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Old December 6, 2002, 10:32 PM   #1
Fritzers
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Inexpensive Shotgun Shells?

Who has the best prices on 20 guage shotgun ammo (clay shooting) on the net? Wonder why the places that sell other ammo do not carry shells? Also, I have a Belgium Browning over-under 12 guage that calls for 3" magnum...guess I can use non-magnum but can I use 2 3/4" shells, and is their an advantage to either? Thank you all in advance!
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Old December 7, 2002, 01:07 AM   #2
Benjamin
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If you just want something cheap to shoot clays with, your best bets would be a local gunshop (may not exist in California) or X-mart. Wal mart in my neck of the woods has been selling 100 round bricks of 12 and 20 bore cartridges for $15 and change.
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Old December 7, 2002, 06:31 AM   #3
Dave McC
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For target work,3" shells are counter productive AND overly expensive. Use 2 3/4" loads, 1 oz or 1 1/8 oz will do fine for the clay sports in a 12 gauge, 7/8 oz in a 20.

Try Ammo Man, Midway, Cheaperthandirt, Gamaliel SHooting Supply, etc.

Also, most clay shooters end up reloading. Not only is it cheaper per shot, but one can tailor a load just for one mission and shotgun.

HTH....
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Old December 7, 2002, 09:00 AM   #4
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My 20 just loves those Wall mart Federal 100 round bricks. Quality ammo for cheap, much better than the Remingron and Winchester cheapies.

Ammo is kinda expensive to ship, weighing as much as it does. (I'm talking shotgun ammo here, not centerfire). Often the shipping cost is not worth buying by mail.

Check with the local T & S club, often you can find bargains on case lots of ammo. Some clubs make bulk purchases or groups of shooters will make a bulk purchase to cut costs.

There are suppliers who cater to the clay target crowd, if you ask around you might find one in your area.

I have always found Gamaliel to be reliable if you must order through the mail.
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Old December 7, 2002, 12:51 PM   #5
HSMITH
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Wally mart Federal 100 packs are darn decent ammo as said above. Remington Gun Club loads are filthy, but shoot and pattern pretty well. Winchester Superspeed are less than $30 a case, but not very good shells. Cheap blasting though, and if you miss inside of 35 yards it was NOT the shells.

Yes you can use the 2 3/4 shells in the old browning, and it is highly recommended that you do. Shooting clays with anything but target loads is not much fun.
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Old December 7, 2002, 08:22 PM   #6
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Thank y'all very much!
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Old December 8, 2002, 02:46 PM   #7
Ricky B
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Local gun shops in California

If you just want something cheap to shoot clays with, your best bets would be a local gunshop (may not exist in California) or X-mart. Wal mart in my neck of the woods has been selling 100 round bricks of 12 and 20 bore cartridges for $15 and change.

Local gun shops are a dying breed here in Northern CA. But it's not the anti-gun attitude IMO. The margins are just too thin to support a retail operation. Jewelry stores work on a gross margin of 50% of selling price (100% markup of cost). Gun stores work on a gross margin of something like 25%. Both sell low volume, expensive items requiring special precautions against theft and requiring knowledgeable salespeople. The jewlery store is less regulated of course, and many distributors would never sell to someone who is not a full-time retailer. But in the firearms business, many distributors will sell to non-stocking FFL's. Under these circumstances, attrition in the gun shop business is inevitable.

Wal Mart here has been selling 100-round packs for $14.88 lately (was $15.88). Both Federal and Winchester 12 gauge with 1-1/8 oz loads at 3 dr. eq. (sometimes #7-1/2 and sometimes #8 shot).

I like the Federals better. They seem a bit cleaner, and there are no failures to eject (from my Rem 1100). Both work fine on clays if I do my part.

--Rick
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Old December 11, 2002, 01:04 PM   #8
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Quote:
Wal Mart here has been selling 100-round packs for $14.88 lately (was $15.88). Both Federal and Winchester 12 gauge with 1-1/8 oz loads at 3 dr. eq. (sometimes #7-1/2 and sometimes #8 shot).
Locally Wally has both the 100 round pack for about the same, but sells the 25 rd box of Win for 2.98.

So if you buy 4 boxes of 25 rd you pay 11.92, or 15.88 for a box of 100. Save $3.96.

Don't know why Wallyworld prices it like that, but it has always annoyed me.
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