When did shotshells start using magnetic bases?

[wally]

Picking up the hulls I shot at the shotgun plate rack I noticed a "magnetic" pickup tool on the gun rack. Thinking it strange, I tried in and it picked up the hulls, 5 or 6 in a pass. This was great for my back!

It wasn't just the foreign (Turkish, and Italian) brand shells I was shooting it also picked up some Federal and Remington hulls others had left behind. All the shell bases were either "brass colored" or bright chrome.

I'm just wondering when this change crept in.

 

[bersaguy]

Gotta be 10 or more years now. I know when walmart started selling the 100rd value packs of winchester and federal target loads, those have all been steel bases

 

[N555]

At least 20 years ago.

 

[.455_Hunter]

The vast majority of current production has a steel case head (with or without brass plating). I believe only the higher end target loads are still solid brass.

 

[PapaG]

Long time.

 

[wally]

Thanks, I never knew that, but then I've only recently bought more shot-shells as the 2000 rounds I got about 10 years ago finally ran out. I'm not much of a shot-gunner, but since they put up a plate rack for "home defense" shotguns at our club, I've been shooting more shotgun lately. I'd wish I'd known that as picking them up with basically a magnet on the end of a cane is a real back and knee saver!

 

[Cvans]

I really like the steel and magnet combination. Makes it nice for us old guys and the Grandkids love collecting the hulls with the Harbor Freight magnets.
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:...PLAXAQsDwIYw&usg=AOvVaw0X9TSkLREGFL3ouIoaedY2

 

[paul harm]

I believe the Remington Nitro and STS shells all all brass base and the Win AAs. Everything else is steel or brass plated steel.

 

[jmorris]

I'm just wondering when this change crept in.

The first ones I came across were back in the late ‘80’s. They were Federal, the “cheap stuff” cardboard wads and 3 strips of plastic around the shot column. My Lachmiller press wouldn’t reload them for function in a semiauto.

They stopped making Activ shells in the ‘90’s those had steel inside the base of them. Lots of what you see today is brass plated steel. Like some S&B 9mm “brass”.

So if you want to know if they are really brass or steel, you kind of need a magnet as your eyes would tell you neither of these contained the steel that attracts them to the magnet.



I suppose a grinder would tell you too as brass doesn’t throw sparks…

 

[Rudolph31]

I understand that you can still use a magnet to pick up the hulls that still use real brass because the primers contain steel.

 

[jmorris]

I understand that you can still use a magnet to pick up the hulls that still use real brass because the primers contain steel.

I haven’t seen that. What brand uses steel primers?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

My impression is that brass head shotshells give me less extraction difficulty than steel head shotshells.
In the past twenty, twenty-five years steel heads have become more common.

One shotgun that gave my son serious problems with steel head shotshells had an overly enthusiasic marine coating that include the chamber; polishing that out with steel wool eliminated the extraction problems.

A cheap shotgun of mine had the extractor cut in the barrel skewed which meant poor engagement of the primary extractor with the shotshell rim. It extracted brass head shotshells fine, but steel head not so well. Recutting the extractor cut to get full engagement of the extractor to the shell rim eliminated extraction problems with the steel head shotshells.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I haven’t seen that. What brand uses steel primers?

These are magnetic.

 

[Scooter22]

I remember some as far back as the mid 70s. Not sure of the brand but I think it was the black hulled Remington Mohawk economy shells. Local store had those on sale all the time so thats what I shot. Didn't reload any. Same store had on rotation Mohawk, Federal Powerflite, and Winchester Wildcat .22 shells for 5.99 a brick. Shot a ton of those. Good ole days.

 

[BigBlue 94]

I haven’t seen that. What brand uses steel primers?

Likely all of them. I find shells with my metal detector all the time. Even the shells that have a plastic head. Almost every one has some sort of magnetic attraction to them. Even ones that have been in the ground so long that they are just the head.

 

[Rudolph31]

Every primer I’ve punched into or out of a hull has attracted a magnet. Whether or not the attraction is strong enough to pick hulls up off the ground that way I don’t know.

 

[Rat-Man]

The only reliable one that will pick up brass headed hulls by the primer that i have found is the Mojo Pick Stick.

I am very happy with mine!

https://www.amazon.com/MOJO-Outdoor...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

 

[The Happy Kaboomer]

Rat Man I've been using the mojo stick for years. Works great. Also have extended one from Harbor Freight.

 

[herrwalther]

It has been awhile since I have been to a range that required shell pickup. But the primer is magnetic and that is how I have picked them up without much bending over.

 

[Thomasss]

Another all brass base is Gold Medal plastic or papers. A salvage yard had had a 55 gal container of them, but they found out the hard way, it was next to impossible to separate the brass from the rest of the shell. I was happy to take them off their hands for $10 and they were happy to sell them to me, too.

 

[IALoder]

From 2002-2005 I worked at the local trap/sporting clays/gun club. We always picked hulls up with a magnet. So it's been at least 20 years!

 

[Bazoo]

The old memory banks indicate steel base shells began in the 19-teens or 20s.

 

[Maineshooter1]

Steels bases aren’t an issue to resize when reloading?

 

[Bazoo]

Steels bases aren’t an issue to resize when reloading?

No. The issue with shotshells is the other parts. The base was coming lose and lodging in the bore after the shot and being a bore obstruction for the next and is primarily why cheap shells can’t be reloaded, or reloaded only once by the daring. Basically quality of construction between reloadable and non reloadable hulls.

 

[wally]

So far the only non-magnetic hull I've encountered was a Winchester AA, I believe these are desirable for shotgun re-loaders. It was news to me and something my back is really appreciating!