Reloading old shot.

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Someone gave me a 25# bag of Lawrence 6 shot that had been sitting in an ol run down building. There is no graphite left (if there was any) on it and a few of the pellets of the shot is white. Is there any harm in loading it through my Mec 600 Jr, and shooting it? Would the the corrosion dust be harmful to breath on the trap range? Any harm to the Mec?
 
Load it and shoot it. #6 is right at the cutoff that most ranges will allow though. You can also re-graphite it easily enough.
 
Should I worry with re-graphite-ing it or could I run it as is? Would it bind the up the Mec or cause inconsistent drops?
 
As long as it isn't sticking together, you should be fine. I've loaded forty plus year old shot many times and only had bridging problems with shot bigger than #4.
 
I bought an one Texan at a auction once, got 3 bags of shot on the way home. All excited (was a big trap shooter then, when I started out purchasing guns at 18) only to get home and find out the Texan is missing parts. 3 bags of shot still on the floor in basement where I left them 10 plus yes ago, the shot that was in the Texan is still in it and looks great. I figure one of these days I will look to see what it needs and maybe by a miracle someone will have the parts.

Load it and shoot it.
 
6 will be too large for a regular trap range -size is typically limited to no larger than 7.5 due to shotfall concerns.

That aside, the shot itself will work just fine, the few white ones are no big deal, and there might be more graphite still on them than you realize
 
If you try to put white, corroded, sticky #6 shot through a small mec drop tube ......say .410 or maybe even 20ga or 28ga........you are asking for headaches. It'll probably be fine in 12ga, however, I have had problems with reclaimed shot in a 12ga loader. It bridged over and plugged my drop tube. I would try to find a way to clean it up. Swirl in a bucket of soapy water or something, dry on a towel in the sun?? maybe??
 
I have purchased bags of shot that contained a large number of "white" pellets in them. I believe this was due to poor graphite coating by the manufacturer and or poor storage conditions. While loading I kept an eye out for bridging of the shot in the drop tube. No bridging occured. The shot loaded and shot fine.

As long as the shot doesn't bridge go ahead and load. Check your local range rules, most ranges won't allow larger than 7 1/2 for trap or skeet.
 
The dust from that old lead is dangerous. Go outside and empty the bags into a bucket and empty the bucket into another. A light breeze would help rid the shot of the dust that would be harmfull to you. Wear a good dust mask and gloves. Graphite might help run through the loader. The graphite can be purchased at a Farm & Fleet or other ag store...Marty
 
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