YOU CAN LOAD YOUR OWN WAY

There are three reasons why a flyfisher ties his or her own flies and none of them is to save money. People tie flies because firstly, you can create new patterns and keep up with developments; secondly, you can fine-tune patterns to your own specifications; and thirdly and perhaps most importantly, a fish caught on a fly you have tied yourself is definably better than one caught on a fly you have bought. Actually, there are four reasons, the fourth is that you simply fish better with your own flies; they add to your mojo. I have never caught a fish on a shop-bought fly in my life, though I have, on occasion, used the flies of trusted friends.

That brings us to home loading shotgun cartridges and the question of whether you save money. Not really, certainly not on standard 12 bore loads (unless you make and use industrial quantities) though on