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Reloads vs. Factory Shotshell cost


Reverend P. Babcock Chase

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Howdy Reloaders

I recently started reloading shotshells. I had never considered it in the past as I didn't think the savings warranted the effort. The recent prices and unavailability got me started and I'm pleased with the results and I like controlling my availability. However...

 

Has anyone done a cost work-up comparing reload cost to current factory prices? 

 

I know that components have also gone up and have been hard to get, but I have been fortunate enough to get enough for a couple of seasons. Plus, some of my shooting buddies cowboyed up with a healthy supply of hulls. I'm just curious and am to lazy to do the math myself.

Rev. Chase

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Costs vary so much from place to place and securing components is often a matter of luck.  Loaded ammo prices are all over the board and availability of various loads and brands is spotty.  So there can be no standard or average cost to reload in this market.  There are lots of cost calculators.  Here is one.

 

http://www.losttarget.com/costcal.htm

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There are online cost calculators.  Search for "shotgun shell reloading calculator."  Savings vary quite a bit.  I might only save $.60 per box for 1 1/8 oz shells used to bust clays.  However, "featherlight" AAs are priced at $14/box at my local big box sporting goods store.  However, I can reload them for $6/box.  That is a huge savings for shells that are often unavailable.  I get once-fired Gun Club hulls for free at clays ranges and don't buy them.

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Light loads are not a thing around here these days. They made an appeared a few months ago, then vanished back into the forest. My only option to teeth jarring loads is to reload.

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A few months back I did some rough calculation using my latest prices, which were the current going price for Cheddite primers  and magnum shot and WST powder.  I did not add in for hulls because I can always find those.  Reclaimed shot would have lowered it, but it came to about $7.50/box for 7/8 oz CAS loads.

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And there you go.  I have not seen any WST powder in over a year.  Same with Clays.  No shot has been available in my area for over six months.  I did snag an eight pounder of Red Dot and Titewad a couple of months ago but those are almost gone.  The only shotgun primers available around here right now are Cheddites.  

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10 minutes ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

And there you go.  I have not seen any WST powder in over a year.  Same with Clays.  No shot has been available in my area for over six months.  I did snag an eight pounder of Red Dot and Titewad a couple of months ago but those are almost gone.  The only shotgun primers available around here right now are Cheddites.  

Dang, Larsen, I'm using the 8 pound WST keg for pistol and shotgun since last year and have a LOT left.  But then I seem to recall you mentioning recently that you were doing more shotgun sports lately?

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Last time estimated sg shells I reload at about $7.00 -$8.00 a box. I bought some LNLR AAs for $12.37 at Wallyword. 
Shot was the biggest price increase and I already had about 10 lbs of Clays and 2000 primers. 

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At first I didn't reload shotgun shells because they were available at several places at around $7.00 a box for LNLR.  Then they disappeared so I had to do something so I started reloading them.  There are components out there, you just have to be ready to buy when they pop up, mostly online resources.  Cheddite primers are available from several places and the price has been coming down from what it was.  Clay dot powder has been available several times recently, I just got an 8 pounder from natchez.  Shot is available if you look around.  The prices are starting to come down a little from what they were.  Recently, just the past week, shotgun shells have started showing up at Walmart and other local places again.  The problem is the price has went up at least 50%.  Shells that were $7.97 a box are now $10.97 or higher.  So reloading for $6.00 a box or less now makes for some pretty significant savings. 

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Shootin Fox still sells #7 1/2 shot mail order.  His shot is suitable for CAS.  Alliant Extra-Lite has been available in 8-lb jugs at MidSouth and is still available in 1-lb jars online.  I load a decent 7/8 oz load using Extra-Lite and Cheddites using Alliant's online reloading info.  I sure don't want to buy "Featherlights" for $14/box at Sportsmans.

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I shoot and reload 16 gauge. 16 gauge shells were pretty pricey before the shortage and very limited in selection and now they’re almost impossible to find and when you do find them they are very expensive. I buy my shot from Shootin Fox and have plenty of primers and quite a bit of 700x and Red Dot powder.

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I load black powder so no realistic equivalent to store bought.  But I seak out reclaimed shot to save some. Plastic shot cups are cheaper than fiber. I've bought AA hulls but scrounge when I can.  I cut and roll crimp so only try load and toss. 

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I'm no help at all.  I never reloaded plastic hulls in my smokeless days, at that time, Fetherlights were cheap enough, reloading wasn't necessary and the Big Box outlets were lousy with 'em.  Since going to All Brass Hulls and APP, I have no clue.  I do know I have amortized the cost of Magtech hulls several times over so my only cost has been reclaimed shot, primers and wads.  I laid in a huge supply of APP several years ago so consider that already aid for.

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Years back we did an analysis of cost on shotgun loading and found it was about even at that time as buying a box. I loaded only for the benefit of being able to custom load my rounds for CAS. Now I am still loading supplies that I bought years ago, but I have been resupplying when things come in stock.

 

Hulls are .12 shipped per 100(Precision Reloading). Red Dot just cost me $35 a pound shipped (Brownell's), Primers are $100 per 1000 shipped (Ballistic Advantage), Wads are $35 per 1000 shipped (Precision Reloading), and shot is $50 per 25# bag shipped (Shooting Fox).

 

So roughly figured and rounded loading a hull using the prices above and this load:

 

Cheddite primer, Gun Club hull, Claybuster Lightning wad, 18 grains of Red Dot powder, and 7/8th ounce #8 shot. 

 

Hull            .12

Primer        .11

Powder      .09

Wad            .03

Shot            .11

Total           .46 per shell

Or $11.50 per box

 

That DOES NOT include the cost of the equipment to load shotgun.

 

A Lee Load-All is $75. A Hydraulic Spolar is $4000

 

It also doesn't take into consideration labor, or reusing hulls and/or getting them free, bulk shipping ect. but you get the point.

 

So, cost wise it still doesn't really save you anything over a factory box, but it does allow you to stay in the game if you have the components while it still allows the custom load.  

 

 

JEL

 

 

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Howdy

 

The only shotgun ammo I load for CAS are my Black Powder loads, I do not know anyplace I could buy them for any reasonable amount of money.

 

However, in another life I am a Trap shooter, so I go through far more shotgun shells than the average CAS shooter, four boxes every week, plus another two boxes per week during Trap League season. Which thankfully just ended last week.

 

Back before the Pandemic and the associated slowing down of so many major industries, $60/case ($6/box) was a good price, and I did not bother loading any Trap ammo. Even though I started loading shotgun ammo about 20 years ago, at those prices it was not worth my time, with all the metallic ammo I was loading.

 

I am old enough to remember when a box of Winchester AA shells cost $4/box, but that was a long time ago.

 

Through dumb luck, not foresight, I was able to stock up on Trap loads (2 3/4", 2 3/4 dram, 1 1/8 ounce of #8 at a velocity of 1145fps) before all the shortages hit. I had about 25 cases of Trap Loads. I am down to 6 cases now and I may have to dust off my fancy RCBS Grand and start pumping out shotgun ammo again.

 

When I have been able to score a box of Trap ammo recently,  the best price I have found has been $100/case ($10 box). And they were only allowing me to buy one case at a time. One guy had the nerve to jack up his price from $100/case to $120/case, and I doubt if his cost had gone up a proportionate amount.

 

I have plenty of once fired Remington STS hulls, a reasonable amount of wads and shot. I only have about three pounds of Clays, my favorite Smokeless Shotgun powder on hand.

 

Frankly, I am hoping shotgun ammo becomes a little bit easier to find soon, before my dwindling supply of Trap loads peters out. I really don't like cranking out boxes of Smokeless shotgun ammo.

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I agree with all the comments here.  It really isn't about cost at this point, it's about availability. I started loading shotgun shell last winter and I haven't seen any for sale around here for about a year.

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4 hours ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

However, in another life I am a Trap shooter, so I go through far more shotgun shells than the average CAS shooter, four boxes every week, plus another two boxes per week during Trap League season. Which thankfully just ended last week.

 

We are the opposite.  Our trap league starts in September.  Too hot to shoot in the summer.  Before the pandemic and shortage it was easy to shoot 1000+ per month.  Now I am down to the same level as you.  Have not seen any shot around here in months.

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the cost has never been the driving force behind my reloading , i load a specific shell the way i want it and its not readily available on the market , i only shoot these for SASS and ill not reload for anything else , ive got components that ill need for a good number of years , ive got factory loads for the trap/sporting clays i may shoot --i guess i could always use some of those for SASS , i think the market has ruined any chance of reloading ever being cheaper than factory again , i suspect those that reload will do so for their enjoyment and specific reasons , 

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1 hour ago, watab kid said:

i think the market has ruined any chance of reloading ever being cheaper than factory again

 

Reloading shotgun shells was never cheaper than buying factory.

 

At least not in my experience.

 

For some reason, the cost savings of reloading shotgun ammo just were not there like it has always been with reloading metallic ammo.

 

In the past, the only valid reason for reloading shotgun ammo was to tailor your loads to something not available from a factory.

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In the late 60's and early 70's, and up until the switch to steel shot, the savings were there. 

 

I just did a quick calculation at todays cost of components and shipping anything gun related in Canada, it would cost about $16 a box to reload my own. Yes, not loading my own unless I can't find shells to buy. 

 

However: I have powder, shot and primers hoarded from better times, then the savings are there. I still have Blue Magic hulls, new and primed from back in the day. And perhaps some Lage wads. 

 

I've said this before, some manufacturer should get behind the cowboys and make us the ammo we need. 

 

BB

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I think most of us hand-load/reload in order to get the ammo characteristics that we want.  The cost differentials are probably not very easy to determine and  neither are they stable from month to month, as pricing of everything constantly changes. 

 

Given costs of guns, carts, leather accessories, fuel to attend matches, travel trailers or motor homes, clothing, and everything else CAS shooters buy, the penny or two cost differential per shotgun shell is not very consequential. 

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Smokeless cost me $6.18/box & my BP reloads run $8.45/box.  Powder being difference in cost, nearly 3 times the amount of powder per shot.  When I could buy LNLR @Wallyworld for $7.97/box, I didn't reload any smokeless.  I'd shoot the new LNLR in Wild Bunch & reload the hulls w/BP for Frontiersman in CAS.  Whenever possible, I'd time my buy to Winchester's $2/box rebate program.  That made buying more cost effective no matter how deeply I discounted  my labor!

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I did an Excel spreadsheet in December, 2021, which I just updated when I read this. If you'll PM me your email, I'll send you the spreadsheet, & you can change my assumptions to whatever you think is more correct. According to my calculations, if I buy shotshells & shoot them 4 times, my cost is 29c each, or $7.25/box. If I don't have to buy the hulls, they cost me 22c each, or $5.50/box. I load 'em close to Featherlites around 980fps.

 

If I shoot the brass 10 times, it costs me 24c each to load 32-100grn bullets for my wife, & 25c each to load 38-105grn bullets. I probably shoot the brass more than 10 times. I can run 'em till they split due to my reloading procedures, which catch them before they end up in my guns at a match.

 

I use new or almost new brass for the big matches, state championships, regionals, EOT, etc.

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I have another reason to reload:  rotator cuff surgery x2 on each shoulder!

 

I have my loads down to ½ oz with a piece of foam backer rod added to take up space.  They take down our KDs so I'm happy and my shot goes further.

 

now if I could figure out how to get younger each year :D

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Where are you all getting your supplies to load shotgun for $5.50-$5.75 a box? Even if I take the cost of the hull completely out it's still running $8.50 per box loading a lighter than LNLR 7/8 oz load. Are you using costs of components that were bought last year or last week? The prices I listed are prices from today that were in stock and that I physically bought. IF you're getting prices that are cheaper than I listed above please let me know where, because that under wholesale in today's prices. I get my cartridge components wholesale, but none of my distributors can get shotgun components, but even if they did I still couldn't load at these prices listed.

 

JEL

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1 hour ago, John E. Law said:

Where are you all getting your supplies to load shotgun for $5.50-$5.75 a box? Even if I take the cost of the hull completely out it's still running $8.50 per box loading a lighter than LNLR 7/8 oz load. Are you using costs of components that were bought last year or last week? The prices I listed are prices from today that were in stock and that I physically bought. IF you're getting prices that are cheaper than I listed above please let me know where, because that under wholesale in today's prices. I get my cartridge components wholesale, but none of my distributors can get shotgun components, but even if they did I still couldn't load at these prices listed.

 

JEL

Send me a PM with your email, & I'll send you my spreadsheet. You can alter the prices & assumptions anyway you want & see what the deal is.

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On 8/15/2022 at 8:11 PM, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

Costs vary so much from place to place and securing components is often a matter of luck.  Loaded ammo prices are all over the board and availability of various loads and brands is spotty.  So there can be no standard or average cost to reload in this market.  There are lots of cost calculators.  Here is one.

 

http://www.losttarget.com/costcal.htm

that was damn fine information-Windy City

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17 hours ago, John E. Law said:

Where are you all getting your supplies to load shotgun for $5.50-$5.75 a box? Even if I take the cost of the hull completely out it's still running $8.50 per box loading a lighter than LNLR 7/8 oz load. Are you using costs of components that were bought last year or last week? The prices I listed are prices from today that were in stock and that I physically bought. IF you're getting prices that are cheaper than I listed above please let me know where, because that under wholesale in today's prices. I get my cartridge components wholesale, but none of my distributors can get shotgun components, but even if they did I still couldn't load at these prices listed.

 

JEL

I looked at your numbers and saw opportunities for savings.  I don't buy once-fired hulls because I get plenty from fellow CAS shooters and at clays ranges.  Ballistic Products sells Cheddite 209 primers for ~$60/1,000.  Even with shipping and HAZMAT that works out to less than 11-cents a primer.  Shootin Fox sells lead shot for $40/25-lbs.  I got mine without shipping costs by picking it up in person and will restock at Land Run.  The shot in a 7/8-oz load with Fox's shot costs ~9-cents.

 

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1 hour ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

I looked at your numbers and saw opportunities for savings.  I don't buy once-fired hulls because I get plenty from fellow CAS shooters and at clays ranges.  Ballistic Products sells Cheddite 209 primers for ~$60/1,000.  Even with shipping and HAZMAT that works out to less than 11-cents a primer.  Shootin Fox sells lead shot for $40/25-lbs.  I got mine without shipping costs by picking it up in person and will restock at Land Run.  The shot in a 7/8-oz load with Fox's shot costs ~9-cents.

 

 

That's exactly my prices listed, but even with shot at $40 per 25# and free hulls that's still $7.73 per 25ct box with powder and wads at today's prices using 7/8 oz and 18 grns of powder. Where are these $5.50 figures coming from? They must be figuring using old stock prices.  

 

I've cut my practice loads down to 3/4 oz using a claybuster pink wad and a 1/16" spacer on top and then 16grs of powder to conserve there. I was starting to get low on shot until that post came up about Shooting Fox.

 

I got with Shooting Fox and I am going to have a buddy pick up my shot at Comin at Cha instead of shipping it. That cut the cost of that component significantly.

 

JEL 

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