GEEEZ! The cost!

[Hogtamer]

Grandson just ran out of 20 ga reloads I loaded last year for his skeet and trap club that he shoots in.
12 yrs old and shoots 200-300 shells per week. Just figured reloading standard 7/8 oz 1200 fps and it comes out to $8.75 per box. Yikes! She’s gonna price factory loads like white box Win universals, etc. Getting to be a very expensive sport.

[DDriller]

With the price of shot and primers it is cheaper to buy factory shells if you can find them at a decent price. Prices for loaded ammo is still too high at most stores.

[Outer Rondacker]

They won't let the kids shoot reloads here. We did it anyway. I have not seen a 20 g shell for sale in over a year. Good luck.

[megasupermagnum]

Same as everywhere, things are up in price here too. A bag of Lawrence magnum shot is $58. I didn't even ask about primers, but BPI has Cheddite for around $50 a thousand. Not much for USA brands yet, I'm hoping to see prices come down to the $50 range soon enough. Powder is kind of all over the map. It's looking like jugs might come out to around $30 a pound when available. Wads are not horrible, I recently bought some Downrange wads at $14 a bag of 500. If price matters, I'd be doing my best to get shells free. I got myself two 55 gallon drums of Federal Top Gun's in 12 gauge, and ended up with half a 5 gallon buck of 20 gauge, all free from a local range. So add all that up, and you can currently load good ammo for about $8 a box for 12 gauge, and closer to $7.25 for 20 gauge, of course depending on your load.

The most dirt cheap ammo I'm finding right now is Federal Top Gun at $8.75 per box. Both 12 and 20 gauge are the same price. I am not seeing any Winchester target loads. There are some Remington STS for $14.50 a box. Neither is all that available. The one place might have had 3 cases of Top Gun, which is only 750 rounds. There's no easy answer at the moment. 2021 and now 2022 have been horrible years. Even milk is $5 a gallon now. I knew these would be tough years, but I failed to predict how fast and how bad they would become.

[CastingFool]

Wow! When I started reloading shotshells, I calculated it was costing me $1.75 a box. I was shooting skeet at the time, and would shoot 2 rounds of skeet on Saturday mornings.

[Baltimoreed]

I would have to tell my grandson to cut back unless he starts shoveling sidewalks and when the snow is gone start cutting lawns to help support his shooting fun. I only have 2 bricks of 209s, he would go through them in a couple months. Last shot I bought was a face to face deal with a guy i met on a NC forum. Turns out he was 40 miles away in the same town that my son lives. Got 2 bags of #8.5 at $50.00 /bag. Last shot before that was a bag of #9 at a big gunshow for 65.00 plus 25.00 in gas and 10.00 st the door. Also got a lb of Extra-Lite that I like.

[Winger Ed.]

I can't remember the exacts costs, but it seemed like reloading shot shells cost about the same
as buying something like #8 dove and target loads if you got a deal and bought them 10-12 boxes at a time.

However; for that price I could load my own that were more like magnum, or the 'hi-brass' or 'Express' expensive shells.

[rockrat]

Guy bought 11 boxes of 20ga AA's at a local pawn shop (all they had) for $10/box, just this week. Haven't seen any at wally world for a long time

[megasupermagnum]

Guy bought 11 boxes of 20ga AA's at a local pawn shop (all they had) for $10/box, just this week. Haven't seen any at wally world for a long time

That's not a bad price at all. They were up around $9.50 before all this mess.

[6pt-sika]

When I was at the Fall Southern Side by Side in Georgetown SC last October picked up a flat of WIN AA 28’s with 7 1/2’s for $125 . After I got back I got two flats of Fiochi 28’s with 5’s and two flats with 6’s $120 a flat . Also had WIN AA 410’s of 7 1/2’s also for $125 a flat . I wish I’d gotten several flats of 410’s .

[Outer Rondacker]

So four or five years ago I walked into the WalMart and headed for sporting goods. Saw a guy with four shopping carts full of all the 12g shotgun ammo headed for the back room. I asked where are you going with that? I was told it was something called a Mod change and it was all being taken off the shelf since the upc number where not in the system anymore. Asked what they were going to do with it? Guy said, clearance I would suspect. I made a jack wagon comment on Ill take it all for a dollar a box. Guy replied you have to take it all and take it now as I have to ring you out since I am the manager on shift. We had to get another worker and my friend as we pushed the four shopping carts full two feet over the top of the cart to the register. It was so heavy you could not steer the carts solo. The manager also got me a bunch of boxes as I have a flatbed truck. While filling the boxes the local town police pulled up, got out and helped fill the boxes. The he asked do they have anymore. Sorry nope. I will not tell you how many I got but I will tell you I spent just over 600 dollars and just under 700 dollars. @ a dollar a box of 25 I did good. I have 10 boxes left and no longer shoot trap.

[W.R.Buchanan]

The best price on shotgun shells I haver seen seen in the last 10 years was $21.74/100 at Walmart..22/round or $5.44/box. that was happening up to about June of last year.

Our Walmart's in CA don't even sell ammo of any kind any more.

With components I bought 10 years ago I was loading for @$4.00 per box .16 / round. I am still using them now. But if you add in my time I am doing it for the fun of it now.

If prices ever go back down I will be stocking up, as opposed to the blank stare at the empty shelves. That's happening now.

But I kick myself for not buying a hundred rounds of Federals at that price everytime I went to Walmart.

Sometimes I look in the mirror and all I see is Dumb $$!!!

Randy

[Multra]

I was thinking of getting into shotgun reloading for sporting clays, but pricing it out I save around 30 cents a box compared to what I can get at walmart, hard to justify dropping a few hundred on a machine to save 30 cents.

[Cap'n Morgan]

Some shooters in the UK are shifting to steel shot to save money. For practicing on clays it makes perfect sense.
Here in Denmark a box of 7/8 ounce #7.5 steel shot can be had for about $6-$7 (up from $5 a year ago) Reloading would be meaningless...

Not that it proves anything, but I only shoot international skeet (1977 rules) and my results with 7/8 steel loads these days are better than when I was using 1-1/8 lead.

[megasupermagnum]

Here, steel shot is $22.79 for 10 pounds of #7 or $27.69 for 10 pounds of#8. The cheapest steel shot wad I see is the MG42 at $14.99 for 250, plus you will need spacers for 1 oz target loads. So it costs more than lead, and only works for sure in post 1991 shotguns. I doubt you will find a factory load of steel under $18 a box. Pass.

[beezapilot]

Dripping shot is much like casting bullets, big savings in that department - if I didn't drip and reload, couldn't afford to shoot much. Can you use ol' Daisey / Crossman BB's in the place of steel shot? I still see the "milk Cartons" of BB's at yard sales for cheap- ain't small shot but may get the job done.

[RickinTN]

The 20 ga I've seen lately is $10 to $10.50 a box. 12's are about the same. I just bought 45 flats of 12 gauge 1 oz target loads for $85/flat. That was wholesale pricing. The same brand and load at retail stores and gun clubs is about $10.50 per box. The only reason to reload anymore for me is if I want a specialty load that I can't buy, like 16 gauge with BB shot. Unless you have a large stash of primers and shot which was purchased quite some time ago at more friendly prices it isn't worthwhile.
Rick