Old reloaded 12ga shells. What to do.

[Axis II]

My best friends grandfather shot a lot of trap and skeet leagues and pasted away last week. I was asked to come over and go through some tools, hunting, and firearm stuff that no one wanted and take what I could use. His grandpa and I would sit on the porch for hours and talk shooting, guns, hunting, etc. I was honored to have some of his stuff. Now, before anyone judges me on this with it being so soon. My buddies family has a lot of chemically dependent members and its a mad dash to get rid of everything before its sold at the local pawn shops and used to buy drugs. He said Pap really liked me and they wanted me to have some stuff. I was very reluctant until I went there last night to help clean the garage out and people coming out of the woodwork.

Last night I found about 200rds of 12ga shells that Pap reloaded. I was given those before we found out they were reloads and I got to thinking do I really want to shoot these? They appear to be in decent shape, but I don't know squat about reloading shotgun shells. So, shoot them or toss them? They all appear to be Winchester AA. He had boxes upon boxes of Win AA wads, shells, etc. I was also gifted his leather case for his trap gun. I figured it would be a nice tribute to Pap to take that old case and those shells and hit the trap range. I just want to make sure I am safe though.

 

[Charlie98]

Unless there is data you would have no way to know what was in those without cutting one open. Generically speaking, a person who loads shotgun for range use usually settles on a reasonable load and just cranks them out... there is very little ambiguity with shotshells. I would be curious if they were actually 3" shells... I don't know anyone who regularly shot 3", not in trap and skeet.

 

[Axis II]

Unless there is data you would have no way to know what was in those without cutting one open. Generically speaking, a person who loads shotgun for range use usually settles on a reasonable load and just cranks them out... there is very little ambiguity with shotshells. I would be curious if they were actually 3" shells... I don't know anyone who regularly shot 3", not in trap and skeet.

I cant find anything online for 3'' trap shells. it just dawned on me that I have them in my truck. I am on break, so I will run and out and see. I did find a bag of 7.5 shot along with all the wads and stuff. His cousin took the loader and components because he has Pap's trap guns.

 

[Axis II]

Never mind they are 2.75. I read the box wrong.

 

[Mostly Lead]

As someone who was gifted a couple ammo boxes worth of old paper hulled duck loads from a grandfather - toss them. Most municipal hazardous waste sites will accept old cartridges.

Pay tribute to Pap by being safe, he would probably have felt terrible if someone was hurt with his reloads...

 

[otisrush]

I'd pass on shooting them - not because they're shotgun or because they're old - but because I didn't load them.

I was gifted some pistols and associated ammo recently by my father-in-law. Some of the ammo was reloads that a friend of his had made - apparently a very experienced reloader. In a few weeks I'm going on a shooting weekend with some buds. I'll be taking this ammo and my hammer bullet puller with me and will be breaking down rounds in the evenings while we're sitting around shooting the sh*t.

 

[Jim Watson]

Shotshell reloading is recipe driven and in my opinion is less likely to be screwed up by error or Bubbafication.
That said, there was one guy at our club who wrecked at least two guns because he could not comprehend the difference between card wads and plastic "Power Pistons."

You can get a shell cutter that will open them up to recover the shot.

 

[Jack Ryan]

My best friends grandfather shot a lot of trap and skeet leagues and pasted away last week. I was asked to come over and go through some tools, hunting, and firearm stuff that no one wanted and take what I could use. His grandpa and I would sit on the porch for hours and talk shooting, guns, hunting, etc. I was honored to have some of his stuff. Now, before anyone judges me on this with it being so soon. My buddies family has a lot of chemically dependent members and its a mad dash to get rid of everything before its sold at the local pawn shops and used to buy drugs. He said Pap really liked me and they wanted me to have some stuff. I was very reluctant until I went there last night to help clean the garage out and people coming out of the woodwork.

Last night I found about 200rds of 12ga shells that Pap reloaded. I was given those before we found out they were reloads and I got to thinking do I really want to shoot these? They appear to be in decent shape, but I don't know squat about reloading shotgun shells. So, shoot them or toss them? They all appear to be Winchester AA. He had boxes upon boxes of Win AA wads, shells, etc. I was also gifted his leather case for his trap gun. I figured it would be a nice tribute to Pap to take that old case and those shells and hit the trap range. I just want to make sure I am safe though.

I would shoot those up in a heart beat and be proud to get them.

If he was out on the range with you and offered a box of shells so you could shoot an extra round together, would you refuse?

 

[Axis II]

delete

 

[Slamfire]

Last night I found about 200rds of 12ga shells that Pap reloaded. I was given those before we found out they were reloads and I got to thinking do I really want to shoot these? They appear to be in decent shape, but I don't know squat about reloading shotgun shells. So, shoot them or toss them

I would not shoot anyone's old ammunition. I think the best solution is to attempt to retrieve any reloadable components that you can. Maybe the shot is retrievable, maybe the shells and the primer are re usable, but I would get the old gunpowder out of the shells and not use it.

The shooting community is on average in complete denial about the aging of gunpowder and its ammunition. I attribute this to industry catering to our biases: The shooting community expects to live forever, therefore, its ammunition also has to be immortal. Also there is this false belief that its so cheap it has to be good!. And then there is a lot of ignorance out there. When posters accuse you of showing off by acting smart and saying big words, well, it goes far to substantiate the opinion that we live in an Medieval society with internet.

Gunpowder ages, and as it ages, it breaks down. Nasty chemicals are released which cause the corrosion you see. Following pictures are of grossly deteriorated gunpowder.












As gunpowder ages, the burn rate spikes, unpredictably. The technical term is burn rate instability. Instead of the powder grain deteriorating evenly, the grain deteriorates in patches, spots, etc, and instead of a smooth pressure curve, parts of it are burning faster than others due to the change in geometry. This causes conflicting pressure waves which will interact to blow up your firearm.

The primary reasons you don't read about this in the popular press is because no one makes money educating us on what not to buy, and the shooting community does not want to hear about it anyway.

As for age, I recommend not shooting ammunition 20 years or older. Double based powders, if properly made can be expected to last 20 years if stored in a cool environment. Single based should last 45 years. But you know, nothing is predictable about gunpowder. IMR 4007 was introduced in 2007 and eight years later, some lots deteriorated so quickly that it was auto combusting in the can. The oldest that lot could be was eight years old, but you know, it could have been made in 2015, for all we know about IMR lot numbers. IMR never informed us just how old the stuff was. This is a single based powder, should have lasted longer, it did not.




Did you notice, no one noticed or asked the question, why is gunpowder eight years or less in age, auto combusting in the can? There was absolutely no discussion or an understanding of the phenomena anywhere in the web. This is truly due to Agnotology. The shooting community prefers to believe in its delusions that it and its ammunition are immortal and it takes nothing to reinforce and perpetuate this delusion. Of course there will be those who fired ammunition from the bronze age and nothing happened. Well lucky them. They should give us their addresses so we can gift them cartons of cigarettes. I knew a lot of smokers who claimed some relative who lived to 100 smoked and drank booze every day. You know, those deniers died like flies in their 50's and hardly any made it into their late 60's. Do stupid things, do enough stupid things enough times, and you will win the stupid lottery.



However there are those who insistent that shooting is dangerous, it is manly to do dangerous things, and if you lose an eye, or a hand, you have proven your manhood to the group!

One way to be the center of attention




Which reinforces the claim I heard that humans are lemmings. Humans will follow the group think to their destruction.

 

[ParallelCode]

I personally wouldn't shoot an unknown recipe; as others have said, its better to safely dispose of them.

 

[Axis II]

Okay, here is a new spin. How do I know if these are even reloads? I didn't realize they were reloads until hours later when the press and stuff was found and then I thought maybe its not a good idea to shoot this. The boxes look in pretty good condition and I know my boxes I use for reloading are trashed. I will start cutting them open and save the shot, dump the powder, give the wad's away. I would like to save the hulls but is what it is.

 

[STCL01]

I'd shoot them. Chances are pretty slim that they are bad. If they shells look good. NO corrosion, and not splitting then go shoot them. I have shells that I have bought and loaded that have been sitting for years. Simply because I don't have the time to shoot much any longer. However, when I do get time, they shoot just fine.

 

[Demi-human]

Despite current fashion trends, I wouldn't want to wear any metal in my face...
Especially if it came out of my shotgun.

If he offered on the range I would take them. Since he is not hear to ask about them, I wouldn't. Simple as that.

Unless you're a Pirate, eye patches aren't cool.

I just bought a box of Federal target. Twenty one dollars. Is you face worth fourty two dollars?

And, finally, learn from this gentleman's mistake. Label your handloads everyone!

 

[Axis II]

Despite current fashion trends, I wouldn't want to wear any metal in my face...
Especially if it came out of my shotgun.

If he offered on the range I would take them. Since he is not hear to ask about them, I wouldn't. Simple as that.

Momma's skirt may make a good bandage, but it makes for a terrible eye.
Unless you're a Pirate, eye patches aren't cool.

I just bought a box of Federal target. Twenty one dollars. Is you face worth fourty two dollars?

And, finally, learn from this gentleman's mistake. Label your handloads everyone!

If it was rifle or handgun there would be no way. We found 357 in a bag and plastic ammo box that was mixed with brass and nickel cases. I didn't even inquire about those. I don't shoot shotgun enough to know if they would blow up and hurt me or not so figured I would ask. I don't mind buying shells, I just thought it would be nice to have 200rds and (I know it maybe corny) shoot a round of trap with them and say this is for you pap. He liked talking trap and skeet shooting with me. I also figured bring my buddy and his cousin before they leave for Kentucky and let them shoot his trap gun and shells at my club.

 

[Bfh_auto]

My best friends grandfather shot a lot of trap and skeet leagues and pasted away last week. I was asked to come over and go through some tools, hunting, and firearm stuff that no one wanted and take what I could use. His grandpa and I would sit on the porch for hours and talk shooting, guns, hunting, etc. I was honored to have some of his stuff. Now, before anyone judges me on this with it being so soon. My buddies family has a lot of chemically dependent members and its a mad dash to get rid of everything before its sold at the local pawn shops and used to buy drugs. He said Pap really liked me and they wanted me to have some stuff. I was very reluctant until I went there last night to help clean the garage out and people coming out of the woodwork.

Last night I found about 200rds of 12ga shells that Pap reloaded. I was given those before we found out they were reloads and I got to thinking do I really want to shoot these? They appear to be in decent shape, but I don't know squat about reloading shotgun shells. So, shoot them or toss them? They all appear to be Winchester AA. He had boxes upon boxes of Win AA wads, shells, etc. I was also gifted his leather case for his trap gun. I figured it would be a nice tribute to Pap to take that old case and those shells and hit the trap range. I just want to make sure I am safe though.

The question is what type of person was he? If he was a trustworthy person, who didn't believe in hot rodding ammo, yes. You talked to him a lot about shooting, you should know his beliefs in reloading.
Mine are no alcohol and no distractions.
I only shoot a few people's reloads because they are smaller risk takers than me.

 

[mdi]

I have been reloading shotshell for a short time and I agree, shotshell reloading doesn't have "min/max" loads with different components that can easily be "Bubba-ed". Each load I've ever seen listed us a specific powder charge in a specific shell with a specific wad holding a specific shot load with a specific crimp (I've not heard of any shotshell "wildcats"). If you believe Pap was a conscientious reloader, shoot 'em

 

[Axis II]

The question is what type of person was he? If he was a trustworthy person, who didn't believe in hot rodding ammo, yes. You talked to him a lot about shooting, you should know his beliefs in reloading.
Mine are no alcohol and no distractions.
I only shoot a few people's reloads because they are smaller risk takers than me.

He never told me he reloaded. He told me about shooting trap/skeet a lot and that was it. He was very meticulous in the way his vehicles had to be cleaned, nice, organized, the garage is very well organized with headlight bulbs hanging on their own peg board hooks, screw drivers with their own slots. He passed, at 83yo a hardcore Christian man who went to church 2 times a week but also would tell me stories of his youth about doing a lot of poaching and night hunting. We found the press missing the hoppers and stuff which would have helped maybe I.D some stuff.

 

[Odd Job]

Let's all try to express opinions without being insulting.

 

[MacAR]

First off, I'd like to point out that those are 3 dram cartridges rather than 3 inch. The three dram load is about average for trap/skeet shooting in a 12 gauge. Without looking at the cases though, I can't tell if they're reloaded. Now having said that, I believe what you may've encountered is someone who used to reload (judging by your statement that the hoppers for the press were missing) but due to age, he no longer did and had to buy his cartridges. Does the headstamp and writing on the case match the boxes? If so, you likely have factory loads. If you have Remington ammo in a Winchester box though, its anyone's guess. I can say I've shot many old reloaded cartridges and haven't had any ill effects. Not saying that it couldn't happen, but it hasn't yet. Personally, I'd give them a good inspection and if they looked good to me, then I'd certainly try a few.

Mac

 

[Axis II]

First off, I'd like to point out that those are 3 dram cartridges rather than 3 inch. The three dram load is about average for trap/skeet shooting in a 12 gauge. Without looking at the cases though, I can't tell if they're reloaded. Now having said that, I believe what you may've encountered is someone who used to reload (judging by your statement that the hoppers for the press were missing) but due to age, he no longer did and had to buy his cartridges. Does the headstamp and writing on the case match the boxes? If so, you likely have factory loads. If you have Remington ammo in a Winchester box though, its anyone's guess. I can say I've shot many old reloaded cartridges and haven't had any ill effects. Not saying that it couldn't happen, but it hasn't yet. Personally, I'd give them a good inspection and if they looked good to me, then I'd certainly try a few.

Mac

I will post some pictures of the actual shell. The press was found in the rafters on the front of the garage, half bag of shot and 3 full boxes of wads in the back of the garage and a large box of hulls in the middle of the rafters. These loaded shells were on a shelf in the center of the garage by the radio and battery chargers. Based on my buddies statement that Pap had the loader setup in the garage when he was a kid and us being 31-32yo that puts him actively loading 20yrs ago.

 

[Bfh_auto]

He never told me he reloaded. He told me about shooting trap/skeet a lot and that was it. He was very meticulous in the way his vehicles had to be cleaned, nice, organized, the garage is very well organized with headlight bulbs hanging on their own peg board hooks, screw drivers with their own slots. He passed, at 83yo a hardcore Christian man who went to church 2 times a week but also would tell me stories of his youth about doing a lot of poaching and night hunting. We found the press missing the hoppers and stuff which would have helped maybe I.D some stuff.

Based on his meticulous behavior, I would feel safe. He obviously cared about doing things right.

 

[Average Joe]

Toss them, it's not worth having an accident at the range.

 

[George P]

I'll disagree with everyone here. Since he was an avid shooter and reloader, I'd shoot them and have some fun at the trap/skeet/sporting range

 

[Demi-human]

Since he was an avid shooter and reloader,

Twenty years ago...
Perhaps those rounds were perfect... Twenty years ago.