I hear you Ben. Definitely cheaper to shoot the 45 acp rounds. Luckily I reload for the 45LC at about 22-25 cpr. Otherwise I'd be right there with you.
In my case I have a bunch of 9mm ammo that was apparently crimped too tight for any chamber I have and I don't want to pull these, so the solution is obvious; get a 9mm wheelgun that uses clips. The logic in that plan is simply unassailable. Except that I assumed i could find some old beater to play with and it looks like everything that qualifies has a serious price tag and/or availability issues.
It's an odd thing how gun trends effect price and availability. I think of current lever gun prices. Used to be low demand fairly cheap guns. Now the same Rossi I paid $300 for sells for $600. Just glad I parted ways with my 30-30. The ammo prices the last few years are almost offensive.
When I bought my Blackhawk bisley convertible it was maybe $50 more than a non convertible. Not the case now. Guess we just gotta roll with the punches.