I buy remington birdshot for $4.50 for 25rounds but buckshot is so much more expensive why can't they make some really cheap buck use the same amount of powder as bird and just put in bigger shot.

I think its supply and demand. Target shooters use 7.5, 8 and 9 birdshot by ton. Buckshot is for hunting and defense so the market is smaller.

Sellier and Bellot 00 Buck - ~$2.50 for a box of ten.

Save the expensive ammo for the real deal and train with the cheap stuff.

Works for me, YMMV.

The good thing about buckshot is that you probably really don't need as many rounds per weapon as you do with an AR, AK, etc. The rate of fire is going to be slower with a shotgun and you just aren't gonna burn through as many rounds with one as with the before mentioned guns. Add to that, the shotgun is only going to be a close range gun, so it serves in a limited role. If you have 250 rounds of buckshot per shotgun, you have all you should need. Add in a few slugs too if you want. If you want to acquire more, just buy a little here and there and soon it will turn into quite a bit.

I like Federal Tactical 00 Buck as my primary load but if you want a  few extra rounds on hand or something to practice with, look for some Estate Cartridge tactical loads. It seems to be decent quality ammo at a great price. The Sportman's Guide and Natchez used to stock this stuff cheap. Or you might look into reloading if this is an option. But remember not to use reloaded ammo for defense...for liability and perhaps reliabilty.

I haven't tried the estate stuff yet but whats the differense between the buck and the military buck?

To add to what charging_handle said, you ain't going to survive enough 25 yard gunfights to require much more than 250 rounds of buck.

J&G Sales just had a sale on the Sellier and Bellot 00 Buck for $45/200. So I bought two cases, which is pretty cheap at 400 rounds for less than $100. It's good for blasting.

Greg,

The difference between the "military" and "Tactical" is in the velocity. The military load uses 8 000 pellets if I remember correctly and is loaded up to max dram where the tactical is a reduced recoil load that uses 9 00 pellets. The military type is faster, but for my use I just stick with the reduced recoil tactical loads because they are cheaper and perform well enough. Plus they are easier on the shoulder so your shooting sessions can last longer. Hehe. One thing about the tactical loads is that even though the pellets are traveling slower, they actually penetrate deeper! That's because the high powered loads tend to be so strong that the pellets will deform and thus not penetrate as far. The tactical load doesn't and a round pellet will go farther than a flat one, even at less velocity. This sounds totally FUBAR I know, but this appears to be the case. Regardless, any 00 buck load within shotgun range, be it max dram or tactical, will have devastating on target results. So I am not going to harp over their differences.

The only problem with the S&B buckshot is the reduced capacity in the mag.  Their longer length (being roll crimped)ends up taking more space in the mag tube.  The Aguila mini shells are a good idea but they're too small to function correctly in some shotguns. Something between the standard 2.75 & the mini Aguila's would be great.  Reduced power wouldn't be a problem (within reason).  

mini shells would be fun for my coach gun , where do i find them?

AIMSURPLUS has the mini-shells.  I havent tried them yet.  But according to the Aguila website the minis work better in some shotguns than others.  Check out their site for more info.

http://www.aguilaammo.com/minishells.htm

--why is buckshot more expensive?--

Big balls cost more than little ones

HA, ggeezzz I kill me.

1911greg:  " mini shells would be fun for my coach gun , where do i find them? "  

I bought mine at a gunshow but have seen them offered online.  From what I understand they work great in Winchester 1300's.  They feed ok thru my Mossberg 500 as long as you work thr slide quickly.  They could partially slip thru the skelentized shell lifter.  I plan on buying a spare lifter & having it welded to fix this.  The Remington 870 & Stevens 67 don't like the minishells at all.

Quantity and quality of the materials. Buckshot requires much heavier wads (sometimes using felt or cardboard wads) than field loads, as well as some sort of buffer to get better patterns. In addition, the shot needs to be harder-more antimony or copper plate=more cost. Powder loads for buckshot use much slower powders than field loads, with heavier charge weights per shell=higher cost.
It ain't even cheap to reload, but my homebrewed loads are a bit cheaper than S&B.

Things like chilled & Plated shot, Polymer buffers, plastic shot cups, all add to the cost.

Cheap buckshot like S&B  wont have these advances, which is why it patterns like crap.

How bad can a pattern be @ 10 yards? Although, I guess it can't hurt to buy 10 quality rounds for the real thing.

Quoted: How bad can a pattern be @ 10 yards? Although, I guess it can't hurt to buy 10 quality rounds for the real thing.

Patterned the S&B along with the Federal, Winchester, and Remington at 15 yds. recently, and there was not a lot of difference in pattern sizes through the Benelli with a set of Briley chokes.

I feel like it is good enough to train with and save the expensive stuff for tactical use.