Let's see . . . you buy 16ga promo loads for $6/box (if you're really lucky). Shoot them once, reload them 3 times. That's 4 shots for 25 hulls=100 shots from that box, or 6 cents/hull.
Well now lets see, that would be a valid price "IF" one bought 25 "Empty" hulls for $6.00. As they were bought loaded ready to fire then this price per hull just flew out the window.
Whether you fire them new or buy them empty, you still get to count only the number of times you use the hull. (Here I'm only figuring the cost of the hull, not the other components you use--or don't use, if you buy factory loads.) So you shoot the same hull 4 times--once factory-loaded, 3 times reloaded--that hull cost you 6 cents if you paid $6/box for the shells.
Mike, that's good for 16ga reloads . . . but using your figures on wad costs, and your figures on how many times you use a hull, you still lose out to 7/8 oz loads in either 12 or 20ga. Cheaper wads, cheaper hulls because they last longer.
But come to think of it, given the guys we have in DC, you might not do any worse in charge of debt reduction.
