i know when i buy "new" shot; there is no chance of any grit that would scratch a bbl. in it. if it were less than $20.00 a bag (which is all that it is worth) i might shoot it out of a 870 of a tri-star.
I've had lots of opportunities to purchase reclaimed shot. I've heard many say it works fine for 16 yard. I've heard stories of barrels being scored from rocks. I personally won't use it to risk damaging my bbl. Most reclaimed shot is in bags where I'm not able to check each to find out if there are no small rocks. For the few dollars more I will not be using reclaimed shot. Others may have had great luck with reclaimed and KNOW it has been cleaned. It's your choice and you will make a decision whether to use or not. Good shooting and shoot straight.
Look up the photos that Tom Wilkinson posted of throat erosion in a shotgun and scoring in a reloading press, then tell me you'd shoot that stuff in your gun. When the shot impacts the ground, there are minute particles of silica embedded in the surface, and no amount of cleaning can remove it. We would not sell the reclaimed shot from our fields... all of it went to the smelter.
You say you shot some of it through a Browning. Are you saying the barrel was damaged? Right now new shot locally is $44.00 a bag. Reclaimed is $30.00 so I am considering trying some.
I am not saying the barrel was damaged. But since then, I've seen bore scope images of damaged caused by "imperfections" ie grit, stone, etc, in reclaimed shot.
Scratch a barrel on a $1200 complete gun, maybe no one cares, scratch a $3-4K barrel on a high end gun, and no body wants it.
Go ahead and shoot what you need to, just make sure you know what could happen.
I personally do not care for reclaimed shot. I want the best shot I can find. in addition, Spolar says
to keep that stuff out of their machines. ( good enough for me)
John
I am pretty sure Neil Winston said that if you want a modified choke pattern with reclaimed shot you will need to shoot a full choke.
When I was shooting 1 oz of reclaimed shot at 16 yard Trap targets and Skeet targets, I didn't get as good of breaks on the targets as I was getting with 7/8 oz of new shot.
never had rock or debris of any kind in Terry's shot and I have a barrel of it! If I gave you 5 shells of it and five of new you could never tell me which was which.
It all depends on where you get it from. I have shot a good bit of it but, that was back when it was a LOT cheaper than new. Worked great for singles and 1st shot on doubles. There are some good outfits selling it and some not so great. I bought a bunch from Gamaliel and it was really clean. As the old saying goes "let the buyer beware", ( KNOW your SOURCE ) !
I tried it. It bridged in my MEC 9000. This was the deal breaker.
Also it did not break 16 yard target as well as new. No scientific test, just a few hundred shot. Could have been me with a lack of confidence.
Used it up shooting Sporting Clays for fun. Surprised me with some long range breaks.
A use reclaimed for singles all the time. And handicaps for our local 50 bird and for just having fun shoots. I've shot some very good scores with it.
I've also loaded reclaimed in my 9000G. A lot of reclaimed. Got my 9000G when they first came out and the shot has never bridged in it when I was reloading.
Just like anything in life there are pro's and con's to reclaimed lead.
First off, Not all reclaimed shot is good. I have a shooting buddy who has deep scratches in his K-80 barrel from using reclaimed lead he got. It was suppose to be good clean lead he got. He will never use reclaimed lead again. Seems like he had steel shot mixed into it to cause his damage. You can also get sand and other debris mixed in. So its possible you might end up having to clean your own lead if you get a bad batch? HOw much time will this cost you?
Secondly, Your lead will be a mix of 3 different shot sizes. Most of your lead will be on the very soft side as well. It will also be very deformed with flat spots in it. So, here are 3 different reasons not to use reclaimed shot right now! Because of the flat spots in the lead and most of it being soft as well. Reclaimed lead is really only good for 16 yard singles if you use a full choke shotgun. Neil has done testing with reclaimed lead and came to this result. So I am not pulling out of my hat, shall we say.
Bottom Line It costs me about $4.89 a box to reload a box of Lawrence Brand Mag. Shot.
Its would cost me about $.$4.19 a box with reclaimed lead at 29 bucks a bag.
Now take into account what you are really saving here. After I factor in my targets.
shells $4.89 a round Targets 8.00 a round. for a total of $12.89 per round of Trap.
Shells $4.19 a round Targets 8.00 a round for a total of $12.19 per round of Trap.
So I have saved about 5% of my total cost for a round of shooting Trap. This adds up to about $3.50 for the day if I shoot 5 rounds of Trap. I still can't shoot handicap with this shot as it patterns lousy at distance. I am taking a much higher risk than 5% chance of damaging my shotgun. If I have to sort through each bag of shot and check for debris what am I really saving? Is saving 70 cents a box worth this trouble to you? How much is your shotgun barrel worth to you? Only you can answer this question. break em all Jeff
My first and only experience with it - I was a bag and a half into it and had occasion to take a peak at the shot bushing. It looked like it had been tumbled in gravel. Just not worth it, regardless of the cost.
I have loaded a ton of reclaimed from leadminer. 1oz 1200fps. Works good for skeet and shot mostly non registered sporting clays with good results. Not a mark in my k80 barrel
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