Need help getting into reloading shotgun shells?

[Meatstick]

My interest in reloading has sparked greatly over the past couple years. The only problem is I dont know where to start. Thats where you guys and gals come in. I do ALOT of duck hunting and wing shooting. I have heard that once you get into the reloading aspect of shooting it saves you money.. Is that true? Now.. Where do I start. Im not looking to spend a whole lot of money but I do realize to get started I will have to spend quite a bit to get all the tools. So tell me your suggestions on what to buy to start off with and if you know the ballpark figure of the price throw that in there too. But please give me all the info you can on where to buy the equipment, why you choose it over the other products, what skill level it is, etc.

Thanks

 

[odie1]

Meatstick,

Among other things/calibers/ammo types, the amount of ammo you go through will probably depend upon wether or not you realize any cost savings. I have found (just me now, not speaking for everyone) the cost savings reloading shotgun shells is far less than pistol or rifle ammo. It has been a while since I put pencil and paper to it, but when I was reloading skeet rounds, the cost savings was about $.50 a box over what skeet loads could be purchased for at Wally World. That may have changed!?! That would in no way pay for the time it took, but I enjoyed loading my own rounds.....

I have never reloaded steel shot - or purchased factory steel shot rounds - don't hunt waterefowl, so the cost savings could be much greater. Sorry, just don't know...

I would say for approx $200 you could get set up to reload a single caliber/gauge. The MEC-600 junior comes in around $100 - $125 new and you will also need a good power scale, and probably a few other minor things at a minimum I can't think of right now...

Other reloaders can go for many times that amount, but would reload faster, etc, etc....

I would suggest before you do anything, go and spend $25 on a shotshell reloading manual. This will cover all the basics and should give you a wide range of load data, and most provide a short "how to" introduction manul, which will at least give you an idea of what you'll be getting into. The internet is also a vast wealth of info, but - buyer (reader?) beware!

So, long story short, you shoot 100+ boxes of ammo a year - you pobably will save some cash..... or like most of the rest of us, end up losing money because you end up shooting so much more!

Odie1

 

[ProBusiness]

my $.02 worth.

skeet - i load my light load 12 and 20 for aprox $4.73 to $4.93 per box. Keep in mind, this is a very light load which is good for skeet. A comparison load would be the winchester AA light target load. These were $7.68 last year and about $8.xx this year. So, I am saving about $4.00 per box for this load.

Now, I can buy a heavier load for about $5.50/box but this load is not suitable for skeet. But I do use it for trap and 5-stand. so if I shoot these two games, it is easier to buy the shells than load them myself.

Hunting - don't reload for dove because i don't want to mess with picking up shells and can buy as cheap as reload.
Pheasant - i only get to hunt pheasant only once a year so i buy the heavy pheasant loads and done with it.

Reloaders - Mec jr 600 or 650 can be bought or $75 - $175 depending on gauge. I can load a box in about 20 minutes. Then you buy your expendable components lead, powder, wads. A progressive loader cost about $450 - $475 and makes reloading much faster. I can load about 100 in 30 minutes.

One thing comes to mind about duck hunting - can you get your spend hulls to reload?

Good luck. You can download a reloader manual online for no cost.

 

[Meatstick]

Thanks Odie1 and ProBusiness. I do more waterfowl hunting than anything.

@ Pro- Yes I can get my spent shells and I can get all the other guys shells too. We do most of our hunting our of built blinds, layouts, or off the bank so getting spend rounds is EASY!!

A year ago I shot a case and a half of shells. This past season I shot through two and a half almost three cases. That is why I am wondering if reloading is cheaper. Because I can get A LOT of spent rounds. So I wouldn't have to worry about buying shell casings. I also have quiet a bit of down time when I get off work in the evenings so I wouldn't necessarily need a progressive loader. But I can see where it would come in handy if you ran out of loads and needed some in a hurry.

Thanks guys for your help and if you think of anything else let me know!

 

[1911user]

You might be able to save money on more expensive or exotic size shells if you shoot enough of them. You won't save money on the basic $5/box shells.

Not too many years ago, very nice shotgun reloaders were being sold for cheap due to the rising cost of components. I'm not sure if that's still true, but I'd investigate used equipment before buying new. Many of those people adopted the strategy of finding a good price, or a sale, then buying a year worth of loaded ammo at once.

Definitely work out the costs before buying anything. Also consider how much time would be required compared to any savings.

 

[Pulp]

The absolute least expensive way to get into reloading is found here:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=594408

While his demo is for loading BP loads, there is no reason it won't work with smokeless, just get a scale for smokeless powder and substitute the fiber wads with plastic wads.

Next step up is the Lee Load All:

http://leeprecision.com/xcart/Shot-Shell-Reloading-Press/

Don't let the price and the looks fool you. It will load quality shells. Most folks don't like the primer feed, I've found it's quicker just to lay out primers on the table and start them by pressing the hull over them, and then use the primer seating station. I've been using a Lee Load All for several years, but again, for BP loads. I've never loaded smokeless powder with it, but it comes with enough powder bushings to cover about any load combination out there. You can load a box of shells in less than 30 minutes with it. I've had mine for over 10 years now, and nothing has ever broken on it. I have the conversion kits so I can load 12, 16 and 20 with it, just takes about 10 minutes to change it over. Here's a little video of me loading BP 12 gauge loads so you can see how it works: Notice I use a dipper for the powder charge, that's because none of the powder bushings are large enough to throw a 60 grain load of BP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGqXNx65RIs

After the Lee, what you want to spend is the limiting factor. MEC makes excellent loaders. After the MEC is the big buck loaders.

As for saving money, I save a bunch, since I use BP for Cowboy Action.

 

[MoBoost]

Hopefully it's worth $.02, but I as well loaded THOUSANDS of shells with Lee Load-All; I figure I would've upgraded over the years, I just can't find anything wrong with that $40 setup.

P.S. With light dove load it's very hard to beat Walmart's $20/100 case

 

[Calamity Jake]

Thanks Odie1 and ProBusiness. I do more waterfowl hunting than anything.

@ Pro- Yes I can get my spent shells and I can get all the other guys shells too. We do most of our hunting our of built blinds, layouts, or off the bank so getting spend rounds is EASY!!

A year ago I shot a case and a half of shells. This past season I shot through two and a half almost three cases. That is why I am wondering if reloading is cheaper. Because I can get A LOT of spent rounds. So I wouldn't have to worry about buying shell casings. I also have quiet a bit of down time when I get off work in the evenings so I wouldn't necessarily need a progressive loader. But I can see where it would come in handy if you ran out of loads and needed some in a hurry.

Thanks guys for your help and if you think of anything else let me know!

A word of caution here, when loading shotgun, you need to follow PUBLISHED load book data DO NOT SUBSTATUTE COMPONATS!!!!!!

So if your going to use your buddies hulls then make sure there the same as yours or yours the same as theres.
Also make sure there is published load data for that hull. 99% of all hulls are reloadable but there in not published load data for that same 99%

I don't load steel but I know that there are different setups to load steel and lead shot.

As stated in a post above, get a good shotgun load book and "read" "read" "read"!!!

 

[criticalbass]

Mec Sizemaster is a really good loader. I'm going to be selling mine in 12 ga, but it's for 2 3/4 inch shells and you may want to set up for three inch. The collet resizer is superior to the one the Junior uses.

The ability to make ammo to fit your own needs is more important than dollar savinge to lots of shotgunners. CB