Original Brass Shells

[Paul Harm]

I think it would be real nice to shoot a couple of shells that came with the gun. It's not like you're ruining a $10,000 dollar gun. 80grs of 2F and some fiber wads with a 1oz load would be cool. Of course then there's some cleaning to do. Go for it.

[Kensal Rise]

Originally Posted by Paul Harm

I think it would be real nice to shoot a couple of shells that came with the gun. It's not like you're ruining a $10,000 dollar gun. .

Let's see... brass cases that have had 132 years to age-embrittle... and have probably been fired with corrosive primers to make them even worse.

Nothing to be concerned about.

But I wonder how much eye surgery costs?

[wayne goerres]

Track of the wolf brass with parker stamped on it is 7.00 a case. Magtech brass is 20.00 a box. Why risk an accident over $20.00 or damage over that small amount of money. Precision reloading (along with several other company's) has all the components you will need.

[Paul Harm]

Kensal, I've shot regular shells that after had split brass, split plastic, and everything stayed in the gun. If you're wearing shooting glasses, as everyone should, there would be little to worry about. Is it just the brass that " age-embrittles " - how about our steel barrels ? My old brass shells aren't crumbling in my fingers. JMHO

[Jay Oliver]

Thanks again for the replies, It is hard not to be tempted to try to shoot a couple at some point. I did have an empty case in the lot that was already primed, but empty.

I put the empty primed shell in the gun to see if the primer would fire and nothing. That would have made me feel sick if it was loaded...wondering what to do while you waited! Then I thought the primers in the tin may have been protected more over the years than this loose shell, so I primed one of the empty shells I cleaned and tried it out in the gun...again nothing. Tried a few times, even on both sides.

So there's my answer. Hearing that "click" on the primed shells really made me think of the safety issues if it had been loaded. If there was a different way to prime the shells this might be possible(the shells I cleaned didn't have an visible deformities or cracks). The Track of the Wolf shells are too nice and don't come with the anxiety and I am not going always shoot this gun with black powder.

I will clean the other shells as I think it would make a nice display. I put a picture below of when I first got the gun with all of the extras. I am not sure if you can tell from the picture but the 5 shells in the back row have power and a nitro card in them, who knows how long they have been sitting...I need to disassemble those).

I am glad I found a way to safely test this possibility, but I almost feel a little worse now that I know. For a few days I thought I had some original shells that had the possibility of being used...

Thanks,

Jay

[Gunner]

Curious how did the primer strikes look. Were they light or deep?
Erick

[Jay Oliver]

I let the hammer fall 3-4 times on each one, this is what they looked like...

[Eric Johanen]

Nice stuff for collector's. I'd dispose of the powder in the can and keep it for a display or sell to a collector. Brass hulls, I'd clean and keep a few and give the rest away to friends or sell to collectors. WWII Remington and Winchester buckshot "guard" loads can still be found in unfired condition, disassemble and use the hulls. Unfired, un-primed hulls are also occasionally found and these are really nice to reload. I have 75 of these and they are all good for hunting purposes with black powder loads in vintage guns. Mag Tech are a possibility or Rocky Mountain Cartridge hulls are also good. Card and fiber wad stack sealed with DUCO cement works great. After washing, use a steel brush for copper tubing work to remove any glue residue and slightly roughen the inside of the hulls. Aids in the glued overshot card to be firmly held in place. Brass hulls and a vintage hammer gun +100 in style points! Unless you can locate a full length sizer die, after fire-forming they may work in only the gun they were fired in. I located a full length brass hull sizer die at a gun show years ago and it allows me to use my brass hulls in several different guns.

[416 Rigby]

If you've ever watched Antiques Roadshow, you'll note the appraisers almost always drive home the message "Leave it alone" when it comes to discussion of patina or the finish on an item. Serious collectors want untouched, original condition on most everything.

[Eric Johanen]

While that is true in many cases, with these I'd not be too worried about cleaning them up for display or sale. They do look very dirty and tarnished and if not cleaned they run the risk of further deterioration. They will take on a new patina and display nicely. Several I have that are no longer shootable due to age or case cracks are great for display and photographing with vintage doubles. These and the old paper hulls and loaded shells photograph very nicely.