[Canope]

My wife has been blazing 28 gauge shells like they are going out of style. 200 each time out, every week or more. I have been saving the hulls in consideration of one day reloading. The cheapest factory shells I have found is from Estate at $6.25 per 25 delivered. My 12 gauge shells from Walmart are cheap enough that I have no need (yet) to reload. I am asking all of the pros here for specific advise.
No loading equipment owned at all, willing to spend some to save some.
What brand and model reloader?
What powder?
Wads?
Primers?
Accessories?
Books?
Cost per round of powder, lead, primer, wads? Right now it is costing 25 cents per round. The answer I am hoping to hear is " By model X, a bag of this lead, along with this powder and wads, have fun". That simple? Thanks, Thomas

 

[Dixie Slugs]

First of all, let me repeat what I have said before. Unless you have a good progressive loader and shoot alot there is a question as to just how much you will save. In the long run, the answer is yes. By going to Ballistic Products webpage and ordering out their catalog, one can come up with a reasonable cost per round. This of course does not take into consideration the cost of setting up equipment and your time spent. I am sure some of the other fellows here that load clay bird loads can give you a figure of cost per round at today's pricing.
I, on the other hand, load shotshells for another reason....specialized shotshells I can not buy, aimed at a special need.
Best Regards, James

 

[chad e]

Hi there.
I dont have all the specifics right here for ya, but I load 12 ***** 1 1/8 oz. AA quality target loads for about 3.25/box or $.13 a round versus the $5/box retail. I assume your wife uses 3/4 Oz in those 28 ***** shells? If so, you would get 530 shells from a 25 lb. bag of shot, versus my 350 (approximates) . This brings your cost down to about $2.75 /box.

Last time I noticed, 28 ***** wads werent more expensive than 12 *****, and also, It seems like from the load data, 28 ***** uses a couple of grains less of powder too, so cut maybe a cent off the cost per shell there. 28 ***** uses the same primers as the 12 G.
You have to consider the hulls too, for those estate hulls, I would compare them to Federal, since Federal owns Estate now- just a hint there. You have to check for sure. Other wise you will have to get new or used hulls somewhere else.

So, I do believe you could save quite a bit of money.
I guess I'd start with a single stage press, like a MEC 600 or similar, because its easier to learn on and adjust, then maybe when you really have the hang of it, sell the single stage and get a progressive.

Start with the load data, and shop around for the components to find the best deal.

BTW, plenty of load data for 28 G. at Hodgdon-
http://www.hodgdon.com/data/shotshel/28winpla.php

Chad_E

 

[Gil6640]

I also reload not for cost savings, but for customized loads.
I do 12Ga Win AA's with 7/8 oz shot, Win209 primers, and Hodgedon Clays powder. If I buy powder in big bulk (poundage), I can get away with $3.20/25 rounds. Note though, that these are 25 customized, high-performance rounds, not 25 cheapie rounds. I think this is the biggest advantage of reloading.

I use a mec 650, and have been for 3+ years now. I've loaded 1 1/8 oz, 1.0 oz, and now 7/8 oz loads in 12Ga. Have tried over 40 recipes. Reloading is fun, and so is experimenting with different recipes.

Have fun.

 

[Gil6640]

By the way... I HIGHLY recommend

"the Shotshell Reloading Manual", by Lyman Publishing.

Every shooter I know swears by this reloaders bible.

Learn about reloading before you reload, and you will know everything you need to reload your own sheels the way you like 'em.
:wink:
Gil

 

[Rick618]

Since I dont reload 28s I cant make a recommendation on specific components, other than to suggest checking your local suppliers. You can pay shipping and hazmat by mailorder or tax local. Some of the ranges do orders every 6 weeks or so and have the items trucked in saving the shipping and hazmat cost and allowing you to prepay for your bulk items. It's those cost that will get into your savings and why it pays to find a recipe and then buy your components in bulk. When someone says bulk that usually refers to 8#s of powder, 5000 lots of wads and primers. You should be able to buy shot locally and not deal with the shipping cost on the 25# per bag.

If your wife is shooting AA's then I would duplicate that shell as close as you can. I like the Hodgen products and have good clean results with Clays.

If you are unfamiliar with reloading one of the first things I do is choose the hull, shot weight, and speed that I want and then I compare what the various recipes call for versus what is readily available. http://www.hodgdon.com/

One thing to note is that the Claybuster wads are a great value at about half the cost of the name brand wads and the generally have a suitable replacement.

As to reloaders....the Mec line has been the work horse of the reloading world. The Jr will get you about 4 boxes an hour, the progressives can about double that.

Gamaliel's is a source of components and loaders as well. http://www.gamaliel.com/

 

[Jersey Hunter]

I load 28ga and 410 only. It cost 6.30 a box if I buy a flat of shells. It cost me about $2.82 a box to reload. I can reload the older Winchester AA shells about 10 times, I don't know how many reloads I will get from the new HS Winchester AA. I only get 4 or 5 reloads out of Remington STS, you'll find out what works best for you. i'd advise you to buy in small quantity until you decide on what load is best for you. 8lb of powder will make around 170 boxes of shells if you only need 13 grains. I use Hodgdon universal and it seems to be clean. You would save almost $.60 cents more if you could get shell free. I use a mec 650 for both gauges and think it's worth the extra few bucks, if your wife shoots an auto the Grabber may be a better choice as it resizes the hull base. I purchased everything to get started, from www.gamaliel.com. now I buy everything local.
Good Luck,

 

[vicvlb]

I just bought a used Mec 600 on e-bay.The guy selling lives in my town, so total money was 51.00 bucks.Next on my to buy list is a Lyman shotshell manual.I reload shells for my 3006, so I'm not brandnew to reloading.What else do you all think I will need?

 

[AFGunner]

Get a good powder and shot scale if you don't already have one. I have found it to be invaluable in checking my shot weights and powder loads for quality control during the reloading process. I check @ two loads per 50 to make sure that my reloader is dropping shot and powder consistently. You can get away without this if you are not as worried that level of consistency in your loads. Most of the people that I shoot with never check theirs and they bust as many or more targets as I do. I do it because I am trying to eliminate everything but my poor shooting as an excuse for not hitting targets. :lol: . Good luck on the reloads----AFG

 

[Dixie Slugs]

AFG is right about scales and bushings! There is more weight variations in shot than most people think......due to whether it is "Chilled", "Magnum", Copperplate, or Nickel. I have picked up all the powder and shot bushings over the years for my PW 375 and it sure helps. Best Regards, James

 

[Guest]

OK, Here's the answer to the orignal question.

28 Ga
Hulls Wincheser AA
Shot 3/4 oz
Wad Winchester WAA28
Powder Alliant Herco 14 grains
Primer CCI 209
You should find it pleasant to shoot. It's straight from Alliant's web site.

Cost: Around 15 cents a round if you put any value on the hulls. (and no value on your time or equipment) You should pay off your machine and equipment in about 4-6 months if you are reloading at the rate you are talking about.

Get a good progressive machine, not a single stage unit. You can run the progressives one stage at a time if it makes you feel better while you are getting the hang of it, BUT, you will never be fast enough with a MEC Jr. to be happy about the dime you saved.

The typical advise of getting a single stage machine is like telling someone to buy an NEF single shot to get into trap. If you don't like it, you don't have much invested. Well if you start with a gun that doesn't fit and kicks like a mule, you will never like it (and the resale is garbage). Better off with quailty equipment, you are more likely to like it. You can get a new MEC 9000G for under three bills.

Reloading, even 28's, is not worth the money, but it has advantages esepcially with this sometimes-hard-to-get gauge.