Recycling Old Shotshells

“Gee, Honey, I’d love to help you re-grout the shower, but I’m busy recycling some old shotshells. After what our knowledgeable and esteemed Congress told us about global warming and the bad economy, it’s really important to be frugally green.”

Like all really good lies, there is some truth in that. Recycling shotshells (aka “reloading”) makes good “cents” to a lot of shooters. I’ll talk about costs this time and get into machinery and ballistics next time.

There is a handy reloading-cost calculator at www.trapshooters.com/rlcalcadv.htm.

Reloading-component prices at www.Gamaliel.com are a fair picture of the current market. Just plug in the numbers and you will get your costs. Reloading-component and new-shell prices can vary day to day, so my numbers should be taken only as approximate.

Last time I looked, a box of cheap 12- or 20-gauge target loads cost about $6. By “cheap” I mean low-antimony shot, usually labeled “dove” or “quail” loads. Higher-quality hard-shot Remington, Winchester and Federal 12- and 20-gauge target loads will be around $7.50 per box. You can always find deals, so check with your pals at the club to see who is paying what.

If you don’t count the cost of the hulls, reloading machine or your time, good-quality reloads using 6-percent-antimony “magnum” shot currently cost around $3.35 per box of 7/8-oz 20-gauge, $3.62 per box of 1-oz 12-gauge and $3.87 per box of 1-1/8-oz 12s. Thus, in 12 and 20 gauges, reloading target loads will save you around $3 per box.

Things are different with 28 gauge and .410 bore. These cost less to make, because they contain less shot and powder. But they cost more to buy as factory shells, because they sell in much lower volumes. The new Winchester AA HS target grade 28s and .410s sell for around $10 per box if you buy a flat of 10 boxes. You can reload the 1/2-oz .410s for $2.70 per box and the 3/4-oz 28s for $3.08 per box. Reloading will save you about $7 per box. Of course you could always sell those highly desirable new .410 and 28 AAHS hulls for 15¢ each to another reloader. Selling the hulls would lower your new .410/28 shell cost to $6.25, about what new 12- and 20-gauge cartridges run. The 12- or 20-gauge hulls and other brands of .410/28 hulls aren’t as much in demand and only bring a few cents.

There is a large per-box savings in reloading hunting shells. Most of us don’t bother, because we simply don’t shoot enough 1-1/4-oz No. 5 pheasant loads to matter. Or we use standard target loads on woodcock, grouse, doves and quail. But if we did want to reload for pheasants, a good-quality 1-1/4-oz reload should cost about $4.17 per box. You’ll pay three times that over the counter, so reloading would save you $8 per box.

Nontoxic loads are a different category. Steel shot runs around $1.70 per pound plus shipping from www.ballisticproducts.com. You also will have to add the much more expensive steel-proof wads. They will run your cost of reloading a box of 1-1/4-oz steel No. 3s to a bit over $7.30. This compares to something around $20 per box for new Winchester high-velocity 1-1/4-oz steel if you buy it in the store.

The cost of HEVI-Shot and similar, whether as new shells or reloads, is so silly I won’t even discuss it. Well, yes, I will. HEVI-Shot for reloading will cost you $159 for seven pounds. That’s 22.7 times as much as lead and 13.4 times as much as steel. I’ll bet it just flies off the shelves . . . .

You often can get good component prices by joining with friends to place a bulk order through your gun club for delivery by truck. If you mail-order components as an individual, you’ll have to deal with shipping costs plus an additional $20 or so UPS Hazmat surcharge on powder and primers.

So is reloading worth it? You can save $3 per box on 12 and 20 target loads, around $7 on 28s and .410s, $8 on 1-1/4-oz field loads and more than $13 on premium steel loads. On the other hand, there is the cost of the machine and your time and the quality of reloads to consider. I’ll get into those next time.

Until then, boots off, beer open.