At what point is it cost effective to reload 410 shells?

Hunterforlife

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Got a 410 a little while ago, to use for small game and some clay target shooting. I was wondering at what point should a person consider reloading the pricey 410 shell?
 
I made some re useable brass 410 shells out of 303 casings. I load a nice small game load quite cheap and no need for a press.
 
I haven't reloaded .410s very often but with them running nearly double the price of 12 gauge shells if you have a decent supply of hulls & wads I would have to think that the savings over factory .410s would be substantial.
 
I picked up a MEC 600jr for $100 lightly used and it came with ~250 wads and ~200 Win AA hulls as a bonus.

$0.05 - for a primer
$0.065 - $30 for 7000 grains of powder and 15 grains per hull
$0.06 - around $15 for 250 wads after tax for me
$0.0625 - $2/lbs for lead shot and making 1/2 oz loads so 32 loads/pound
Around $.24/shell but for simplicity I'll round it to $.25/shell

So a box of 25 shells is costing me about $6.25 to load.
At ~$15/box retail I'm saving around $8.75/box so around 300 shells to break even. After that I'm saving money.
Currently I've loaded around 500 shells with this press in ~2 years (I don't shoot .410 too often).

If you paid full retail for a press (~$250 after tax?) it'd be closer to 700 shells to break even.
Of course if your free time is really valuable to you this all goes out the window.
 
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Also don't forget if you load your own you can have real fun. I load five 000 buckshot pellets and roll crimp the 3 inch shell. Great for just having fun.
 
Also don't forget if you load your own you can have real fun. I load five 000 buckshot pellets and roll crimp the 3 inch shell. Great for just having fun.
 
Also don't forget if you load your own you can have real fun. I load five 000 buckshot pellets and roll crimp the 3 inch shell. Great for just having fun.
To me this is the best part of reloading anything,it's not always about the money and never has been for me.The fact that in many cases you can save a few bucks over factory loaded rounds is an added bonus,especially when you tailor make ammo to suit your particular needs,I find it very satisfying and rewarding.I consider shooting and handloading joined at the hip,just my opinion.
 
Reloading isn't about the cost. It's a bout using the best possible ammo out of your rifle or shotgun.
A used press will do, but shotgun reloading isn't anywhere near as expensive to get into. Presses are a lot less expensive. Might cost more in .410 though.
 
You can reload shotgun shells without the use of a press.
A punch over a collar or bolt to push out the old primer.
A clean wood surface with a hollow tube to seat the new primer.
Powder.
A dowel to seat wad after your powder measure.
Shot.
An over shot card.
White glue on top and let dry. Once dry you can write shot size on the glue.
 
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