$$$$ #&^@^@&*#($0

[evan price]

Luckily I am blessed with free range brass (My feet are propped up on a lidded bucket full of over 7000 9mm Luger cases as I type this) so brass is a zero-expense for now.

I am loading 9mm with lead round-nose 125-grain slugs, Titegroup powder and Wolf primers for $3.30 per box of 50. That's enough savings to justify loading them. I load around 200 rounds per hour average on my progressive, a slow easy pace. If I can save $5 per box, that's $20 per hour of savings (which is a reasonable amount to pay myself for reloading). That's my magic number. If I can't save at least $5 a box, not worth my time. 9mm became "Worth my time" last year when I needed +P for my carbine, and to duplicate Gold Dot self defense loads ($25/box of 50, nope, I'm loading for $6.95/box of 50!) Now that I am loading 9mm anyway, once it hit $9 a box, it was open season to load 9mm.

Now if you shoot other calibers the savings are even more. $4.35 per box/50 for 230-gr lead roundnose .45's. Cheapest WWB is $15 a box. .38 Special for $3.65/50, it's about $13 a box around here. Saving $10 a box is definitely worth it!

.357 Mag for $3.80/50 using 158 lead SWCs. It's $20 a box around here! $16 a box savings- that's real money!

Now consider .44 Magnums are $30 a box nowadays and I can load mine with 240-SWC lead slugs for $4.80 per box. $25 per box saved- $100 profit every hour I load 'em. Load up 500 rounds of .44 Magnum and you have paid for a decent press setup, tumbler, scale, etc. and the rest is gravy.

Not that you really save, you just shoot more. But that's the idea, isn't it???

[Combat Controller]

Is that organic free range brass?

[toad]

I've saved some money and have had some success in buying once fired brass for reloading.
Prices vary depending on if you want it cleaned and deprimed, sorted by head stamp, plain brass or plated. Cabela's, Midway, Graff's, will sometimes have good deals on on 1X.
There are a lot of small guys out there that specialize also. If you are just loading for practice or plinking the mixed headstamp brass works fine. If you are loading hot I'd think about virgin brass, but that's just me.
Typical would be:

http://www.brassmanbrass.com/

[cu74]

Is that organic free range brass?

Only if the brass is from an outdoor range.....