Home Forums Reloading Shotshells Is it cost efficient to reload

I am new to reloading and I am just curious to see if it is cost efficient to reload your own steel shot. Can anyone help me out

Thanks

Trapshooters.com has a reloading cost caluculator on their sie. Try to get some idea of cost of components and give it a spin. I reload for skeet and 5 stand 12, 20 and 410 and enjoy it. for the volume you are probably considering and price get a MEC single stage. You can get one for around $150 or so.

You can do better than that. Picked up a 600JR off of craigslist for $55 last night.

How much steel are you shooting each season?

Cost effective? Yes. Profitable? Probably not.

What I'm saying is that if you just shoot a little, watch for a sale and pick up a few boxes of shells.

What reloading does for me is to allow me to shoot more for the same money, or to load better rounds at the same cost as the store-bought promotional loads.

So, I don't actually come out ahead money-wise, but I shoot better loads, and more of them, without spending more money. Any money that I would've potentially saved just goes back into the cycle.

I have been loading 12 ga steel target loads over the past year. I use BP components exclusively. The following load is not very fast, probably around 1100 fps (not chronographed), but it has worked well for informal clay target shooting. Recoil is very mild in comparison to the Kent steel factory loads (1 oz @1300 fps or so).

Here's what it costs me:

Remington Nitro (STS) 12 ga hulls (1x fired)
Win 209 primers
BP CSD078 wads
7/8 oz BP steel #7 shot
16 grs Universal Clays powder

Initial cost (including cost of hulls): $8.08 per 25 Rds

Subsequent cost (not including cost of hulls which last up to 10 or more loadings): $6.19 per 25 rounds.

In my area, North Bay, CA, Kent steel target loads go for around $9.00 per box. I have to drive to Santa Rosa to get them-- about 20 miles. So, reloading is a little less expensive and way more convenient. I always have plenty of target ammo around now. Not so in the past. For me, it's worth it to reload.

Good shooting!

I was gonna load them for a buch of people that I hunt with and sell them to them. So I would be making quite a lot of shells. that is what I am wondering is if it worth it

I would think that the potential liability exposure vs the couple bucks you might make per box would definitely not be worth it.

Not to mention that right now is the time to try and get in on a large sale or some such. After waterfowl season, many places are trying to unload the inventory they have and that means a sale. I load for myself only and really don't fire a lot of shells per season, maybe a case or two, so I reload what I want for me. Dad used to go through 6 or 8 cases a season, and he's just buy them in bulk when he could find a deal. It's nice when you could go several times a week due to being retired.. I like the ability to load something the factory may not produce.. but I really only save a few bucks per box and then I have to count my time so then it comes out even.

the best i can do a free hull 12ga 2 3/4" 1oz hunting load, is $7.38 per box of 25. i'm working on cost reduction, but prices are going up on reloading supplys. 10ga i save lots of money.

No way in this world I would give, much less sell, any of my reloads to a bunch of people I hunt with. Way too many ways you can get in trouble.

Now if the whole lot of you got in on supplies and made up your own ammo, that would likely be a good thing, and you all learn something.

never even think of reloading commercially unless you want to spend huge bucks for insurance....... way to dangerous liability wise....... don't even think of it......... bad idea.....

If you want to make ammunition for profit, you have to buy a license and pay a tax.

After that, there may be as much as $3 or $4 per hour profit for you.

For general casual clay pigeon popping, it is pretty hard to beat Wal-Mart. Shotshell reloading becomes more attractive if you want a better grade of shell, if you enjoy reloading, or if you want something a little less common such as pheasant or turkey loads.

Yes and No

If you have picky taste and tend to buy premium rounds - yes

However There are fruggle reloaders who buy on the cheap and in bulk, these guys usually do well. These are the same guy's who pick up brass at the range, and shoot more than most of us ever will so they can buy in bulk.

So it comes to what are you reloading for - if it's competition then you almost have to reload to get custom taylored loads (except for 22 rimfires).

If your reloading for hunting only, you don't shoot LOTS of pistol, or varmints or plinking then it's only cheaper if you tend to buy premo ammo with expensive bullets (barnes or Nosler) in a federal, or winchester $40 for 20 shots box.

Spot

Spot shooter said: "However There are fruggle reloaders who buy on the cheap and in bulk, these guys usually do well. These are the same guy's who pick up brass at the range, and shoot more than most of us ever will so they can buy in bulk."

This would be me. (A couple of weeks ago, I found 38 .300 RUM cases at the range. I made an expander plug from a hex bolt, and converted those cases to .375 RUM that I shoot). Most of my rifles and pistols have never shot a factory round. When I used to compete in trap and skeet I was shooting 10-15,000 shells per year. I still buy shotshell components in case lots of 5,000, and I buy rifle and pistol primers in lots of 1,000. I also make my own shot for trap and skeet (I even killed a mulie buck once with a load of homemade 7 1/2 shot, but that's another story). I cast almost all of my pistol bullets (.38/.357, .44, .45), several rifle calibers (.25, .30, .375) for plinking and practice, and several muzzleloader calibers (.36, .44, .45, .54).

The initial cost of reloading equipment may seem high, but if you amortize it over 40 or 50 or more years of reloading, or if you shoot alot, or if you want shells taylored to your guns, then yes, reloading is cost effective, and enjoyable.