Hello from Parker - 16 yr resident

[KS63]

My goal, with the 9mm, is to get it down to about $0.12/round...that's assuming I'm reusing my own brass several times, of course. Going with the Xtreme pricing, that is about $0.08 for the bullet...think the primers are about $0.03, then the powder...gotta read up to see how much powder to determine the cost, but I've heard folks doing this for about $0.11 - $0.14/round. Beats the price I'm getting at Cabela's for about $0.26/round...although did have some Federal American Eagle for $0.24/round for a few weeks.

Welcome to the site from another 550B owner just up the road from you. I know people get into reloading to save money, but to be honest, I've never really added anything up per round cost. I buy stuff that shoots good and is safe. I enjoy my time reloading.

[BrianV]

Nice - FYI, I did order from Xtreme. However, they didn't have FMJ, and I ended up ordering the plated...saw a lot of reviews that mentioned people had put several 1,000s downrange with no issues. However, one of my reloading buddies said I needed to pay special care to the crimping stage with the plated ones. Greeeat...wanted it as simple as I could get it with the first batch or so!

[BrianV]

Welcome to the site from another 550B owner just up the road from you. I know people get into reloading to save money, but to be honest, I've never really added anything up per round cost. I buy stuff that shoots good and is safe. I enjoy my time reloading.

Glad to meet you (and everyone who was so gracious to extend a welcome). That is one point I heard - people can reload a lot more "quality" in comparison to just going with the "cheap stuff" factory ammo. I do not expect to have any net savings because I intend to shoot twice as much as my current limit (due to price). Basically, I have too many hobbies, so I have to keep an eye on the budget. And yes, I suspect I will enjoy it. Hard to compare, but I also string my own tennis racquets. Spend $40 to have someone else string, or string with decent stuff...and trust the tensions...for about $8! Plus there is definite pride of ownership when you "do it yourself".

[Irving]

Your buddy is over exaggerating the difficulty of the crimp stage.
Here was my learning experience: https://www.ar-15.co/threads/129251-...loading-thread

[crays]

Welcome aboard.
If you're looking at TiteGroup as a powder choice, shoot me a PM. Sounds like you're well on your way to getting set up.

sent from somewhere

[BrianV]

Your buddy is over exaggerating the difficulty of the crimp stage.
Here was my learning experience: https://www.ar-15.co/threads/129251-...loading-thread

Wow - that is a heck of a primer! Thanks.

[BrianV]

Welcome aboard.
If you're looking at TiteGroup as a powder choice, shoot me a PM. Sounds like you're well on your way to getting set up.

sent from somewhere

I am definitely looking at TiteGroup, based upon what I've read, but my first batch may be 2# of Alliant BE-86 from a friend.

[rondog]

Moooooom, Irving's showing off again!

Oh, and welcome from another Parkerite!

[Brian]

Welcome! Always glad to have another member over here on this side of town. We've got a decent concentration going...

[BrianV]

Thanks - FYI, a little update:

- I've got the Dillon 550B all set up and running. I've taken 105 rounds to the range (started w/5...did a little praying before I pulled the trigger...then took the next 100). So far, I'm 104/105 with good rounds. I knew that one round was suspect because of a slight notch in the primer, but I wanted to see if it was an issue. I'm running about 5.4 grains - and about 1.15" long on the 9mm.
- I also bought the Cabela's Tumbler (model 400, I think)...the brass, coupled with the plated bullets, comes out looking better than a lot of the factory stuff I've purchased.
- I've gone "all-in" on embracing the cross dominance. Unbelievable - I wonder if that has always been the case. I'm definitely shooting much tighter patterns closer to the center of the target.