Aside from the obvious such as the horrendous galvanized bases and cheap hulls used in promo type cheap shotshells. How much better are the “good” shells than the cheapies?
I don’t do a lot of shotgunning by some people’s standards, rarely shoot clays since I live a long ways from the nearest club but I do hunt quite a bit. I’d imagine that I get in 20-30 outings a year for doves, pheasants, and quail. But I’d swear that my average goes up and the number of cripples goes down when I switch from the $5.50 a box junk to the $10 a box stuff. For comparison sake I’m speaking mainly to 1 1/8oz 12ga loads. I’m assuming you get a better wad and maybe harder shot?
I have no proof to support this so please read this as opinion only.
The (so called) cheap junk at $5.50 per box is actually often times very good stuff. I say this because I can use those hulls to make excellent hunting loads that would cost far past the $10.00/box.....and further the cheapies break targets very well when I point the gun in the right place. I shoot federal ammo mostly as my experience with those hulls is far greater than anything else. A 2 3/4" federal hull purchased for $5.50/box for target loads can be made into a 1 3/8 Oz baby magnum load for pheasant hunting and it's easily a very powerful load. Years ago I used Winchester AA hulls for this but for some reason the hull was changed and the price increased for the target shells so I said "goodbye"
I'm firmly convinced that for 12 ga and 20 ga ammo (the two highest quantity loads made) the price is set by some factor of marketing and not by cost. The difference between a 12 ga target load of 1 1/8 Oz and a much more powerful hunting load of 1 1/4 Oz shot is mainly that.....an extra 1/8 Oz of shot and a different powder of a slower burn rate but more of it. These differences do not begin to double the cost (and often times a lot more than double) of manufacturing. My guess is that it's set to offset the extremely completive cost of target shells. The quality of components are not different at all.
I'm fortunate to have a bit of #5 and #6 shot left over from yesteryear to make hunting loads......so when I look at the federal target loads that I buy for $5.25 per box and then look to their very powerful Prairie Storm and Pheasants forever loads at $21 per box, I have to smile as I can reproduce that same performance by using hulls from the target loads and the same wads used elsewhere and yes.....the same primers and the cost to me is near the same as reproducing the target loads. So I buy my target loads and reload them to make my hunting loads.
When the discussion turns to steel shot, I buy them all because it's not really worth my time to make my own. I find that to be an entirely diffent ball game.
My point: I find no difference in price of ammo based on quality of components.....but on marketing schemes. However the higher price of 16 Ga, 28 Ga, and .410 shells may be based on quantity of production.....again not quality of components.