Storage of shot, be aware

John Y Cannuck

John Y Cannuck

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I've had my shot, still in the canvas bags it came in under my reloading bench on the concrete floor for many years.
Well, the other day, I looked down to see a fan of shot creeping out from one of the bags. Crap! the canvas bags were rotting.
Thankfully, the three rotten bags were all 7 1/2 shot, and the #6 shot bag was OK, so they didn't mix.

I've transferred them all to coffee cans for now. Tiny lead shot is a PIA rolling around on the floor.

Be aware!
 
John Y Cannuck said:
I've had my shot, still in the canvas bags it came in under my reloading bench on the concrete floor for many years.
Well, the other day, I looked down to see a fan of shot creeping out from one of the bags. Crap! the canvas bags were rotting.
Thankfully, the three rotten bags were all 7 1/2 shot, and the #6 shot bag was OK, so they didn't mix.

I've transferred them all to coffee cans for now. Tiny lead shot is a PIA rolling around on the floor.

Be aware!
Click to expand...

what will you get when you mix #7 1/2 and # 6 shot?

6 3/4
 
jamesharrison said:
If the canvas in your bags is rotting, is there moisture down there? [I presume it's in the basement as most folks, at least here in the west, do not have concrete floors on the main or 2nd floor].
I solved that problem years ago, as I melted down all of my lead shot, to make cast bullets.
Click to expand...
It's an out building. Concrete slab floor, so yes, it could have, must have been enough moisture for rot. I still have enough wheel weights, that I'm not into my lead shot yet.
 
Good you seen the spill.
Most people won't use lead shot to make bullets due to there being arsenic used in the shot making process. Dress appropriately in PPE.
 
mephisto002 said:
what will you get when you mix #7 1/2 and # 6 shot?

6 3/4
Click to expand...
Different sized shot varies in ballistics. The smaller shot slows down faster. Not a bad thing when the target is stationary like duplex turkey loads but for moving targets the shot string lengthens and it will reduce pattern density. Imagine that your shot string elongates so that it is now a stream of pellets like water from an hose and the target approaches the stream from the side. Only the pellets in the stream while the target is crossing the stream can hit it. The pellets that are before it and after it miss. Your pattern on targets going away is great as all pellets could hit but in crossing targets only a few hit.
 
Whatever is on the floor should be off of the floor, with an airspace between the floor and the whatever, or else.
 
I am not sure this PSA will cover many people but it does sound like a PITA. I dropped and broke a round of CCI shot a while back and picking up all the pieces to satisfy myself was very lame.
 
One of the first things I do with bags of lead shot, is to transfer the contents into suitable containers. Steel coffee cans, being ideal for the job. The empty bags then re-purposed to other uses, ie: collecting brass cases, from the range.
By the way, I know full well the agony of spilling most of an entire 25 lb. bag of 7 1/2 shot, onto the floor of my loading room. That was over 20 years ago. Still finding pellets.
 
I've got into the habit of transfering the shot over to 1 LB powder bottles. It's actually easier to load into the MEC bottles too.
Would using a metal can speed up Oxidation of the shot?
 
Cardboard boxes, bags etc should never be stored directly on a concrete floor they will absorb moisture from the concrete even after it is cured, throw plywood or a pallet down first then store the stuff on that, have had shotgun shells stored that way for years and never a problem
 
John Y Cannuck said:
I've had my shot, still in the canvas bags it came in under my reloading bench on the concrete floor for many years.
Well, the other day, I looked down to see a fan of shot creeping out from one of the bags. Crap! the canvas bags were rotting.
Thankfully, the three rotten bags were all 7 1/2 shot, and the #6 shot bag was OK, so they didn't mix.

I've transferred them all to coffee cans for now. Tiny lead shot is a PIA rolling around on the floor.

Be aware!
Click to expand...
Shot can deteriorate as well.
 
G. Alan: Have not observed any deterioration from shot oxidation. Most of the time, the shot is used up fairly rapidly, though. I do have some shot in steel containers that has been stored for several years. Still no obvious signs of deterioration.
I also use plastic containers, when available. Seem to be working out, okay. Like you, I find the smaller containers make it easy to transfer shot into the hopper. Otherwise, I simply scoop directly from the container and fill the hopper that way.

Al
 
I've seen heavily ozidized lead shot and slugs taken directly from dry intact shotshells; I've assumed that storage hadn't always been 'cool and dry'.

It is for that reason that I believe it a best practice to use ammunition cans.
 
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