How much to reload the following shot shells?

Mechanic Bob

Eight Pointer
When I was in middle school, one of my Christmas presents was a MEC shell reloader and I reloaded 20 ga. Bought dies for 16 ga.
40 years ago it cost me $1.00 per 25 rounds of the following:
Not counting the cost of the reloader or the empty shells. We used Double A, short brass.

7/8 oz. (7 1/2, 8 or 9) was just over .01 per load
Primer was .01 per
Wad was .01 each
Powder was almost fee, but less that .01 per load

Therefore it cost me, back in 71, 72, .. $0.04 per round or about $1.00 per box of 25

What would the same round cost me today?
 

brownisdown

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I may be wrong but I would guess you can't load them as cheap as you can buy the cheap target loads.

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Blackwater

Twelve Pointer
As was stated by brownisdown, I doubt you can load them as cheap as you can buy dove loads. I still have about a bag and a half of shot that I paid $11.00 dollars per bag for many years ago and I think it's at least 50 bucks a bag now, maybe more. I think I used to load 12ga trap loads for about $1.65 a box when I was loading a lot, but that was 30 years ago or more.

Just checked, 7.5 chilled at Bass Pro is $54.99. Found reclaimed for $35.00 for 50 lbs. plus $12.50 shipping.

Going with stated component prices it will cost you about $5.55 per box not to include hulls. I didn't know how much powder a 20 ga takes per shell so I figured it at 15 grains. 12 ga takes 19 gr of Red Dot.
 
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pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I can reload premium loads for $5.75 a box. Reused hull, clay dot powder, claybuster wads, magnum shot, and usually a fiocchi primer. Thats 1-1/8 oz at about 1150-1200 fps. Pretty equivalent to AA or rem sts.

My cheap loads are 7/8 oz of reclaim shot, reused remington cheap shells, same load of clay dot, same wads more or less, and a fiocchi primer. Roughly $5/box.

The price is about the same on cheap reloads vs the cheap factory loads.

You can save significantly when reloading to a premium spec.

I think my premium loads are down to 1oz of shot now. Its less recoil and targets bust fine.

For clays 1oz 7.5 magnum is superb. For skeet, 7/8oz of 8s or 9s is tough to beat.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
If you buy in bulk and buy when you find a deal, you can come out better. Dont buy lead from bass pro or cabelas.search and find a store selling it. Last i bought was $37/bag for standard and like $40/bag for magnum.

Last powder was $134/8lbs. Primers.....like $27/1000.

Wads were $10/500.

Reclaim lead is pretty nice to get. Shoots just fine and its much cheaper. I think $99 for 71 lbs through the mail.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
anymore the value to reloading shotshells (for me) is in the "off gauges" and high end shot (TSS),,,,,,,28 gauge I still make out,,,,,,,,,12 I pretty much just buy by the case when I hit a sale on AA or my duck loads,,,,,,
 
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mag44thunder

Six Pointer
A friend closed his private sporting clays range. I bought every bag of shot he had, about 6 bags of assorted sizes. they cost me about 25 dollars a bag so I'm set for shot for awhile. He also had a large box full of AA hulls that I got also.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Roughly 2500 shells with that much shot. 10 cases. Its a lot, but a weekend tournement will eat up a case quick.
 

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
To make out on 12 gauge, you really have to download to 3/4 or 7/8 oz loads. I go full house when hunting, but for most shooting, i run reclaim. Ive seen about a 2-4 target difference in new vs reclaim lead. It works fine for anything. I dont ahoot for anything significant, so the 2-4 clays doesnt hurt my feelings.
 

Mechanic Bob

Eight Pointer
Thanks to all those that answered.
I saw the price for a bag of shot at BPS the other day and I thought, Holy Cow, is this stuff Lead Plated Gold? I just stick to reloading hand gun loads.
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
Last time I figured it up, I could load a box of 28's ~$4.30 (12.5 gr 20/28 powder, rio primers, claybusters wads, 3/4oz reclaimed. I havent used new shot in years. Everything I load is reclaimed or TSS and for the TSS it's all different components and I only use reloader for crimping.
 
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