Armory Sponsor
Posted: 7/28/2008 11:56:52 PM EDT
|
Never considered reloading shotgun shells until now... I have a few noob questions. Birdshot is way cheaper than buckshot... and I was wondering if it were possible to use the birdshot shell to reload buckshot. Is it possible to reload 00 buckshot? Is it possible to reload slugs? Does reloading save money for shotguns? Thanks for reading all this! |
| With lead shot at $45-50 per 25lb bag and primers at $25-30 per 1000 and buckshot shot costly too, you'd have to shoot a lot of buckshot or slugs to justify loading them. I've tried 00 buck loading and didn't like the results. It's hard to get the 9 pellets in the shell and get a good crimp. Lymans Shotshell Handbook has load data and instructions for loading shotshells with buckshot or slugs. 00 buck at $24 for 5 pounds and 10 slugs for $7 or so, it's not cheap and you still need a press, powder, wads, and cases. Again, Lymans Shotshell Handbook is probably your best source for shotgun shell loading information. |
|
To answer your question, yes you can use a shell that was loaded with birdshot and reload it with buckshot. The same goes with slugs and you do not need to roll crimp them. I cast my own buckshot and slugs which makes them cheaper to load. The Lee Load All press works well for this type of reloading and it is inexpensive. Load data can be obtained from the Lyman shotshell handbook and covers a variety of shell casings and other components. Good luck if you go that route. |
|
I've thought about reloading for shotgun, too. But I've decided against. After looking into it, it seems most of the reloading machines are best used for production of birdshot loads, not tactical/self-defense loads which I would mostly be interested in shooting. Here are some reasons why. 1) Buckshot won't easily feed through charge bars. It needs to be layered by hand inside the hull and sometimes you might even want a buffer (finely ground plastic particles between layers). So right there, you've got a fairly complicated step that cannot be performed by the press. 2) Although slugs can be (and are) loaded with standard crimps, a roll crimp is nice because you can very quickly identify the slug for what it is and also because the roll crimp helps boost powder combustion and hence, velocity. Unfortunately, the tools required for creating good, uniform roll crimps are for the most part no longer commonly available. Lyman used to make them, but no more and used one's are getting very hard to find. |
|
The answer to all your questions is yes. Buckshot costs more and is usually harder to find. Loading slugs usually means casting your own, but Ballistic Products sells them; I hate to imagine the cost. Slug loads may require trimming a standard shot case, and a roll crimp is usually used. |
Like this? shop2.mailordercentral.com/bpicart/prodinfo.asp?number=ROLL12 |
Yup. Thems the ones. |
Midway sells them too, if you want some... |
Thanks, guys. I guess my best excuses are all for naught. I'll just have to find the bucks to expand my reloading bench now. 
|
That's always the bitch, isn't it? (and time, too) FWIW, slugsrus sells a $10 plastic one that is supposed to work, if you just want to play around with them. |
|
To figure out your cost of re-loading shot shells.........here is the calculator........... www.trapshooters.com/reloadcalc.htm Aloha, Mark |
|
I used to load for shotgun and stopped. For birdshot, I can buy ammo way cheaper than I could ever load it. And you'd have to shoot a LOT of buck to make it worthwhile. For a while it made sense, because my father had a Rem 1000 that was a jam-o-matic with anything less than magnum loads, but we ended up buying a new barrel that fixed the problem. Loading slugs is only worth it if you cast or have a good buddy who casts. Lee makes a nice slug mold that drops a slug that can be used with a standard taper crimp. |
So does Ballistic Products |
The lastest generation slugs are engineered to perform WAY better than what we can load. There's a good article in this month's American Rifleman on the new offerings......... The State Of Slugs: A High-Tech Slugfest Bryce M. Towsley—No longer a poor substitute for a rifle bullet, the sabot slugs of today deliver accuracy and terminal performance born of solid engineering, and they are on the forefront of ballistic technology. Unless I shot slugs in volume or wanted to load them as an educational exercise, this is one time I would go with the big boys- Hornady SST, Winchester XP3, etc. |
Armory Sponsor