Old shells
 

This thread reminded me of somethig back in the olden days. Way back in the forties when my father missd a bird he always blamed it
on old shells. In those days there really was some concern about the papers hulls and the deterioration of the powder.
I wondered if there is anthing true about that theroy
I might add that Dad was a extremely good shot and only rarely needed an excuse.

Hick

I think you could be right when it comes to the old non waterproof paper hulls. I've cut open old swollen shells and found the powder white and partially oxidized.

Hick!

What have you been up to? We need a report.

DLH

Jay, the greatest risk with rusted ammo is damage to the chamber and stress on the ejectors, extractor. As the base metal expands, it forces the rust paticles into the pores of the chambers. At first they may look fine, but with time, that trace rust will grow, rusting and pitting the chamber. The majority of repairs I do on extractors are due to corroded or poor quality ammo. I have a 311 that I use up bad rounds in. I would never fire any compromised cartridges in any of my fine doubles, rust is the bain of quality steel. I would allways reccomend using only the best quality rounds, in new condition.

Brad