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new to reloading shotgun cartridges! help and advice would be grea


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im thinking of loading my own cartridges for all types of shooting, clays game, and wild fowling. i have no loading equipment yet or any data on any load i intend to use, so pretty much brand new to this. i have a current sgc but was wondering is there a seperate licence to keep powder ect? what equipment wil i nead to get set up? and what kind of money will i nead to spend. i apreciate that prices change all the time but a ruff idea would be great. thanks guys.

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No you do not need a seperate license to store and use powder for reloading. Reloading equiptment needed depends on how far you wish to go? I just started with a Lee Loadall. Cheap as chips but does ok. There are better loading stations such as the MEC range but be prepared for a bit of a big outlay unless you find a good cheap used one.

 

Components again depend on what you want to make.

 

You will need

 

Hulls

Primers

Wads

Powders

Shot

 

You may need shot cards for certain loads also. I am new to this myself having only got my gear about 3 weeks ago. I have already made clay cartridges and last week made a batch of fibre carts too.

 

 

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good stuff mate. im brandnew to reloading so i only no a wee bit about it. im wanting to load a good 32grm number 5 in a 70mm case for crow pigeon and game. and a hefty 3inch or 70mm number 2 or 3 for fox. i can buy a lee load all for 40quid off a freind but im not sure if theres any bits with it. can i get all the components i nead from a decent gun shop? and roughly what would you say it would cist to make 250 decent 32grm number 5s in a 70 mm case, providing i allready have the cases. i understand this may be a hard question but just trying to weigh it up cost effectively. cheers for you post mate

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Shop around for your components.

 

In the UK primers your looking at approx £10- £15 for 250

Powder around £35 per 500g tub

wads around £5

Lead shot I am not sure about UK prices but from europe £40 + P&P for 12kg

 

the lead will make around 350 carts and the powder will do more than 250 also.

 

I paid £60 for a load all, 2 tubs of greendot, a tub of hogdon clays, and a huge tub of vectan powder.

 

I also got around 1200 ready primed hulls both Fiocchi and cheddite.

 

Fio 615 primers 300

CX2000 primers 200

 

Around 1500 mixed wads.

 

A tub of #1 shot, and some #7 shot.

 

I am now on the lookout for some AO and AS powders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If you need data for loads just look through the posts on the forum here, as there has been lot of links to powder manufacturers posted with good data to cover the other components needed.

 

Cheapest place I found is in Italy. It's called Siarm and sells pretty much everything you need other than powder.

 

Postage takes a while from.what I have been told but OK

 

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I would be the last one to dissuade anyone from the great hobby of reloading--I have been at it since I was 17, that said if you look at it from the practicality standpoint it is likely less expensive to buy new shotshells unless you are going to shoot a LOT.

Rifle reloading is a bit different as you can adjust the cartridge to your gun and in my opinion make better rounds than you can buy. With shotshells consider all aspects including the time invested and the room occupied by the equipment. Over here if you watch the ads you can pick up great bargains that almost negate any savings from reloading. Also consider the safety aspect although I consider it very safe if you pay attention to what you are about, you are still dealing with potentially dangerous ingredients. Just giving you the other side of the coin.

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I think the beauty of reloading is IF you have all the components you can simply cook up a batch of what ever you need. Better than having nothing but 1000 #6 when you need #4! Also a few times I have visited shops for BB or similar I found they dont stock them. Also as posted in another topic Wildfowling Steel Shot reloading is around a £4 saving per box of 25.

 

You can make cartridges with higher velocities than shop bought. You can produce your own subsonic rounds if you need also.

 

I am enjoying the recycling of empty shells like Remmington shells! Couldn't believe my luck as the clay ground bins are full of em :good:

 

Gamebore white gold shells reload nice too.

 

I found some steel shot for sale on tuesday 5kg for what I thought was cheap! but it's only 2mm so no good other than clays. :no:

 

I find practicality in reloading :good:

Edited by Lord Geordie
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I agree completely with you Geordie, but when he mentioned economics I thought I would share my experience in that area. I like the freedom of going lighter or faster to suit needs and find satisfaction in building my own loads. Reloading is truly a hobby onto itself. I load lighter in payload than is available commercially and shoot better for it with less recoil and more shots per bag of lead shot. On the subject of steel reloading, I would most definetly get on with lead for a while before going to steel, if for no other reason that to become familiar with basic loading practices. Steel is not as forgiving regarding crimps, column height etc.

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thanks for your posts guy im definately going to start loading as i can see the other benefits to be had like various loads i could make. even if i just reloaded larger cartridges ie fox loads ect but im going to do my research and have a go at it all. apreciate the info aswell guys very helpful

regards carl

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dont forget powder scales very important to check powder weights accurately,havent loaded for a long while but still have my bowman loader,used to load a lot of no1s for geese when fowling on anglesey b4 the lead ban,used blue dot for the heavies dony know if its still available but have charts for lead loads.dont think its worth the bother for pigeon loads.as long as you enjoy doin it thats the main thing,regards john.

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Guest cookoff013

i have good fun with the funny-funny loads. to buy them they`d cost a fortune.

 

i wouldnr be too complacent that just buying #4 shot or #1 shot that everything is going to be alright. its not.

There are fantastic cartridge recipes out there and there are some complete lemons,

 

recently, there have been lots of guys trying to start up reloading because it is "cheaper" it isnt, it eats time and money. its frustrating, because components are not readily available or they cost a fortune from a shop.

 

however, there are staple cartridge recipes, that reload and shoot very well. better than factory in some cases. for not much more money, dumping a #6 in these makes sense. 1oz hot pigeon cartridge.

 

you can even load 24g #6, s and get alittle more speed. over the decoys is totally acceptable.

 

just dont think of getting a 21g load and loading it with BBB shot and expect it to be the "best in the world". its a lemon.

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I wish there was someone around me who did shotgun reloading who could help me out with some 20g BB`s in say 28 or 30gram. I dont want many just 25-50, I can provide cases happily and cover the cost of the reloading plus a nice bottle of red ! But it seems none does it anymore and it isnt worth me buying a setup just for a small run like this !

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I wish there was someone around me who did shotgun reloading who could help me out with some 20g BB`s in say 28 or 30gram. I dont want many just 25-50, I can provide cases happily and cover the cost of the reloading plus a nice bottle of red ! But it seems none does it anymore and it isnt worth me buying a setup just for a small run like this !

Why would you want an ounce of BB?

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