Thanks for the brass!

Seriously, it does not make financial sense to reload 9mm with today's prices and availability.

That being said, my ability to reload along with a good supply of components allowed me to shoot whenever I wanted during the 'dry spell' a couple years ago.

Long term logic may be different than the short term consideration.

There are many benefits of reloading but it is a specialized set of skills.

A person must want and like to research... a tinkerer of sorts. Someone that is detailed orientated and can put aside a ton of time and money and work space... All that shit takes up space.

For the casual guy... reloading simple does not make sense (especially with the prices of ammo right now).

Lets talk cost to make 1000 round...
I just picked up a bucket of 4000 Xtreme bullets (9mm 115 gr) shipped to my house that worked out to $59 per K
Cabelas has S & B primers for $19.99 per K
Powder is about $15 - $26 or less if you buy a 5 or 8 lb keg but ya only use less than 3/4 of a pound so say $15

I can make 1000 rounds of 9mm for $94 because I already have the brass in 2.5 hours. What the OP needs to know is that reloading wont save you any money because you will shoot twice as much! Twice a much fun for the same money is always a good thing!

But this is the fallacy of "reloading cost"

Tally up all the cost... from scratch.

Brass, reloading equipment, all accessories, etc, etc, etc, etc

Now tell me how much someone starting out can expect to pay...

Granted if you have reloaded for 5+, 10+ 20+ 30+ plus years... you have gathered quite a bit of inventory over all those years.
But for someone that doesn't have anything... it's a BIG JUMP in cost.


Even taking someone that may reload 10,000 rounds their first year... It still adds up for a big cost to "invest"

A young guy could very well recoup the investment. IF he sticks with it, shoots an awful lot and finds years of true enjoyment in the pursuit (hobbies have value beyond money spent pursuing them)

True, though, one could buy a whole lot of Kimchi with that kind of money.

And if he's married... shit, the time spent in a quiet garage is priceless!

Speaking to cost, I would not reload 9mm or .45acp starting out.

I know for a fact I've recouped my entire startup cost by reloading .357 mag and 10mm alone.

You can't include the price of the equipment, besides, that equipment holds some value, you can sell it later and get some (most?) of your money back and 9mm is a bad example, although even with some of the sales, I can still load 9mm 115gr FMJ/plated for less than you can buy it.

if we look at other, more expensive calibers, say .44 Magnum, the savings are substantial, especially when you buy components like the bullets (the most expensive part) at gun shows in partial boxes for less than 1/2 retail

read more here: http://tincanbandit.blogspot.com/2013/0 ... eload.html