Old reloaded 12ga shells. What to do.

[George P]

And if kept properly, they'll still go bang. I have reloads from 30 years ago that still go bang

 

[entropy]

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.

You sat and talked with him-you'd know whether you could trust his reloads or not. I would be willing to bet they are safe-hope he labeled them so you know what to expect.

 

[troy fairweather]

I would pull them down, re-use the shot and wad if still good, and use the powder for fertilizer.

 

[ParallelCode]

I would pull them down, re-use the shot and wad if still good, and use the powder for fertilizer.

This is a nice compromise to the situation.

 

[Slamfire]

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.

And maybe he was one of those who bought old estate sale gunpowder because it was so cheap that it has to be good! I found these pictures posted by cheap skates who were so proud of their un opened containers of WW2 gunpowder.





These guys think as long as the seal is unbroken the gunpowder will never age. That is false, they should be popping the seal and taking a sniff to determine, if the power is outgassing NO2.

Like this 20 year gunpowder



I found on another forum a post about reloaders who bought TALON pulldown powder, which autocombusted in the can and burnt down several houses. Whatever the OP does, I hope he tells us. If nothing happens, that would be good news. If he experiences pressure problems, that would be educational for everyone.

 

[Axis II]

You sat and talked with him-you'd know whether you could trust his reloads or not. I would be willing to bet they are safe-hope he labeled them so you know what to expect.

Not labeled. Honestly at 82yo and 83yo if he lived to see next month I think it’s been probably 20yrs since he loaded. Im 50/50 on trusting them.

 

[George P]

This is a nice compromise to the situation.

Sorry, more like a waste of time

 

[troy fairweather]

I have learned to trust no other ammo loaded by other people. Even my dads loads.

 

[George P]

And I am the opposite if I know the folks; me and my friends were always handing one of us an extra shell if necessary and then would get repaid with one of theirs. Keeps the squad moving and VOILA! no issues. Too many folks scared of metallic reloading to realize that clay target shooters do not load boomers; it is impossible to drop a double powder charge and pressures in 12 gauge are not that high.

 

[Slamfire]

Not labeled. .

Yup, that makes me feel better.

 

[George P]

Send them to me and I'll shoot them and give you a report how well they did. What they are can easily be determined by the bushing in the press, what wads and powders he had

 

[tmd16556]

I’m for shooting them. If you are worried about the powder, cut a sample from each box and check for deterioration. I’ve not seen shotgun powder break down badly but have with rifle powders loaded before air conditioning existed. It’s pretty obvious when powder has gone bad. Smells terrible and sticks and corrodes everything like in the pictures posted earlier

 

[buck460XVR]

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?

I agree. Iffin' the old coot shot a lot of trap like you claim, his reloading skills were probably pretty darn good. Hard to make a dangerous 2 3/4 in 12 ga. load that is going to be dangerous in any modern shotgun capable of shootin' 3" shells. Ain't enough room in the case unless you are using the wrong powder and wads. Bet ol' Paps wasn't like that.


and........Twenty year old reloads will shoot just fine.

 

[Blue68f100]

If the shells look like there brand new, he knew what he was doing. It's hard to make a reload that can pass as a new. I would cut a couple of to inspect and verify shot and charge. And that the powder is not breaking down due to age. Then I would probably shoot them knowing that he did it right. Shotgun shells is nothing like metalic hand loading. It's very hard to mess one up unless he used the wrong powder, then in most cases shotgun powder are are fast to slow powders we use in our handguns.

 

[George P]

If the shells look like there brand new, he knew what he was doing. It's hard to make a reload that can pass as a new. I would cut a couple of to inspect and verify shot and charge. And that the powder is not breaking down due to age. Then I would probably shoot them knowing that he did it right. Shotgun shells is nothing like metalic hand loading. It's very hard to mess one up unless he used the wrong powder, then in most cases shotgun powder are are fast to slow powders we use in our handguns.

Absolutely FALSE; my reloads look exactly like new ammo; the only way to tell is to look at my primer; Win 209s are a different color than Remington

 

[Blue68f100]

So your fusing the crimp?

 

[George P]

No need to; Remington crimps are not sealed or fused, merely crimped over to form a perfect seal - and my reloads look exactly the same. This isn't rocket science, although I know most here reload metallic and not as many do shotshells.

 

[rfwobbly]

As both an avid shotgun shooter and conscientious reloader I'd be hard-press to advise you either way. There's the pull of wanting to remember an old friend who is now in Glory, but at the same time you yourself want to also honor him by making it to age 83 !!

Maybe the best way is to buy one of those "shadow boxes" from Hobby Lobby. Inside it, position a photo of him and a couple of those shells, then hang that in your reloading room.

Shadow Box memory display

 

[LOLBELL]

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

My thoughts too