I completely understand reloading for accuracy, and have a single stage Rock Chucker.

The curiousity is reloading for 9mm and .223 that we blast with -vs- just buying Wolf like we have been. The wolf price is creeping up a little, but we were getting it for just under ten cents a round; delivered.
If we bought WWB to get the brass, the difference is about 2 cents on the 9mm and about 9 cents on the 223 .

Can't imagine myself having the patience to run large quantities of blast ammo through a single stage, so we'd be looking for a reliable progressive press. Dillon seems to be the benchmark, so a used model would probably be in order.

How cheaply can you reload for 9mm and 223?
How many rounds would I have to process to recoup the investment in brass and equipment?

Quoted: I completely understand reloading for accuracy, and have a single stage Rock Chucker. The curiousity is reloading for 9mm and .223 that we blast with -vs- just buying Wolf like we have been. The wolf price is creeping up a little, but we were getting it for just under ten cents a round; delivered. If we bought WWB to get the brass, the difference is about 2 cents on the 9mm and about 9 cents on the 223 . Can't imagine myself having the patience to run large quantities of blast ammo through a single stage, so we'd be looking for a reliable progressive press. Dillon seems to be the benchmark, so a used model would probably be in order. How cheaply can you reload for 9mm and 223? How many rounds would I have to process to recoup the investment in brass and equipment?

T-J in all honesty when it comes to 9mm yer better off just buying it factory. Haven't started in on .223 yet and when I do it's going to be mostly hunting ammo not blasting ammo

That's about what I figured.

Pretty sure that FlameThrower is reloading 9mm in quantity, but I don't know if he's doing it for economy or just to get his press-handle fix.

What about the Lee progressive?  Would that be an economical way to reload the .223 that I shoot up and make it blasting ammo?  I don't really have much faith in a Lee progressive loader producing match grade ammo, but they are pretty cheap, and you get a loaded round with each pull of the handle.

How cheaply can you reload for 9mm and 223?

You can typically figure reloading will run you about 50% of factory.  I know when I reload 9mm, I can do 2k rounds for about $100 in components.  Rifle rounds might be a little more, but will still be cheaper.  Of course, I'm not figuring my time in... but since I've got more time than money and I enjoy reloading itself, I'll keep doing it.  

YMMV

I reload on a Dillion 550.  I reload a wide variety of calibers.  

I reload 9 mm in lots of 2000 or 4000 to feed "Suzi the Uzi".  My best cost is about $73 per thousand not considering the cost of brass or labor.  You can get 1K of factory for $110 or so.  Honestly I don't think its worth it money wise.  Your time is worth something.  It takes me about 3 hours to load 1 K.

It is worth it to get better quality and less available calibers like 6.8 SPC.  All things considered its a habbit I wish I never started.  I would have more free time.

YMMV

Jeff

I reload volume on a RCBS auto indexing press. I can do about 600 an hour with primer tubes loaded.
My best price for 9mm blasting ammo was last year at it was about $64 per 1000 and I loaded 3000 in a couple of small sessions in a couple of days. This is without the cost of brass. I don't pay for pistol brass as I get buckets full for free.

As for .223 if you buy your components properly, it is still somewhat cost effective.

The last purchase I made I got 1000 55gr FMJ for $26 per K primers $17 per K, and powder is about 4lbs per K at $40 per 8lb jug. At the time I even bought once fired brass for $16 per K. So even with the brass it was about $80 per K. Cheaper if you have the brass already. The cost savings is even better when you start building M855's.

Certainly your time is worth something, but if you are just spending it in front of the idiot box anyway, how much is it really worth?

I don't know if it is much more cost effective, but I look at it this way. I know what I am getting. I am quality control after all. I am able to shoot more. I can buy stuff in groups when I have the money. I cannot affort to just go out and buy 20,000 rounds at a time like some people.
I enjoy the quiet time I can spend at my craft. I can turn out some of the finest ammo around, certainly better than anything store bought. I enjoy doing it. It is a bit addictive as some have indicated.

I would not just disrequard it out of hand. A lot of people will say it is just a wash, but I disagree. You get out of it just what you put in. There are deals to be had, you just know where to look.

If you have a SS press I am sure you know the ins and out of reloading, but if you don't and want a little more info or just want to work with a progressive, feel free to drop me a line. You are welcome on up here and we can go through the stuff here first.

I reload for 9mm and for .223 on a single stage press.  I reload 9mm for about 9 cents a round, but I use 147 gr JHP bullets.  If I bought my components in bulk, I would be able to reload for cheaper yet.  This is a very accurate load in my Glock 17.  My load is quieter, less recoil, and less smoke than WWB.  With my components for .223 it is about 12 cents a round.  I used to use a cheaper bullet, (winchester), but the accuracy was not the greatest, so I switched to Hornady 55 gr FMJBT. Again, if I bought my .223 components in bulk, it would be even cheaper.  I enjoy reloading.  I dont do a lot of shooting, but I couldnt imagine not reloading. It has definately become a hobby in itself.  You can start off cheap with a single stage press, or go right to a progressive.  You are able to use the progressive as a single stage I believe, so it is possible to learn on one.  Dillon is the best, RCBS is also top quality, if not as good as the Dillon.  The Lee Loadmaster is another option, there are a lot of people who call this press shit, and there are some who use it with no problems.  Never used one, so I dont know.  You could also consider a turret press, which is kind of an in-between the two.  

Figure about 80 to 100 dollars per 1000 of 223.  Since wolf is going for over 100 dollars a case now, I think it is worth it to reload.

I used to load 9mm, but with the price of wolf at $100, it didn't pay off anymore.  I ran some numbers a while back for loading 556 and 762, but it still wasn't cost effective for me to reload yet.  BTW, I valued my time at $10 an hour to reload.