OK to shoot old shells?

[Cuda440]

My dads friend found out that I'm into guns, and he comes walking out with a big box of old shells from his dads hunting days. Overall, there's about 350 shells, most are paper, only a few are plastic. Theres a few 20ga and 16ga, but the rest is all 12ga in 00 buck, 2, 4, 6, and 7 1/2 shot. It doesn't look corroded at all, but is ammo this old still safe to shoot? Maybe I should just save it for no other reason than it's almost antique?

On a side note, he also gave me his dads old hunting belt. I mentioned that it looked like a WWII M1 garand bandolier belt, and he replied "that's probably what it is, my dad was a soldier in WWII." It seems to fit 3 shells per pouch perfectly, plus it's pretty cool to have a piece of history like that.

[bjl333]

Do some research on the shells before blasting them. Not that they are unsafe but the value of the shells itself!! There are some collectors out there and if they are old paper shells with a good box ...
Well you know what I'm getting at!! Good Luck.

If you must shoot them, yes they should be safe to shoot!!

[RomeoTwoOne]

If I were you, you could probably sell those shells to a collector and buy lots more modern ammo of your choice as said above. Collectors will be happy to have what you have and you will be much safer and happier buying more modern ammo, probably in a larger quantity as well.

[Cuda440]

Cool, thanks for the input guys. I doubt I would have ever shot them, but I was just curious. The boxes are in rough shape, which probably affects the value quite a bit. So I'll probably just hang on to them for a while, maybe my great-grandkids can get rich off them

[luckystrike]

yeah dont shoot those, they are way too cool.

[hcbr]

resist the urge, and admire the history mang, if anything, go buy some nice ammo and shoot that up and keep those back in the box your dad's friend gave you and showcase em!

[POWG]

Shooting old shells

From the pictures I would encourage you to save them. They are not only a piece of history...they likely have collector value. Take care of the boxes as well.

If you have a need to shoot buy some WalMart specials and have some fun.

So Sez POWG.

Remember - Shooting successfully is the result of Quality - Practiced - Repetitive - Actions

[Barbarossa]

I for one wouldn't shoot those, only because of the possible value.

[sanjosebmx]

for sure, you can get 100 rounds of target shells for like 25 bucks... buckshots a bit more but still...

[Revoman]

The Federal High Powers are prolly from the late 40's to early 50's, I have one that looks similar and I contacted Federal with the lot number and they sent back a letter stating so.

So I would assume that the rest are from about the same era.

Collector value, some, but really not that much unless everything is in great condition, which as you stated it is not.

You might be able to sell them on Craigslist or something, but you can't ship them because you don't know if the shipee is of legal age to purchase.

[Mike A]

You need only to ask for a copy of the purchaser's drivers license, or if they are unwilling to provide that, a signed statement of their age and address.

If you ship UPS, it is best to go to one of their actual regional service centers (which are sometimes hard to find). The "UPS Stores" and other shippers who handle UPS are usually REALLY IGNORANT about the rules for shipping ammo and will hold you up or refuse to ship or invent some extra charge. A UPS pro will just have you add a label stating the contents in the form the feds require--no extra charge. Last time I went to the center in Cypress, the lady gave me a batch of the labels for future use!

I would try selling the ones with halfway decent boxes here on Calguns and on the free "Trader" forum at www.gunbroker.com Some guys will even buy the worn ones to go with their worn shotgun! Or offer to trade them for something YOU want.

[SMOKEYMOUNTAIN]

Keep those shells in an ammo box with some dessicant in the back of the safe.

[fishnbeer]

i saw a posting on craigslist from some guy looking for old ammo boxes. not ammo just the boxes. this was maybe 2 weeks ago

[Garand1911]

$10-25 a box, complete with shells
maybe .25 cents for each loose shell

LOTS of collectors for this stuff, they make a nice display in someones gun cabinet.