Peters Victor Shot Shells

[Frenchie]

My dad recently gave me all his guns and the ammo he had for them. Along with them was some Peters Victor 3 1/4 smokeless 1 1/8 #6 12 Ga. shells. I am guessing that they are from the early 50's. I do not know what to do with them. They look in good condition but I do not want to try to shot them or do I have a shotgun that will take a 3.25 shell. Any thoughts on what to do with them.

[Mike A]

If they are really 3.25" shells, you need to find a shotshell collector on one of the gun auction sites who will pay you big $$ for them.

I suspect they are actually loaded with a 3 1/4 dram equivalent powder load, which would be a normal shell for the times, with a lighter than maximum 1 1/8 oz. shot load. They are 2 3/4" shells; the longest normal 12 ga. shells for the period would be 3" Magnums, and I don't think they were made in the Victor brand, which was their economy shell. And I never heard of a 3" Magnum being loaded with less than 1 3/8 oz of shot.

Measure 'em. If they are 2 3/4", in full boxes and in good shape, either keep them for auld lang syne, or sell them on Calguns or on an auction. Somebody will want them for a collection or just to show you young pups what REAL shotgun shells look like!

If they are really 3 1/4" shells, cash in.

[donbing]

three and a quarter

Probably 3 1/4 dram equiv.

Still, the Peters boxes are some of the best looking boxes out there. If the corners aren't rounded over and the boxes aren't pushed out of shape from the shells then the collectors will still want them.

Keep your day job though. They aren't worth that much.

[Mike A]

Donbing's right--they are probably the second prettiest box of shells made in that era (I like the Winchester better, but that's just me....).

I used to use Peters "Blue Magic" Heavy Trap loads that were the plastic-cased successor to the Victors and were loaded with the same load except for shot size (no 6s or larger). I used 7 1/2s for early season pheasant and partridge hunting in Eastern WA. Killed 'em!