shot shell reloading question

jeepster11 · September 5, 2011, 09:40 AM

alright here goes i have a bunch of steel rounds for duck hunting and some got a little moisture on the part of the hull and got rusted now i have a shot shell reloader and would it be okay to take the guts out of those shells and load them into other clean hulls of the same brand or would this be unsafe? thanks for your help

mo84 · September 5, 2011, 10:11 AM

I think you would be alright to do that, I really cant see how it might be dangerious.

wover98 · September 5, 2011, 01:15 PM

I would be very cautious... the only thing you will be saving is the steel shot.
How bad is the rust on the hull? If its only surface rust take a bit of steel wool and clean em up.
Remember that when you are done, you will still have live primers in those hulls. Dispose of properly.

mo84 · September 5, 2011, 02:12 PM

once you empty everything into the new shells, you can put the empty shells into the gun and fire the primers off which will be fun along with discharging the primers in the rusted shells. just make sure to push the crimp into the shell so it wont get stuck.

snuffy · September 5, 2011, 04:09 PM

What you are proposing is a bad idea. ranging from dangerous to blooper rounds.

A little rust on the head of the case posses no problem. However, if those rounds got wet enough to rust the head of the case, it's likely the steel shot is also rusted. That IS dangerous. Steel shot that's rusted together has blown barrels of shotguns. SOME steel shot nowadays is plated to resist rust, but nothing is rust proof.

Disassembling those rounds, then using the same components is also prone to mishaps. You'd HAVE to have the exact same empty hull, the same make and type of primer, the same wad pressure, and the most important point, the same crimp. No way can you duplicate what the factory has done to assemble those shells. I guarantee you won't get everything to fit.

Loading any kind of shotshells is an exacting procedure. The recipes for reloads is not just a suggestion, but must be followed exactly. Any deviation from an exact load recipe can result is a blown up shotgun.

September 5, 2011, 09:40 AM	#1
jeepster11 Senior Member Join Date: July 3, 2008 Location: fairborn ohio Posts: 175	shot shell reloading question alright here goes i have a bunch of steel rounds for duck hunting and some got a little moisture on the part of the hull and got rusted now i have a shot shell reloader and would it be okay to take the guts out of those shells and load them into other clean hulls of the same brand or would this be unsafe? thanks for your help

September 5, 2011, 10:11 AM	#2
mo84 Senior Member Join Date: February 27, 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 257	I think you would be alright to do that, I really cant see how it might be dangerious.

September 5, 2011, 01:15 PM	#3
wover98 Member Join Date: March 4, 2009 Posts: 44	I would be very cautious... the only thing you will be saving is the steel shot. How bad is the rust on the hull? If its only surface rust take a bit of steel wool and clean em up. Remember that when you are done, you will still have live primers in those hulls. Dispose of properly.

September 5, 2011, 02:12 PM	#4
mo84 Senior Member Join Date: February 27, 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 257	once you empty everything into the new shells, you can put the empty shells into the gun and fire the primers off which will be fun along with discharging the primers in the rusted shells. just make sure to push the crimp into the shell so it wont get stuck.

September 5, 2011, 04:09 PM	#5
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 21, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	What you are proposing is a bad idea. ranging from dangerous to blooper rounds. A little rust on the head of the case posses no problem. However, if those rounds got wet enough to rust the head of the case, it's likely the steel shot is also rusted. That IS dangerous. Steel shot that's rusted together has blown barrels of shotguns. SOME steel shot nowadays is plated to resist rust, but nothing is rust proof. Disassembling those rounds, then using the same components is also prone to mishaps. You'd HAVE to have the exact same empty hull, the same make and type of primer, the same wad pressure, and the most important point, the same crimp. No way can you duplicate what the factory has done to assemble those shells. I guarantee you won't get everything to fit. Loading any kind of shotshells is an exacting procedure. The recipes for reloads is not just a suggestion, but must be followed exactly. Any deviation from an exact load recipe can result is a blown up shotgun.