All of the talk about Xperts and how crappy they are made me wonder about reusing shells or repacking them or whatever you would call it. Do any of you guys do this or make your own? Does it end up saving money, and how hard/easy is it for someone to do?

HAHA...You mean reloading. Yeah it can save money but you really have to have the volume in order to save money. It could really take you years to make up for the price of the equipment and books you would get. Also most of the supplies would probably not be easy to find and you'd end up ordering some stuff online. You can't just throw any ole combination of components in and make a load. You need to follow precise recipes.

I've done it and if you factor in time it doesnt save me anything. If I thought it was worth it to reload hevi shot or some other high density load then maybe it would...but that stuff is expensive no matter what.

But there is another side to why you reload...you can reload a specific loan that you might not be able to find. So basically you can build a load that meets your needs. Also you do it for the fun of it. I learned a great deal from reloading.

I'd like to get back to it one day but with two little kids running around the house and a demanding job I just don't have time.

Thanks Marcstar I was curious as to how the process went and if it was fairly popular to do so or not. If I ever have the time(not likely) I would like to do some research and try to learn a little more aout it.

During the hunting season there is so many sales on shells its not really worth it to reload. We just buy 10-15 cases at a time.
During the summer we reload. With four people shooting sporting clays every weekend we go through a lot of shells.

I reload lead shot shells, because I shoot enough of them to make it worth the time and effort. At this time I buy my non-tox shells. This may change come the 2011-2012 season. I am thinking about my 16 ga. guns for early teal and when I am farm tank hunting ducks. Small ducks and close in shooting the "16" would be fun to use. It is hard to save money reloading like Marcstar already posted. The real advantage is if you do research/pattern the reloads you will be able to get the best load for your shooting and gun. This meant a 20% increase on clay targets for me. I need all the help I can get!

http://10xshooters.com/calculators/ShotshellReloadingCost/

That is a link that will tell you how much a box would cost and also how long it would take you to recover your costs.

I will tell you I reload my own. I am hooked on them, they are awesome shells and anyone who has shot them have been impressed with them also. RedGun turned me on to them and how to go about getting them loaded up. I was loading lead but hadn't done steel. Now, they are time consuming and I can see where someone would say it isn't worth it but to me it is well worth it. Besides, reloading is therapeutic for me and I enjoy it.

RGC has a post down in the reloading section where some guys chimed in about loading steel, might be worth checking out.

Good luck with whatever you decide and my best advice is buy supplies in bulk to get more savings.

My son shoots trap and skeet competitively and we burn through a lot of shells. We by the 100 count boxes of lead shot loads at Wally World for that, usually in #8 shot, 1 or 1-1/8 ounce loads. He likes the Remington's the best and if they are out of those Federals.
We don't shoot enough steel shot now to even come close to reloading for waterfowl. We didn't even use 2 boxes between the two of us last season and I shot most of those because he doesn't miss a lot.
My son is a senior in high school and this will be his last year to compete @ the 4H level. If he keeps on competing when he is off to college @ the amateur levels I will be forced to start reloading.

The best 2 3/4" load I've ever shot was a reload I made using the Lighting Steel guide. I think anyone could draw the conclusion after reading these posts that there are in fact many advantages to reloading....saving money isnt always one of them but can be with enough volume.

When my kids are older I'm going to get back to it.

+1
They are the shizzlenit, aren't they!