Paper shells

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federal paper

I had a chance to shoot a few boxes of Federal paper shells at the US Olympic trap training field in Colorado Springs a few weeks ago. The team uses the Winchester AA International loads in competition but some of the shooters practice with the Federals shells. The load is identical, 24 gram, 1225 fps (if I remember correctly) but there is a noticeable reduction in felt recoil. Nice load to shoot if you're shooting a few hundred shells a day.

Tom
 
I can pick up the plastic hulls, it's finding all of the plastic wads that drives me nuts.

I try not to spend more than 50 cents a shot for old ammo, but sometimes I do.

DSCN0190.jpg
 
I remember us boys and our dad reloading paper shells..Used a Lee handloader, still have it box and all..Would reload them until they would start to burn through at the base..Still several boxes of them at home, along with some slugs.. If it came to paper or plastic....make mine paper..;)
 
Well, you guys certainly have me looking forward to shooting these. There are some target loads and some heavier field loads. I think I'll break out the field loads and my grandfathers Ithaca 37 for pheasants this year.
 
reloading

when I first started reloading I had an old Herter's reloader and could actually punch out the fired cartridge in the primer and insert a new one to reload the primer. You could reload a fired primer about 3 times before the new cartridge would not hold in it. Probably took me about 30 minutes to reload one box of shells.
 
The graphics were much nicer back then:


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These shells are 27 pellet #4 buck. You can see some slight bulging from the pellets, but they don't cause any problems with functioning in my semi-autos.
 

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When I was a kid our neighbor was moving and gave my Dad 2 cases of 20 ga paper WW 1 1/8 #6 shot. I cant tell you how many pheasants/ducks/squirrels those shells took! And yes, RC, I can still remember the smell of those fired shells.

BTW- my neighbor had the shells in his basement and they had swelled (very common for paper shells exposed to moisture) I read in an old gun magazine to heat the shells to shrink them- so I baked 250 shells in my Mom's oven at 200 deg. for 30 min :what: they shrunk back to spec. and shot great!! Cant say it was smart, but it worked.
 
Bringing back some memories.......

Black,bitter coffee from an old Stanley thermos.

Goose calls with a hundred hunts behind them.

Model 11s,97s and 12s, with the odd double here and there.

Grey dawns with sky monsters overhead.

And the scent of nitro powders from paper cases.....
 
You can buy new paper hulled shot gun shells, if a recent Handloader article is correct, these Federal Gold Medal target are paper hulled. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/36...-gauge-2-3-4-fitasc-1-oz-7-1-2-shot-box-of-25

I would not shoot old paper hulls, I had some and the hulls were easy to pull off the base. I heard stories of paper hulls going half way up the barrel and the next shot bulging the barrel.


Old ammunition has a shelf life. Powder deteriorates and so do the paper hulls.
 
They might pull off the base without being shot.
However, firing locks the case wall to the metal head when the base wad expands under pressure.

I have heard & seen way more barrels damaged with plastic shot-cup bloopers stuck in a bore then paper shells coming apart.

rc
 
"Old ammunition has a shelf life."

What is it? I've shot 75-year-old shells. If you're worried about bore obstructions, glance through the barrel before you reload. Hinged guns are so convenient (except in a duck blind.)
 
Nothin' like the aroma of a freshly-fired paper shotshell. That's one of the things that I miss most since the advent of plastic shells. If I close my eyes and concentrate...I can almost smell'em. It takes me back to a better place and time. Of course, plastic shells are vastly superior. They don't swell and refuse to chamber if they get damp, and they don't deteriorate over time, but still...

I miss paper shotgun shells.
 
I was just digging through the cabinet of shells to see what I had for upcoming pheasant season.
I found a whole box of Federal paper target loads way in the back.
Must be 30-35 years old because it's been about that long since I shot any trap.
And another box of various paper shells I'd loaded for ducks who knows how many years ago :)
 
There might not be much to gain from making them go bang, but I do like the idea of using a few each year going forward. There is something about shooting the paper shells my grandfather used, in his shotgun on one hunt each year. I never had the chance to hunt with him, so I'm looking forward to the smell you guys keep talking about.
 
I love these nostalgia threads about the smell of paper shells, reliable old guns and departed loved ones.
 
tactikel said:
When I was a kid our neighbor was moving and gave my Dad 2 cases of 20 ga paper WW 1 1/8 #6 shot. I cant tell you how many pheasants/ducks/squirrels those shells took! And yes, RC, I can still remember the smell of those fired shells.

BTW- my neighbor had the shells in his basement and they had swelled (very common for paper shells exposed to moisture) I read in an old gun magazine to heat the shells to shrink them- so I baked 250 shells in my Mom's oven at 200 deg. for 30 min :what: they shrunk back to spec. and shot great!! Cant say it was smart, but it worked.
Click to expand...

1971-72 I found a box of paper 12 gauge shells in the trunk of the Desoto my Dad had parked in the back yard. They would not fit the break open 12 dad let me tote around... I peeled layers off till they did.

Can't say that was smart either.... but I did it and they all went bang. I didn't have much supervision at 12 years old.
 
so I baked 250 shells in my Mom's oven at 200 deg. for 30 min
Click to expand...

Years ago, before plastic shells came out we all dried soaking wet shells in the oven.
Set about as low as it would go and seems like we left the door partly open so the moisture would vent out through it.

I remember the first time I saw plastic shells I thought they were the best thing since pockets on a shirt!
 
I have a few on hand...

papershell-1.jpg

It is a tradition for the first quail or pheasant of the season to drop using one of these out of one of my SXS's either my Stoeger in 20, Winchester in 16, or Parker in 12...

paper2-1.jpg
 
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Just a quick update.

I went pheasant hunting for the first time this year. For nostalgia's sake, I loaded up grandpa's 1941 Ithaca model 37 with the paper shells. After the first bird got up and was put down, I knew what you guys were talking about with the smell.

The old shells even ran flawlessly in my 11-87.
 
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