Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Reloading shotgun shell ?

Is it still cheaper to reload shotgun shells ? Been years since ive done much shotgunning . Price of a bag of shot is much more than what I remember it being .

I always wanted a 28 gauge. Thought it would pretty neat .

Be careful- they’re addicting! Great little guns, and so much fun to shoot!

Pays depending on how you value your time. I guess if you enjoy it, it could save you a few dollars. But think about how many times you are handling the shells, how much time you spend at the bench reloading. No thank you. To easy to just buy cheaper in Bulk for me.

When it comes to target shot shells, load between 12-15K a year and the fun pastime of reloading shot shells quickly becomes old. Not unusual for 3 or 4 of us to buy and split 100 flats of 12 gauge. Then some clubs also give us a break and allow us to go in with them on quantity purchases. The reloader has sat idle for some time now.

. It can also pay if you load specialty rounds that can be hard to find such as 7/8 oz loads for the 12 ga or 3/4 oz for the 20 ga. I shoot these a lot and it not only saves on the pocketbook but also the shoulder. I'm still loading the 12 ga for a little over $2 a box due to buying components in very large quantities long ago and my machines were paid for decades ago so it is still economical for me to reload 12 and 20 ga. If I were starting from scratch- no way.

When cost to reload is around $4 - $4.50/box, vs good factory common loads run $5-6/box these days, you have to shoot a ton, and have the free time, to make reloading worth it. Or you just like doing it.

As mentioned, reloading is not cost effective for the 12 ga and 20 ga in their common loadings. This is even more true if you have to buy the equipment and do not buy components in the minimum of case/keg sizes. It really helps if you can buy shot by the pallet rather than bag too.

The "economics" work out if one compares the cost of reloads to top end target loads though that skews things a little as the economy loads do 90% of what is needed for over 99% of shooters as is shown on trap, skeet, and sporting clays ranges every day throughout the country. The overwhelming number of misses are the result of the shooter rather than ammo or even gun in spite of what the shooter says.

Reloading does "pay" for the smaller bores such as the 28 and 410 as even the "cheapies" run about triple of what you can reload them for. It can also pay if you load specialty rounds that can be hard to find such as 7/8 oz loads for the 12 ga or 3/4 oz for the 20 ga. I shoot these a lot and it not only saves on the pocketbook but also the shoulder. I'm still loading the 12 ga for a little over $2 a box due to buying components in very large quantities long ago and my machines were paid for decades ago so it is still economical for me to reload 12 and 20 ga. If I were starting from scratch- no way.

Or, spend some of the time reloading rather than chatting on the Internet. it's all time management and prioritizing. I keep a reloader set up all the time and punch out whatever I can when I can. I filled a flat this morning when I fed and then let the dogs out and will do another one to two flats tonight during the same activity. -45 minutes/500 rounds/day, 3500 rounds a week, 182,000+ rounds over 52 weeks should be able to keep even MCH in shells over the course of a year. 😏

Be careful- they’re addicting! Great little guns, and so much fun to shoot!