A question about shotshell reloading, please?

[JBWJr]

I am capable of reloading just about everything in pistol and rifle, but haven't ever equipped to reload shotshells.
I only have 12 GA equipment, so I am looking at the Lee Shotshell setup for now.
Anyone have experience and/or advise as to their usefulness and any alternatives?
Thank you.
Appreciate it.

 

[garypl50]

Never used a Lee press, but they don’t look very robust. If you are only going to load an occasional box they might be OK. If you plan to load regularly I recommend a MEC loader. You can find used MEC 9000 loaders for @$300-350 and they quickly will load shells like factory Ammo. I have a friend that has a MEC 9000 for sale - if you are interested.

 

[JBWJr]

Never used a Lee press, but they don’t look very robust. If you are only going to load an occasional box they might be OK. If you plan to load regularly I recommend a MEC loader. You can find used MEC 9000 loaders for @$300-350 and they quickly will load shells like factory Ammo. I have a friend that has a MEC 9000 for sale - if you are interested.

Thank you, sir. I will look at the MECs and let you know. I am mainly interested in being able to stock my own ammo as things digress, as I am able to do with the other calibers. Appreciate it.

 

[LARGO9]

Your not going to save any money reloading 12ga, so if you want to do it for the fun of it then the Lee press would do you find. Remember that by the time you buy primers, wads, empty hulls, powder and the press, you will be able to buy factory cheaper.
I have 6 MEC i'm running 3x 600jr 2x 28ga 1x 410ga and 3x 9000e automates, 1x 20ga 1x28ga 1x410ga. 28ga and 410ga is where you really save the most money.
so my thoughts are, unless your shooting a boat load of 12ga, buy factory.

 

[Lightning8]

I was a high volume clay target shooter and I quit reloading because of increased cost of lead shot. Easier to just buy flats of promo dove-quail 1OZ 12 gauge loads. Have MEC 9000 in basement has not been used in 15+ years.

 

[rbstern]

As others stated above, it's a no-win economics reloading situation because lead shot has become so expensive. If you are loading specialty rounds, that might be worthwhile.

I keep a 12ga Lee Loader (single die/loading setup for shot shells) for manually reloading rounds. I also have a .30 cal round ball mold that I can use for buckshot. I keep a bag of wads and some 209 primers on hand. I can make a decent, home made 2 3/4" buckshot load with birdshot hulls the supplies on hand. Otherwise, I just stock up on factory 12ga ammo.

 

[garypl50]

Based on the components I use, my cost for a box of 25 1 oz shells is $4.86, so I am only saving @$0.50-0.75 per box based on shell average sale prices. I do it more as a form of relaxation and they are lighter recoiling than factory loads. Like rbstern mentioned, I really save when I load 28 ga and 410 ga - they are about half the price of factory shells.

 

[The Old Jaybird]

way back when....late 1970s, I reloaded 12 gauge skeet loads for a nickel.....penny for primer, penny for powder, penny for wad and 2 cents for the lead. You know, back in the dark ages.

I used Mec reloaders....410 offers the most cost savings, but it is the biggest pain in the ass to reload. Problem is getting a good crimp, and the hulls have a tendency to blow the mouth off when shot, so less usable plastic to work with.

 

[garypl50]

I have a book I used to keep records on my reloading. Back in late 70’s I was paying $7.50 for 25 lbs of new shot - works out to a little less than $0.02 per shot for lead for 1 oz loads and a penny per shot for 410. I think with inflation factored in, that’s probably not much less than it costs me today!

 

[madcow]

Cheaper to buy flats if you are just going to shoot clays or hunt small game. The savings in shotshell reloading is if you are going to develop turkey, duck, goose or slug loads.

As far as shotshell reloaders, you would be better served by a used MEC Sizemaster. It resizes the base of fired hulls, so you don't have any feeding issues with pump and semi-auto's. For slugs, pick-up a roll crimper.