Reloading after the pandemic.

Currently I am buying 22lr for 10 to 20cents a round. I know it is possible to reload 22lr but not really reliable or feasible. 

Picture if you will it is after the pandemic and reloaders are around 200-250 again. Black powder, primers shells and bullets have returned to pre pandemic prices and availability. I am pretty sure I can cast my own bullets.

What is the cheapest and accurate caliber to stock up on for reloading supplies @ pre pandemic prices? If it is still > 20 cents a round I will stick with 22lr and fill my closet with 22lr ammo when it becomes available again. If not then I will attempt to purchase a pistol in a center fire that I can cheaply reload and get the supplies needed. So when the next shortage comes I will not have to shoot whatever I can get my hands on.

I believe in order.

1) .22
2) 9mm
4) .45 acp

Since we're talking about reloading, the .22LR isn't really a choice.  Then, depending upon what kind of shooting you're reloading for, the order might be :

.45 ACP - never cheap for factory loads & versatile for target & self defense use;
.38 Special - never cheap for factory loads, but great for revolver & S&W 52 target shooting;
9mm - generally the most economical for general shooting (other than .22) because it's the most highly purchased ammo and therefore offers lower savings via reloading costs.

Again, the answer depends on what kind of shooting you're planning to do and how many rounds you're likely to use each year.

The cost of reloading smaller calibers is only a little bit cheaper than reloading larger calibers, so it isn't usually the main concern. The biggest cost difference is jacketed bullets (most expensive) vs commercial lead bullets (less expensive) vs casting your own (cheapest, but requires more time and equipment investment).

To shoot bullseye 2700's you have to shoot 45, so that is usually the starting point for all of us. 45 ACP uses large pistol primers. All other common pistol calibers (9mm, 38SPL, 40S&W, 32SWL etc) use small pistol primers which means stocking another primer and buying a small priming system for your reloader. In normal times there is no difference in the cost of primers. Small, Large, Pistol or Rifle were (and hopefully will be again) about $35 per thousand plus hazmat fee and/or tax, unless you get "Gold Medal" or "Bench Rest".

38 I think is the ultimate reloader caliber
-straight wall case
-seldom loose, wear out, or even drop brass

45 is also good an can take large or small primers. A nice finger to component size ratio.

9 has given me fits with the tapered case. Just small enough to be fiddly.  Also the pressure and speeds are high enough cast bullets are at the edge of their  performance envelope.

If you are looking for an overall most economical solution then surely 45ACP is a good choice. Use it for both CF & 45 in Bullseye Competition and it will also work fine for other games or purposes. It is arguably easier to produce Bullseye accurate 45ACP than 9mm. But even at pre-COVID component prices and lead bullets you are unlikely to get the unit price down to much below 12c/round (before factoring in the cost of the reloading equipment) unless you find a cheap/free source of lead and are willing to cast your own (bullet takes more than 50% of that 12c).

Any way you look at it shooting 22LR is always going to be much cheaper. And, IMHO, if you can't shoot tight groups with a decent 22 then you are very unlikely to do better with a larger calibre.

TY for the replies. Looks like I need to make room in my closet. And that Pardini is looking a little bit better every day.

At PRE pandemic prices to buy brass, bullets, powder and primers for 9mm it will cost you about $160 per 1000.  At pre-pandemic prices you could buy factory new for $190-240 per 1000.  Hardly worth the effort to load your own. Now, that said, I’m still shooting while others who don’t reload are sitting at home...

45 costs more largely due to the expense of the brass and bullets but the key here is ammo suitable for bullseye is not readily available.  So it is worth it to reload 45.  Same for 38 special.

In my personal opinion, the things for shooting to have on hand in general order if importance (or ability to "make due" in the event of, well, now) are shown below.  

Select your volumes and allocate investment and storage space accordingly.  But be absolutely sure your storage area is viable, safe and environmentally compatible with the stored product. 

(1) .22 ammunition
(2) Primers
(3) Powder
(4) Brass 
(5) Bullets

.22 ammo first because quality rounds are hard to make yourself, if correctly stored lasts a long time, you can store lots of rounds for the volume of storage space used and it can always be traded for something else.  

Primers are next and it is extremely hard to make those yourself. And you need one for every CF round.   

Powder is third, and its next on the list after primers because you can usually substitute some different types or make your own  (last resort, but viable).  

Brass is next because it lasts the longest in use and can be reused so you need lesser amount than primers and powder.  

Bullets generally last but are used more than brass.  But they don't go bad and as last resort (or just because you want to) you can reclaim range lead and make your own.  (Just need some moulds, lube and something to size with).  And of course you can trade your homemade ones for something else you want / need.  Nothing real "high tech" needed to make your own, and they will generally be good enough to shoot bullseye with if you know what you are doing.

(And if you have .22 or Primers, you can generally trade for any of the rest at times like these.)  

CR

And believe it or not, you can still scrounge brass on some public and private/semi-private ranges.

It is very hard to reload match accurate 9mm rounds, as accurate as Atlanta Arms or Asylum. 

45acp all day long, the brass lasts +20 reloads, range brass is easy to get, it is forgiving round to reload and you can get good results from Tite group, WST, VV310, Clays, 700x, BE, Universal, BA10, BE86, W231, HG38, CFE, AA9, and Red Dot and others.