I have read a lot about the costs of loading shotgun shells, especially the cost of lead shot.
I have an opportunity to buy a basically new MEC9000G, with a large bag of shot, a case(?) of wads, a lot of empty hulls and a case(?) of primers. I don't remember the exact number of the components that will come with it, but it is a lot.
Would getting everything for $200.00 make it more affordable and make it worth loading for 12ga?
I would have enough components to load for what I would shoot for a while considering how much I shoot now. Of course it might make me shoot more.

Jim

I wouls buy the 9000G alone for 200 if is in very good shape new price is over 300. Getting evey thing else is a bonus.

Living in an urban area You probably have all sorts of "deals" on loaded 12 ga ammo. From Wally World to the big chain Sporting Goods stores there seems to be SALES all the time. Out here in rural Montana we have few lg stores and little competition. If we see quality loads for $4 a box we stock up.

STS and Win AA's are right at $6 a box for 12/20 ga. By loading 7/8 oz loads, buying my components in BULK and still having $28 per bag shot in my garage, I can beat $6 easily. And shoot a quality load that breaks tgt's with authority. and 3/4 oz in the 20 gauge.

I'm fortunate to have easy access to good 12 ga hulls for free or little to nothing each. So zero or little cost there.

Whether loading is worth it or not depends on quite a few factors. Do You have access to hulls? Will you buy in Bulk? Do You even care if your shooting a quality load or do the $3 a box Winchester game loads make You happy? And how much do You shoot in say a month or a year?

Shot locally is now $42 a bag. With one ounce loads I get 400 shells out of 25 pounds. By dropping to 7/8 ounce loads I get an extra 57 loads from that same bag. A quality skeet load for well under $4 a box. Then again I'm luckily working off of under $30 a bag shot too.

I buy primers for $99 per 5,000 and clone wads in the same 5K quantity. My powder is purchased from a local supplier by the 16 or 32 pound order to get the best price. The key is buying in bulk.

Seems like You have a good deal on a good loader with some basically free components thrown IN. Try loading,you could always sell the press later if it doesn't interest you.

Loading DOES also give You flexibility on load a weight or shot size, or velocity that the factory may not offer.

FN in MT

The price and lack of shot sure sucks. Hope it goes down soon and is avalible again.

Lucky I have a good stash of heavy reloads and shot. I wont be reloading any light quail loads this year. I bought several cases of 7 1/2 and 8 shot loads 12 and 20 about a month ago at walmart. Cheaper than reloading my stuff

That is something I have been thinking about. I doubt lead can stay as high as it is now. I heard from somebody, somewhere, sometime- you know how it is, that lead will be coming down soon.
If it does, loading shotshells should become a better deal. It seems that now it is about the same cost to load my own as it is to buy loaded ammo, like Winchester AA.
I will get the press and all the stuff that comes with it. I don't shoot much now, but that may change- especially if I can load my own. It's a vicious circle, ain't it? I have a Dillon SDB for my .45acp, a Dillon 550 for .223, .34spcl, and whatever else I may want large volumes of, a Rockchucker for 6.5x55, 7.5x55, 30-06 for my Garand, Win .270, etc. I figure I may as well load for everything I have except the .22lr. I hope noone ever developes something to improve the Eley loads I have.

Jim

Don't forget that reloading is a plesant activity on it's own and that is worth something.

Perhaps this is of no use to you but that 9000 series Mec loader cannot be upgraded to another gauge with a kit...it is for 12ga only, now and forever more. Just so you know that it can't be changed if you get interested in, say, 20 gauge. You'll have to buy another complete loader.

12 Ga. Shotshell reloading is never cost efficient if you factor in the cost of your time. You will always do better getting one of the promotional deals that always seem to be around. If you were talking about 28 Ga..... that's a different matter.

However, reloading can be a pleasent past time in and of it's own. Yes, you are getting a good deal on the reloader.

With the MEC 9000, you will probably load 100 shells in about 15 minutes after you get comfortable with it. Like others have said, it is as much a past-time activity and a neat way to learn about your loads.

The rest of this is just my opinion -

While I understand the value of your time concept, the arguement about your added labor cost factoring in is really only valid if you are reloading shells instead of some other "money generating activity" - otherwise it is sunk or lost time anyhow. You could look at it as "working to fund more shooting" when reloading. Now your time has a different value (the savings AND your labor paying yourself).

With that said, at $20 per hour for your time (tax free), you are only adding on $1.25/box to the overall cost for your time. Around here, AA's are $6.99/box and my 1-1/8 3 DRAM reload cost is about $4.32/box (loader cost excluded) so even adding on time, I am still ahead almost $1.42/box.

I will say that if I find a good deal on cheap loads, I buy several cases of them anyhow and just keep em around in case I am doing a lot of shooting and not keeping up with reloading (if they happen to be shells that can be reloaded, that's even better!)

Just an opinion.

Carluchin, I could not disagree more. With judicious bulk buying, my 7/8th's loads were down to $1.87 two years ago. Not too shabby, when even promo loads were still about $3.00.

Nowadays, it's more difficult, since the price of lead is so squirrelly right now. Factories buy ahead, so their prices lag the market. Were the lead market to turn around (as it always has), reloading might just become a really good deal. Still, there's about a six to 10 month lag between market lead prices and "street" lead prices, so I'd buy enough right now to cover for about 9 months or so. JMO, Dutch.

I am one who doesn't factor my time into the cost of handloads. I like loading ammo, it's a hobby. And since I don't load for others for money my time as a cost factor seems to not be an issue.
There is also the benefit, in my rifle and pistol loads, of me having ammo tailored to my specific barrels and needs. I have a load for my .45acp that I use in bullseye that will group in the X-Ring, about 1.5", at 50 yards rested on the bench using a reddot scope. Try finding factory ammo that will do that.
I'll post when I get it for tips, and for bragging. I'll post pics of my loading bench when I figure out how to get it all mounted in an order that makes sense.

Jim

My 20G 7/8 reloads are about $3.60/box - can't get promos for that. Lowest we see is $4.39 (12 or 20) right now and that is going up after these pallets are gone at the local stores.

Lead opened on the LME in Jan 06 @ $.58/lb. Jan 07 was $.86. Today it is $1.58. This does not include any mark-ups along the way or handling charges. At this price, the bags on the shelf at the store priced at 37.99 have a lead only value today of $39.50 - buy as much as you can afford unless you think the price of $1.58 is going to come down (the fun of speculation). We are seeing ranges from $37.99 to $49.99 in our area on the same 25# bag of shot.

While the shell manufacturers may have purchased a lot of lead at lower prices, what they buy to replenish this will be at the current market prices so the prices of bargain shells will go up at some point.

Read an article in the business section of the paper month or two ago that one reason for the high lead prices is that one of the major producers, if not the biggest (in US in Missouri) has been running at 25% of capacity due to production upgrades being put in place. Said they were supposed to come on line at 150% of prior capacity in November, but don't quote me on that. At any rate, if true, the old supply and demand effect should give us some less expensive (notice I didn't say cheap) shot next year.

On the topic of promotional sales--we've had Winchester game loads for $2.88 a box, Cabela's has had shells for $32 a flat, and another store is advertising shells for $30 a flat right now. If I didn't have free hulls, $15 shot, and cheap powder from 12 years ago, I'd be buying too.

I think this depends on the type of shooting you will be doing. Personally I shoot magnum loads for hunting and limited clays from a hand thrower. These would cost me about ten plus a box so it is very economical for me to reload. I buy high brass hulls from a guy named Bob Kase in shotgun news (components section) about 35 a thousand delivered. Hey I use a cheap lee loader which has loaded many thousands for me. If you have anymore questions email me at lonewolf899 @ msn.com I also cast and reload my own slugs great fun good luck and great shooting from Kentucky

When I was shooting skeet and sporting clays 3-4 times a week, I loaded all my own shells and had my cost down to right at $2 per box, but that was 10 years ago. To do that even then, I had found a deal on 450 lbs of lead shot and 5000 primer for $120.

I have owned a 9000G and am not a fan of progressive reloader, but I would definitely take the deal that you have.

I currently have a MEC Sizemaster and really like it, but I don't shoot enough any more to justify reloading.

Lead will not be coming down soon because of supply and demand effect. China is taxing exports because there is a huge demand for car batteries with a growing automobile industry. Demand is huge for bullet manufacturing because of Iraq and Afghanistan, US manufactures have been obliged to buy 5.56 mm bullets by hundred of millions from Taiwan and complete rounds from Israel because the ammunition expenditure has depleted the stocks and they can't keep up with the demand.
Do no expect prices going back to "normal" level..

Well since this thread was first posted the price in Kanas has gone from about $32.50 per bag to more than $45.00 per 25# bag. On the other hand the price of Win AA loads has gone from about $5.49 per box to around $6.99 at the same stores.

As of 10/29 THE cheapest shot available here in central Montana is $46.99 per bag. The other supplier, Sportsmans Whse in Missoula is at $49.99.
Though a few guys have fired up their shotmakers and are selling shot for a buck a pound. It aint exactly pretty, but it's close to a #8 and it works well enough.

Yet 12 and 20 gauge AA's and STS's are a mere $5.98 any day of the week at Wal-Mart. And a local Ranch supply store recently had 1 oz and 1 1/8 oz Federal 12 ga target loads on sale for $3.95 a box. Several of us snagged twenty or more flats with rain checks.

Gonna be UGLY when the true market price of lead catches up with newly manufactured shells!! I'll bet that $10 a box AA's/STS's will be the norm. Hope I'm VERY wrong.

FN in MT

I started collecting lead, hoping to have enough by the time the half ton I have left runs out to fire up a shot maker and get by that way. Times, they are a changing.

Heard Bass Pro shops went to $62.99 the other day. Might have to buy a 410....... Dutch.

If you are serious try pricing a pallet of it from the smelter. It is much cheaper if you are willing to buy 3000 lbs at a whack.

Lead has actually fallen off to $1.20/lb from it high of over $1.70. Now if we only knew what the base price was on those $3.95 1-1/8 promo loads....

quote:

Originally posted by FN in Montana:

...Yet 12 and 20 gauge AA's and STS's are a mere $5.98 any day of the week at Wal-Mart.

FN in MT

Those $5.98 AA's went to $7.57 in the west KY Wal-Marts last week

STS's and AA's are now VERY close to $8 a box here in MT WW's as well. I was buying every reasonably priced, quality target load I could afford for the past 7 months.

Counted them all up a few days ago as I moved them from the COLd garage to the more temperate basement. Twelve gauge Target loads; 15,000 rds.

Twenty gauge right at 6K of mostly STS's.

FN in MT

I do not shoot a shotgun much anymore, but when I did, I was loading skeet loads for under $2 per box. That was at a time when AA's were around $5 at WalMart. I have done alot of shotgun buying, selling, and trading and have accumulated shot, primers, hull, powder, and wads in the deals. Honestly, if I don't factor in my time, I can almost reload 12 or 20 ga for nothing right now, but if I had to go buy all the components new, I am not sure it would be worth it.

I would sure buy the 9000G at $200 and hang on to it if nothing else.

Just wanted to give some info. Here on the east cost in Charlotte NC. AA's and STS's are $6.99 when you can get a good price and lead is upwards of $50 for 25# everywhere.

I have 209 primers ,wads & shot purchased years ago. Several hundred pounds of reclaimed I pd $5/25 lb bag but I also have a foot locker full of new shot:7 1/2,6,5,4. and powder.At our club shot for members is $35/25# nonmembers $42/25#,I just paid $66+ for 4# of green dot.

Given the price of components nowadays -- especially lead shot -- I doubt that you can load 20 gauge and especially 12 gauge loads for very much less than the cost of factory-loaded promotional loads. The main reason to load your own for those gauges, especially 12 gauge, is the freedom this gives you to make a load to your own specifications, e.g. a 7/8 oz load in 12 ga. loaded to 1135 f.p.s.

With 28 ga. and .410, no cheap promotional loads are available, so you can definitely save some money by loading your own for those sizes.

I'm buying as opposed to loading now, because of cost. Shot at $42.00 a bag, primers at $26.00 per thousand have killed it. I can buy cases of 12ga. on sale at $3.99 a box. Granted these are Remington or non AA Winchesters, but I can't load my AA's for that price today.

In Mid-Missouri Walmarts:
AA-$7.57
STS-6.43
Nitro Gold-$7.57
Winchester promo pack of 100-$23.22 (wtf?)
Remington promo pack of 100-$21.22
Federal promo pack of 100-$16.77

Last year I shot alot of Winchester promo packs @ $14

Clays went from $3.50 for 135 at my Walmarts to $7+ and they very rarely carry them. $10 a box Federal ammo for rifles is now $20+

I hate these prices, on a 16 year old's budget I can barely afford to shoot shotgun, I reload rifle shells, and it still is expensive. I just bought a Citori Sporting Clays a couple months ago, but it hasn't seen a round of clays yet, I'm flat broke. Teenage budget=gas+car+car insurance+random things that are needed= not much left for shooting.

Tyler, just wait until you discover how much girlfriends cost!

Jim

Yea, those gals will have him selling the guns for stuff like diamond rings!

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
Yea, those gals will have him selling the guns for stuff like diamond rings!

Not if he is smart and lands himself a hunting and shooting gal!!

They could buy each other "engagement guns"!!

quote:

Not if he is smart and lands himself a hunting and shooting gal!!

The problem there is the male will then be expected to pay for ammo, gas, guns for her, lunch, dinner, range fees, tag and license fees, etc, etc.

My standard advice to young fellows with a keen interest in hunting/shooting who desire a significant other for a long term relationship is to get a good hunting dog.