life expectancy of..

[BlueCoyote 0]

i dont know if anyone here has experience with them or not. i dont keep up with whats popular..

 

I havent been shooting in ages and i have several packs of #6 shot that are over, or around ten years old.. some of them i bought for my last hunting trip.. and some i inherited when my grandfather died.

they appear to be just fine... but honestly i'm not in a hurry to test them... i've heard a bad one could backfire and i'm not really interested in losing any fingers or eyesight.. or my life..

 

so what should i be looking for in the bad ones? or should i just throw them all out or what?

 

sorry if this is a really stupid question but i lost my shooting/hunting mentor when my grandfather died..

[Deker 3,478]

As long as they have been stored well they will not be any problem.

 

If they are damp, mouldy, rotting away, mangled or in any way look damaged or abnormal, etc I would not suggest using them.

 

If you fire one and it fails to go, leave it in the breech for at least 45 seconds (or follow the manufacturers instructions) some say a lot longer than 45 seconds (this is to allow for any slow burn that could be taking place in the percussion cap), and of course leave the gun pointing in a safe direction.

 

I don't quite understand this backfire business or losing eyes/fingers...IF the cartridge causes a problem in the breech the problem will stay in the breech unless you have a problem with the gun.

 

Obviously, if you fire one or two and they are causing problems don't use the rest, but like I say if they have been stored well, 10 years is nothing, they should be fine.

 

But I would suggest you do not try and set any records for the oldest cartridge fired, in simple terms get on with using them!

 

Cheers

 

Deker

Edited December 14, 2007 by Deker

[Guest Lord B]

Agree. As long as they are not "damp" and there is no rust on the primer, get on with using them...............

[BlueCoyote 0]

I don't quite understand this backfire business or losing eyes/fingers...

 

comes from some scary stories i've heard about bad cartridges.. one fella i heard of is now missing a few fingers on one hand then the barrel exploded from bad ammo. i dont know if that was entirely true or not.. i've heard of guns backfiring from using the wrong ammo.. AND bad ammo. I didnt meet this guy personally but there have been other such stories i've heard. some may be urban legends. if so, then its good to know this stuff!!!

 

The one thing that worried me most about these cartridges was the canvas bag where my grandfather's ammo was kept was the trail of black powder any time you moved the bag.... i went through every case in there and didnt find anything leaking out of shells... but something funny was going on in there!!

 

and yes i need to get back to shooting this gun. i miss it a lot to say the least. a 22 just isnt for me.... my husband and other people laugh at me because i like to hunt squirrel with my 20 gauge... they seem to think there would be nothing but a fine red mist after shooting... but i'll tell you this!! last weekend we went squirrel hunting with my dad and we got .. THREE... with the 22 rifles. we saw several squirrels but because i'm lousy with scopes i never got a shot in. i have never missed with the 20 gauge! and never had one get away!

...and i've never had a problem picking lead shot out of the game either.... the only thing i dont like is the recoil

[Deker 3,478]

You are absolutely correct to be cautious but I think most of these tales you have heard are either false or caused my misuse/mishandling or just ignorance.

 

If these cartridges seem ok (as in all the ways I have listed above) carry on and use them as if you have just bought them from the store.

 

If one does fail to go off, do as I have said, leave the cartridge in the breech for a good time, do not just take it straight out and have a look at it.

 

Follow the rules and everything will be fine. I have fired many shotgun cartridges over 20 years old and a whole load of the bullet cartridges we are using at my club now are 1930's .303 made in Greece! The last load of Radway Green 7.62 I bought were made in 1985.

 

HOWEVER

If you have any doubts or are really concerned simply do not use then, take them to your gun dealer and give them to him, it's not worth the worry or risk for a few dollars if you are having ongoing fears.

 

Cheers

 

Deker

[BlueCoyote 0]

well you have me feeling more confident over the matter. thats for sure.. this is a subject i've never talked about or even considered until now... seeing as how i am faced with it....

[Guest bruno527]

just use as above,

 

i have some in italy from the 60's , (infact boxes of them)......there dry,off the floor & speckled with rust, on the outer of the head, & only speckled.....but shoot real good, in fact there the best i use.......

 

have fun.

[clay man 0]

if they are paper ones dump them if they are from the 50 or 60 why don`t you put them in a glass case :drink: