why they don't make cheap slug rounds?

[cajun47]

i seen quite a few videos of folks taking that cheap bird shot and melting the lead into a slug. couldn't the factory do this for the same price? or is a 1 oz slug way more expensive to make than 1 oz of bird shot?

in other words, why am i not seeing boxes of 25 round low brass slug rounds for 6 or 7 dollars in the store?

[Doyle]

No market for them.

Like Larry Potterfield says - there are 3 reasons for reloading:

1. Economy
2. Accuracy/performance
3. That particular caliber is obsolete and no longer available.

Number 3 will never come into play with modern shotguns. Number 2 won't come into play because there is no way a handloader will be able to do much improvement over a factory slug round in either accuracy or terminal performance. That leaves economy. There just aren't enough people needing to shoot the kind of volumn needed for home slug loading to be an economic matter. The shotshell shooters that do reload have to shoot quite a large value to make any savings.

[.45 COLT]

in other words, why am i not seeing boxes of 25 round low brass slug rounds for 6 or 7 dollars in the store?

Was the time when slugs were sold in 25s, maybe $0.75 a box more than "premium" target rounds, about the same price as the heavier field loads. Then the manufacturere figured they could get a far better price by selling them in fives. Same with Buckshot.

That's the only reason I can think of.

DC

[giaquir]

Didn't you hear-----???
Nothing is cheap anymore

[Virginian]

Because no one but rich people need to be using them for practice anyway?

[BigD_in_FL]

in other words, why am i not seeing boxes of 25 round low brass slug rounds for 6 or 7 dollars in the store?

Because they make BILLIONS of those cheap rounds and no where near that volume of slugs

[111t]

I always thought that it had to do with the fact that buckshot and slugs are cast, while birdshot is dropped through a sieve.

[CajunBass]

Was the time when slugs were sold in 25s, maybe $0.75 a box more than "premium" target rounds, about the same price as the heavier field loads. Then the manufacturere figured they could get a far better price by selling them in fives. Same with Buckshot.

I'm pretty close to being an "old man" and I don't recall seeing many 25 round boxes of buckshot. I know I've only bought one in my life, about 35 years ago, and I've still got shells (and the box) left from that box. When I was a kid, stores used to sell individual shells, so those were probably 25 round boxes, but they were far from common. Slugs were all but unknown where I grew up. Since I got old enough to drive, and buy shells on my own, buckshot has always come in five packs (slugs also).

As for why there aren't cheap slug/buckshot loads? There's no demand for them I would guess. The "tactical" craze is fairly new. I never knew many hunters who practiced with buckshot loads. (Slugs aren't againts the law, but were against the rules in most hunt clubs I've hunted with.) They'd fire a few rounds to pattern their guns, maybe a few to shoot at groundhogs in the garden, and a dozen or so for deer hunting. What was left over this year, carried over to next year. They don't go bad.

I always thought that it had to do with the fact that buckshot and slugs are cast, while birdshot is dropped through a sieve.

That's a factor too, I'm sure.

[WV_gunner]

I like target shooting with slugs. Walmart sell Federal 1 1/4 oz slugs for about $6. I enjoy shooting those. I'd love a lower price.