Reloading 12 gauge: is it worth it?

[u/Deep-Lingonberry1900]

My kids are really into shooting their shotguns lately, primarily target loads. Is it worth keeping the hulls and reloading them? I know the initial set up can be costly, but my oldest went through three boxes by himself the other day! They have an interest in trap shooting. Will it save any money in the long run, or are they cheap enough now?

[u/Reliable-Narrator]

Probably not, but depends what kind of loads you want to make. If you're just looking for the cheapest 12ga 1-1/8 oz load you can find, you won't save much, if any, reloading.

I reload 7/8 oz 1200fps and 1 oz 1180 fps for 12ga and save a bit, but mostly because those loads aren't typically on store shelves.

[u/Parking_Media → u/Reliable-Narrator]

12ga 3/4oz 1350fps is my jam, same reasons.

[u/CalibreMag]

No.

Reloading 12 gauge is only worth it if you need something specific that isn't available from a promo load, and it's generally not worth keeping promo load hulls because they're a bit delicate and don't re-crimp super well. If your kids are just shooting normal American trap, just buy promo loads by the flat.

I reloaded tens of thousands of rounds of 12 gauge, but that was only because I specifically needed 24-gram loads for bunker trap, and had a limitless supply of Winchester AA hulls. Otherwise it wouldn't have made any sense.

I still reload some 12 gauge, but more for fun or because I want to try something that's not available out of the box (I geek out hard on wads and whatnot) and I still have my Pacific 366, but wouldn't recommend it to most. The presses are complicated, getting them set up is a PITA and hull-specific, and the components take up a lot of room. But it is very rewarding.

[u/mwmwmwmwmmdw]

only 2 scenarios where reloading shotgun shell is needed or saves money:

if you have an old double/single barrel that requires black powder loads

or second if your range only allows slugs and you dont want to pay 1$ per round to shoot your shotgun there.

[u/Uncle_Ted_1942]

I’m someone who does not reload but knows someone who does, and I would say no. The reason he reloads is because he wants kind of niche things out of his birdshot.

Where I live, a 25 count box of 2-3/4” target loads costs $12.99. Federal Top Gun. I’ve never had any problems with it (though I have never shot any out of a semi auto, only pumps and sxs).

I’ve used it for small game hunting as well as “plinking” and I like it. Relatively light recoil if they’re younger.

[u/WonkyTusky]

If u shoot lots often then yes. But only if it would be cheaper in for you in the long run vs buying bulk. Target loads arent nearly as pricy as buckshot/slugs and u can get a lot for bulk.

[u/Beers_n_Deeres → u/WonkyTusky]

I don’t think you can make it math no matter how much target load you shoot. Once you buy primers, powder, wads and lead you’ll still be more than the $120 it is for a case of $250 rounds.

Not to mention your time input and reloading equipment.

[u/Remarkable_Vanilla34]

If you shoot a lot, like a lot. You still need to buy the equipment, literature, learn to use it, buy the consumables, put the loads together, test them, etc.

Is it fun, probably that why the majority of people reload. But go look at the cost of the powder, primers and the avaliablity of it and the shipping on that stuff is insane.

I don't shoot trap much and not very seriously, but the ammo doesn't seem expensive enought to justify it to me.

[u/DougMacRay617]

You can save money if you load slugs, problem is finding bulk slugs, inital start up cost isn't as much as metallic cartridge reloading

[u/LongRoadNorth]

Not worth it for 12 gauge target load unless you have a specific hard to find load you prefer or you can find all the consumables locally. As soon as you need to ship lead or powder the savings are gone. I used to reload, now doesn't seem worth it. And I have a full progressive loader.

It's worth it for 410, 16, and 28 gauge though. Or any hunting load.

[u/Johnny-Unitas]

I have a buddy who is a subcontractor who does it occasionally when he's between one job and the next. It's more for something to do and see what results he gets. Even he would admit it's not worth the time if you were doing anything else.

[u/draftstone]

The thing is, that if they shoot "a lot" you'll need a very expensive setup to reload fast. A single stage press will be pretty slow to reload hundreds of shell. Also, target load usually can be bought for roughly 50¢ a shell. So assuming a 500$ reloading setup, you would need to reload 1000 shells assuming you get all the powder, primer, wads and shots for free but the materials will probably cost you close to 50¢ a shell anyway. Also shells can't be reloaded infinitely, so you'll need to buy more factory made ammo over time. So there is only a few pennies to save over buying a factory box of 25, and you'd probably spend easily an hour per box. So from a pure financial point of view, it comes down at working an hour to save pennies for 25 shells.

[u/Norwest_Shooter]

So generally no. BUT. If you have a free source of lead, and a shotmaker, the economics can work.