ATAfan Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 (edited) Firstly, Happy Christmas all! Until this weekend I had no idea that 'reloading' was even a thing. Since discovering reloading I've been looking at videos on youtube of the process and wondering whether it could save me money. Some questions: 1.) Is an explosives certificate required and if so how do you complete the form? 'Aquire' only or 'Aquire and keep'. And which powder do you specify? 2.) How economical is it to reload 20g cartridges (for clays)? How much does it work out to be on average? 3.) Are there any local people/clubs I can go and learn from (in or around London or Essex). I am already aware of F.E.S & and TFSA. Many thanks in advance. Edited December 26, 2017 by Vaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktattoo Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 If you are looking at a few tubs of powder other than black powder then no licence required. If you want to use black powder or keep large amounts of powder then you will need a licence to acquire and keep. if you are reloading for shot gun unless you are making up specialist wildfowling loads then you will find that there are not large savings to be made. some local clubs will show you the basic, my advice would be to learn off a trusted member of a club and read the reloading books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 As above. Reloading comes into it's own when you have a need for a cartridge you cannot easily buy over the counter. I had difficulty finding a fibrewad 410 shell which did the job and consequently now load my own and because 410s are fairly expensive as factory shells go, I do save a bit of money. Considering the time and outlay, I would not think it worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salopian Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 I am sorry to have to disagree , reloading is a very worthwhile pastime and for the smaller gauges can be very rewarding financially and performance wise. Clay & Game reloading supplies (and others) can supply components and data for beginners but you will rapidly gain experience and fellow loaders to share knowledge and components with. Ask the right questions and this website can be a little goldmine . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 Buy a book and read it ! Try lyman5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB1954 Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Like above, get a manual and read and gain understanding of the process but note the manuals are all American so components will be different. Then get UK components from C&G or FES and if you ask they will give you load data and advice plus the components will be matched to your load, I guest for clays 24 gram 7.5 lead. Then you need press and powder scale, for press I know MEC do a 20g not sure about Lee Loadall. A digital scale from one of the above suppliers and you are ready to load. If you know someone local to show you the ropes that's useful but I started with advice on here and manual. You will not save money on clay loads but if you need steel loads or lead buckshot or slugs you will save plenty. Take care if you don't know what you are doing reloading is dangerous...always follow the recipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinfireman Posted December 30, 2017 Report Share Posted December 30, 2017 Reloading is not "dangerous"as such.....you just have to take care in what you are doing. With lead shot cartridges, you should make a saving on 10g, a small loss on 12g, a small saving on 16g, about the same for 20g. Slightly more of a saving on 28g, and a good saving on .410. As I do not load much steel at present, I have not worked out the savings (if any) for steel. Talk to someone who regularly reloads, listen and watch carefully, and then enjoy a part of shooting that is relaxing, and useful. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 The most expensive part of making your own shells is the cost of the lead.. We make our own shot and buy in bulk powder / wads / primers collect empty cases from clay ground and the cost is half of the cost to buy.. John has worked it all out using our load 28gr No 6 that gets used for everything clays / pigeons/ crows /ect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveshoots Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 I have reloaded my own cartridges for years. I also run all my own shot I have a mate who is a roofer and he supplies me with all my lead and years ago got a huge amount of antimony which i put 1% in to every smelting of my ingots to run. its the biggest saving out there and I also have drums full of cut offs for the dets which i bought years ago from a gun shop at 5£ adrum so its just the powder and wads to buy and they come from clay and game reloaders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATAfan Posted January 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 Very interesting comments all and thanks for your contributions. Based on the numbers I ran last week I reached the conclusion that it was uneconomical to do for 20g cartridges unless you: 1. Buy powder in bulk 2. Make your own shot 3. Reload a large number of cartridges There are small savings that can be made if you've got a good and ideally local supplier for the components. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a worthwhile saving (using the supplier info I had to hand) but regardless it is a fascinating subject and merits doing as a hobby in its own right. @hawkeye you guys seem to be an exception to the rule and hit a goldmine. Look forward to a dummy's guide/recipe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 On 05/01/2018 at 15:09, hawkeye said: The most expensive part of making your own shells is the cost of the lead.. We make our own shot and buy in bulk powder / wads / primers collect empty cases from clay ground and the cost is half of the cost to buy.. John has worked it all out using our load 28gr No 6 that gets used for everything clays / pigeons/ crows /ect Is that thing still dripping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted January 7, 2018 Report Share Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, sitsinhedges said: Is that thing still dripping The most expensive part of making your own shells is the cost of the lead.. We make our own shot and buy in bulk powder / wads / primers collect empty cases from clay ground and the cost is half of the cost to buy.. John has worked it all out using our load 28gr No 6 that gets used for everything clays / pigeons/ crows /ect Yes its still knocking shot out as if it was going out of fashion..... Works as good today as it did when you sold it to us...that was a few years ago Edited January 7, 2018 by hawkeye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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