Cost to Reload 12 ga

[dverna]

Folks are going down in payload to save money. I thought it I would share my thoughts.

At my peak level of trap shooting, I was going though over 400 rounds a week and about 70% were practice targets. I went with 1 oz loads for practice to save money. Shot was $38/bag. That works out to $.095/oz. By saving 1/8 oz per shot, I was saving 3.15 oz of shot per box. For a saving of $.30 a box. With a consumption of up to 14 boxes a week of practice loads, that saved me about $4/week. My scores suffered a bit and I decided it was not worth the savings.

My current price of shot is $50/bag (see link below). That works out to $.125/oz. The savings per box with 1 oz loads comes to $.40/box. I will keep loading 1 1/8oz.

For ****s and giggles, I broke out the spreadsheet I use for costing reloads and worked up the price of a box of 12 ga reloads using current component costs (the numbers in brackets are my current inventory costs)

Powder at $50/lb ($15 for mix of Promo/Clays)
Primers at $75/k ($30 for Win 209's)
Wads at $100/case ($70)
Shot at $50/bag ($38)
STS hulls at $50/k used 6 times.

7/8 oz loads cost $8.53
1 oz loads cost $8.92
1 1/8 oz loads cost $9.31

Fortunately, I still have a supply of old inventory and my cost (using 1 1/8 oz) is $4.94/box. The cost increase of shot has had an impact of $.85/box of the total cost increase of $4.37 ($9.31-4.94)...or 20%. The bulk of the cost increase is due to powder ($2.25) and primers ($1.13).

IMO focusing on reducing the amount of shot does not save much compared to the impact fewer pellets make to your score. Yes, it is easy to do, but the savings are minor. I have shot thousands of targets and scores are impacted. Common sense tell us less is never more. It is why there are rules on the maximum load you can use.

With shot at $50/bag, if you shoot four boxes, you will save $1.60 per session using 1/8 oz less of shot. If you cut the load by 1/4 oz, savings are just over $3 for 100 shells. Each person can decide the cost/benefit for themselves.

I am werid....I get my jollies from breaking clays not missing them.

BTW, here is a link to the price of shot from a company I dealt with when I was VP of the trap club:

https://www.dawsonent.com/Reloading.pdf

[HWooldridge]

Most of my shotgun work is on doves or varmints so I dropped my 12 ga loads from 1-1/8 to 1 to 7/8 ounce over the years because I couldn't see much difference in results - either a kill or a miss, and the lighter payloads were easier on my shoulder, especially in lighter guns. I used to own a 6 lb double barrel that would kill me with 1-1/8 field loads but was controllable with 7/8. I didn't really look at the cost then - it was more about enjoyment and performance rather than straight up pennies saved. However, in these days and times, every extra fraction saved adds up.

[farmbif]

ive never been in any tournaments but have always viewed it as a hobby and no matter what your hobby you've got to pay to play and since I first began shooting skeet I have always bought supplies in bulk. if your looking at shot shell reloading to save money the biggest savings is in putting together your own hunting loads.

[Half Dog]

Great insight on costs. I’ve recently purchased components and using today’s prices I reload 7/8 oz for $0.24 ea. My goal is to find the happy medium between recoil and performance.

[Soundguy]

Your primer price is lower than they can be had around here... Usually 100$/1000. Powder here..IF available is a bit under 50...someti.es 40.... But just not available usually.
Shot is about 90$ a bag plus freight. Rotometals sells 2 bags for 180 plus freight.. Freight to Florida from California isn't great.

Luckily I'm making shot now basically for lead cost. I figure by the time I make 100-125# I wi have recovered the cost of the gear...then it's straight lead cost. So usually 2$ a pound or less. Hulls are mostly free pickup or trade with lead alloy. Wads are 28$/1000

[W.R.Buchanan]

Another Excellent Post . Thanks Don!!!

Randy

[MarkP]

Money wise it is not much especially if you consider the cost of a round of clays. $6 to $8 here for Trap / Skeet, $43 / 100 for Sporting Clays. or 135 rocks for $9 and throw them yourself. Depending what vehicle I drive to the SC range that will be $18 to $28 just in gas or diesel.

My motivation is not about cost but more with conserving what I have (doing more with less) and I shoot better with lighter faster loads. Maybe it is a placebo effect and I shoot better thinking since you can not buy what I load I subconsciously tell myself they are better and I have an advantage using them.

Instead of looking at pure cost in terms of money you can get 355, 400, 457, or 533 shells per bag of shot. (1-1/8,1,7/8,3/4 oz) and everything in between.

I remember several years ago a marketing director in the shooting industry making fun of trap shooters or skeet shooters; saying they will jump over the hood of their Lincoln just to save a 4 cent hull. Implying they have tons of money to shoot competitively and drive a Lincoln but worry about a 4 cent shell.

Everyone has their quirks and reasons.

[dverna]

MarkP,
Many good points....

Love the comment about trap shooters. Seen many examples. One guy would use tape to get another reload out of a hull.

There is only one load I use in trap I cannot purchase. 1oz of 8’s at 1150 fps. Used for first shot of doubles to keep recoil down and gain that little sliver of time for the second shot. If I did not save money reloading I would buy the rest. I am too cheap to buy shells, but too competitive to lose a bird because I want to save $.50 a box. Like you said, other costs are so high it makes no sense to cut corners.

BTW, I shot a lot of 1oz loads at Singles and had some great scores. Even ran a couple of 100’s. But over the long haul I could not deny reality. I was losing 1-3 birds per hundred.

I remember taking a lesson from Leo Harrison, the best trapshooter in America. I asked him if he had ever shot 1 oz loads in competition and he looked at me like I had three heads.

Also a good point about conserving resources. If a person cannot get shot, it sucks. If I did not have 80 bags of shot, I would not be wasting shot for casual fun shooting.

[megasupermagnum]

I always thought 1oz loads were more popular for recoil reasons. That's why I load them. 1oz at 1050 fps is quite a bit less recoil than your normal store bought 1 1/8 oz at 1200 fps loads. I don't worry about the cost. If you buy at the right times, loading 12 gauge target loads is a marginal gain at all. From what I've seen, you are underestimating the prices a lot of people are paying for whatever reason, and still your listed prices are MORE than you can go and buy from the store. It's the other gauges that are much better, and of course hunting loads your savings are huge. Often less than half price or less.

[eastbank]

about FIVE months ago i was in walmart and the 12GA federal 1-1/8-#7.5 or #8 FOUR BOX PACKS WERE 21.99 +TAX MAKING IT ABOUT 6.00 PER 25 ROUND BOX. THEY HAD RACKS FULL OF THEM AND I ASK HOW MANY I COULD BUY? ALL YOU WANT AND I BOUGHT 47 FOUR BOX PACKS BOXES ON TWO TRIPS AND THEY FILLED UP THE RACKS THE SAME DAY WITH MORE. NOT LONG AFTER THAT THEY PUT ON A LIMITE ON THE AMOUNT YOU COULD BUY AT ONE TIME, I DO RELOAD AND HAVE A LOT OF SUPPLIES AND RUN TWO MEC 9000,S AND SEVERAL MEC 650 GRABBERS. I HAVE SOLD SOME TO SHOOTER FRIENDS FOR WHAT I PAID. NOW THE FOUR BOX PACKS WHEN THEY have them COST 32.00+TAX AND A 3 PACK LIMITE(12 BOXES).

[MarkP]

Today Wal-Mart had about 10 boxes of WW Super Targets 1 oz @1,150 they were $8.48 ea. Only one box of AA's $12.?? do not recall exact price but they were $12 something. I have not seen 12 ga target loads at multiple Wal-Marts around here for a while. I have been looking for some parents of HS kids that shoot trap. Was thinking about offering them to use one of my 266 to load their own.

Back in the good days the cost to load AA / STS quality shells was similar to the cost of promotional shells. So a savings of $2 - $2.50 / box.

[Ringo10x]

For the most common loads, I doubt you can reload for the bulk price over-the-counter. 12ga 1 1/8oz., 20ga 7/8oz., 9mm pistol.
I don't think you can reload these common sizes and come out ahead.
However, if you want to upp the load THEN there comes a difference.
12ga 1 1/4oz., or #6shot or heavier, or 20ga 1oz., or .45 pistol loads., the heavier loads do make a difference.

[MrWolf]

Saw a site called gunsretailer.com. I have never used them but they take credit cards it looks like. Remington gun club 7.5 1 1/8 @ $5.90 box. Must buy $200 worth so 4 cases plus like $15 shipping. I can't trap shoot any more but that still seems reasonable with today's prices. AGAIN I have never used them just did a quick search because the prices you guys are stating are unreal from when we used to shoot.

[Multra]

Saw a site called gunsretailer.com. I have never used them but they take credit cards it looks like. Remington gun club 7.5 1 1/8 @ $5.90 box. Must buy $200 worth so 4 cases plus like $15 shipping. I can't trap shoot any more but that still seems reasonable with today's prices. AGAIN I have never used them just did a quick search because the prices you guys are stating are unreal from when we used to shoot.

Looks like an obvious scam site.

[MrWolf]

Looks like an obvious scam site.

Not so sure. Take PayPal and Amex so you do have credit card protection. Like I said, never used nor heard of them. I tried doing searches and looks like a coin toss as to whether legit or not.

[Multra]

Not so sure. Take PayPal and Amex so you do have credit card protection. Like I said, never used nor heard of them. I tried doing searches and looks like a coin toss as to whether legit or not.

They don't take any credit cards when you go to checkout, the site is filled with spelling mistakes and odd grammar, and they have primers in stock. It's a scam.

[Soundguy]

For the most common loads, I doubt you can reload for the bulk price over-the-counter. 12ga 1 1/8oz., 20ga 7/8oz., 9mm pistol.
I don't think you can reload these common sizes and come out ahead.
However, if you want to upp the load THEN there comes a difference.
12ga 1 1/4oz., or #6shot or heavier, or 20ga 1oz., or .45 pistol loads., the heavier loads do make a difference.

I can reload 9mm pistol cheaper than retail using cast lead, easily.

[MrWolf]

They don't take any credit cards when you go to checkout, the site is filled with spelling mistakes and odd grammar, and they have primers in stock. It's a scam.

I believe you are correct. I never took it to the checkout page. The cart page shows PayPal and Amex but missing from the checkout page. Yup scam site don't use.

[6pt-sika]

I always thought 1oz loads were more popular for recoil reasons. That's why I load them. 1oz at 1050 fps is quite a bit less recoil than your normal store bought 1 1/8 oz at 1200 fps loads. I don't worry about the cost. If you buy at the right times, loading 12 gauge target loads is a marginal gain at all. From what I've seen, you are underestimating the prices a lot of people are paying for whatever reason, and still your listed prices are MORE than you can go and buy from the store. It's the other gauges that are much better, and of course hunting loads your savings are huge. Often less than half price or less.

I have a bunch of friends that shoot sporting and or trap with 12 gauge ounce loads as well as many that drop down to 7/8’s and even 3/4 ounce loads . I had a flat of the Remington gold Handicap ounce loads and shot them in two events last year (sporting) and my scores were right inline . Now with that being said I load 1 1/2 for the 8 , 1 1/4 for the 10 , 1 1/8 for the 12 , 1 for the 16 , 7/8 for the 20 , 3/4 for the 28 and a 1/2 for the 410 . The only time I differentiate from the payload is typically for pheasant tower shoots and I’ll go 1 1/4 in the 12 , 1 1/8 in the 16 and an ounce in the 20 . April to October I’ll average 1500 shells a month and I don’t go at it hard . I understand being thrifty etc I just choose to do what I’ve always done . I did fail to mention in my hard core skeet days a good many folks myself included shot the 20 gauge in the 12 gauge event . In my own case my scores actually got better shooting the 20 in place of the 12 . Had a couple friends that were truely recoil conscious that used the 28 in the three big guns and of course the 410 , they cut down on the amount of different components they needed to keep on hand . But I think the 28 only crowd were after decreased recoil . I never cared for an O/U 12 in the 12 event but was okay with an 1100 or 11/87 . But if you did that at a four gauge shoot the difference in feel from the tubes O/U to the semi would generally hurt one or the other score wise or atleast in my experience.

[6pt-sika]

For the most common loads, I doubt you can reload for the bulk price over-the-counter. 12ga 1 1/8oz., 20ga 7/8oz., 9mm pistol.
I don't think you can reload these common sizes and come out ahead.
However, if you want to upp the load THEN there comes a difference.
12ga 1 1/4oz., or #6shot or heavier, or 20ga 1oz., or .45 pistol loads., the heavier loads do make a difference.

Quite frankly and this is based on when ammo was easy to get and not price gouged to heck . I had a good bit more confidence in my own handloads over the promotional stuff . WIN AA or REM STS I was fine with . But then again a fair portion of my 12 and 16 took into account I was using damascus or twist steel barrels so at first I loaded to a good bit less pressure . I will say however that in the pigeon ring you have no choice factory only , so with that being said I’ve laid in 3-4 flats of 12 gauge 1 1/4 ounce 7 1/2’s traveling at 1350ish . Three flats of those will last me for all the pigeon rings I’ll frequent the next few years . As generally it’s a 15-30 bird race so you need 30-60 shells for the entire event .