For dove loads I would agree that it is not any cheaper to reload, but for heavy duty pheasant/sage grouse and even late season chucker loads, it is still absolutely worth it to reload. 20 gauge Prairie Storm #5s or Remington Extended Range #6 loads will run about $1 per shot these days.
That's how I see it at least.
That may be true if a person shoots A LOT of pheasants and sage grouse with them. It will take a long time to amortize the cost of a bag of #5 or #6, as well as the wads and powder that are pretty unique to these loads.
The money savings are through high production of target loads, and loading for the 16, 28 and .410, IME.
Absolutely agree on the 16, 28 and .410 thing. I have all three of those but not the loading gear. I should change that.
I also can buy a #25 bag of lead or copper plated shot for $50 or less, and 250 wads for about $10 and primers for $.05 at the most. I can load a few hundred heavy game loads with all that shot, wads and primers.
Adding that moola up would only equate to about 65-70 factory heavy pheasant loads, at $1 a piece, which is the going rate around here.
I probably shoot between 150-200 of those heavy 20 gauge shells a season, mostly at chucker...
