Good question, ED. I'm sure, somewhere, someone has studied the effect age has on powders, in loaded ammunition. I certainly know, that some powders age in their containers. I know that 7625, no longer available, stinks like hell when it's old.
I won't tell you to take out your best gun and try them out, but I have never had any issue shooting older shells. I load 12, 16 and 20, so never am short on ammunition.
I quit skeet shooting back in the '80s, and had 50+ boxes of reloaded AA 20ga. It was at least 20 years old when we shot it all up, up at the farm, informally shooting clays.

I have only had one batch of old shells that looked ok but didn't shoot just fine. It was very old paper short 10ga that got the wad and shot out the barrels but not by much. I shot a few and tossed the rest out of fear of a stuck wad ruining my day.

Thanks guys,
All of the shells are plastic, I purchased a beretta over under 20 gauge a couple years ago to start hunting with. Its the only 20 gauge I have, so thats why I was being cautious. Now I seem to have caught some kind of "bug" or maybe flu like symptoms ever since I purchased my first side by side shotgun:) I kind of start feeling a little "light headed" when I pick one up now, not sure exactly whats happening. My wife just says you should treat yourself after all these years. So I keep looking to treat myself:)

I own three 20ga guns, three 12ga (counting my SBT), one .410, and five 16ga's. Except for when I go to the trap range it's very rare that anything but a 16 goes along. Actually I'm down to four 16's as I just gave my father's Savage 775a to my nephew.

When a woman says this, marry her...oh, wait, you already did that...:rotf:

Garry,
The breeder of my brittany cash lives about a mile from me, he said to me the other day "if I had a wife that got up every morning and ran my bird dog I would probably die of a heart attack" I just smiled and said there is a reason why she does this. Then I wouldn't say anything else, its driving him crazy:) Then recently I got her an all wheel drive car for these lovely winters we have up here. (she had a front wheel drive car) my buddy said I would buy my wife a new car every year if she would run my dog every day. He just got back from Iowa where he was pheasant hunting. This thread is interesting about 16 gauges, on a pheasant farm around here my 16 gauge is wonderful with the light r.s.t. shells. I wonder if I might be under gunned if I ever go out west for pheasants with my older fox or parker.

Ed, My experience with pheasants and 16s is long, and I can tell you that the gauge will consistently take these wild, tough birds. However, as is the case with everything, the devil is in the details. Knowing your chokes and their patterns, exercising restraint to not shoot beyond those patterns, and, at least for me, having a dog that can give you a makable chance (and find one you don't center) are what make 16s good for pheasants. If I go specifically after pheasants, I take one of my heavier 16s. If I'm shooting one of my recently made guns that will handle loads heavier than 1 oz., I might carry some 1 1/8 oz. loads for the left barrel, but more often than not, I just switch to #6 shot. When you get someplace where there is the potential to get into lots of wild pheasants, you need to be disciplined enough to pick your shots. It's not easy when multiple roosters get up and your heart is in your throat, but, heck, that's what it's all about.

PS I think I've posted this to you before, but in case not...your wife is a definite "keeper!" :bowdown:

My daughter is now a 16ga. addict. She took my 30" DHE to South Dakota and has been having a ball, showing those O/U guys what a SxS can do, in a girls hands, no less.

That is awesome!

thanks edgar and garry,
What a great picture Edgar of your daughter, I bet you are a proud papa. I am trying to "learn on the fly" after my 40 year layoff from hunting. I really want to take the 2 guys that have helped me with our brittany so much out there for a hunt someday. Hap is 73 or 74 and Fred is 68. Hap is a left handed shooter and I am hoping to get him a gun where the stock can be bent to fit him better. I know he has several guns, so I was going to concentrate on one he can use around here on grouse and woodcock. I just really wanted to take an old side by side for the nostalgia and all the good memories growing up hunting out west. Garry, you explained everything very well, I went the other day with Fred who has one of his brittanies recovering from a leg injury. He kept him on a lead and let him point a couple of pheasants at a farm we often go to. I was 5 for 5 with a fox 16 gauge and Fred told me later that I was waiting and not rushing my shot like I did the first year hunting with him. I wanted to get this planned soon as the years are catching up on all of us. Hap just got back from Iowa tonight, so I will get filled in on his hunt out there. I will try to post a picture of his Iowa hunt if I can figure it out. Thanks again for all the good input in here everyone.