20 ga shotshells are splitting!

[Random 8]

They still marketed "duck and pheasant" after the switch to non toxic. I shot a lot of legal pheasants and illegal ducks with them back in the day. This brand ended along with the different colored boxes. Blue for promo "game load," red for heavy lower velocity field load, and burnt yellow for D/P. High power was in a more brown box, along with early steel loads (you needed to read the fine print). This would put them in the mid-90s at the latest. I remember them fondly. D/P was the same loading as High Power line, but cheaper for some reason.

Old plastic shells are prone to splitting. I've seen it with multiple brands. Just something that happens with time. Fed tended to use thinner plastic than Remington. You'll see it frequently in the old Dove and Quail value Winchesters with the heat seal and roll crimped slug or buck loads too. The Super X and AA Winchester used a more serious plastic that stood the test of time better. I still have some Mark5 #4 buck on the shelf for coyotes and such.

The font on yours looks very 1980s to me. I have to keep telling myself, that's not 20 years ago anymore

 

[slinkster111]

Be careful of cramming in a split shell.
I have heard of them leaking shot that the main load runs over and dimples the barrel.

The only dimples I have ever put in a barrel was in an old single barrel beater. It was totally my fault, being a young kid and "experimenting" with air rifle BB's. Well air rifle BB's are not the same as the softer steel shot used for waterfowl. I doubt you could dimple a modern steel barrel with lead shot.

 

[GooseGestapo]

In the mid-70’s I had MANY Winchester AA hulls split on me!
They do that after 12-16 loadings !
They start to split along the inside fold. However, if carefully started, you can get 1-3 more loadings……!!! I was a “cheap” teenager!

Two county’s over had a contest one year awarding a bounty on starlings and black birds. My buddy and I went one evening to our favorite spot where the flocks would stream over. One evening we shot nearly 400!
Came in second place, zilch reward as promoter discovered the black birds and grackles were federal protected. Just not the starlings…
But we had a great time anyway!

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Did they split after reloading them or are they factory shells?

These were all factory loads. I don't reload for shotguns. I've never seen a paper shell split, I have a lot of them, new and old.
These Federals were the only brand of these old shotshells of mine that have split.
I'll shoot up the rest before they split to.