Looking to determine the value of Winchester AA Plus Trap loads

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Scraggle

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I have 1,500 new old stock Winchester AA Plus Heavy Trap loads in 12 gauge. 1 1/8oz, 7 1/2 shot.

These are in new condition and appear to be 80s-90s era. These are the old compression hulls loved by reloaders back when these shells were around.

Can anyone give me an idea on what these are worth?

Thank you
 

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Much newer new old stock AA super-handicap(silver hull) have been fetching about $135-$145/case at the shoots where I see people aging out of the game or just getting out selling their ammo off. Stuff that old I'd consider anything over $120/flat a bonus as the big question always comes up "how was it stored?" Lots of guys store ammo in the garage, a damp unfinished basement etc. and you're selling ammo that potentially is 30-40+ years old, not 3-4. I just swapped a fellow my last 4 flats of Super Handicaps for 1oz Extra-Lites. I don't like that big thump of heavy handicap trap loads, that s _ _ t hurts!! Lol
It would be cool to step on the line with those old shells though, the boxes would sure stand out!
 
Yup just as Spank said, I bought 78 flats of AA newer factory loads from a fellow shooter that was fighting a loosing battle with Cancer, I paid him $135 per flat and drove 6 hrs to pick them all up.
If I was buying 40 year old ammo without knowing how it was stored I would be very hesitant to pay anything over $100 / flat
 
the spank said:
Stuff that old I'd consider anything over $120/flat a bonus as the big question always comes up "how was it stored?"
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waldo54 said:
If I was buying 40 year old ammo without knowing how it was stored I would be very hesitant to pay anything over $100 / flat
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Just as a question, have you guys found modern manufacture plastic hull shotshell ammo any more susceptible to storage degradation than brass cased ammo? I've shot lots of surplus rifle ammo from the 1950's and 60's that was fine and I'd buy any surplus from the 1980's without hesitation.

Because shotshells are packaged in cardboard boxes you can easily assess how it was stored by the condition of the packaging. If it got wet at all then it will be obvious.

That said, the going rate I've found in general for target loads is $12-$13/box when bought by the flat from private sellers, so these should be no more than that at most.


Mark
 
Thanks for all of the comments so far. These are still in the shipping box which is in great condition and the boxes themselves are immaculate. I have full confidence that these were stored well and will be as reliable and accurate as when they were made.
 
If they were stored well, they should sell for at least what new promo shells sell for (~$130/flat).

They just won't have as much value to a reloader as you might think. From my experience, the plastic in the hulls won't be as durable for reloading after that long amount of time, even if stored well. The plastic will crack at the fold crimp much sooner than you might expect. So YMMV on how many reloads you get from each hull on average.
 
Ammo contains gunpowder - heat is going to degrade gunpowder - so warm or hot storage, like in a tin garden shed, is BAD. I am not sure about cold storage - nothing that I have read about ill effects of years of freezing in wintertime.

"ideal" storage, I read is dry, dark and cool-temp to you
 
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The plastic is not going to degrade. I loaded real old Peters Blue Magic hulls that were very old and they outlasted most anything made today. If they were exposed to direct sunlight well then maybe but in the cardboard box and original packaging theyll outlast the new SXIT made today. Im assuming these are in the twenty box cases ,so three cases of 500. Like others have said Id say $270 a case of 500. Despite what certain individuals think, youll be waiting a long while for $16-$18 a box.
 
Longstud said:
The plastic is not going to degrade. I loaded real old Peters Blue Magic hulls that were very old and they outlasted most anything made today. If they were exposed to direct sunlight well then maybe but in the cardboard box and original packaging theyll outlast the new SXIT made today. Im assuming these are in the twenty box cases ,so three cases of 500. Like others have said Id say $270 a case of 500. Despite what certain individuals think, youll be waiting a long while for $16-$18 a box.
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Yes especially when a few dealers are selling brand new AA's for $160/flat. Using Bass Pro prices as a gauge for ammo pricing for target loads is not a good way to compare. We get brand new loads for considerably less than bass pro.
 
I bought 2 1/2 cases (500 ea) of AA Plus cartridges about 5 or 6 years ago.
I encountered cracked brass heads at a frequency of about 1 per box. This was a known problem in that era, where Winchester didn't aneal the brass properly.
I paid $7.50 a box, so I didn't feel shortchanged.
 
saskbooknut said:
I bought 2 1/2 cases (500 ea) of AA Plus cartridges about 5 or 6 years ago.
I encountered cracked brass heads at a frequency of about 1 per box. This was a known problem in that era, where Winchester didn't aneal the brass properly.
I paid $7.50 a box, so I didn't feel shortchanged.
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A buddy of mine on our squad was shooting brand new AA Diamond Grade Handicap loads in yesterdays handicap event and 4 in just one box were squished and folded like an accordian a full inch shorter!! While getting ready between rounds he removed the shell box from the leather shell box holder and it had enough lead in the bottom of it to fill a full shell or more from those 4 shells. Looks like QC has gone for a crap even on AA's and diamond grade are not cheap at $199/flat retail!! I suggested those shells were probably designed for sporting clays in order to shoot a 12ga in a sub-gauge event and that sure got some hearty laughs from the rest of the squad. I should have taken a picture of the ammo to post.
 
the spank said:
A buddy of mine on our squad was shooting brand new AA Diamond Grade Handicap loads in yesterdays handicap event and 4 in just one box were squished and folded like an accordian a full inch shorter!! While getting ready between rounds he removed the shell box from the leather shell box holder and it had enough lead in the bottom of it to fill a full shell or more from those 4 shells. Looks like QC has gone for a crap even on AA's and diamond grade are not cheap at $199/flat retail!! I suggested those shells were probably designed for sporting clays in order to shoot a 12ga in a sub-gauge event and that sure got some hearty laughs from the rest of the squad. I should have taken a picture of the ammo to post.
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The original Diamond Grade shells had a copper washed case head that mimicked brass but if you put a magnet to those it will stick! Now I see their case heads are nickel plated, a result from flack of misleading the public maybe?
 
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