12g

Reload 12 Gauge Steel

| September 4, 2020
Reloading 12 Guage Steel
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.

Want to reload 12 Gauge steel shot? Tired of not having the right ammo locally available? Living in California an dealing with ammo background BS? I got over it, and I’m happy to be able to produce any shot shell I want or need, at an economical price.

With California ammo background checks and associated costs, plus the lead free ammo cost compared to lead, as well as the lack of local availability, reloading hunting shot shells makes economical sense.

Equipment
12 Gauge Lee Load All 2 - $58.99 - $72.99

Consumables
10 Lbs. Steel #5 Shot – $19.99
200 Steel Shot Specific Wads – $20.12
200 Primers (x2 100 box) – (3.59*2) = $7.18
250 Overshot Cards 1/8″ – $5.03
1 Lbs. Shot Powder (Alliant Green Dot, Alliant Steel) – 23.99

Consumable Cost
$76.31 = 19.99 + 20.12 + 7.18 + 5.03 + 23.99

Total Cost = Equipment Cost + Consumable Cost
$135.30 = $58.99 + $76.31

You can expect to load 160 1 ounce loads, with the limiting factor being the steel shot. All the other supplies will load nearly double that amount of shells. If you can even get a hold of #5 steel, and its a decent hunting load. A box will probably cost between 12 and 17 bucks for 25 rounds. The above listed equipment will load 160 shells, or 6.4 boxes. Meaning you’ll probably break even on the consumables, and break completely even after your first 400 – 500 rounds.

All of the above doesn’t even consider the ammo background check costs, lack of availability of ammo, and any costs saved on trips to the sporting goods.

Its a winning deal just to avoid California’s asinine ammunition laws.

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Afternoon Grouse Hunting With Video

| October 26, 2016
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.

I took a break from web work to see if I couldn’t bag a grouse and maybe clear my mind. I’ve been pretty distracted lately. I lost my dog and best friend to cancer a couple of days ago, and its sort of the thing dominating my head space. Anyway, I usually take my 10/22 to shoot grouse. It’s more challenging than the shotgun and you don’t have to pick out any shot. But today, after the first couple fruitless miles of walking, I decided I didn’t need a challenge, I just needed to bag something and feel good about it.

I even managed to turn on and start recording on the action cam, a knock off go pro called a Wespire for the fraction of the price. It was clipped onto the front chest strap of my backpack. Its a decent camera, although it was aimed poorly. Its still a good test of quality, and its kind of fun to share the environment I was in to hunt grouse.

I Wish I had mounted the camera a little better so that it was pointed directly at where I was pointing my shotgun, but its still a good example of the quality of the video that can be taken by the GoPro clone.

I used #8 lead, in my 12g Benelli Montefeltro, with an improved cylinder choke. Worked well for a ~30 yard shot, but really should have used #5 or #6.

I ultimately walked about 8.25 miles over about 2 hours, spent about 5 dollars in gas, driving time for the round trip is about an hour, and I got one grouse that dressed out at 10.4 oz. Considering an organic, free range, hormone, and antibiotic free, boneless skinless chicken breast can cost anywhere from 4.99 to 12.99, I did just okay.

Its more about getting out, seeing and experiencing nature, getting a little exercise, and clearing my mind for a bit. Hunting is a good experience even if you aren’t able to bag your target game. I was happy to have something to bring home.

The Wespire 1080p camera worked great, and at a fraction the cost of a Go Pro. Its currently unavailable on Amazon, but I think the next step up might be the SJ7000. It has a higher resolution and frame rate for slow motion action.

Grouse Hunt America

If you have any problems with the video, It can be seen on youtube: https://youtu.be/72_D1Lt5ges

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