Shotshell Reloading

Start buying Gun Clubs, they shoot just as well as the STS.
If you shop around Gun Clubs can be had or about $5 box.
To reload at a savings, the investment is greater than the returns.
Now if you are shooting a 28 gauge or 410 then it might be worth it,
since those shells cost more per box.

Here's my cost breakdown for my 12ga 1oz load:
1 oz shot = $.09
Win 209 Primer = $.03
WAA12SL wad =$.025
19grs of Red Dot powder = $.065
I don't consider the cost of the hulls because I can always get them free, looks like you can too. I use Win AA hulls, but I read that the Rem STS hulls are great.
That's a total of $.21 each which = $5.25 for a box of 25
I consider my loads top quality stuff so I don't try to compare this cost to the cost of the cheapest stuff you can buy at Walmart.

The Alliant manual claims this load is 1300 fps
Hope this helps!

I'm in Michigan and Gun Clubs can be had for About $5/ bx.
The Walmart valu-pack stuff is not worth reloading or shooting.

I think it's hard to justify reloading 12ga. these days purely based on $$$. I save a ton reloading for my .410 and 28ga, though. And I enjoy it, so I reload for everything.

So, I reload for @ 14 different metallic cartridges including competitive high volume pistol. But even when I was shooting sporting clays competitively and doing 800-1000 shells a week at some points, I couldn’t get to reloading 12 ga.

With group buys of a pallet of Rio Target, which is perfectly good practice ammo, I think we got the price down to something like $4.50/20 and I knew another group that was getting pallets of Estate at $3/20, but one has to have some standards. At that price, I just couldn’t justify reloading. And some of the guys I shot with who did reload described the experience as really negatively impacting their enthusiasm for clays.

If you are shooting 16, 28, or .410 in any volume, reloading is a much more viable and sensible proposition.

I’d really try to explore some form of group buy. Even B&P, which makes some very good target ammo, will do a very good deal on high volume purchases.

I shoot casual clay at a local public range. My loads are 3/4 to 7/8 oz.
as far as supplies go -- estate sales and gun show finds make reloading
12 ga. much cheaper.
If I shot league the I'd buy shells by the flat.

If you decide to take up shotshell loading, don't do it on carpet!

Hope this helps.

Fred

What is a good source for new or used remington hulls.

I reload 12 gauge shells for cowboy Action Shooting so that I can duplicate a Winchester AA low recoil load that retails for about $9.00 per box. I use reclaimed Shot or homemade shot that costs about half the price of new shot. It probably would not pattern as well as new shot but at the distances we shoot it does not matter. My component cost is about $4.00 per box assuming two uses of a hull which is conservative.

I am currently shooting “Frontier Cartridge” which requires that my shells be loaded with black powder or a black powder substitute. My powder cost is a little higher but the savings are greater because commercially loaded black powder shells are very dear.

That said, I use factory ammo for clayshooting.

Find a range near you that will let you recover spent shells.
Many public ranges have dumpsters for trash and spent shells.

jaguarxk120 said:

Find a range near you that will let you recover spent shells.
Many public ranges have dumpsters for trash and spent shells.

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I asked the ranges close they dont allow it.

Lead is the factor. For that volume, you'll want at least a MEC Grabber - go for used.
Buying components in bulk is how to save. Wads by the case of 5000, powder by the case of 2-8# jugs, primers by the sleeve of 5000 - (various online folks often have hazmat and shipping deals that cut those costs a lot)
Lead, however, can be the issue, especially if you want to load 1oz or more of top quality shot. I reload (for fun and practice) a 3/4oz 12 gauge load so I get 533 rounds from a bag of shot as opposed to 400 for 1oz loads.

Save your STS hulls, they're the best in 12 and 20 gauge.

My reloads cost me $3.85/box using Eagle shot

Crunchy Frog said:

I reload 12 gauge shells for cowboy Action Shooting so that I can duplicate a Winchester AA low recoil load that retails for about $9.00 per box. I use reclaimed Shot or homemade shot that costs about half the price of new shot. It probably would not pattern as well as new shot but at the distances we shoot it does not matter. My component cost is about $4.00 per box assuming two uses of a hull which is conservative.

I am currently shooting “Frontier Cartridge” which requires that my shells be loaded with black powder or a black powder substitute. My powder cost is a little higher but the savings are greater because commercially loaded black powder shells are very dear.

That said, I use factory ammo for clayshooting.

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We're also ensuring shot size not larger than 7 1/2 and hulls that are slick enough to easily eject when shooting on a timer. Short of that $9/box for AA Winchester, we control those variables by reloading our own in used hulls of choice. In our sport, I have heard it that you reuse the hull until it comes apart. More fail for getting a rough texture and a risk for a stuck hull, costing time to pick.

George P said:

Lead is the factor.

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The price of shot has been up for several years. I sell reclaimed shot, and just bought 2 tons, which is the first reclaimed shot I've been able to buy in the last year. I just finished cleaning and adding graphite to it. I had to pay premium price to get it, but I've already sold almost half of it. Most buyers are purchasing 10 bags at a time, since the reclaimed shot supply has been almost non-existent in my area for quite awhile, and new shot is expensive. I don't ship shot, since the packaging takes me a long time and it takes double boxing and a roll of packaging tape will only do two boxes. My sales are strictly local due to that.

If you can find someone selling reclaimed shot in your area, expect to pay about $30.00 per 25 pound bag. That's $15.00 to $20.00 cheaper than new shot is selling at Sportsman's Warehouse, Bi-Mart and Cabela's on the West Coast.

Hope this helps.

Fred

ReloaderFred said:

The price of shot has been up for several years. I sell reclaimed shot, and just bought 2 tons, which is the first reclaimed shot I've been able to buy in the last year. I just finished cleaning and adding graphite to it. I had to pay premium price to get it, but I've already sold almost half of it. Most buyers are purchasing 10 bags at a time, since the reclaimed shot supply has been almost non-existent in my area for quite awhile, and new shot is expensive. I don't ship shot, since the packaging takes me a long time and it takes double boxing and a roll of packaging tape will only do two boxes. My sales are strictly local due to that.

If you can find someone selling reclaimed shot in your area, expect to pay about $30.00 per 25 pound bag. That's $15.00 to $20.00 cheaper than new shot is selling at Sportsman's Warehouse, Bi-Mart and Cabela's on the West Coast.

Hope this helps.

Fred

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I also use chilled shot, finding most places selling magnum (less dense alloy), so I order it. Comes in a nylon woven bag at 20 pounds (more than one at a time). Probably not the cheapest way to load.

ReloaderFred said:

The price of shot has been up for several years. I sell reclaimed shot, and just bought 2 tons, which is the first reclaimed shot I've been able to buy in the last year. I just finished cleaning and adding graphite to it. I had to pay premium price to get it, but I've already sold almost half of it. Most buyers are purchasing 10 bags at a time, since the reclaimed shot supply has been almost non-existent in my area for quite awhile, and new shot is expensive. I don't ship shot, since the packaging takes me a long time and it takes double boxing and a roll of packaging tape will only do two boxes. My sales are strictly local due to that.

If you can find someone selling reclaimed shot in your area, expect to pay about $30.00 per 25 pound bag. That's $15.00 to $20.00 cheaper than new shot is selling at Sportsman's Warehouse, Bi-Mart and Cabela's on the West Coast.

Hope this helps.

Fred

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I used to buy from my local club when I lived in Central Florida. The club would have its fields mined about 3-5 years and would get 40% of the total; usually about 40,000 pounds. We paid anywhere from $20-$30 depending on the price of lead at the time.

Before I moved last year, I bought Eagle from them at $32.50/bag OTD