Where To Buy Target Shotgun Ammo

by **lumbering.buffalo** on Sun Jul 13, 2014 2:46 pm

I got invited to join a combo trap/skeet league this summer. It's been a number of years since I've regularly shot trap/skeet/sporting-clays. Talk about sticker shock.

I thought about reloading. I can get all the components except powder. So until powder becomes available I'm stuck with buying new. I'm OK with that because I need to establish my inventory of hulls.

Do I have to resign myself to paying $7.50+ for decent shells? I remember the old days when I could pick up Remington Blue Peter shells for $5.50 or so a box and cheap imported stuff for $3.50 to $4.50 a box (at that price it wasn't worth reloading).

I was reloading Remington and Winchester. Federal hulls were a pain so I finally quit.

Anyway, back to my question, am I resigned to paying $7.50 or is there a place I can get it cheaper (shipping needs to be figured into the per-box cost)? Thanks.

View · by **ex-LT** on Sun Jul 13, 2014 3:26 pm

When it's on sale you can typically find Remington Gun Club for $6.00 - 6.50/box at Fleet Farm or Dick's. Of the "bargain" shells, these are probably the best. They use the same hulls as the Remington STS shells, and reloading data is identical.

Dick's regular price on Federal Top Gun is $6.49/box. A decent shell if you're not into reloading.

If you're going to buy Winchester, the ONLY shells to get are the AA. I would stay away from the Winchester Super Target bulk packs - they're dirty, and lot's of people have reported pierced primers when firing them.

Also look at Cabela's. they sell Herter's and B&P. Their regular price on Herter's is $65/case, and their B&P Competition One shells are on sale right now for $70/case. I've never used the B&Ps, but they have a very good reputation.

One other thing. If you're not already set up to reload for shotgun, be prepared for sticker shock when you go to buy shot. The last price I saw was $37 for a 25# bag, and that was at Ahlman's spring sale. Right now, you're probably looking at closer to $45/bag.

by **lumbering.buffalo** on Sun Jul 13, 2014 4:06 pm

I picked up some Herter's because I had Cabella Points. I looked at the Hulls and they look like Federal. I have bought Winchester White Box, mainly for the reloading potential. But they seem to be as much or more than Gun Club so I'll probably stick with Gun Club...which Cabella's does not sell.

Yeah, I've looked at Shot Prices. But I have to believe I'll be able to reload for much less then buying new...if I can find any Red or Green Dot.

View · by **ex-LT** on Sun Jul 13, 2014 4:50 pm

lumbering.buffalo wrote:I'll probably stick with Gun Club...which Cabella's does not sell.

Really? That's news to me (and the Cabela's website).

View · by **igofast** on Sun Jul 13, 2014 8:19 pm

Winchester has a $2/box rebate going on for their AA loads(min 10 max 50 boxes). For me it's hard to justify shooting anything else - especially since they have every flavor under the sun.

View · by **crbutler** on Sun Jul 13, 2014 8:30 pm

You can reload the cheap winchester hulls, its just that the wads are different, and your hull life is less. Since everyone treats them as throw away, you can pick up a bunch for just the effort most of the time. The AA hulls are not the old compression formed ones. You need to use wads designed for the new (so called High strength or HS hulls) and they will require different settings than the old ones; its just that they are designed to be interchangeable as far as loading data. So far, I am not really impressed with the AA HS hull- if you are going to do rifenhauser design, make the hull high capacity...

I can't say that I have any trouble with the Federal hulls, either. Again, its finding the right wad to load them.

The Remington target hulls are still compression formed.

If you are not worried about getting 7-8 loads out of a hull, they all are of a sameness to me.

As to loading cheaper- if you are not playing the handicap game, and are willing to accept some dropped shots (meaning misses that you would otherwise make) going to a 7/8 oz load will really save money over 1 1/8 oz trap loads. Under 30 yards, I hit as many with them as with 1 1/8 oz, but I also run the velocity up a bit as well. If they get out there a ways, there are some holes in the pattern.

To be honest, with the amount that you can buy the cheap shells for, unless you already have the equipment, loading for clays is not really likely to save you money (if you do have the equipment you can save a little bit, as long as you consider your time free). For non competition level shooting, I just don't see that much difference- and for formal competition you have to buy the shells generally.

View · by **benny** on Sun Jul 13, 2014 10:44 pm

I would watch Fleet Farm and Gouger Mountain for the Federal Top gun rounds. They have them on sale for $6 a box from time to time. Buy three or four cases if you can so that you have plenty for a 20 week league and practice rounds.

I shoot three different leagues all summer and use up 10 to 14 cases a year, next spring if you stay with a team run up to Reeds shooters show and order up 20 cases and split them with your team. I got them for $56 a case this past spring.

The Top Guns are a good trap round for the average shooter, they are very consistent with pattern and not to bad for a clean powder.

Benny

View · by **aht_six** on Mon Jul 14, 2014 5:55 am

ex-LT wrote:...Remington Gun Club for $6.00 - 6.50/box at Fleet Farm or Dick's. Of the "bargain" shells, these are probably the best. They use the same hulls as the Remington STS shells, and reloading data is identical...If you're going to buy Winchester, the ONLY shells to get are the AA. I would stay away from the Winchester Super Target bulk packs - they're dirty, and lot's of people have reported pierced primers when firing them....

Because of the high price lead and limited availability of some components, I've been using the cheaper target shells the last few years. All the Remington, Winchester and Federal offerings I've tried worked just fine, and I wouldn't hesitate to use any of them again, so long as the price was right. However, none of the low cost shells use what I would consider a premium hull for reloading. The Remington Gun Club hulls can be reloaded with the same components as the Remington Premiere/STS/Nitro hull, but they are by no means the same. The Gun Club hulls are made with a lower quality plastic and a plated steel base, just like the cheaper Winchesters and Federals hull are.

I have shot thousands of the Winchester Super Target and Universal shells and have not had or seen any issues with them. It's never happened to me, but just last week I did see a couple Remington Gun Club shells that came out of a Citori with pierced primers.

View · by **linksep** on Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:18 am

Serious question: Why not the Federal or Winchester 100-round bulk packs from Wal-Mart? If I recall correctly, they're somewhere between $25 and $32 for 1-1/8 oz #7-1/2 or #9 shot.

View · by **yuppiejr** on Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:33 am

I was given an older but working Pacific/Hornady progressive shotgun reloader and still couldn't make the math work, chasing down the various components was a pain in the ass (better now) and after I figured the materials cost + time investment vs. buying inexpensive target loads (Dick's, WalMart's Win/Fed 100 packs were my go-to sources) it never really made sense. I don't shoot league volumes though so perhaps there was a break-even point on the horizon somewhere...

View · by **aht_six** on Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:34 am

linksep wrote:Serious question: Why not the Federal or Winchester 100-round bulk packs from Wal-Mart? If I recall correctly, they're somewhere between $25 and $32 for 1-1/8 oz #7-1/2 or #9 shot.

There's nothing wrong with the Wal-Mart bulk pack Winchester or Federal shells. Best I can they are the same as the Super Target or Top Gun.

View · by **shooter115** on Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:37 am

linksep wrote:Serious question: Why not the Federal or Winchester 100-round bulk packs from Wal-Mart? If I recall correctly, they're somewhere between $25 and $32 for 1-1/8 oz #7-1/2 or #9 shot.

Because that's really not a very good of price. I think the 100 round bulk packs are $27.95. That's $7 per box of 25. You'd be better off buying them in 25 round boxes from FF.

View · by **Keith81** on Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:09 am

shooter115 wrote:
linksep wrote:Serious question: Why not the Federal or Winchester 100-round bulk packs from Wal-Mart? If I recall correctly, they're somewhere between $25 and $32 for 1-1/8 oz #7-1/2 or #9 shot.

Because that's really not a very good of price. I think the 100 round bulk packs are $27.95. That's $7 per box of 25. You'd be better off buying them in 25 round boxes from FF.

Just picked some up at the Vadnais Walmart last week. They are down to $19.97 now.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

View · by **Ghost** on Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:22 am

Keith81 wrote:Just picked some up at the Vadnais Walmart last week. They are down to $19.97 now.

That's great news. Back during the heat of the panic when I'd go and look at the ammo case to see if the neckbeards left any scraps, instead of leaving empty handed I'd usually grab a couple value packs to make the trip worthwhile until the price started climbing. Starting to run low but didn't want to spend $28 to replenish what should be about $20.

by **lumbering.buffalo** on Mon Jul 14, 2014 12:11 pm

Thanks for all the feedback.

I guess I'll have to get with the times and consider $5 - $6 a box to be today's cheap. Like I said, sticker shock. It's a summer league, but I was hoping to shoot all year round to try and improve what I've lost during the hiatus.