Paper shells

[Phil C]

I am not sure how many do what I do, but I regularly hit the gun shows and look for SXS guns. Rarely find great guns but a few have come along. To keep things intreasting I look for paper shells to shoot, not to collect.
Usually find a box or two under $10.00 seems like a fair price for good vintage shells. I shoot a lot of RST's but really like to hunt with these vintage shells. Today I found a guy selling shells. I mentioned I like to shoot paper shells. He told me he had a lot of paper, but many were shells he had for years, none were reloaded, but were loose ( No Boxes). Spent an hour sorting through 4 large Ammo boxes. High graded the shells, did not take any that showed any signs of corrosion. Sold them to me for 16 cents each. Endeed up buying 500 12, 16, and 20 gauge shells. Bought about half of what he had as I did not want anything larger the 6's. After I got home I thought I should have bought the larger shot at that price, just not much besides coyotes to shoot with them. Now the fun begins, sorting them all out. Something about these old roll crimped shells with the info on the cardboard insert that is classy.

[Tom Brown]

Sounds about right, recently bought a bunch of loose paper shells of various gauges and shot size, real kool, finished assorting them and their still sitting on the kitchen table. Will probably hoard them until I find time to take them hunting. T

[charlie cleveland]

there is some thing about old shells and old guns that go together...maybe its because they go so well with us old fellows... charlie

[Bill Murphy]

Old shells are a great collecting field. However, like many of us, I have no interest in the rare and valuable, just the interesting. Ten dollars is enough to spend. However, I have made exceptions, like the sealed box of 25 Eley fours, and the Henry Bartholomew Super-X Lubaloys. My favorites are the smallbore railbird loads in #10, #11, and #12. I wonder if that's what those loads were actually used for?

[Dean Romig]

Shot sizes of #11 and #12 were refered to as "dust" shot in olden times and with as many as 1250 pellets per oz. I can't help but wonder if eating game taken with such shot might have resulted in many cases of lead poisoning and even death.

I imaging snipe, woodcock and such game as "four and twenty blackbirds" would have fallen to 10, 11 and 12 shot.

[Researcher]

About a decade ago, Kevin, scored a mixed case of old paper shells at a Richmond gun show. He was really interested in the boxes loaded with #10 shot, and in that I'd driven us to the show, he gave me a nice crisp box of Winchester Super-Speed #6 shot. It was the box style used from the mid-1930s to WW-II. I took them to the Heartland with me and had one in the modified choke barrel of my bird gun, when our first Nebraska rooster of the year flushed wild about 35 yards from me. I dropped into the back trigger and the gun went click! I tried about a dozen shells out of the box and none would fire. So much for putting any faith in elderly primers!!

[Bill Murphy]

I had a similar experience, but only once. I don't shoot collector shells at wild game. Thanks, Dave.

[Kevin McCormack]

#10 shot was THE favored shot size for rail, and a lot of the clubs in South Jersey had them loaded in 100-case lots of 20 boxes ea. during the summer for use on the traditional Sept. 1 opener.

A lot of #10 and #11 were actually used inside barns to shoot pigeons who routinely fouled the hay maws with their droppings. From the barn floor shooting 3 stories up, it would kill the pigeon but not blow a hole in the tin roof. I guess a box of shells was cheaper than a good 1,000 sq. ft. canvas tarp, and definitely cheaper than a reroofing job.

I have always heard #12 shot referred to as "rat shot" but have seen at least a couple of boxes marked "Dust load" at a specialty cartridge show (also saw there the only known at the time full box of Robin Hood .22 Short ammunition - asking price $1200. The cartridge gurus were studying it like a huddle of Bhuddist monks over a prayer wheel. It was gone in half an hour after the dealer put it on the table.

[Alan Brokaw]

I have had lots of problems with these old paper shells not firing but the smell of the old powder with hoppes is pricless I just don't use them for hunting anymore still fun for targets .

[Kevin McCormack]

There is positively no finer aroma than a freshly-fired and ejected Federal Trap Load with the old-fashioned waxed paper case - instant nostalgia! I wish they made a spray-can deodorant of it for freshening up your car after a day's shooting.