Shotshells - How Rust is Too Rusty

D

dreamwaters

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I spend a lot of time hunting around sal####er, and have real trouble keeping my shotshells rust free. This didn't use to bother me much, I'd just stuff them in my old Condor O/U and only ever had one "stick". As long as I didn't have to "push" it in I deemed it good enough to use. However, last year I invested in a Beretta XtremaII, and since then I have not wanted to use any rusty shells. I wonder if anyone could shed some light on the question - how rust it too rusty? Also, what are the risks? Could I damaged the chamber? Might I just get an eject failure?
Thanks!
-DW
 
Like you say, I'm tempted not to chance it, but my box of "rusty's" is getting kinda big, and some of the premium steel is about a buck a shot. I hadn't thought of cleaning them - I guess I could just take a piece of emery cloth to them to smooth them over. Probably wouldn't be much effort for the more expensive shells. As far as the ones that I want to dispose of, what do you mean "open them up"? Does cutting them open make them safe for disposal in the garbage?
-DW
 
I had rusty shotgun shells and I didn't know what to do with them... I thought of using steel wool to get the rust off, but I just didn't have the patience... I gave them to a buddy who took the time to clean them with steel wool and I watched him use ALL those shells with no ill effect...

Cheers
Jay
 
rusty steel shot

Be careful if the shells are steel shot as steel will rust and bind together.
Then your shotshell becomes a solid mass , trying to exit the shotgun!!.
When my shells get wet i shake the cartridge, if it doesn't rattle ,into the garbage can.
 
can you put them in a ziplock bag when in the field or something? Ever thought of tumbling them to clean em up. People, including myself tumble loaded rifle rounds to polish up why not shotgun shells?

Ben
 
Tumbling loaded rifle cartridges is NOT safe, I doubt that tumbling shotshells is either. Tumbling / Vibrating loaded shells can break down the powder into smaller granules/dust and then the burning rate of the load with be much quicker, increasing pressures. I certainly would not do it!
 
You need a 'pelican' case or something similar for your ammo. There is a size just right for shotgun shells, you can even make a sort of grid/honeycomb insert to hold them all so they don't rattle on each other (and easy to pick out). I think you know what I am talking about (I can't find the proper words) you've see boxes of .22 rounds held in the box by a plastic piece.
 
yes you can dremel, lowest setting you can get!!! with a wire brush. done it lots of times, don't leave it there to long!!! we don't want friction to build up heat do we!! the safer deal is to chuck 'em and forget it. better still, get an old military metal ammo box. they seal real tight with a rubber gasket, at least for while your hunting. take them out when your done and leave the lid open. if you do the dremel thing DON'T TOUCH THE PRIMER!!!
 
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Tumbling loaded rifle cartridges is NOT safe, I doubt that tumbling shotshells is either. Tumbling / Vibrating loaded shells can break down the powder into smaller granules/dust and then the burning rate of the load with be much quicker, increasing pressures. I certainly would not do it!
Click to expand...

This is mostly an old wives tale. Imagine for a minute the loaded rounds first being loaded by a camdex machine and tossed into a bin where they are first inspected. They are then put into a processing machine that sorts them into packaging units of say 10 or 20, they go through more processing and are placed into boxes and then cases of ammo. They go into storage on pallets and are moved around by forklifts from place to place. Eventually they are trucked somewhere for thousands of miles in the back of a trailer that probably does not have all that great a suspension. They may also be transported by ship which introduces a crane, forklifts or people who toss the cases around trying to fit the boxes into the nooks and crannies of a freight container.

Billy bob buys a box of shells and since he only needs one or two rounds a year for a deer hunt, he uses that same box of shells for several years all the while bouncing around in his pickup truck and maybe on his dashboard.

15 mins in a tumbler to clean off some rust or to polish some lube off the case from reloading is hardly reason for concern. Have you ever really felt powder? The stuff is as hard as sand, it's not going to break down all that easily unless it is crushed. In a shotshell, the powder does not move due to the lovely device called "the wad". I would not be concerned about the powder breaking down by motion though heat and moisture I would be more concerned about.

I don't mean to be snarky, but if it's that much of a concern, maybe one of us should ask the mythbusters to investigate this one. I think it would be "busted".
 
While I'd watch mythbusters, I don't have a tumbler and won't be trying it. Same deal with the wire wheel or dremel. I will sit down with a handfull of steel wool, and any that I can't smooth down will be chucked out, as will any that don't rattle. I also just picked up a metal ammo box from the Army Surplus here- for 13$ it won't have to save me many ruined shells before it pays for itself!
Thanks for all the suggestions.
-DW
 
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