I have many reasons why I reload shotgun shells. The main reason I reload shotgun shells is that I enjoy reloading shotgun shells.
Even 40 years ago if you wanted to save money reloading your hunting and target shotgun shells you had to buy in bulk. If you bought primers by the hundred, powder by the pound, wads and shot one bag at a time you wouldn't save much money if you even saved a dime.
If you buy good shot, wads and powder the reloads you can make are better loads than the cheap promo loads that they sell at Wal-Mart. So if you are going to compare the cost of reloading a box of target reloads to factory ammo compare the cost of the reloads to the cost of factory Rem STSs, Nitros and Win AAs.
All of my 12 ga target loads are now 1 oz or 7/8 oz loads. No gun shops or Wal-Marts around here sell light target loads. That is another reason to reload your own shotguns shells, you can reload what you want to shoot.
The closest Wal-Mart to my house is over 40 miles away so even if Wal-Mart had the shells I wanted it would cost me about $20.00 just in gasoline to go get them.
Right now most of the shotgun and pistol powders are almost impossible to find. I still have 8 lbs of Clays that I bought 3 years ago. Even with the Haz-Mat and shipping charges we have always saved money by ordering the powder and primers.
Compared to local prices "over 40 miles away" powder is about $8.00 cheaper per pound and primers are about $2.00 per hundred cheaper by ordering it. I always contacted a few friends and we would make an order and would fill the Haz-Mat box with 48 lbs of powder and primers.
When we would order 32 lbs of powder at $8.00 per pound savings that more than covers the cost of the Haz-Mat fee and shipping. Plus it is delivered to my door.
When I ordered 24 or 32 lbs of powder from Powder Valley I would ask them to put as many Win 209 primers in the Haz-Mat box as they could without going over the 48 pond limit. The more you can get into the Haz-Mat box makes the shipping and Haz-Mat cost much less per dollar spent.
If you want to reload some bad a$$ coyote, duck and goose shotgun loads you can buy HW13 shot from Bucks Run and reload them for half of what Hevi-Shot loads are selling for now.
