Original Brass Shells

[Jay Oliver]

Thanks for the replies. I only got excited about all of this when I realized I had all of the components to possibly shoot some shells that this gun may have shot over a 100 years ago. Does it hurt the collector value to clean the shells? I thought it might which is why I just cleaned 2.

The gun is mechanically sound and I have shot 8 boxes or so of RST's through it. I posted some pictures when I bought it back in the spring. Its a grade 2 with 32" barrels. I was loading my newer brass 10 gauge shells and thought about using brass shells in this 12. That's what got me started on this and I was curious as to how old the shells and primers might be.

I appreciate the advice and I will not use the shells. I must admit though, the 2 I cleaned fit perfectly in the chambers...

Thanks again,

Jay

[David Noble]

If you have multiples, I see no reason to not load a few and shoot them, albeit with fresh components. If you're shooting the gun, why sweat loading and shooting the brass cases?

[Roundsworth]

It won't hurt the value if you CLEAN them. Heavy crud can be carefully scraped off. A brass bristled 'tooth brush', from your local hardware emporium, can be used vigourously to remove various forms of verdigris. Quite often the brass will remain stained, which is understandable. Good Luck!