Reloading 12 ga for skeet / trap

[davek8s]

Does anyone use reclaimed shot for reloading?

The price is appealing, but are there any disadvantages to using it? Besides the mix of shot sizes?

[anyracoon]

For blasting probably you won't see much difference. Depends on if shot is out of round and ratio of mixed sizes.

[davek8s]

For blasting probably you won't see much difference. Depends on if shot is out of round and ratio of mixed sizes.

Sounds like I'd probably be better off just sticking with new shot for now.

[beetle]

Does anyone use reclaimed shot for reloading?

The price is appealing, but are there any disadvantages to using it? Besides the mix of shot sizes?

reclaimed is probably fine for 16 yard trap or skeet due to the close distances involved. Once you start heading back on trap it becomes sub-optimal -- the out of round shot creates an uneven pattern. Still if its just for practice/fun probably ok.

The biggest thing to watch for is small rocks and steel shot. Rocks scratch up the inside of the barrel. Steel is something to watch for if you have an older barrel or chokes not rated for steel. you can always use a magnet to screen for steel shot, but it's an extra step to take.

[davek8s]

reclaimed is probably fine for 16 yard trap or skeet due to the close distances involved. Once you start heading back on trap it becomes sub-optimal -- the out of round shot creates an uneven pattern. Still if its just for practice/fun probably ok.



The biggest thing to watch for is small rocks and steel shot. Rocks scratch up the inside of the barrel. Steel is something to watch for if you have an older barrel or chokes not rated for steel. you can always use a magnet to screen for steel shot, but it's an extra step to take.

Thanks Beetle

[Fishslayer]

Don't worry. Ammo will be even cheaper next year...

[davek8s]

Tell that to the guns I sold to buy powder and primers 4 months ago.

[sdnative13]

As far as hulls are concerned you can reload just about any hull out there. Some can be reloaded multiple times. Others only once. So it really depends on what you intended use is. The old style federal hulls most commonly found in the Wally four pack are wonderful for single reload applications. Notethe new ones the primers swaged. Next are the Remington gun club. You can get 3-5 reloads out of these. Next go AA, STS, NITRO, etc. Typically reloading is rarely cheaper than buying ammo. Even if you buy in bulk and get free shipping most people don't take into account for the time it takes to reload. I enjoy reloading and find it peaceful but it still takes Time.

[Revoman]

I have never figured out why "time it takes" should be figured into the cost of reloading....do you 'charge' yourself when you watch TV, mow the lawn, sleep? I'm not on board with that thought process.
Not picking on anyone as this has been stated many times by many peeps, it just simply doesn't make any sense to me.

[davek8s]

I feel the same way about reloading. I don't see why people factor in time as a cost for a hobby.

I do it because I enjoy it.

[sdnative13]

I mention time because some have more time on their hands than others. I would believe that most people can make a box of shells in 3-5 mins which adds up over time. I know when I first started reloading I believed that I was going to save all kinds of money by doing it but that's not the case. For some it's cheaper and easier to go and buy a wally pack to shoot 4 rounds of trap than it is to reload 4 boxes of shells. As beetle mentioned before it is going to take him 10,000 shells (I think that's what he posted) before he breaks even and is able to start saving per box. Like is said I enjoy reloading in the garage after the kids go to bed. Just my 2 cents.

[JagerDog]

Don't save much on target rounds. Maybe a buck or two per box vs. promo loads. Though I do think my shells are better than promo loads.

More savings available on higher performance hunting rounds.

But you can load what you want, when you want it. For 12g target loads I have 3 different recipes. Skeet, trap and handicap trap/small birds. All color coded (different hulls).

[davek8s]

JagerDog, Would you mind sharing your different loads? I'm buying a shot shell loading book soon, but I'd appreciate any advice.

Don't save much on target rounds. Maybe a buck or two per box vs. promo loads. Though I do think my shells are better than promo loads.

More savings available on higher performance hunting rounds.

But you can load what you want, when you want it. For 12g target loads I have 3 different recipes. Skeet, trap and handicap trap/small birds. All color coded (different hulls).

I get what you mean about time. I try to bulk process my brass so that when I go to reload I'm starting with primed brass. I plan to do the same thing with my hulls.

I mention time because some have more time on their hands than others. I would believe that most people can make a box of shells in 3-5 mins which adds up over time. I know when I first started reloading I believed that I was going to save all kinds of money by doing it but that's not the case. For some it's cheaper and easier to go and buy a wally pack to shoot 4 rounds of trap than it is to reload 4 boxes of shells. As beetle mentioned before it is going to take him 10,000 shells (I think that's what he posted) before he breaks even and is able to start saving per box. Like is said I enjoy reloading in the garage after the kids go to bed. Just my 2 cents.

[JagerDog]

For most reloading machines, I don't see an advantage to priming as a separate operation. It's integral with the other operations. I do know folks running Mec 650's (no collet resizer) who size (Mec Supersizer) and prime as separate ops. On my Mec 9000 it would likely be a slight increase in time to have pre-primed hulls.

I might add that mail order ammo in CA is an endangered species. As yet, there's been no threat to components.

By judicious buying in bulk, 12g target rounds (1oz) should run you no more than $5/box. Shot is the most expensive component. More can be saved (~75 cents/box) via reclaimed shot and a bit more with sub 1 ounce loads.

[sdnative13]

Consider this

[QUOTE=davek8s;19329667]JagerDog, Would you mind sharing your different loads? I'm buying a shot shell loading book soon, but I'd appreciate any advice.

If you are looking at speeding things up you might consider buying primed hulls from ballistic products or similar site. As beetle mentioned in another post you almost break even doing it this way.