Who Still Uses The 16 Gauge For Hunting

M12shooter said:
One has not lived until you catch the sweet waxy aroma of a fresh spent C-I-L Imperial, Maxum or Canuck paper hull. Cut my teeth shooting paper hulls. My dad bought in bulk and we were shooting paper Ammo well into the 1980's.
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100% once you know that particular smell,you never forget it....wish they made aftershave with that smell, or better yet women's perfume, id never leave the house ...lol
 
I've got about a half dozen boxes of Gamebore paper hulls. Not exactly what I remember from the 60's, hunting with my dad, but damn close enough!
 
Gldnbear said:
100% once you know that particular smell,you never forget it....wish they made aftershave with that smell, or better yet women's perfume, id never leave the house ...lol
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I still have maybe 5 or 6 boxes of 16ga left and try just to shoot a couple a year just for the smell
I started reloading shotgun back in the paper hull and fiber wad days and no matter how hard we tried we could never come even close to matching the cil and imperial smell
We pretty much agreed at the time is was coming from the powder not the hull a powder we could not buy
One of my 16ga boxes and I still have quite a bit of the old fiber reloading stuff
Cheers
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I also still remember the smell of the old imperial shotgun shells. It really was/is a unique smell, back in the sixties and early seventies when I would go grouse hunting with my Dad that was the smell of hunting.
 
Northshore said:
I also still remember the smell of the old imperial shotgun shells. It really was/is a unique smell, back in the sixties and early seventies when I would go grouse hunting with my Dad that was the smell of hunting.
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Right??
So it just wasn’t us, there really was something about those shells. I’m going to find a box at the next show and shoot a round or two every now and then for the “ smell of it”.
 
M12shooter said:
One has not lived until you catch the sweet waxy aroma of a fresh spent C-I-L Imperial, Maxum or Canuck paper hull. Cut my teeth shooting paper hulls. My dad bought in bulk and we were shooting paper Ammo well into the 1980's.
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That smell sticks with you for life and brings back good memories when I was kid hunt'n with my Dad

I still have quite a few boxes of those paper hull shells with some still like new . . I agree you never forget that smell. . A couple years ago I opened a pristine box of paper hull Canucks and the smell just hit me. . Love it. . I'll have to haul them boxes out again for a look see. Got some old Maxums, Imperials and Canucks with the rolled crimp and a couple top boxes. Even some old Remington and Winchester rolled crimps. Also some old high brass plastic Remington, Imperials and even some Brownings in different shot sizes. Hate to shoot the darn things.
 
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Rod said:
That smell sticks with you for life and brings back good memories when I was kid hunt'n with my Dad

I still have quite a few boxes of those paper hull shells with some still like new . . I agree you never forget that smell. . A couple years ago I opened a pristine box of paper hull Canucks and the smell just hit me. . Love it. . I'll have to haul them boxes out again for a look see. Got some old Maxums, Imperials and Canucks with the rolled crimp and a couple top boxes. Even some old Remington and Winchester rolled crimps. Also some old high brass plastic Remington, Imperials and even some Brownings in different shot sizes. Hate to shoot the darn things.
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I also have a few old boxes of Imperial high brass shells, albeit in 12 gauge, I also hate to shoot my old gems but I shoot one or two a year to get a whiff of that Imperial gunpowder burning.

Last fall when I opened up a box to grab a couple to take hunting I felt a sharp edge touch my finger and when I looked the High Brass had split from the bottom rim all the way to the end of brass towards the top of the shell. It was split quite wide and then I got the idea that I had better check the rest in the box and over half of them had split in the same way, some more than others.
 
I also have found some old Imperial rounds with split brass. Usually the unsplit ones will split if you bang one against another. I also found that even while well stored the power of some decreased noticeably. So even though I love them and would like to keep them I shoot most of my Imperial stash each fall bird hunting etc. Annual gun shows keep me stocked but it is more plastic Imperial and less paper Imperial at the shows now.

Darryl
 
madtrapper143 said:
I also have found some old Imperial rounds with split brass. Usually the unsplit ones will split if you bang one against another. I also found that even while well stored the power of some decreased noticeably. So even though I love them and would like to keep them I shoot most of my Imperial stash each fall bird hunting etc. Annual gun shows keep me stocked but it is more plastic Imperial and less paper Imperial at the shows now.

Darryl
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I was just looking over my modest stash of older Imperial shells the other day and sure enough some of the slug rounds, all 12 ga. by the way, have split brass issues that have taken place sometime over the past year or so since I physically had them all out of the boxes. Bit of a bummer for sure, I guess I should pop some of the remaining ones off before too much longer. Like a lot of guys have said, love that old CIL paper aroma from them, nothing like it.
 
madtrapper143 said:
I also have found some old Imperial rounds with split brass. Usually the unsplit ones will split if you bang one against another. I also found that even while well stored the power of some decreased noticeably. So even though I love them and would like to keep them I shoot most of my Imperial stash each fall bird hunting etc. Annual gun shows keep me stocked but it is more plastic Imperial and less paper Imperial at the shows now.

Darryl
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Plastic or paper hulls splitting?? Mine just turn green :(
 
Just the high brass paper cartridge heads. My guess is the brass becomes brittle after 50 years or so and cracks. Have not seen this issue on the plastic hulled Imperial shot shells. Sooner or later I will have to admit that the days of my youth have passed and I must embrace the future.

Darryl
 
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I have a CIL 16g single shot that was past down to me when I turned 16. I have killed a pile of grouse with it. It just feels good in the hands.
 
madtrapper143 said:
Just the high brass paper cartridge heads. My guess is the brass becomes brittle after 50 years or so and cracks. Have not seen this issue on the plastic hulled Imperial shot shells. Sooner or later I will have to admit that the days of my youth have passed and I must embrace the future.

Darryl
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The paper hull is picking up moisture where you are storing them and swelling, splitting the brass IMO
Like I said my issue is brass greening not splitting
Are they kept in a warm dry spot
Cheers
 
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