Shotshells-throwaway, donate, sell?

loam · June 23, 2002, 11:12 PM

This area where I shoot is always full of hulls. I pick them up(apparently it is too MUCH work for the shotgunners to bend over and clean them up and take out), take them home and save the clean 12 gauge shells. There are low base, high base, brass base, and aluminum colored(?) base. The brands run the gamut! Since I don't reload shotshells I would like to know if someone could use these. I have acquired boxes of them. It is time to clean house. Does anyone here have any ideas? I appreciate your replies. The reasons I pick them up: unsightly, BUT more importantly-----cattle will eat them on occasion, then get sick and/or die. Then the next thing you know, the landowner/rancher will close off the area to shooting. Thanks for any ideas.

Dave McC · June 24, 2002, 05:09 AM

Sorry that some of us are slobs, Loam. While some hulls are good for reloading, the promo and cheap stuff is just trash. I'd trash the lot, since you don't know how long the stuff has been on the ground.

OTOH, The AA, STS and Fed Gold Medal target hulls can be sold for a few cents each, if it's worth your while to sort them out.

PJR · June 24, 2002, 07:05 AM

Dump them. Even if you sorted them out and got the quality hulls unless they were picked up almost immediately after being fired I wouldn't use them.

I recently was given a couple thousand Winchester AA hulls. Excitment turned to disappointment when I found they had spent considerable time on the ground (possibly an entire winter) and the primer pockets and case heads were very corroded. I tried to load a few and could barely get the primer out. When I did, the case heads were bulged out. I dumped the lot.

loam · June 24, 2002, 08:00 AM

Thanks for your replies, DaveMcC and PJR.

K80Geoff · June 24, 2002, 11:12 AM

Unless of course you have 28 GA hulls which are worth their weight in gold

It is sad that shotgunners tend to be slobs, often the more expensive the shotgun the bigger the slob

Another problem is that some of the shells may have been squashed and the base misshapen, causing problems if you try to reload.

Perhaps the shooters should provide some type of container for the empty shells in the area with a sign asking the shooters to do mommy's job.

Have that problem locally in a favorite shooting spot. It will be closed off soon because of the debris I am sure. Also because of the many shotgun patterns found on the power line towers in the area.

Ceol Mhor · June 24, 2002, 12:31 PM

There's a guy on the SASS (cowboy action shooting) forum who is a Boy Scout troop master. At major cowboy matches, his Scouts collect all the used shell hulls and then sell them for a couple cents each as a fundraiser. If you're going to trash them, you might as well offer them to a good cause like the Boy Scouts that would be willing to sort and sell them.

labgrade · June 25, 2002, 05:08 PM

Just as an FYI, many of the trap/skeet ranges have a policy that if the hull hits the ground = it belongs to The Club = no picking up a dumped hull.

Likely this doesn't apply to any "pick-up"/more informal type shooting arrangements.

I like the Boy Scouts getting involved enough to cash in on dropped hulls. Good deal! (a goodly "managed" BS Troop is worth its weight in gold.)

Having not once reloaded a shotshell, I've heard that a swelled base wad (extended time in weather) is bad juju.

May be best just to pick 'em (for the slobs) & call it a job well enough done (just to clean up the area).

FWIW, the clays themselves are told to be toxic to pigs/hogs ... maybe that the targets are worse than the hulls left over ..... depending on the accessibility of livestock ..... just a thought.

June 23, 2002, 11:12 PM	#1
loam Junior Member Join Date: November 28, 2001 Posts: 6	Shotshells-throwaway, donate, sell? This area where I shoot is always full of hulls. I pick them up(apparently it is too MUCH work for the shotgunners to bend over and clean them up and take out), take them home and save the clean 12 gauge shells. There are low base, high base, brass base, and aluminum colored(?) base. The brands run the gamut! Since I don't reload shotshells I would like to know if someone could use these. I have acquired boxes of them. It is time to clean house. Does anyone here have any ideas? I appreciate your replies. The reasons I pick them up: unsightly, BUT more importantly-----cattle will eat them on occasion, then get sick and/or die. Then the next thing you know, the landowner/rancher will close off the area to shooting. Thanks for any ideas.

June 24, 2002, 11:12 AM	#5
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	Unless of course you have 28 GA hulls which are worth their weight in gold It is sad that shotgunners tend to be slobs, often the more expensive the shotgun the bigger the slob Another problem is that some of the shells may have been squashed and the base misshapen, causing problems if you try to reload. Perhaps the shooters should provide some type of container for the empty shells in the area with a sign asking the shooters to do mommy's job. Have that problem locally in a favorite shooting spot. It will be closed off soon because of the debris I am sure. Also because of the many shotgun patterns found on the power line towers in the area. __________________ I am no longer a member of this forum. Bye!

June 24, 2002, 12:31 PM	#6
Ceol Mhor Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2001 Posts: 1,043	There's a guy on the SASS (cowboy action shooting) forum who is a Boy Scout troop master. At major cowboy matches, his Scouts collect all the used shell hulls and then sell them for a couple cents each as a fundraiser. If you're going to trash them, you might as well offer them to a good cause like the Boy Scouts that would be willing to sort and sell them. __________________ "There goes as if deranged a German soldier, with burning helmet on his head, making horrible noises. A second, as though possessed, yells "Jews...weapons. Jews...weapons." - From an anonymous eyewitness' description of the first battle of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

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June 24, 2002, 05:09 AM	#2
Dave McC Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 13, 1999 Location: Columbia, Md, USA Posts: 8,811	Sorry that some of us are slobs, Loam. While some hulls are good for reloading, the promo and cheap stuff is just trash. I'd trash the lot, since you don't know how long the stuff has been on the ground. OTOH, The AA, STS and Fed Gold Medal target hulls can be sold for a few cents each, if it's worth your while to sort them out.

June 24, 2002, 07:05 AM	#3
PJR Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 2000 Posts: 1,127	Dump them. Even if you sorted them out and got the quality hulls unless they were picked up almost immediately after being fired I wouldn't use them. I recently was given a couple thousand Winchester AA hulls. Excitment turned to disappointment when I found they had spent considerable time on the ground (possibly an entire winter) and the primer pockets and case heads were very corroded. I tried to load a few and could barely get the primer out. When I did, the case heads were bulged out. I dumped the lot.

June 24, 2002, 08:00 AM	#4
loam Junior Member Join Date: November 28, 2001 Posts: 6	Thanks for your replies, DaveMcC and PJR.

June 25, 2002, 05:08 PM	#7
labgrade Member In Memoriam Join Date: November 29, 1999 Location: west of a small town, CO Posts: 4,346	Just as an FYI, many of the trap/skeet ranges have a policy that if the hull hits the ground = it belongs to The Club = no picking up a dumped hull. Likely this doesn't apply to any "pick-up"/more informal type shooting arrangements. I like the Boy Scouts getting involved enough to cash in on dropped hulls. Good deal! (a goodly "managed" BS Troop is worth its weight in gold.) Having not once reloaded a shotshell, I've heard that a swelled base wad (extended time in weather) is bad juju. May be best just to pick 'em (for the slobs) & call it a job well enough done (just to clean up the area). FWIW, the clays themselves are told to be toxic to pigs/hogs ... maybe that the targets are worse than the hulls left over ..... depending on the accessibility of livestock ..... just a thought.