Best Time of Year to Buy Apex TSS & Reloading Question

[Greg Massey]

I would not try to discourage anyone from reloading thier own ammunition,  I my self have done so for many decades and own several reloaders and I still have a a old lee load-all too...

With that said ....its not cookies , you CAN NOT whip up hand loads via recommendations from a post on thr internet , you MUST use TESTED formulas ..and you must NEVER substitute components,  a prime example would be substitute even a simple primer ...it will over pressure you ...buy a good reloading book with TESTED recipes...use quality scales .... some of the powders like alliant STEEL  , you will need quality equipment to measure out ..and yes there has been powder lot variances over the years ...so do your research

We had a plethora of handloading going on here years ago and folks got a little carried away , there were some that knew what they were doing and there were quite a few just were faking it ....even the big names in tss reloading were complaing to me about it USE TESTED FORMULAS,  you may hear name mentioned quite a bit by the members here and elsewhere and that his name starts with a  "H"... I have it under good authority those formulas are TESTED ...I can't go on and say I endorse that individual due to stupid legal liabilities,  but you get the drift,  due to the fact I like the roof over my head we are not allowed to have people I knowingly know distribute formulas without insurance here on OG , it is in legal mumbo jumbo my "Hold Harmless loophole" and they are not here , so I myself am indemnified from any activity..once again just simply contact the "h" person ..

I want to point out to you that turkey loads are of the most powerful and highest pressure shotgun loads to ever be stuffed into a chamber , individuals will pass it off as "easy " nothing could be further from the truth , it is complicated to a newbie..if you are trained it will become second hand and enjoy the benefits of saving money if your doing it in large quantities....., if you are a fool , and use poor methods it can become increasingly dangerous...so be forwarned

Now I'm going to point out reloading materials are SCARCE  these days ....and TSS is expensive....several people have been buying the raw pellets dirrecty from China and cutting out the middlemen ...the folks reselling it will absolutely cringe if people cut them out of the picture and you simply bought it from alliexspress allibaba websites ..I don't know of the quality but I would say if you throw it on a scale you'll figure it out asap

I am very much a noob at reloading, even reloading rifle ammo and sporting clay ammo, my accident had happened just as I was beginning to really get into it and now I need a refresher course.

Anybody that knows me will tell you I am very safety orientated to the point of obsession and I have read and watched to many videos of people being idiots to do the same. I have been majorly hurt in two car accidents that I have never fully recovered from, at 51 I do not know if my body could recover again and I have no interest in finding out. If I do do the reloading I will use only tested and proven reload materials and procedures, that is part of my figuring the cost, to me it is like cooking and in cooking cheap ingredients lead to cheap results and that goes for most things in life. I am not going to cheap out and risk my life, my girlfriends, my dogs or my landlords families house (Landlord of 30 years passed away a week ago today, very good woman, I loved her and will miss her.) it is just not worth it to do so. I am just hoping "H" does not turn out to be Herbie the Love Bug!

I agree, I have so many mixed rounds of ammo for my deer gun it is nuts, that is why I am trying to get back into reloading for it and other calibers, love those Nosler bullets, absolute tac drivers.

The way i would look at this reloading is how many deer have you killed in the pass 5 years and the same with turkeys how many turkeys have you killed in the pass 5 years ?  This should answer your question if you should reload or not in my opinion.  This is also something to think about is it feasible for the amount of game I've taken in those 5 years. For myself it's not feasible ... imo....

[Dtrkyman]

One more thing, I had never loaded any shell of any kind in my life, never interested me.  Tss and switching to a light weight gun that was actually more effective had my attention.

Read a tutorial on loading on gobbler nation, watched a video and went for it.  Bought shot from Hal and got load data and many tips.

Easy as can be to load and satisfying, I know each of my shells are identical and if you do make a mistake or think you did, cut it open and your only out the hull which is dirt cheap!

I have a few rounds that some powder has gotten around the wad, I am going to cut em open and reload the components. 

[strum]

 I decided to start loading my own last year. Spent a lot of time learning and as already said you have to purchase the shot to get the recipe. I was a job just locating all the components and tools needed.  Took a  couple of months and this was before the shortage we are in now. After I got it all together I had calculated around $4.50 a shell (20 gauge)  But the next time it would have been less because some things you buy in bulk so youll have it in stock and you have the tools too. Its really the best way to go if you like to do things your self and  shoot a lot.. So after I got it all together and the season ended I decided it really wasnt what i wanted to do and sold it . DUMB MOVE.  I would hate to try to find all the components now. I bet its almost impossible.  I was lucky enough to purchase 10 boxes of federal TSS #9 from Rodgers just before this past season. 10 boxes will last me along time. I shot 3 to check my setup.  3 to shoot 3 birds.  next year ill probly shoot one to make sure my Fast Fire is on and if i can shoot 3 turks then thats 2 boxes in 2 years with 8 in stock.

[Sir-diealot]

I would not try to discourage anyone from reloading thier own ammunition,  I my self have done so for many decades and own several reloaders and I still have a a old lee load-all too...

With that said ....its not cookies , you CAN NOT whip up hand loads via recommendations from a post on thr internet , you MUST use TESTED formulas ..and you must NEVER substitute components,  a prime example would be substitute even a simple primer ...it will over pressure you ...buy a good reloading book with TESTED recipes...use quality scales .... some of the powders like alliant STEEL  , you will need quality equipment to measure out ..and yes there has been powder lot variances over the years ...so do your research

We had a plethora of handloading going on here years ago and folks got a little carried away , there were some that knew what they were doing and there were quite a few just were faking it ....even the big names in tss reloading were complaing to me about it USE TESTED FORMULAS,  you may hear name mentioned quite a bit by the members here and elsewhere and that his name starts with a  "H"... I have it under good authority those formulas are TESTED ...I can't go on and say I endorse that individual due to stupid legal liabilities,  but you get the drift,  due to the fact I like the roof over my head we are not allowed to have people I knowingly know distribute formulas without insurance here on OG , it is in legal mumbo jumbo my "Hold Harmless loophole" and they are not here , so I myself am indemnified from any activity..once again just simply contact the "h" person ..

I want to point out to you that turkey loads are of the most powerful and highest pressure shotgun loads to ever be stuffed into a chamber , individuals will pass it off as "easy " nothing could be further from the truth , it is complicated to a newbie..if you are trained it will become second hand and enjoy the benefits of saving money if your doing it in large quantities....., if you are a fool , and use poor methods it can become increasingly dangerous...so be forwarned

Now I'm going to point out reloading materials are SCARCE  these days ....and TSS is expensive....several people have been buying the raw pellets dirrecty from China and cutting out the middlemen ...the folks reselling it will absolutely cringe if people cut them out of the picture and you simply bought it from alliexspress allibaba websites ..I don't know of the quality but I would say if you throw it on a scale you'll figure it out asap

I am very much a noob at reloading, even reloading rifle ammo and sporting clay ammo, my accident had happened just as I was beginning to really get into it and now I need a refresher course.

Anybody that knows me will tell you I am very safety orientated to the point of obsession and I have read and watched to many videos of people being idiots to do the same. I have been majorly hurt in two car accidents that I have never fully recovered from, at 51 I do not know if my body could recover again and I have no interest in finding out. If I do do the reloading I will use only tested and proven reload materials and procedures, that is part of my figuring the cost, to me it is like cooking and in cooking cheap ingredients lead to cheap results and that goes for most things in life. I am not going to cheap out and risk my life, my girlfriends, my dogs or my landlords families house (Landlord of 30 years passed away a week ago today, very good woman, I loved her and will miss her.) it is just not worth it to do so. I am just hoping "H" does not turn out to be Herbie the Love Bug!

I agree, I have so many mixed rounds of ammo for my deer gun it is nuts, that is why I am trying to get back into reloading for it and other calibers, love those Nosler bullets, absolute tac drivers.

The way i would look at this reloading is how many deer have you killed in the pass 5 years and the same with turkeys how many turkeys have you killed in the pass 5 years ?  This should answer your question if you should reload or not in my opinion.  This is also something to think about is it feasible for the amount of game I've taken in those 5 years. For myself it's not feasible ... imo....

For turkey at this point I do agree with you, but as I have stated I have everything I need for reloading multiple calibers of rifle. Reloading was more for the amount of woodchuck I was killing in the beginning, it was cheaper to reload than to buy and now it certainly is cheaper for me for rifle as I have all I need to reload for rifle. Again though you are making great points about the turkey side of it though.

One more thing, I had never loaded any shell of any kind in my life, never interested me.  Tss and switching to a light weight gun that was actually more effective had my attention.

Read a tutorial on loading on gobbler , watched a video and went for it.  Bought shot from Hal and got load data and many tips.

Easy as can be to load and satisfying, I know each of my shells are identical and if you do make a mistake or think you did, cut it open and your only out the hull which is dirt cheap!

I have a few rounds that some powder has gotten around the wad, I am going to cut em open and reload the components. 

It is very satisfying knowing you have taken an animal with something you have made yourself, that is why I redo all my own arrows other than cutting them and why I got started in rifle reloading as well, I never got the chance to reload for deer because of my accident, well that is not exactly true, I did but gave away the shells because I could not hunt and thought I would never be able to hunt again. I do have all the stuff though so I am getting ready to do some .222 Remington and .243 Winchester very soon for woodchuck.

I decided to start loading my own last year. Spent a lot of time learning and as already said you have to purchase the shot to get the recipe. I was a job just locating all the components and tools needed.  Took a  couple of months and this was before the shortage we are in now. After I got it all together I had calculated around $4.50 a shell (20 gauge)  But the next time it would have been less because some things you buy in bulk so youll have it in stock and you have the tools too. Its really the best way to go if you like to do things your self and  shoot a lot.. So after I got it all together and the season ended I decided it really wasnt what i wanted to do and sold it . DUMB MOVE.  I would hate to try to find all the components now. I bet its almost impossible.  I was lucky enough to purchase 10 boxes of federal TSS #9 from Rodgers just before this past season. 10 boxes will last me along time. I shot 3 to check my setup.  3 to shoot 3 birds.  next year ill probly shoot one to make sure my Fast Fire is on and if i can shoot 3 turks then thats 2 boxes in 2 years with 8 in stock.

That is part of my debate, I may be better off waiting to start reloading turkey ammo at this time.

[owlhoot]

Wait. Yes. I know a guy who just spent months looking for powder. Picked some up on a detour to turkey hunt out west. 50 bucks for a pound. Ridiculous. He bought all the other supplies from a Tss supplier and got his recipe. 
Thought you were hunting this morning?

[dzsmith]

I like to pattern a good bit and I don't like the waste involved in it with tss. That's the reason I reload. It may take me 10 years to consider it payed off . But I was able to capture about 92% of my shot in the trap this year. Verses just losing it to the woods. Now I lost 5 loads to turkeys this season so there's that , but I also wanted a better pattern than what I was getting out of the commercial loads I was previously shooting . They shot good as well, but I wanted to best possible results. Yeah it's silly , but it's a hobby of mine and I'm putting more pellets on paper paper now. The only thing that's is expensive is the shot itself. So every 5 rounds I capture in my trap that's basically 50-60 dollars I didn't have to spend . I put about 5-6 rounds through both of my turkey guns before season into the trap this year . And I do this every year , sometimes more than that. So that's 100 bucks or more I didn't spend this year that I did last year . This past season was my first year using reloads . Luckily I had bought plenty of powder , so I'm good for a long time ..... finding anything now is going to be difficult.......... I know many people who farted around and didn't even get to shoot the commercial loads they normally do this season .... they had to shoot whatever they could find .

[Sir-diealot]

I like to pattern a good bit and I don't like the waste involved in it with tss. That's the reason I reload. It may take me 10 years to consider it payed off . But I was able to capture about 92% of my shot in the trap this year. Verses just losing it to the woods. Now I lost 5 loads to turkeys this season so there's that , but I also wanted a better pattern than what I was getting out of the commercial loads I was previously shooting . They shot good as well, but I wanted to best possible results. Yeah it's silly , but it's a hobby of mine and I'm putting more pellets on paper paper now. The only thing that's is expensive is the shot itself. So every 5 rounds I capture in my trap that's basically 50-60 dollars I didn't have to spend . I put about 5-6 rounds through both of my turkey guns before season into the trap this year . And I do this every year , sometimes more than that. So that's 100 bucks or more I didn't spend this year that I did last year . This past season was my first year using reloads . Luckily I had bought plenty of powder , so I'm good for a long time ..... finding anything now is going to be difficult.......... I know many people who farted around and didn't even get to shoot the commercial loads they normally do this season .... they had to shoot whatever they could find .

Thank you for the information.

[dzsmith]

If I averaged 10-15 rounds through both turkey guns for pattern testing every year . I would consider my reloading setup payed for after about 3 years. That's in pattern shots alone.

[crow]

If I averaged 10-15 rounds through both turkey guns for pattern testing every year . I would consider my reloading setup payed for after about 3 years. That's in pattern shots alone.

Have you shot enough patterns with the reclaimed TSS from your trap to be able to tell if you are getting the same type of patterns that you get with new TSS, as far as pattern evenness and numbers?

[Sir-diealot]

If I averaged 10-15 rounds through both turkey guns for pattern testing every year . I would consider my reloading setup payed for after about 3 years. That's in pattern shots alone.

Have you shot enough patterns with the reclaimed TSS from your trap to be able to tell if you are getting the same type of patterns that you get with new TSS, as far as pattern evenness and numbers?

Thanks for asking this, I had intended to but was driving the Mennonite when I read this and did not have the time to type and forgot all about it.

[dzsmith]

If I averaged 10-15 rounds through both turkey guns for pattern testing every year . I would consider my reloading setup payed for after about 3 years. That's in pattern shots alone.

Have you shot enough patterns with the reclaimed TSS from your trap to be able to tell if you are getting the same type of patterns that you get with new TSS, as far as pattern evenness and numbers?

well last season was my first year loading my own. so i cant really say yet. I loaded up 10 new shells the other day for this season. i havent loaded any with the reclaimed tss yet. I need to but ive been real busy and we are in a shutdown at work.

[the Ward]

I will be odd man out. Here's a different perspective. Nothing wrong with wanting to load and shoot tss. But if your shooting a 12 gauge at birds 40 yards and in, I would think it is kinda a waste. Tss gets you increased range at a price, or great 40 yard performance out of a small gauge lighter gun that you just can't get with lead ammo. I have shot turkeys with a pretty wide variety of ammo, no tss though,and they all died just fine. Nothing wrong with wanting to improve your patterns, it's fun,and tss is a great way to do it. But you really don't need 400 hits in the 10" ring to consistently take a turkey at reasonable ranges. I would take posters advice here and gather up stuff you need from a reputable source, and hopefully you can get everything squared away for next season, always plan ahead if possible.Hope you have a safe and successful season!

[Dtrkyman]

I agree on the 12ga loads, for turkey ranges it is a waste of a lot of expensive shot.  but we are guys after all, faster bigger more is often what we are after!

I actually got load data for a lighter 20ga load to save shot, I still have not shot a bird at long range in 5 years of loading my own TSS.  When I started there were no commercial TSS loads, If I were starting now i would probably just buy it.

[Sir-diealot]

I will be odd man out. Here's a different perspective. Nothing wrong with wanting to load and shoot tss. But if your shooting a 12 gauge at birds 40 yards and in, I would think it is kinda a waste. Tss gets you increased range at a price, or great 40 yard performance out of a small gauge lighter gun that you just can't get with lead ammo. I have shot turkeys with a pretty wide variety of ammo, no tss though,and they all died just fine. Nothing wrong with wanting to improve your patterns, it's fun,and tss is a great way to do it. But you really don't need 400 hits in the 10" ring to consistently take a turkey at reasonable ranges. I would take posters advice here and gather up stuff you need from a reputable source, and hopefully you can get everything squared away for next season, always plan ahead if possible.Hope you have a safe and successful season!

Thank you very much for the reply.
I did try to order a few boxes earlier this month, but they are all out of the size I want (Apex 12GA 3" I think it was 2 1/4 oz loads. They said they will have more soon, but to tell the truth I am not sure it is going to happen this year anyway, I need a gimbal for my camera that will handle the weight of my 300mm lens and the 600mm I want in the future and the  one I am after is $600.00 so my money is tied up again. I may put the choke tube in the gun though to see if it shoots the Winchester Long Beards any better than the one I have in it now. Same constriction as I understand it though.

I agree on the 12ga loads, for turkey ranges it is a waste of a lot of expensive shot.  but we are guys after all, faster bigger more is often what we are after!

I actually got load data for a lighter 20ga load to save shot, I still have not shot a bird at long range in 5 years of loading my own TSS.  When I started there were no commercial TSS loads, If I were starting now i would probably just buy it.

I know a lot of people suggest going to 20 but I got this gun with money I got after my father was electrocuted to death on a construction job, so to me it is like he gave it to me and I will never hunt with any other shotgun. I can't hold the front up anymore without a stick because of 2 shoulder surgeries but I have held a featherweight 20GA Fanchelli* as well and could not hold that up either. Funny thing is I can hold a bow up much easier.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

I have no interest in reloading.  I purchase most of my turkey shells in the fall or when they first become available.  Since I'm shooting turkeys I don't need to buy much. 

So I started turkey hunting with an old 835 I had.  All my shots are within 30 yards, so when I put the red dot on the red neck I feel extremely confident with that 3.5" TSS payload headed out the barrel.  Do I think it's overkill, most certainly I do at the ranges I shoot turkeys.  I love overkill.  So with the .410 I'll hunt with this year I have a little different mindset.  The cute little .410 is quick handling and light, and the TSS shells tend to be a little cheaper than the 3.5" 12 gauge loads.  I imagine my patterning sessions with the .410 will be more enjoyable.  I could probably sell my lead sled, but I won't because I'm still gonna hunt with the 835. 

Anyway, I make all my turkey shell purchases well before turkey season, often before Christmas.


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