Thread: Reload 12Ga

I'll second what gonetropo said,
it doesn't really work out worth it after all the effort, atleast compared to centerfire reloading

primers themselves make up 20c each although they were all out of stock so probably more now
smokeless powder varies but just roughly say 25gr per shell so 280 per lb of powder which is about $60 if you can find it, which is 21c per shell
1oz wads are 45 per 500 so 9c each
#4 lead shot with gunworks 5kg bottles $85 per 5kg (176 oz) is 48c per 1oz load
the last bag of eagle shot I brought was $100 for 11kg (388oz) which is 25c per 1oz load

Hulls can be had for free or very cheap so I'm not going to count them here but if you had to buy them thats extra cost again,
Either way that is 75 cents per 1oz load optimistically, or 98c going off the current lead shot prices, not including any shipping prices which will definitely add up

the savings start looking better when using a lead shot dripper depending on where you find your lead its anywhere from 1/2 the cost to free shot, but a lot more labour,

looking around online most of the lead hunting loads are $30 per 25 and trap loads are $20 per 25, so $1.20 and $0.80 respectively, so maybe 20c savings on hunting loads, guess it depends on how much you value your time,

Personally I don't and I'm reloading black powder so I do it anyway, but as a value proposition it'll take quite a few hulls to make it worth it, napkin maths says that you'll save $100 for every 500 shells shot.
feel free to call me out on any bad maths, was all done pretty hastily.