My granddaughter (16YO)Shoots youth Trap.
She goes through about 3000 rounds a year. I shoot with her a lot for another 3000 rounds. Even at 6000 rounds a season I can barley see any difference if I were to reload.
I am talking all trap and light loads.
Am I correct or am I not seeing something here. Yes it's about $0.50 per box cheaper. But I dont feel my time Is worth it.
Please open my eyes or agree.
Thanks Marc

There is the pleasure of rolling your own. It's a relaxing activity unto itself.

Price has always been the reason I reload shotshells.

If I can buy them at the same price as I reload I do that .50 cents a box depends on how much money and time I have.

I lot more savings is to be had with the higher price hunting loads.

Current costs per box 25 are about $5.00, using hi-antimony shot and allowing 1 cent/shot for hull costs. This compares to promo loads at Walmarts which are, as you said, currently about 50 cents per box more.

However, you are getting a significantly better round than the promos and, to be fair, must compare the reloads to AAs or other factory competition loads at about $8/box. If you allow 6 cents per hull value which you receive by saving the factory hulls, then you are spending about $6.50/box for factory vs. $5 for reloads.

Using a progressive press, loading 400-500 rounds per hour, then the savings amount to between $24 and $30/hour of reloading time.

For 16 yd or skeet practice, then the promo Walmart loads are adequate. For serious competition then the reloads or factory should be used IMO.

There is a large measure of convenience in using factory loads so whether the savings are significant enough for someone to choose reloads or not is up to their individual preferences and financial resources. Some people like to reload shotshells, some hate it, so that may well be the deciding factor.

12ga and 20ga, not much difference. Where you really save is 28/.410

Shootin a 32" Cynergy 12 bore for Trap and Clays.
It is a big heavy gun and whern you shoot nearly 800 rounds per week, the advantage of handloading is not money, it is punishment.
Most low base hull will handle 7/8 oz loads and the Rex wad can even be loaded with 3/4 oz.
Either will kill a clay bird just as dead as the nasty punishing 1& 1/8 oz Wally World loads.
A 12 bore is better than a 20 as it throws a better pattern.
A side benefit, given the cost of shot is saving, a few bucks too.

My Granddaughter is one and a half, I can not wait to reload with her, not that I want to rush it, and if she wants to.

quote:

Originally posted by pennfly:
My Granddaughter is one and a half, I can not wait to reload with her, not that I want to rush it, and if she wants to.

At that age I had my daughter pulling the press handle. made it fun and not for long periods.

When I was a MUCH MORE ACTIVE competitor in ATA Trap and NSSA Skeet,(12,000 rounds per yr. give or take a few) I found reloading my shells, creating some custom combinations, etc....to be part of the enjoyment of the shooting sports.
I'm one of those guys who shoots reloads pretty much exclusively for every firearm I own and have used handloaded ammunition exclusively for all my hunts. But, that's just me.

You reload because you want a load the that shoots 1200fps instead of 1320fps and the recoil that entails. shayne

Maddog, first off, you have to buy in bulk to realize the most savings.

Using a reloading cost calculator, my one ounce 12 GA loads cost $3.88. that is based on shot at $35/bag, powder at $95/8# keg(promo), wads at $85/5000 and primers (Fiocchis) at $110/5000. I can pick up gun club hulls for free and they are excellent to reload. compare that to $5.50 to $6 price after tax and you are over $2 a box

I am one of those who enjoy reloading.

Many years ago, when I shot trap, I had 4 Ponsness Warren progressive loader, one in each gauge - 12, 20, 28 and 410.

I made a table with a cut out behind the loader, into which the loaded rounds fall, into a large cardboard box. My neighbours kids used to come and pack then into boxes for me.

That is all I used in practice.

But, for competition, I only used factory ammo.

When Pop and I were active trap shooters, reloading was one other thing we did together. I too had a progressive loader setup (pacific 366) with a hole cut into our bench. I still have the Pacific and a Western turret electric machine laying in the basement.

I remember when a case of shells was 20 boxes and a case of birds was 135.

Rich

There is no doubt that the savings new vs. reloads (in 12 & 20 ga.) is not quite what it was several years ago, still there are advantages to be had if you know the ropes.

As note by others, if you are using quality magnum shot and components your comparison should be with the AA or STS loads rather than the promo loads from Big Box Mart. Take credit for the quality you are putting into your reloads as your performance should be as good or better.

You mention that you load for your 16 yr. old granddaughter. There is no doubt you can both benefit by reducing the recoil of your practice loads and save wear and tear on the body. Drop down to 1 oz. or even ⅞ oz. loads for practice and save on shot and recoil and like many of us you will be hard pressed to find a big difference in your scores. You will find the lighter loads take less toll at the end of the day and are far more pleasant to shoot. Save the 1⅛ oz. loads for competition or for 27 yd. handicap. Check out the price on low recoil loads or try to find ⅞ oz. loads for practice and you will see the value in what you are putting together.

My son and I found it rewarding to put together shells for our weekend shoots, there was something a bit more special about breaking a 25 with the reloads you put together over Box Mart loads. The other is the quality time we spent together.

Most important if it’s about saving money components need to be purchased in bulk; 5K on wads, 5K on primers and powder by the #8 jugs. Check with your club to see if they sell components, often they make bulk purchases for their members. Check with other reloaders and see if there is a good local supplier, this is especially true for shot, the biggest cost in assembling reloads these days. You can also check pricing against the on line suppliers like, Recob’s Target Shop, Powder Valley, Graff’s and Gamaliel’s.

Enjoy the time shooting with your granddaughter regardless of the direction you go with reloading.

quote:

Ponsness Warren progressive loader,

I used to drive pass and even almost went to work for them.

They are in Rathdrum.



Cal30

There a two extreme views that you can take.
Buy and shoot AA Win or similar quality factory loads and sell the hulls to offset the cost of these quality loads.

The other extreme is investigate having a 4000 lb pallet of lead delivered directly to you without a middle man making a profit. Buy the other components in similar quantities to get the best prices.


I tend to take a 3rd view. I used to load 1 oz loads for 12 ga with the cheapest of everything I could find. I was shooting a Win Super X-1 Autoloader. This is a heavy soft shooting gun. About one round out of a thousand I would soft shoulder it and it would short cycle with 17.5 grains of Red Dot. I finally boosted the load to 18 grains and got 100% functioning for more than 5 years.
At that time the club where I shot skeet burned all of the Federal Reifenhouser hulls (plastic tube with a rolled paper basewad). They are not the best things to reload. However If I picked up hulls shot only in dry weather I was assured of base wads that were not wet and were still sound. As such I had an infinite supply of free hulls. I would leave there with several trash bags full of those hulls at a time. The 1 oz Federal Pushin Cushion worked really well for breaking skeet targets.

I love to load but I finally burned out on shotshells. It is the same old thing for tens of thousands of rounds unless you pick a different gauge or a new hull. A hydraulic progressive press would have been nice.

I did learn one thing back then. The 12 gauge Remington Dove and Quail hull - a black compression molded hull with a copper colored steel head actually loaded much better and for more reloads than the Win AA hulls.