Yeah, it's definitely looking like a not so great idea to shoot steel out of this thing. Lead and bismuth it is. I found a company that makes slightly cheaper bismuth shot, Backridge Ammunition, I'll have to pick myself up a few boxes at some point in the future. It ain't cheap, but it is cheaper than Kent.
For now it probably makes the best sense to buy a few boxes of 16 gauge and shoot them, save the shells for reloading, start saving money to put together a reloading set up. Even then, bismuth shot sure as hell isn't cheap. $170 for 10 pounds at rotometal. At 1 ounce shot loads I'm looking 160 shells with just the shot costing around a buck a round, leaving $0.20-0.30 a round left for primer, powder, and wad which appears doable but the cost savings aren't much. Maybe 10 or 15 cents a round if I'm real cheap about it, but I suppose if I get myself a cheap reloading press that'll add up over time. It'd be real nice if the shot makers available commercially didn't cost several hundred dollars, that'd really improve savings.
For now it probably makes the best sense to buy a few boxes of 16 gauge and shoot them, save the shells for reloading, start saving money to put together a reloading set up. Even then, bismuth shot sure as hell isn't cheap. $170 for 10 pounds at rotometal. At 1 ounce shot loads I'm looking 160 shells with just the shot costing around a buck a round, leaving $0.20-0.30 a round left for primer, powder, and wad which appears doable but the cost savings aren't much. Maybe 10 or 15 cents a round if I'm real cheap about it, but I suppose if I get myself a cheap reloading press that'll add up over time. It'd be real nice if the shot makers available commercially didn't cost several hundred dollars, that'd really improve savings.
