Cost should not be the only factor to consider. When I reload I choose how I want the shell to work, SPEED, and PATTERN.New shells may not meet your need. I try to match AA shells with speed and pattern and in my case it is cheaper to reload. Around $4.50 per box
I'm at around $4.50 a box also. I will not make a statement that mine are as good as the factory. I will not be on the record to saying mine are better. I reload CF "AA's" and Remington Premiers, STS's and Nitros. I use good components. I enjoy doing it and do not approach it as a job. I actually enjoy hanging in the basement every once and awhile, turn on talk radio/sports and reload. I don't reload every time I go out or come back. I have quite a few flats reloaded for trap and sporting at all times. I could not run to Wally World to pick up shells every time I went shooting. I hate that place and ones in my area don't have many options anyway. I'll go on record that my reloads are better than any promo cheap stuff they are selling.
I normally only shoot games and for some of my loads I add buffer which you can't get in factory and on top of that I only use 6's and 5's and at $4.50 (add $1 for buffer) you cannot buy them cheaper. Besides I like loading.
I reload, because I choose to and because without exception I have always lived in an area where "store bought" anything is not always possible. When I do buy new I buy premium to get good hulls........ I save about $4 by doing this. I find it amazing that those that do not reload will tell me I am actually not saving that much because they can buy shells for $5 all day long....... but they wait till a sale so they can buy them for $4.50........ No matter whose numbers I use I still load not only cheaper that what I buy but also cheaper than what they can buy for......... "Besides I like loading". Larry
I don’t reload to save money. I enjoy shooting my reloads. If you take into account the bench, Spolar press and bins to store hulls & wads it probably cost me more than I’ll ever recoup. I also have a Kreighoff Gold Super Scroll combo and 2 Perazzi MX2000’s. It’s not always about saving a buck. If it was, I’d take up bird watching in my backyard.
I can't beat Big Box Stores on price. I can't buy enough volume. But I do enjoy re!oading, and breaking clays with my reloads. I also enjoy building a load that shoots well from my Stoeger Grand. Now if I could only match my load & shotguns abilities, I 'll do fine. Enjoy!
Then you probably can't beat Academy.com's everyday prices with free shipping. And no sales tax in my state.
--- Ken that exactly what I always thought but when this site introduced me to Academy this spring --Buying AA factory shells delivered to my door with out Wis. sales tax for $4.40 a box --- I seen the light!
I've been loading on a Dillon SL 900 for about 20+ years now. Never paid for a replacement part. Reload to AA standards. Load a light 1 oz. 8.5 load for the 16 and a 1250fps 7.5 load for the back line. Works for me. I buy a few cases of AA's when their on sale, and shoot them up on the back line in competition. then reload them, and use them for practice or fun, except for the 16, I always use my reloads.. I buy components in bulk and don't worry about the reloading costs, as I know there always about $3.00+ less per box than new AA's. Been following this procedure for 40+ years, with no issues.
Cabelas had a sale a few weeks ago on Winchester Heavy Game 12 gauge, 7.5 shot ,1 1/8, 1220 (?) fps........ $40 per flat. Free freight over $50. Ordered 3 flats........ no intention of reloading the hulls and cost is only pennies more than my reloads so "what the hell". Took 3 days for delivery, A few shot rattling in some boxes so I did an inspection and found 14 shells had opened a bit and lost some shot, no big deal.... ran those through my press and crimps held this time. All the new shells had very,very shallow crimps from Winchester, probably why the few opened up.... by weighing equal volumes of shot I determined the Winchester probably contains less Antimony than either my reclaimed, my new Eagle or new Lawrence. Shot 2 boxes a week ago.... shot fine but just a bit "kicky". These are definitely throw away hulls, they are silver steel base, nylon tapered base wad, cheap thin plastic hull in a straight wall hull topped off with a very shallow 6 point crimp. I will not be doing this again..... No advantage in it, no hulls to sell. Just the difference in quality between the reloads and these particular new shells makes the reloading effort worthwhile........ Larry
I have 15 flats beside my bed, and a flat in my car trunk, mixed 1 1/8th oz 1200 fps, 1 1/8th at 1250, 1 1/8th 6s @ 1500 fps, 1320 fps 1 oz and some 1320 fps 1 1/4 6s so I got it all covered. GB..........................DLS
If all you shoot is standard 1 1/8 oz 12ga, it's tough to save much reloading. However if you custom reload specialized shells you WILL SAVE MONEY. For example, your not going to find 7/8oz 12 ga shells for $40 a flat. On the other hand, If you reload 28ga and 410 your going to save about 40-50%. Another thing to consider, with 'big box" stores "value-pack" target shot shells, those a loaded with cheaper soft chilled shot. For about the same price as a "value pack" you can reload hulls with Premium Hard Shot. If your a trap shooter or sporting clays shooter, the hard shot makes a difference in broken targets.
I can load a preminum quality shell, hard shot etc. for the same cost as a promo shell. That's about as good as it gets and I'll do it tomorrow while it's snowing 3 to 6 if the forecast is accurate
I reload to get the shot and the velocity that I need for singles, hdcp and 1st and 2nd shot of dbls. If I compare to a box of AA's, yes, I can reload for less. A box of reloads runs me around $5.50. New AA's are $7.90. Takes me under 5 minutes to reload a box of shells.
It must be kind of like smoking, when ever I asked my Dad to quite smoking because it will kill you, he always said, "I really don't want to, I just enjoy smoking". He always put price points down also, but they always increased once they were met. He made it past the $2.00 a pack mark I believe, but don't think he seen $3.00. Been gone for 17 years now. Still miss him. Still have his MEC 600 Jr. and 77 re-sizer.
I intend to reload 410 and 28. I time my purchases for $3.98 on 12 and 20 Ga Remington Gun Clubs, so reloading those doesn't make (economic) sense to me. They may not be the BEST practice rounds, but if/when I do my part they go bang and he target breaks, beyond that "quality" has passed the point of diminishing returns. Accumulating AA hulls, discarding the GCs, or donating them to club members who colllect them for a one time reload.
I should mention that when the price of new approach the price of my reloads I avail myself of the price break. I am not a purist insisting on "my loads or nothing". I just ordered 5 flats of RIO, $4.16 a box and free freight........ about my loading price but no work involved ......... the less I spend on "stuff" the more "stuff" I can shoot............. Larry
I haven't reloaded in the last 2-3 years because I can typically buy shells in the $44-$50 dollar/flat range. Quality doesn't matter to me as I shoot less than 5000 targets between registered and practice a year. However, when I was reloading, I'd crank out 100 rounds every other night during late winter and always tried to keep 5 flats on hand at any given time. I was loading 1 1/8oz 7 1/2s for appx. $4.50/ box and was a hell of a shell. At this period with ammo and reloading prices, I think it more boils down to time, patience and personal preference. You can obviously load a shell just as good as a AA or STS for cheaper but if you shoot 30,000 rounds a year is it really cost effective? If you're retired and have the time, probably is. I do enjoy reloading and may dust the ole Mec off this winter. I just loose patience when that damn primer tray lid starts flying off knocking primers everywhere! Or when the primer drops and as it moves to the next station, something makes it jump up in the air and for some reason lands upside down more often that'll not!
The price of reloading has to include everything and anything it takes to put a shell together, hauling the ingredients is part of it and so is the actual hull as is the time to put them together, oh and do not forget the press it self ... I hear people say all the time they can reload as good or an ever better load than the factory, lets say for the hell of it they are right ... That shows people how stupid the factory would be for investing all that money in machines to manufacture shot gun shells if Mutt and Jeff can do it even cheaper ... There are no two shotgun shells exactly alike so if you pattern a shell and get what you call or consider to be the "Perfect Pattern" you just wasted it because you will never be able to duplicate that shell ever again (close does not count ) ... If you take the time to reload the absolute perfect shells for any given shoot and anything changes that makes your "Perfect " shells useless also or at least more useless than you planned on having ... Many shooters find reloading to be a form of therapy though I have never been able to fully understand or comprehend that ... I have always given a little credit where credit is due when the Top Guns all shoot new shells when it matters the most, in doing so they get good enough that normal every day people (shooters ) will pay them for a clinic or for them to teach them some on the secrets to being a Top Gun ( I know of one who said New Handicap Shells, was the only way to go ) , but what does he know ..? If by chance you get into a shoot off shooting your best reloads and you miss a target, might it of been your reload or maybe not .(you never know, you know ..?) WPT ... (YAC) ...
I, fortunately, can blame my affinity and addiction to reloading and shooting and firearms and hunting to my Grandad, Dad, Mother and all my Uncles and Aunts and Cousins and every one else I grew up with..... Certainly none of it was of my own doing.... LOL . Uncle Sam even gave me instruction in firearms and how to direct accurate fire from rifles, guns, ships and aircraft. Years of rifle benchrest reloading demonstrated my reloads were far superior to anything that could be purchased off the shelf but I had a stationery target and a single hole (or group of holes) with which to do the evaluation. I have no doubt that with my 9000H I can produce a 12 ga shell that dimension-wise will produce a end result equal to factory and if given the same components will produce equal performance........ no way to really evaluate though as patterns are made of up random projectiles.... with a shotgun and at my age and ability level I really cannot see the difference between new and reloads but in registered events I shoot new most of the time because "those that know" choose to do so. Above I posted about my super deal on some shells, cancelled the order a couple days ago as I found out Free Freight was only to the store and not to me. Closest store is 100 mile round trip plus a sales tax....... Gotta read the fine print you know. I suspect this is going to be a long winter so at some point I may go through my inventory of "stuff" to see what my real costs are.. Looking at my powder supply I have about 15 lbs at Zero, another 25 lbs or so at $13 and a bunch more at 15 and several batches of $18........ I just received about $200 in rebates and have 11 flats of new shellls ranging from $4 a box to $6.97 a box....... WPT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See what you started??????????????? I suppose now I better inventory my guns and springs and extra chokes and pads and ????????????????????????? My wife is going to her sisters for a week or so.... I can get it done without prying eyes................. LOLOL Hope you had a great Turkey day by the way. And how are you doing these days? I trust everything is working as it should?? Larry
When I started trapshooting I fell big time for the games, so being as I was reloading at the time I tried any and everything I could dig up out of the reloading manuals as well as from other shooters to try and get some kind of advantage ... One of the long time shooters (LeRoy Gallis) told me one day it would be to my advantage to quit with all of the nonsense in trying to load the perfect shells when all I had to do was shoot good premium factory loads ... I checked around and for the most part the better shooters where shooting Federal Papers, so that is what I started shooting and it paid off big time in spades in a short period of time ... I was convinced from then on that new shells was the way to go and nothing has convinced my of anything other wise since ... I quit loading back in about 1977 or 78 , been shooting new since and never looked back ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
I stopped reloading when I ran out of $12.50 a bag shot. That was probably - 10 to 15 years ago maybe even more. Been thinking about getting into the games again so that would require me to reload some 6s for everything past the 40 yard line. Up to that point Nitro 27s work great.
In my case, its cheaper to reload because I load 7/8 oz loads. Most of those International / Bunker loads are kind of expensive to buy. I stop loading 1-1/8 oz many years ago because there're always factory shells on sale with free shipping that's about the same cost as reloads.
Sovra, I quit reloading because it is more expensive than factory shells on sale, takes up quite a bit of time (of which I may not have all that much left), and, truth is, lead ain't good for us and pouring that crap in hoppers and cleaning up messes and dropping it into shells in front of you etc. flat out does increase the lead levels in your blood. And, sometimes, significantly. Regarding bunker loads (24grams), I have shot A LOT of bunker. In competition, I, of course, used factory loads. But for day to day shooting I just use factory 1 oz. loads in the lower velocity. They work fine. In fact, when Dick's and other places have their super sales, I always clean out the 1 oz. loads and leave the 1 1/8 for the others. I shoot em at everything including 27 yard line. I don't need the recoil. Now if I shoot in competition, I buy AA 1 1/8 oz. 7.5s. (I shoot low velocity though and always have including from the 27.) Only time I use 1 1/8 high velocity like Super Handicaps is for games. I still have all my reloading gear and quit a few components including about 25 bags of shot. But I doubt I will ever reload another shell.
A good friend of mine who is a lawyer said reloading for him was "Stress relief". I'm not sure that was referring to from his job or his wife.
"Cheaper to reload" is a subject that pops to the top with great regularity. Without setting some limiting factors or sideboards alongside the question a definitive answer cannot be given as reloading has so many variables..... fun to speculate though and interesting to read the responses..... I recently found a great price on new RIO shells....... the free freight turned out to be "to the store" so would have resulted in a lengthy trip to a store so $40 a flat would have turned into $58 a flat, more if I ate on the trip. Be sure to read fine print (some exclusions may apply). I know that location is a tremendous factor for components or shells and I note that more often than not a sale price here is still more than regular price in other locations. Its all fun but its all different...... Its interesting and imformative to read of all the differences across the nation....... Larry
Larry, as has been posted on this site, Dick's (among others) reguarly has Gun Clubs and Winchester Super Targets on sale for under 5 bucks. Last month they had em for 3.98. And, if you are a "member" they give back 10 to 20 bucks for every $100 spent. You can't reload for that even if you don't count time or those inevitable screw ups. Now, if you want to reload for games, the 37 grains of Blue Dot crowd, those shells are cheaper to reload than buying high velocity 1 1/4 oz. loads. Most of the folks I know who still reload are almost exclusively reloading for games.
I have a quantity of Win Super Targets...... @3.98......... I take advantage of bargains when I can but for more serious shooting either reload with good components or purchase premium shells..... AA, Nitro or Fed Grand. With rebates AA and Grand are $6.87 and Nitro's sell for $6.78...... You are correct about availability of really inexpensive shells on the market. For the most part they are not my shells of choice.... I have never been disappointed by shooting higher quality (by my definition) ammunition.... We have found on our high school teams that some inexpensive shells end up having hidden costs for the end user. We buy them and use them as we are severely budget challenged....... Just took another look at Dicks and Sportsmans Warehouse for shells for the high school team......... right at $6 a box and shells excluded from free freight. Need to be regular on searching for the specials and no freight........Larry
I agree with you Larry. I stock up on shells when they are on sale. I buy a lot. And, I don't mind shooting them at everything when shooting practice. Shooting for competition I always shoot high end factory. My personal choice is AA but certainly almost any main line brand of their high end competition shells are excellent. And, the yearly $2 rebate on AAs is great. And, if you time it right and get the AAs from some place like Academy when they are on sale you can get them down well below $6.00 (with the rebate) and you sure as hell can't load a shell that good (in my opinion) for ANY price. So you can pick up 5 or 10 cases of them by watching. Reloading is relaxing for some. But justifying the price is a fool's errand.
I have shot new shells for years only because I was convinced by an accomplished and well respected shooter that it was the way to go, even with the probability of getting a blooper from time to time with new shells … I liked AA Super Handicap but for some reason would get a head ache when I shot them, I am a big time Remington Nitro 27 fan because they seem to work best for me and I get the best results from them … I used to shoot the Super Targets (Paper) from Winchester before they eliminated them from the menu, still think they were the best to this day … When I was in business, I think the Federal Papers were probably the most popular shells once the Paper Winchesters were eliminated you could buy probably 2 to 1, I shot them because even being a dealer they gave me the best deals … My idea of reloading was always putting more cases (flats) in the truck, I got to believe in the long run new shells were worth the price differential … I was never a singles fan and shot doubles only for fun so Handicap was the game I enjoyed most which was probably part of the reason new shells seemed to be the way to go … If anyone is in the Phoenix area I have 80 flats of Estates ( 3 dram / 7 1/2's taking up space in my garage), you call, you haul … Contact me with a PM … WPT … (YAC) …
I shoot 7/8 oz Skeet loads. I do not care about cost of my reloads, I only care about having enough quantity, quality, and that is it. Reloading is fun, relaxing, and don't considerate it to be work, on the contrary. I truly enjoy it, relaxes me and that's it in a nutshell. To each his own, but isn't it nice we live in a country where we have the ability to load our own ammunition, or go purchase it, and go shoot with our buddies?
While reading the ongoing discussions about "load or not", "loading costs", "why waste money" and so on and so on it brings to mind that our nation is so large and prices vary so much from location to location it is almost mile by mile that circumstances change. On some other forums the posters get into verbal fistfights over presses and costs and .............................. I and my family have never lived in an area where you just went down town and bought what you wanted........ mail order then was a big thing like electronic ordering is now........ also I never lived in a circumstance where "saving a buck" was not important. I suspect that after 70+ years of reloading my habits will not change now. A few days ago I read a LONG thread on costs and presses on another forum. Appears there are some folks that just do not like each other or deny others the ability to do what fits their situation...... Cheap shells here are $6+........ buying components like I do has my loading cost at $4 with reclaimed and about $4.60 with new shot. Guess what? Very, Very little new shot available without ordering in then freight kicks in...... Local club brought in a little a week or so ago....... $43..... bought more than a little for my special loads. I try hard to avoid criticizing others for making the best of the situation in their particular area..... shooting and loading is way more fun........... Larry
Demonstrates the variation in shooting cost by location...... Only shells on sale today at Bi Mart in LaGrande are DOVE (by Kent), same spec as the above Federals but are $4.79...... Larry
Thats funny...my dad used to say the same thing to me about smokin'. He died about 9 years ago but it wasn't from smoking. Go figure. JT
If people include "every thing" when it comes to reloading they are not cheaper … You have to go and gather all of the components, haul them, unload them, store them, put them together in a shell and all of this takes time and costs $$$ … The reality is reloading is not cheaper, nor are home made shells better then those manufactured by company's on machines that were made specifically for the purpose of making shells … If you use it as therapy maybe you should not play with guns or use sharp steak knives … WPT … (YAC) …
One thing I have never been accused of is effectively analysing the "why" of my actions..... my grandaughter once told me she "really loved me cause I never plan anything". Watching news it seems all Democrats and a bunch of Republicans are more interested in mind games than really doing anything. I load because I do..... I can come up with all sorts of numbers relating to hard dollars. Several of the shells on the market today are inferior..... My friends and I coach the High School team and help with the local college team..... There are several brands of new shells that will simply not work reliably in the guns that the team members bring to the range..... We are selective in what we offer them to shoot (they are required to use new). Larry
Larry, Be careful if you are reloading and having someone shoot the shells you reload you may be liable for damages if by chance there is a problem and a gun blows up … The World today is not like it used to be and many people appreciate your efforts until something happens then they sue the chit out of you for being a good guy … Disclaimers in many instances don't work … WPT … (YAC) …
You certainly have that correct. I do not give out any shells to anyone nor do any of the coach's. We are just very selective about the new ammo we buy for the teams. One situation that arises from time to time is the condition of the guns that they bring. One is never certain with some of the actual condition. We watch very closely and inspect regularly...... questionable guns are removed...... In today's world often good intentions just create problems. Larry
Let's see. I currently own three Spolars (one hydraulic) and one PW 900. I suppose I'm not quitting reloading anytime soon. I've always had at least three shooters in the family and what a great way to escape by retreating to my laboratory. It always seemed every family member had their personal preference for different events hence the need for multiple machines. Some like AA's, others like Federals while the rest prefer Remington. Then some shoot 1oz. others 1 1/16 and I always like 1 1/8oz. Please don't tell me the cheapo factory shells always perform as good or as consistent as a quality reload-they don't.
Dawg, Your point is well taken, I only worry about ammo for me and my wife when she was shooting ... I only shoot handicap so that eliminates a second choice more times than not ... My wife quit shooting when she had the bout with Cancer so now I only worry about me and what I shoot, if and when I shoot ... I will probably never give another dime to the ATA directly or by way of paying entry fees based on the turn around of the organization (ATA) and the people in control of it now and probably into the future ... I have a majority of Handicap 7 1/2 s on hand, I can shoot them at anything just playing around, don't matter ... The few Handicap 8's I have are good for sporting, trap, and on occasion skeet (though I sold my skeet gun) ... I never was a fanatic about reloading and found ways to pay for new shells (for the games) as far back as I can remember ... Last count I had about 100 flats of ammo plus a few odd lots ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Shot prices really drive the shotshell cost equation. In 12 and 20 gauges, I can not load much cheaper than the bargain basement shell prices. But ... I can load premium quality shells cheaper than I can buy them. And, I can load exactly the payload and speed that I want ... that’s the main reason I reload. In 28 gauge (and 410 bore) there is a significant savings.
There was a time at the grand when you had to buy and only shoot new shells, so all of the guys who reloaded the "Perfect Shell" were wasting their time ... Now, with the revisions in the rules at the grand a person can shoot the "perfect" shells they reload but are still limited to new shells for the grand American Handicap, so the "perfect reloads" cannot be used unless you are not interested in being counted in the grand American Handicap final results ... I always figured if reloading or hand loading on press's would produce the "perfect shells" the manufactures would of hired 33,000 Illegals and had a gazillion, Mec, Spolars, PW's or flavor of your choice hand loading the shells some place ... I would bet any amount of money that nobody can load,(reload) shells that are better than come out of the factory's or the millions of dollars they spent on the machines, research and development was a waste on their part ... I shoot only new shells and have shot less to be able to afford new shells at one time, and it was worth it ... If people add all of the costs related to reloads in the long run shooting new shells would probably be cheaper ... Time is money ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
Reloading by hand does produce a better shell. Assuming the quality control of the reloader is up to par. It also allows one to cook up new recipes that work better for them than factory shells. And most certainly the EL-Cheapo euro trash and Walmart stuff one sees laying are over the ground. No one that shoots big-bore competition Rifles shoots anything but hand made Reloads. That in its self implies quality considering 5" groups at 1000 yards. Do that with a factory shell.
If one does a comparison between home loading and promo shells then one should use equal "stuffing". Reclaimed or redropped shot is probably harder and as good or better than the shot in promo's.. Use cheaper primers, powder and wads then compare price.. BAMA's comments are on track as are the others above. Roll your own is never a bad thing. Larry
Show me one (ONE) All American or Top Gun that shoots reloads in competition, don't bother looking there are none ... My Nephew was a SWAT Team Commander (the Real Deal) , they used special loads that were not available to the public which should tell you something ... I am not talking shot guns, I am talking rifles which is like comparing apples and oranges ... WPT... (YAC) ...
I would guess the All American and Top Gun folks will need to speak for themselves and I suspect any shooter in a qualifying shoot will follow the rules and shoot what is required..... Do these folks shoot Premium shells or the promo stuff? I am not too sure about factory being superior..... STS has some very interesting crimps from time to time as do the Nitro27 offerings..... for sure factory are new hulls, reloads are probably on once fired. Is that the difference? Larry
Just got back from town...... OP started out with cheaper to reload. End of year sales going on, customers limited to one flat. Least expensive is $5.99....... 1 ounce loads... straight wall and Winchester offerings. Even with what I often pay for new shot I am under that by a little more than a dollar for 1 1/8 oz.... OP probably sees by now that opportunity and location have a lot to do with the answer......... Larry
Larry, ask one the next time you see one , they will tell you ... I have and they did ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
I have to rely on folks like you for that input...... my chance of coming across one out here is slim and none. I can say though is most shooters I know that shoot a lot of registered ATA or PITA events shoot new shells at those events. And those shells range from "cheap Charley" promo shells to the best anyone has to offer. I have also noticed that more and more of them are shooting the 1 ounce shells. Larry
People shoot what they can afford (most shooters), what they like (todays reloaders), what someone else buys them (kids). or what some company is giving them (The Pro's). I have friends that shoot nothing but new AA's or Nitro/STS, or paper Federals, and leave them on the ground. It's their money. I fall into the second category; "what people like." What category do you fall into?
Without getting into a discussion of "Spolar vs MEC" I shoot a mixture...... I have my 9000H set for Nitro27 hulls. The reloads (if I had STS primers) duplicate factory in performance and appearance...... it is interesting that running the Winchester AA through with the same press settings (different powder charge) gives me a AA load with the same velocity and appearance as the new I fire to get the hulls but my crimp is just a bit more shallow. A bit of adjusting and I doubt any might be able to distinguish the shells from new if I were to resize the base back to OEM specs unless they cut one apart and did a powder comparison.... I use Titegroup or a Vectan powder and the new shot is either Eagle or Lawrence. For games and fun I am not near so picky and use only Vectan and reclaimed or redropped...... Larry
I started shooting back in 1975, got into it and talked to a chit load of people about re loading and of course you get different answers depending on who you are talking to ... I shot games every chance I got so that was what I really was most concerned with ... I went and bought a reloading press, all of the components, everything I needed to get a good start on my new adventure ... I was extremely diligent and careful when I was reloading and attempting to remake shells as close to the factory as I could possibly get ... I had a couple of "bloopers" in the games that might of or might not of cost me so I went and started talking to a few of the very accomplished shooters so I could pick their brain and get going in the right direction ... I had an FFL, so one of the distributors I used told me to talk to a certain shooter (Dealer/Distributor) because he was probably one of the best all around shooters in the area ... This shooter told me to figure all costs related to reloading and make up my mind what was the best way to go ... These costs consisted of the loader, going to getting all of the components, hauling them, taking them into the house, storing them, making shells, taking them out and bringing them back to be reloaded again, Time, gas, etc ... We sat down and figured everything, (cannot be selective) so by the time I was done I was not saving enough to make reloading worth my while even buying as a dealer ... I got hooked on Federal Papers (of course ) so my cost there was also as a dealer (apples to apples) ... I always bought in a quantity so I got price breaks ... I sold all of my reloading components, reloader, etc and never looked back ... This was around (guessing ) 1977 or 1978, since then loading has been putting them in the truck and to the club ... I got to where I only shot Handicap unless it was just goofing off but it was always with new shells ... I used to buy cases that has 20 boxes of shells in them for less than you can buy flats for today ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
I shoot a fair amount of new myself.... Nitro27 and Win AA. Ran comparisons in patterns etc with my loads...... not enough difference to make a difference but once fired premium hulls are very scarce here so I make my own. As my "stuff" is delivered to the door I also do a lot of "loading the car" activities. Many items I order as an FFL dealer but often I open accounts as a non-dealer. At more than one location the price breaks were way more than offset by haz-mat and freight. More and more vendors are giving freight and haz-mat discounts to general customers but not dealers..... really have to pay attention to ordering practices. My cost per shell has only increased a cent or so over the last 5 years while costs for promo stuff has increased from about $3.30 a box to near $6.00. Interesting to note that Nitro27 that were about $7.50 a box are now $6.97 and AA shells (other than trackers) have remained about $8.00. While vision allowed me to load and shoot about 1500 shells a month I paid for equipment quite quickly but now where I can really only shoot well on bright days savings are not so great per month but the activity is worth it...... Larry
I enjoy reloading. My cost is approximately $4.25 a box in STS and Nitro hulls. Recently I got in on a close out group buy of Fiocchi target loads. $30 a flat. Purchased 11 flats. It may be a while before I reload.
Larry, most of the reclaimed shot out there comes from promo shells. Add in deformed pellets and I doubt you're getting a better shell than STS's or AA's.
You're right oleolliedawg, reclaimed I feel is equal or better than Promo loads and less costly. A test done on Northwest redropped shot indicated a very hard and spherical pellet. I have some Westcoast shot set back I used for my "better" loads but Tim's testing indicated it has been "soft" in recent tests. Did a "test" of my own a while back...... equal volumes of Northwest and Westcoast 7.5 shot. A random sampling of both revealed pretty much the same pellet diameters. The Northwest was lighter. Interesting though was an equal volume of a very nice looking reclaimed from a Montana firm was also lighter that the Westcoast shot, Diameters were varied though, mostly a mixture of 7.5's and 8's. I have a bunch of new AA and Nitro27's for serious and my reloads for everything else... Last few years though my vision issues keep me from noticing much difference. I have noted that while component costs are remaining fairly constant and the price of AA and Nitro27 are about the same the promo offerings are steadily increasing around here. Once $4.50 could be found and not it's $5.50 to $6 for the less expensive..... Nothing stays the same does it? Larry
Larry , Get together with a few of your shooting friends and buy in volume, you can usually get some reasonably good or at least better deals if you but it by the pallet ... We used to buy 2 or 3 pallets at a time to get deals ... I have not bought any for a long time so things may of changed but it don't hurt to ask ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
I have found that lots of folks are willing to do the group buy as long as someone else put out the $$$$$. Local store began handling shells..... Top Guns and Estates mostly. $4.99 regular price and "Senior Discount" on Tuesday's of another 10%. Short while ago I tried to put together a group purchase on powder. Finally gave up, not because the savings weren't there but because folks were just too damn much trouble to work with. One changed his order 4 times then just cancelled..... he was sure I was "making money off of him". Don't need that crap. 4 of us shoot a lot of Vectan AS..... go together and get 40 1.1lb jugs at an order. Saves a bunch...... Larry
Larry, That has always been one of the draw backs of trying to get deals unless in time you get the buyers sorted out from the I wanna be's, that are willing to put up the money up front ... There are always the ones with the unfortunate circumstances that just happened to pop up, we had people make up the difference on many occasions so nothing was lost ... We didn't make any money on the deals, a few even wanted them delivered rather than have to pick them up at a given place ... So, I know what you are talking about ... Just wanted to give you a heads up ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
One other route I have gone is to contact businesses that others have referred to on various forums that have these "super low prices and free freight"........ Most everyone here shoots 1 1/8 loads and 12 gauge... found lots of good prices for 1 ounce but freight was extra and found several with free freight but the prices were high. A drawback of living in remote areas like mine is that freight or inventory is always an issue..... Going to try a quantity deal with the colledge team.... not a group with lots of folks buying a little but one group buying a lot..... should know soon if that is going to work...... Larry
