Benefits of Reloading Handgun Calibers

Beyond cost and performance, there is a level of satisfaction that comes from shooting ammunition you’ve assembled yourself. There is also peace of mind in knowing that your ammunition supply is not subject to market shortages or sudden buying frenzies that can empty retail shelves.

One of the primary benefits of reloading handgun ammunition is cost savings. As a general rule, the larger the bore diameter, the greater the potential savings.

When comparing reloading costs to factory-loaded ammunition, the savings with 9mm ball ammunition can be modest, as factory pricing is often competitive. For example, the average cost to reload a 9mm cartridge using new brass is approximately $0.38 per round. That cost can be reduced by nearly half when using previously fired brass.

However, with .45 ACP, factory ammunition commonly averages $0.60 per round or more. Hand loading for a 45 AUTO with new brass will average about .50 cents per round, while subsequent reloads using the same brass can reduce the cost to roughly $0.25 per round. For shooters who frequent the range, reloading .45 ACP quickly becomes a cost-effective and practical choice.

Assembling your own pistol ammunition provides significant flexibility. For instance, the Hornady HAP and Hornady XTP bullets can be loaded to identical specifications. The HAP typically costs about 30% less than the XTP, making it an economical option for general practice while reserving the XTP for duty, defensive, or hunting applications. Even greater savings can be achieved by using plated bullets such as Berry’s or Frontier. I routinely shoot my .45 ACP out to 50 feet and experience virtually identical results when bullet velocities are kept consistent. This level of customization is only possible when loading your own ammunition.

Revolver shooters, in particular, can benefit greatly from handloading. In addition to the cost savings already discussed, factory revolver ammunition often lacks versatility. A 50-round box of jacketed .44 Magnum ammunition can easily exceed $50. A handloader can assemble a 44 Magnum using a quality jacketed bullet for less than .60 cents a round, less than that if using a bullet suitable for punching a hole in a target and slightly more is you choose a premium bullet.

Factory offerings are typically limited to either full-power jacketed loads or light lead target loads, with little middle ground. Custom handloading bridges the gap in-between the two extremes at a fraction of the costs. One of my favorite loads is a milder plinking round assembled in a magnum-length case—a combination that is not available commercially. I alternate between cast lead and plated bullets depending on whether I’m punching paper or participating in a cowboy action match.

A look at chamberings and bullets:

9mm generally use 115-125 grain bullets. Again it is fairly easy to select a bullet weight and powder charge you like and use either premium hollow points or general plinking bullets and experience similar results. The basic selection is either a hollow point or a solid bullet design that can be round or conical. Click here to view

40 S&W and 10mm’s require a .400 diameter bullet with general weights from 155 to 180-grains which are generally in a hollow point form, the exception would be a plated bullet which can be found in a flat point design.

45 AUTOS digest 185 to 230-grain bullets. The traditional load was a 230-grain Round Nose. Lighter weight bullets originally appeared for Target Shooting but later on Hollow Points can be found in all weights. I prefer 185-grain in lighter framed carry guns to control muzzle flip and in the middle you can find a variety of 200-grain bullets.

38 Specials and 357 Magnums make up a majority of all .357 diameter revolvers in use with bullets ranging from 125-grains to 180-grain, 158’s being the preferred by most 357 Magnum owners. Variety of bullet designs are in use, lead cast, Jacketed Hollow Points and Soft Points and economical plated bullets.

44’s which is really a .430 diameter typically are 44 Magnums today. You can load the shorter 44 Special in a Magnum, a favorite technique when assembly target ammunition. Bullet weights generally range from 200-grains up to 240-grains, with few bullet designs topping the scale at 300-grains.

45 Caliber Revolvers shoot a .452 diameter bullet with weights from 200 to 300-grains. The common calibers being 45 COLT-454 CASULL-460 S&W. Magnum 45’s (Casull and S&W) require stronger bullets when pushed to their full potential.

A look at powders:

Generally pistol and revolver ammunition is produced with powders with fairly fast burn rates. Burn Rates can be categorized into four groups: 1-Light Handgun/Target 12 gauge. 2-Magnum Handgun/Field 12 GA-Small Bore Shot Guns. 3-Small Bore Rifle/Varmint Calibers and 4-Magnum Rifles.

Group 1 powders related to this article examples: Winchester 231, Winchester CFE Pistol, Hodgdon Tite Group, Hodgdon HP-38, Hodgdon Clays, Accurate #2 and #5, IMR Trail Boss, IMR 700X, Alliant Buulseye. .

Group 2 powder examples: Winchester 296, Hodgdon H-110, Hodgdon Lil’Gun, IMR-4227, Accurate #7 & #9, Alliant Unique & 2400.

It is not a complete list but should give you the general idea. I use Winchester 231 (HP-38 is the same powder) for my 9mm, 38 Special, 44 Special, 45 AUTO. I can also use in lighter target loadings in Magnum case but be aware here there is a large case volume and the recipe calls for light loads. Example 200-grain 45 Colts the charge is 5.8 grains, the water capacity here is 30+ grains so a double charge is easy to do and the burn efficiency is not great. Due to this concept using a smaller case is a good choice, in this example a 45 Cowboy Special case and using 45 ACP data can be used. In a 357 Mag load 38 Special and 44 Special in place of a 44 Mag.

Another option for loadings in larger capacity cases is using a powder that fill more space, Trail Boss was created just for this purpose. Or using a slightly slower burning powders that require a larger charge. This will create higher velocity without crating to much more in pressures so recoils are still manageable. HS-6 and Unique come to mind.

Magnum loadings I rely on H-110 (Winchester #296 is the same powder) and Alliant 2400.

The point I am trying to make with two or three powders in your arsenal one can reload for a wide variety of handgun calibers. I stuck with Winchester 231for my basic needs simply because it is versatile and that is what I learned to load handguns cartridges decades ago. It is a powder that can be used with creating target and duty ammunition ranging from .380 Auto upwards. Actually there are several powders that can do that and many opinions on which is better.