doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Reloading for the 16 ga

Yeah. What's the price?

Larry;
You just don't much get Mathamatics do you. You "DID NOT" pay 6.00 per 25 for the hulls, you paid it for loaded shells. You are thus figuring in the price of primer, wads & shot for the first firing, but not for the remaining loads. This is thus "NOT" the hull cost per shot, Period, nor is it the cost per shot as the components were not added for the others.

If you bought a new automobile & paid $30,000 dollars for it & kept it long enough that you put on two more sets of tires @ $450.00 each set you would have a total of $30,900. You would not of course say the coet for the tires was $10,300 per set.
Likewise the Components of that original box of shells likely cost more than did the hulls themselves, so you cannot say the hull cost was $0.06 per shot.
To be a really valid comparsion one simply needs to figure the total cost to load for some given unit, whether per shell, per box, per 100 or whatever unit as long as its consistent.
Final verdict would I feel sure be, the 12ga is cheaper to shoot, but it just might also show that one can save more reloading the 16 than the 12. Reason being that even though it is slightly higher to load the 16's there is likely not as much difference as in buying the new factory loads.

You must not get out much. I shoot more 16 than that on dove opener.

The most sensible way of measuring the cost of reloading is in dollars per bang.

So, picking some arbitrary numbers out of a hat, if you buy a box of promo loads for $6, then reload them three more times at a cost of $3.90 for components and $0.10/box for the amortized cost of reloading equipment, then you've gotten 100 bangs for the total price of $6 + 3*($3.90 +$0.10) = $6 + $12, or 18 cents per bang. That's 3/4 the price of the promo loads.

The value saved by handloading is in the specialty loads - RSTs retail for $11.75 or so a box, Remmie Express sell for a similar amount or more, and so on. It always will be hard to beat the promo loads on price - they don't call them promo loads for nothing. But, if you've got a short-chambered 16 and want to practice on clay birds prior to hunting with it, then the savings will add up quickly. $11.75 plus range fees for a round of trap is expensive.

It's much the same with flytying: you can buy a #14 Adams tied in China for less than the cost of your materials (hooks are triple the price of 20 years ago) plus amortized equipment costs, but the convenience of getting flies now, getting the pattern you want (I tie most of my dries very sparse, unlike the commercial ties, because I like them that way) and getting or developing custom patterns, plus the satisfaction of catching fish on flies you tied, make flytying a reasonable thing to do. YMMV.

Indeed, I did not figure in the cost of what was in the hull when the box of shells was purchased new. Nor did I figure in what was in the shell when one fired it reloaded. I'm only working on the cost of the hull, separate from all other components. The only reloading component you get from a box of new shells is the hull. Everything else, whether new or reloaded, is use once and gone. And I used the same figures for ALL hulls, regardless of gauge, so I'm not putting the 16ga hulls at a disadvantage in comparison to 12 or 20ga hulls.

Given the current $2/box discount offered by both Remington and Winchester on STS/AA shells, 16ga promo loads can be found for very close to the same price/box as 12 or 20ga AA or STS: right around $6.50. So the advantage to the 12's and 20's comes in the longer hull life and lower wad cost.

There's certainly no question you can save money reloading 16's. It's just that you can save more, per shell, reloading 12's and 20's.

Question for all the 16 ga. gurus. Does the DR-16 wad work well in the Fiocchi G&T case with a 7/8 oz. load. I would be using Dupont 7625 mostly because I have a bunch of it,and would like to keep the pressures below 8500. Any info or suggestions welcomed.

Yes the DR-16 works very well in the Fiocchi hulls but, in my experience, they do not give more than 1-2 reloads as they tend to split at the crimp folds.

The DR-16 works best, again in my experience, with 3/4 or 7/8 oz loads. 1 oz is too tall a load and for this you are better off using a Gualandi wad.

I've not used 7625 but no reason it would not make a great load.

You loading 2 3/4" or 2 1/2"? Roll crimps or folded?

Mike

Thanks Mike,I'm loading 2 3/4" fold crimps and currently have a supply of BPI Sporting 16 wads (Gualandi??) which I have been putting a 28 ga. fibre spacer into to get the right height for crimping. A bit painful but seems to work fine. When my supply runs low I'll likely switch to the DR-16's for my target loads.
I have a bunch of Fiocchi once fired cases which will last quite a while for me.

I reload for performance, not economy, anyway. BPI has lots of data on the 16, from heavy cold weather loads to reduced recoil 3/4 oz loads (utilizing about 15 gr. Titewad) which are easy on the shoulder. Many of the formulas are free on their "Curmudgeon" page.

Terry, I too have a lot of 7625 and really like it. However, do be aware it is a lousy cold weather powder. And by cold weather I mean anything around freezing and lower. Voice of experience. I changed over to PB for my winter shooting and have not had any problems.