hey guys.  i'm new to owning firearms, and i haven't a clue about reloading.  is it worth it to reload 40cal ammo?

i've had my XD40 for about a month now and have shot ~400 rounds through it, but as the weather conditions improve, i plan to be shooting quite often.  i've been buying cases of the value-pack 100rd WWB (i think this stands for Winchester White Box? haha) for about $17 from walmart; it seems like a good price, but maybe it's cheaper yet to reload..?

if i'm saving a few cents per hundred it won't be worth it to me. but if i can save a few dollars per hundred, then it might be worth looking into.

any opinions/advice is welcome, thanks guys

matt

i shoot 9mm.  yes i can save money by reloading but i don't know if i would enjoy it at all.  and i also have considered the fact that my time is worth something as well.  so i might be spending a lot of time reloading and saving money out of pocket but then i might not be getting other stuff done that i wanted to do.  

i don't know how you feel about aluminum cased ammo but i have used a lot of it in 9mm and it has never been a problem.  i suggest you look at blazer and blazer brass ammo at natchez.  i can get 1000 rounds of either shipped to my house for ~175.  right now the blazer brass is only 5 cents more a box than the aluminum cased variety.  at that price its a steal.  i think blazer is better ammo than wwb and you are coming out maybe $5 behind by using it.  

i appreciate the thoughts.  by the time i ship ammo, $175/1000 is probably actually a couple dollars more than WWB as it's just under $17/100.... but i appreciate the suggestion.

yeah the time issue definitely plays into the "is it worth it" deal.  it would have to be quite a bit cheaper to get me to do it, haha.  maybe if i ever get a DE .50... maybe then it'll be worth reloading. heh.

thanks!

I know I'm kind of late on this one. But reloading is a hobby which can also have many side benefits.  If you don't think it will be an enjoyable hobby for you, don't bother.  The fact that you might save some money should only be one of the reasons for you to consider reloading.

I reload because I want to find good shooting, mild loads for my guns.  I am currently working with some reloads in 45GAP that feel as soft as some 9mm factory loads.  I also like the time, and attention to detail it requires, not to mention the experimentation.  I have found that reloading is much more tedious than I ever imagined and the start up costs are pretty steep  if you want to do it right the first time.  Many people actually find that reloading does not save them money because they just wind up shooting more often with their reloads.  In other words, before you might have spent $200 a month on ammo and shot once a week, after reloading you will still spend about $200 a month but you will be shooting two or three times a week because you have more ammo.

It is definitely worthwhile to reload you own 9mm ammo, unless you have zero time available.  There are many once fired reloadable 9mm cases laying on the range floor.  Or you can buy new cases, either way pistol brass will last a long, long time.  You will probably loose more than you wear out(ie case mouth splits, damaged during reloading etc).  After you make your money back for cost of the reloading equipment, you can reload for the cost of a bullet & primer, plus a few tenth of a cent for powder.  I can reolaod a 9mm  for about 5¢/round using a plain lead bullet bought at the local gunshow, that is about $5/100.  Of course if you can use a more expensive jacket bullet, of course your cost will increase.