Reloading 12 Gauge - cost effective?

Yes, with the price of everything going up, it is now cost effective. Last year it wasn't.

Maybe it’s me, but saving $.50 on a box is worth it, but then again I shoot 12k+ per year so it adds up in the end. The thing people miss (I think) with shotgun loading is you have to buy in bulk…BULK, if you don’t your wasting money; I’m one of the cheap SOB skeet/ 5-stand shooter. I purchase shot a ton at a time, primer at 15k and powder at 32lbs, wads are always available so no reason to purchase those in bulk…they come in 5k cases. Like George P mentioned, I shoot 3/4oz loads and it smashes birds in skeet and 5-stand, breaks them in sporting also, just not as hard and I have to choke 1-2 tighter.

A guy I shoot skeet with, but he orders from CAC out of PA. The best place to look would be a club and see if you can place an order through there, most clubs order in bulk couple times a year and they usually let members get in on the order. Now is not a good time to get into it as primers are hard to find at a reasonable price…powder can be an issue also as most shotgun powder can and is used for pistols. I lucked out this time and the last time components got scares; I have a “do not go below number” for on hand components (primers and powder) and hit that number last February so I made my big order, little did I know things would go sideways the way they did. I can load a box for $3.25-3.50 and as mentioned I load 3/4oz in both 12 and 20; the closest price is around $5-6 box so I’m around $1.75 savings per box.

As a side note, I’ve shot trap with these loads…while I’m not going to win any trophies with them I do well enough for the amount of trap I shoot. Plus I can shoot (5) rounds of skeet and 5-Stand and not worry about how my shoulder will feel the next day add the fact I’m shooting a 9.5# gun makes the recoil non-existent.

Charlie Martinez said:

I was told that a box (25 rds) of 12 Gauge trap loads could be reloaded for about $5 each. I wish I could shoot a lot more but realistically all I get to do is 6 to 8 rounds (6 to 8 boxes) per month or less than 100 boxes per year. If the savings is only $0.50 it may not be a good choice for me considering the machine will probably cost at least $200.
I think the idea of buying bulk is the best for now. I'll discuss this with my friend & maybe we can split a bulk order.
Who do you buy from?

Click to expand...

What club do you shoot at in FLorida? I k ow a few who allow members to piggyback orders with a truckload of targets. Otherwise, J&S out of Jackson CA has a freight paid system. Order a pallet of Fiocchis to FL and they run about $6/box; a pallet is 100 flats or 1000 boxes

Shotgun reloading is worth it for anything but the area promotional shells are at. Examples where reloading shotshells is very worth it include steel shotshells, Trap or other longer range shotshells, Spreaders, and the odd-ball gauges.

I handload Steel. For a lot less than factory steel shells, I can get a lot better performance. The fastest Steel you will find is about 1600 fps. I can load 3/4 oz of #2 at 1850 fps. You can see a big difference on a duck. If I miss the head/neck and body shoot a duck, it will come right down. With factory steel, it will flutter off.

Promotional shotgun shells are great for Skeet, because shot quality is not important. I can shoot reclaimed shot, which is seriously not round, in Skeet, and still shoot an excellent score. In Trap, you really need good round shot, and you would do well to have hard shot also. Promotional loads usually have nice round shot, but really soft. If I am shooting Trap, and trying to be competitive, I can load my own using hard, round shot, and save money over similarly loaded factory ammo.

I have a lot of shotguns with rather tight fixed chokes that I inherited. My father expected me to shoot them. For most shotgunning, nothing tighter than an Improved choke is necessary. There are rather expensive factory shells available which will make such shotguns shoot more useful patterns, or you can handload for about the cost of promotional loads.

Your biggest problem with hand loading right now is going to be finding primers.

Can I ask a stupid question? Those that load/shoot a lot of buck, what are you doing with it?

what is this concept of buying loaded shells?

Seriously, I would rather source the components and reload my own. I buy new shells at big shoots so I can have new hulls for the next year. I still think I can load them cheaper than buy them.

Same reason I buy loaded shells. I bought about 20 boxes of STS shells this summer for the hulls. I get plenty of AA and Nitro hulls from other shooters in my league.

brewer12345 said:

Can I ask a stupid question? Those that load/shoot a lot of buck, what are you doing with it?

Click to expand...

They don't call a shotgun a "street sweeper" or a "trench broom" for nothing. In some places, rifles can't be used for deer hunting, only shotguns. 3" double ought down to four ought.

NMexJim said:

They don't call a shotgun a "street sweeper" or a "trench broom" for nothing. In some places, rifles can't be used for deer hunting, only shotguns. 3" double ought down to four ought.

Click to expand...

Understood. I stock some buck for home defense purposes, but in my state buck shot is forbidden for big game hunting. I think some people hunt coyotes with it, but beyond that I don't see all that many uses for it.

Off the top of my head, some areas of North and South Carolina are too flat for a rifle shot. Probably other areas.

Armored farmer said:

I buy new shells at big shoots so I can have new hulls for the next year. I still think I can load them cheaper than buy them.

Click to expand...

When I was shooting competitive skeet, I'd shoot factory ammunition in the matches to generate hulls for reloading.

Shooting factory ammunition in the matches eliminated the chance of my ammunition being checked. I never had my ammunition checked, but since I needed hulls for practice, why not.

Besides, I enjoy reloading, I shoot all four gauges, and I like to shoot target shot shells not normally available at your local Wally World or other similar emporium.

NMexJim said:

Off the top of my head, some areas of North and South Carolina are too flat for a rifle shot. Probably other areas.

Click to expand...

When I lived in South Carolina, rifles were legal for deer at one deer per day. But that was 30 or so years ago, the laws may have changed.

Charlie Martinez said:

I shoot at Trail Glades Range ( Miami-Dade County) . Buying a box of shells from the range is ridiculously expensive so that is not an option for anyone (with a limited budget) that wants to shoot a few rounds per visit. Unfortunately for me unless buying 1000 boxes is cost prohibitive unless I round up a lot of folks to chip in even at the relatively low price of $6/box. I'm sure the range gets a great wholesale deal but they don't share the savings with range members & prefer to sell them to the innocent neophytes that come around occasionally for one time tryout visits.

Click to expand...

What about Markham Park; or is that too far away?

For those that shoot 1,000's of rounds a year I could see where reloading could be a challenge rather than fun. I always felt that reloading (since 1970) for shotguns, rifles and handguns was as much a hobby as it was a money saver. On long winter nights you could either watch the TV till bedtime or you could reload even if you didn't need the loads immediately you will some day. Component shortage-awful. My favorite store has four 5 foot shelves usually loaded with gun powder and had less than a dozen 1 pound cans on it. Primers, impossible to get. Not sure it will get better with the regime coming to power on the 20th.

I load all my stuff usually twice a year when I get low on the loaded stuff. I dump the empty hulls in Rubermaid containers when they get full or as mentioned I get too low I start loading and finish when I’ve run out of a component, which is normally the hulls, that way I only spend a couple weekends loading and the rest for shooting.

Fishtales said:

For those that shoot 1,000's of rounds a year I could see where reloading could be a challenge rather than fun.

Click to expand...

Top clay shooters that shoot thousands of rounds per year, get ammunition by the pallet load and someone else is paying the bill. There is no need for them to reload.

Not 100% sure about that...I used to shoot with a AAA ranked skeet guy, he purchased all his ammo. His shot guns (Kolar and Kreighoff) were given to him, but the ammo was on him.

I believe Kim Rhode is still sponsored by Winchester - as much as she shoots, the cost for targets alone would BK most of us.