Rusty shotgun shells?

[BMcK]

I recently picked up some 16 gauge buckshot at a gunshow.
Been looking for this stuff forever!

Some of the brass is pretty rusty, but the primers all look good.

Safe to fire, or what?

Cheers

 

[sdizzyday]

I say fire away! As long as none of the rust is penetrating deep into the brass.

 

[rocor98]

Not to be critical , but brass does not rust .. Can't

Are those hulls steel with brass plating? .. Rub them with a bit of steel wool and see if it is just tarnish, or if in fact it is a brass plated hull ..

If the brass has actual pitting then you may have a problem ... Pitting will mean that some of the zinc has been lost and the brass may now be brittle .. How old are those hulls ...

 

[BMcK]

When did imperial stop making 16 gauge buckshot?

That how old they are.
I can snap a pic when I get home.

Cheers

 

[rocor98]

Mid 80's ?

They will probably be brass .. Rub the tarnish off them , see how they look , for the most part the metal portion of a shot shell is to aid in the extraction and head spacing ...

I am no brass expert .. Most people would say shoot them. Will be your call in the end ..

Real danger with old shells ( unknown storage history ) is the powder does not have enough power to push the load down the barrel .. That is more important than a bit of pitting ...

I reload 12 gauge slugs, so Already I am considered by some to not be on the side of caution ...

 

[BMcK]

 

[sk8r]

Last Winter, I found a box of Imperial high-brass #4's that had gone un-noticed in the cellar since 1984. The brass was discolored, and looked kinda sketchy...but, I cleaned 'em off as much as I could with some emery cloth and went out to the Range. They fired perfectly - pretty stiff to extract from my pump gun, but perfect in my SxS.

I kept this one, unfired, just for old times' sake:

Go ahead and have some fun with those 16's......

 

[BMcK]

Thanks for the input.

I'm just going to rock them in my cooey, so cycling is not an issue.
Maybe I will post a video when I do.

Cheers

 

[LUTNIT]

I'd give them a steel wool rub and shoot away.

 

[biker_boy]

shoot away.

 

[Lead Loader]

yup they look perfectly fine to use.

 

[577/450]

Not to be too obvious but hit em with a magnet to see if they are steel or brass

 

[boltonscouter]

Light cleanup & fire away!