shot gun reloader?

[broken_line]

ive been pondering buying a used or new reloader for the 12ga how much to they actually save when doing it yourself? i shoot about 4 boxes a week up to 12 boxes if i have have a few bad days at work and a thrower full of clays. also what are some good reloaders? can a guy reload 3" shells? thanks!

[troutned]

broken_line: You can save money by "rolling your own", but the savings varies quite a lot depending on the price of lead. A few years ago, when lead shot was nearing $50/bag, my savings was only about 25 cents a box. Since then, I think ammo prices have gone up and lead prices have gone down, so you may be looking at 75 cents to a dollar savings, per box. Totally worth it if you're shooting quite a bit, and it seems like you are. Also, it is easy to produce target ammo with as little as 7/8 oz. of shot when you reload. This will cut-down on cost quite a lot, as lead is the most expensive component in your shotshell.

As for your other questions, here are my thoughts. Given that you need to load a fair amount of ammo to see any real savings, and pulling the handle over 100 times per box gets tedious, I would recommend a progressive reloader. This produces a finished shell with every pull of the handle. Many progressive reloaders can generate 400-600 rounds per hour once you have it set-up and tuned. They're a little more expensive to start with, but almost all shotshell loaders who start with a single-stage press want a progressive one soon (a single-stage unit requires 5-6 pulls of the handle to complete a shell, meaning that your output is a paltry 100 or so per hour). It's not worth your time to reload target-shooting loads with a single-stage loader, generally. As for recommendations on what to get, I've only used MEC reloaders. For what you want to do, I would recommend a MEC Grabber (model 8567, I think). It is progressive, and it resizes the brass part of the shell. The MEC 650 is also progressive, but does not resize the brass. Assuming you're shooting a shotgun that is less than about 30 years old, you will likely have extraction problems if the brass is not resized.

As for 3-inch shells, I think you'll need different dies and such to do that. Many people who reload don't bother loading 3-inch shells because the cost and effort of setting-up for them doesn't make sense. Usually, the 3-inch shells are used for hunting, and therefore one doesn't use more than a few boxes of them per year.

I understand that Hornady makes a press or two that people have been really pleased with, and hopefully someone with experience will chime-in. The only other unit I've had exposure to is a Lee Load-All from the early 1990s, and it was a total waste of money.

I hope my long rant has been of some use to you. Good luck!

[96trigger]

All the above mentioned is correct. The Mec reloaders are great, I bought a 9000G right out of the gate. This has auto indexing and a new shell is created with every pull of the handle. This is a great unit, however, I also just bought an 8567N for my 20 gauge. The only real difference is that the I have to index the shells by hand. I really wish I would have started with the 8567N, there would have been a lot less screw ups and a lot less mess.

I know that right now it looks like the cost is quite high, and it is. However, you can't compare the price of cheap target shells to the cost of reloading a box of shells. You would have to compare it to a shell with a real wad, like the Winchester AA, which can run about $8 a box. Your cheaper "target shells" that run for around 6 bucks a box, use shot in a cup, and not a real wad. You will get better patterns with your relaods and you can make recipes to your liking.

Reloading is fun, I like to do it. I wish the price of lead would go down. I am just fine with the cost of everything else, but lead is what kills me. Especially when 5 years ago it was $20 a bag. It is a great to get into, but the cost effectiveness is what it once was. I'm hoping with a diminishiing war effort that the price of lead starts to go back down a little bit.

[broken_line]

thanks guys! i ended up buying a mec 600 with a bunch of extras. i thought about a progressive but they were just too much money for me to spend right now. just how safe is reloading if you have good respsect for the materials at hand? would it make sence to buy a good reloading book?

[givetoget]

Troutned,

Well put, except for the 3" part. I have the same exact reloader. You can do 3" with a couple small adjustments, nothing different needed. I beleive i have directions that show you how to do it. If interested let me know, i can send you a copy.

You are right it is a nice reloader.

[96trigger]

reloading is safe. I have never had a problem with anything. Be sure you are checking to make sure that you are getting powder in the shells. Nothing worse than reloading a box of shells and having them light on powder. My biggest problem with my reloaders has been that I have screwed the jars on two tight, this would cause the charge bar to hang up and not drop a full load of powder in. Loose is better on both of my reloaders. Keep the powder in a cool, dry, place and you will have no problems. You should not need a book, go to the powder companies websites like aliant, they have all the information and recipes you will need.

[troutned]

TRB454CASULL: Thanks for the info. I've never done any 3" reloading (I have yet to buy a shotgun with 3" chambers!), so I'm glad someone with some experience could chime-in! In response broken_line's safety question, I agree that reloading shotgun shells is quite safe. I started before the Internet was an option, so I have the books, and generally follow them. I suspect that data from the REPUTABLE websites is good or better. Alliant was mentioned, and I know they have a good reputation. I would stick to websites from companies that furnish components, and be a bit more wary of other sources. I'm sure most other sources are generally good, but it doesn't hurt to cross-reference the data. I'd rather be safe than dead or injured!

[broken_line]

reloading is addictive! im spending $4.01 to reload a box of winchester AA that are reguarly priced at $8.78 takes me about an hour to load 4 boxes. im waiting on wads and steel shot to get started on a long range early goose shell. heres my set up..

[troutned]

Looks like you're getting good results! That's great. You mentioned steel shot. You probably already know this, but be aware that steel shot requires different charge bars due to steel having a different density than lead. I've never reloaded steel, but I've heard that large steel shot can be kinda tricky because it will "jam" in the charge bar or drop-tube due to its size. MEC might even make a special drop-tube for use with steel. I know a lot of people reload steel effectively with MEC loaders, and hopefully someone with some experience can help out here with their knowledge.

I totally agree with you. Reloading can be VERY addicting!

[broken_line]

i ordered some steel charge bars and varring sized bushings.

so far at 50 yards ive made a dove load using remington gun club hulls, western 1 1/8oz wads, #6 steel, 16.9 grains of powder the pattern for that load was 40 in a 12" circle and 28 on a 15x20 paper. used 2 grains less and got 22 pellets in the 12" circle and 66 on the paper.

kinda fun to watch my buddies open their wallets before we go shooting and i can just pull a handle the night before and out shoot them