Brass Shotgun Shells

[welldoya]

Can somebody tell me the history of brass shotgun shells ?
I've heard that they are just old shells. Then I've heard that they were made for military use. What's the real story ?
I've got an unopened box of brass shotgun shells that my grandfather gave me about 20 or 25 years ago.
It's a box of 25 and it's wrapped in a white cloth material and seems to have a wax coating, I guess to keep it waterproof.
Stamped on the cloth it says Winchester 00 Buck.
Anybody have any idea on this ?

 

[owlhoot]

Back in the days before plastic hulls, when cardboard/paper hulls were commonly used, the cardboard would often absorb moisture and swell sufficiently so that they would not chamber. There was no such problem with brass hulls.

Obviously during WWI when slushy wet trench warfare was the order of the day, the brass hulls were very desirable. Cardboard hulls in that kind of environment would have had a very short shelf life. And shotguns aboard naval vessels would have profitted from the brass hulls.

I missed WWII but entered service in time for Korea. I don't recall seeing any brass shotgun shells. The hulls were cardboard, wax impregnated. And, of course, by Viet Nam, plastic hulls were standard.

But brass hulls predated the first war. They were popular in the black powder era with folks in remote areas who had a need to roll their own. The early brass hulls could, in a pinch, be loaded without tools. And rather than a crimp, a little melted parrifin or candle wax over the shot kept everything in place and added a little barrel lubricant to boot.

I'm guessing that you have some old military or police loads. There is collector value there so don't shoot them.

Brass hulls are once again fairly popular thanks to cowboy action shooting. They are now available from three or four sources.

 

[welldoya]

Owlhoot, thanks for the reply. I would love to know the exact history of these shells. I guess maybe from WWII ?
Here are a couple of pictures :

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[scrat]

There a pain in the butt. a good one time use. i used them. problems i had were in sizing them. Once you shoot them you need to figure out how to size them. If you dont when you reload them and shoot them again the brass case will get stuck in the gun. Kind of a pain in the butt. So i still have a few i just dont bother to reload them anymore.