Cost to Reload 12gauge Slugs

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Gobc

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I'm condemplating getting a shotgun and am wondering it's worth reloading for it. Can anybody give me an idea on how much a reloading a slug is? Costs for reloading target/skeet rounds would also be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Agreed, I worked it out when I started and with cast slugs the cost is 30 or 31 cents each depending on powder used. I load with HS6 and the cost is 30 cents ea.

Cactus
 
Used hull and lead free. Lee 1oz slug mold, and Lee Load All II for tools

Powder at 2gr to a cent 32gr = $0.16
$40 Primers $0.04 each
around $0.05 cents for old wads I have, didnt price check on newest bag

About $0.25 cents per slug for me
 
Gobc said:
That's quite cheap, but I didn't realize you had to case your own slugs. Too bad nobody sells slugs for reloading. Thanks guys.
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There are commercial slugs for sale (see ht tp://www.omaproducts.com/ remove the space in HT TP).
But slugs are heavy and expensive to ship. Casting your own is cheaper in the long run.
 
hk33ka1 said:
Used hull and lead free. Lee 1oz slug mold, and Lee Load All II for tools

Powder at 2gr to a cent 32gr = $0.16
$40 Primers $0.04 each
around $0.05 cents for old wads I have, didnt price check on newest bag

About $0.25 cents per slug for me
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Man, I wish I could find primers for $40.00/1000
Last time I bought some...3-4 months ago, I think they were $65.95/1000 plus GST here in Edmonton for Winchester 209's
 
In my part of Ontario most primers were $32 or so a 1000 2 years ago. Then during the shortage (that the local stores didn't believe in until it hit them) most went to $40 and some shops $50-$60 when you could get them. A lot fo the smaller shops here have leveled back off around $40 and some of the chains are down in the $30ish range again.

There are commercial slugs but I havent seen them at any of my stores so I bought the Lee mold.
 
You really should look into casting, Lyman has a reloading book and there is a lot of info here on casting. A lot of us enjoy casting our own slugs and the huge savings we get from it. Aside from the savings I find pouring my own a very enjoyable task and it's fun to shoot something you made yourself. If you hunt, few things are more rewarding than taking an animal with a bullet/slug you cast and loaded yourself.
 
Slugs or Buckshot using Lee Molds

Lead - free
Hulls - free
Wads - 3 cents each
Powder - 5 cents each
Primer - 4 cents each

12cents per 1 oz slug or 8 pellet #00 buck shot
 
I agree with Big Boar, I am not a hunter but it is a great feeling to shoot a tight group with your own cast handloads. Once you start casting slugs, you will be getting moulds for your rifles and pistols...

Slugs got me started and now I cast my own bullets for all but rimfire. Took advantage of good weather yesterday and cast for my .357 pistol and .30 cal rifle.

Cactus
 
Im still searching for a good load for Lee 1oz Key slugs.

Ive tried HS6, and #5.

Star crimp, roll crimp.

Fed S4, Win Yellow and Rem wads.

Im getteing velocities from 800 to 1200 FPS, and groups all over the place.

My latest test batch are using HS6 with Win pink wads. I got Roll and Star crimp ready to test. Im hoping for good thing from the pink wads. They have a nice small cup and tall wad that hopefully keep the powder tight with a good crimp.

Gas Can
 
Gas Can said:
Im still searching for a good load for Lee 1oz Key slugs.

Ive tried HS6, and #5.

Star crimp, roll crimp.

Fed S4, Win Yellow and Rem wads.

Im getteing velocities from 800 to 1200 FPS, and groups all over the place.

My latest test batch are using HS6 with Win pink wads. I got Roll and Star crimp ready to test. Im hoping for good thing from the pink wads. They have a nice small cup and tall wad that hopefully keep the powder tight with a good crimp.

Gas Can
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You need to match the wad shape to the hull.
One piece (injection) hulls taper towards the head and you need to use wads that are tapered as well.
Two piece hulls are straight walled and work best with cylindrical wads.
Cut some hulls at various lengths and check the wad fit. Shine a flashlight through a loaded shell to check on the powder.
You can adjust the slug height by adding cardboard discs or slices of fiber wads. 16GA discs and fiber-wads fit well in the shot cup under the slug.
You can also trim the petals to line up with the tip of the slug. Petals too long may catch in the hull's crimp and get plucked throwing the shot cup out of balance.
As for the loads... you'll have to develop your own. My loads are over the published maximums but pretty consistent at 1200fps. That's nowhere near the commercial 1600-1700fps.
It would be great to find a shotshell supplier that sells small quantities of components so that you can experiment.
 
Ive been going with the hull/wad combos in the chart that came with my Lee Slug mold.

I have tried slug hulls with a roll crimp using Win slug hulls with Win Wads. Never checked to see if the hull was tapered/1-2piece.

I have tried overshot cardboard disks as well.

How do I know if a wad is tapered?

I reload alot of pistol and rifle but Im a newbie when it comes to SG.


Gas Can
 
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hk33ka1 said:
Used hull and lead free. Lee 1oz slug mold, and Lee Load All II for tools

Powder at 2gr to a cent 32gr = $0.16
$40 Primers $0.04 each
around $0.05 cents for old wads I have, didnt price check on newest bag

About $0.25 cents per slug for me
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I cast Lee slugs, too.
Slug cast from free wheel weights =0
Range pick up hulls =0
Can of Red Dot, free from a friend who didn't need it =0
Wads, not sure,say $.05 each
Primer, about $.04 each
TOTAL about a dime each!
 
My buddy buys bargain "sport loads" from Walmart, pries the crimp out, removes the shot, casts his own slug using the Lee slug cast and an electric melter for $49, then uses the Lee Loadall to re-crimp with the slug in place. It's less work because you already have the powder, primer and wad/shotcup loaded, and still pretty cheap. Also less recoil than some of those bruiser slug loads. And yes, it will cycle in a Remington 1100 too.
 
My favorite Lee 1oz slug load is 32.4-33grains of HS6 Loadall bushing #141. Sometimes as dropped and sometimes bumped up to 33 grains. Cheepo Western (WAA 12) hulls and two pizza box under shot cards to raise the slug up a bit for a proper star crimp.

These shoot great and are still under the max load per the Lee data that came with my mould. I use the same load for 9 pellet buckshot just a hair over 1oz. It makes loading easy and I can leave my Loadall setup alone and load either slugs or buckshot.

This load works well for me and I can blast all day. Cheap and mild recoil!

Cactus
 
Lyman Sabot Slug cast in the purest lead I can find, Federal trap hull, win. 209 primers, Alliant blue dot, Win. WAA12R wad. around 30 cents a round. Amazed at the accuracy in my fully rifled pipe. And the fouling isn't bad at all. Commercial sabot slug loads are from around $13.00 to $23.00 for five so this 30 cents a pop is great.
 
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