Shotgun Shells- How old is too old ?

[CRAZYEYES]

Today I got a huge Bucket of old 20 gauge shotgun shells that were my grandfathers and some of them are pretty old. There are all kinds of older shells, Holiday, peters, Western, Remington Power pistons, herters. Many of them are modern plastic but many of them are older paper or at least have the paper end instead of a crimp. As long as they have been kept dry and apear in good condition are they still Safe to shoot? Also he did a lot of realoading and I asume he knew what he was doing seeing he was a hunting guide but some of the crimps are not real good, Ant danger in bad crimps?? My uncle thinks they are fine.

[Big A]

Tuff to say without visually seeing them for myself.

But based on your description..

For the cost of a box of 20 gauge shells...

I probably wouldnt risk it. Id hang onto the old shells just as something neat from the past.. My

Wouldnt those old rounds have a lot of lead in them anyways?

[CRAZYEYES]

I sorted through them and some of them are real relics but he was still hunting up through the late 90's and there were also a couple boxes worth of newer shells and they're 3 inch 1 1/4 ounce pheasant loads and my franchi will take the 3". Some of them I would never even consider using anymore but its the re-loads that I wonder about, If they're anything like his 308 and 30-06 rifle reloads they're some mean loads. I suppose I can always melt the lead down to make more sinkers.

[Gissert]

I've shot shells that were reloaded in the late 60's and early 70's by my dad. If they were stored in a cool and dry place, I would not have too many worries...as long as you knew the reloader and the load data. Without that, I'd be cautious. If the brass has a lot of corrosion, I'd steer clear.