9mm Reloading: A Complete Guide

Many shooters approach reloading their own ammo as a means of saving money on the cost of buying new rounds. Does the sum of the parts equal the whole? The cost-savings may not be the most impressive factor.

Reasons to Load Your Own 9mm Ammo

Here is a short list of important reasons why you should reload your own 9mm ammo.

1.You Control the Supply Chain – When you invest in setting up a reloading bench, you are not in control of when ammo is available. We have seen the degradation of supply chains designed to keep the general public supplied – Grocery stores with empty shelves, the rapid inflation of prices, hoarding of available products, and so much more in the past. When you can manufacture or reload your own bullets and produce quality rounds, you control the supply chain.

2.Limited Control of Costs – Because you are buying supplies either in bulk or when the prices are good, you control the overall cost of each round. Berry’s Bullets offers discounted prices on bullets when you buy larger quantities.

3.The “artistic” Freedom to create special rounds – You control the load, so you are able to make rounds in the dimensions, grains, and attributes you want.

4.The savings can pay for your entire bench in as little as a year – The more you shoot the more you save.

5.You also avoid the state laws that prohibit rounds from being mailed to your house. Every time you have to run down to the gun shop to buy rounds you are paying the markup cost.

If your ammo goals go beyond a few boxes of rounds for hunting, self-defense, or occasional target shooting, then reloading your own ammo should be a consideration. The ability to reload is important and setting up a bench and gathering the tools and supplies needed are the next step.

What You’ll Need for 9mm Reloading

You will need four items plus the tools to connect them.

1.A 9mm bullet – shape is open – Hollow Base Round Nose, Flat Point, Round Nose, hybrid hollow nose, etc.

2.A 9mm casing – brass is always available – you can go with new brass or you can recycle your spent casings.

3.Primer and mechanism

4.Powder

Tools for Reloading 9mm Ammo

1.Cleaner and brush to clean the casing and primer set; or you can use a tumbler to clean your casings and primer.

2.A reloading press, such as a turret press, with a die set as part of the reloading process – 9mm rounds are best set with a taper crimp rather than a roll crimp. Generally, a three-die set will work if they resize, de-prime, bell, and then set the bullet with a taper crimp.

3.A resizing die – for used casings – puts the brass back into shape after the stress of firing the round, the casing may warp.

4.A tool for trimming the case – you can use a hand trimmer or electric trimmer. You also want a way to deburr the cut.

5.Primer insertion tool – Sometimes that is part of the reloading press although there are hand tools specifically for this job.

6.Scale or tool that measures out the powder and a funnel. Some presses have that built in.

There are a variety of tools to achieve cleaning the casing and removing the primer, adding a new primer, trimming, and deburring the case, adding the powder, and then seating the bullet.

The key to a good reload is using a quality bullet factory designed to fit its brass case. Berry’s offers a range of options, so you can pick from different bullet shapes and still receive quality bullets and craft a quality shooting experience.

You can choose the overall grain of the bullet and the round to configure the best muzzle velocity whether you are using a hollow point or a full metal jacket.

How to Reload 9mm Ammo – Generalized Steps

The step-by-step way to reload 9mm ammo.

1.Start with clean material. If you are reusing cases, the brass or casing material must be cleaned. That includes removing the old primer and cleaning the primer housing. You can use a tumbler or a tool/die to clean the casings. A tumbler works better – you can use dry or wet media in the tumbler.

2.Resize the case – due to expansion and pressure when firing a round, the casing may warp. The die will help resize the casing and bring it back to its safe specifications. Sometimes, brass will elongate, and you will need to measure the casing and trim off any excess. If the last reload used a roll crimp you will need to remove the crimp with a saw or cutter. You want to cut the crimp so the casing is still an acceptable length.

3.Install the new primer – they have hand tools that make this process fairly simple. Most reloading machines also have the tooling required to prime your cases as well.

4.Load the Powder – grains are a measurement of weight and how much powder you add is one of the ways to configure the final grain for the entire round. The bullets will have their own weight and you will need X amount of powder to create quality 9 mm ammo with the correct muzzle velocity (also a variable.) A load manual is essential to ensure safety when loading your own ammunition. Make sure to verify and follow all load data carefully for your load.

5.Fit the bullet into the casing and then seat it. A progressive reloading press or a single-stage press is a big help. Case lube can help the bullet fit into the neck of the casing. Due to the clean nature of the casing, the bullet may not want to slide in – in that case a dry case lube is used to solve that problem.

6.Bullet Crimping – Once the bullet is seated the round will need to be crimped slightly. A taper crimp is all you would need for a 9mm. Some die sets both seat and crimp while others use separate dies for this process. We recommend separating the process for the best results although a dual-purpose die will work sufficiently. You have successfully reloaded a 9 mm Luger round

It is truly not that difficult to reload 9mm ammo. Even if you want to also reload different caliber rounds, the process is the same. You want to pay attention to specifics – the bullet grain weight, the powder charge located in load data, and the overall length of the round are all important to creating a safe round. In this case, the bullet and the round are two different things. The bullet is the tip of the round and the round is the complete assembly of the bullet, powders, casing, and primer. The professionals at Berry’s are also available to answer your questions and give you pro tips or explanations about what tools to use and how they work. We want you to be happy with your purchase, your reloading experience, and the quality of your rounds.

You can set up your loads with different bullet weights and you have options of different bullet types from lead to full-metal jacketed projectiles. Every great shot starts with bullet choice.

9mm Bullets from Berry’s

Berry’s offers a range of 9 mm bullets from 100 grains to 147 grains and a large selection of profile options including round nose, hollow point, thick-plated, and flat points. All are copper plated using the best bonding process available today.

You can also chat with the experts at Berry’s to learn more about which type of bullet is right for you. Many shooters have a collection of 9mm rounds to make a small arsenal to fit the many ways they shoot – target practice, hunting.

Why Shop Berry’s?

Berry’s is a family-owned business with over 60 years of experience manufacturing bullets. We make our own bullets rather than import them from other sources. That means we are 100 percent in control of our inventory and in today’s nightmare of logistics, that is a big boon to our customers.

Berry’s also curates an awesome collection of reloading accessories to reload your own rounds. These can assist you with the critical aspects of reloading specialized rounds. Plus, we are always available to help you with expert craftsmen and people who know their stuff.

Whether you are doing this for the first time or you are an old expert, Berry’s has what you need – Quality materials for accurate reloading. Learn more today about reloading and the supplies and tools you need by visiting us online or giving us a call.