I reload handgun rounds but not rifle or shotgun. I need some help on something. I have 3 full length brass Remington 12 ga shells, loaded. Can they be shot safely? Are they collectable? Junk? Any value? I don't know whether to shoot them, sell them. or throw em out. Thx for your help.

Remington made 12 gauge all brass shells in the old days and they have some value and appeal and nostalgic value. They also made a 25 round tin about 25 years ago these have some appeal ect. also. What is their value? Maybe a few dollars each. Are they safe to shoot? Yes. Will you clean your gun very well after shooting them? You better! If they are old, they could be Black Powder, and/or corrosive primed, they are still safe to shoot. Empty brass is still made in Brazil and for sale at Midway and others; new they retail at $25 a box, and on sale around $15 a box.

Ivan

If they were mine I'd simply stick them into my Curio Cabinet and call it a day. I once tried firing some Browning branded paper hull 12 Ga shells that I'd estimate are from the 1920's or so. When I pulled the trigger all I got was a click. After trying another two, I gave up and they are now in the Curio Cabinet too. They are really neat looking and I am now glad they did not fire - better this way!

There were a lot of brass cased shotgun ammo made for the military, the idea was that it was more resistant to moisture than paper. I remember boxes of them in Viet Nam, never shot any of them though (not a shotgun guy)

Many moons ago there were lots of the 12ga brass hulls around.

Many were for use in riot guns or for military use.I had reloaded some back in the 70s using over powder cards and filler wads,not 1 piece plastic.

I also loaded 410 bore using 444 Marlin brass cases.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

Back in the early days of breechloading shotguns (usually double barreled), most hunters had a supply of brass cases which they reloaded. Early ones did not work so well in repeaters. They hung on for military use until the plastic case bodies appeared. Paper cased shotshells often swelled under damp conditions and would not chamber properly, not a good thing for jungle combat. Some of the early brass shotshell cases are quite collectible, especially in odd gauges, not so much 12 gauge.

My dad had a bunch of them he use with black powder for his Damascus doubles. He even used to go shoot skeet with them. He loved doing stuff like that.

I won some Rem @ a Duck's Unlimited Banquet many years ago. They were stamped DU 87.

I have one left (gave away the others) and it sits on the gun cabinet. It's a smokeless load and certainly could be fired.

When I was a young guy my father and his buddy loaded and shot a lots of brass shells in their over and under's. This was before the days of plastic hulls and wads. When they reloaded the brass shells they used 11 gauge paper wads for the over the power and filler wads. Because of the lack of a way to crimp these rounds they would us a thin paper wad, like what was used for roll crimping paper shells, over the BB's and then a what was known as water glass. I think it was sodium silicate also known as egg preservative. When fired the water glass would bust up and everything else worked fine.

Those headstamped "Parker" will bring some interest and $$ for obvious collector reasons, but generally the rest are a few dollar items. New ones are still made as mentioned.

The older brass cases used slightly larger in dia card and fiber wads (11ga usually) as the inside dia of the thin brass case is larger than the paper case of the same gauge. The larger wads work fine in the standard 12ga bores.
Some Brit guns were specificly chambered for brass cases of slightly smaller outside dia for the corresponding gauge to make use of the same wads as the paper cased ammo in that gauge. A paper case of the same gauge is just a little too big in dia to fit the chamber.
These guns are usually marked as such for the brass case and are not all that common.

Both the Winchester and Remington WWII "guard loads" brass hull, buckshot loads are excellent for black powder reloading. I use them all the time. Fiber and card wad column and over shot card sealed with DUCO cement, no crimp. Cleaned with hot water and soap they will last a vey long time. Back in the mid to late 70's Remington issued a collectors box of brass hulled loads. These were cheaply made hulls and are not worth the effort to salvage for reloading. I can not remember how the heads were marked. The WWII era hulls are the ones you want. They will fire form to the chambers of the gun you use them in and will likely have to be resized to use in another chamber. Sizing dies can still be found at gun shows and antique dealer shops if you know what you are looking at. Several reloading manufacture's make reloading sets for use with brass hulls. Great fun to hunt with in vintage guns.

"Several reloading manufacture's make reloading sets for use with brass hulls."

I have a 12 gauge set from RCBS, and a 20 gauge set from C-H/4D. Both are 1 1/8" diameter dies that fit the RockChucker with the reducer bushing removed. Shell plates are a different story, I have 2 sizes for 12, and every now and then find a case that won't either. The plate from C-H, for the 20 fits every case I tried.

If shooting Black Powder or a substitute, I have never resized an all brass case. But you need resizing if using smokeless loads!

I just loaded 125, 20 gauge. 75grain FFFg equivalent (by volume) black powder or substitute (FFg will do, only a little slower); 16 or 17 gauge over the powder card; 3/4" of fiber wad; 7/8 oz. #7.5 shot; and a 16 or 17ga over shot card (same as over powder). This leaves 1/8" gap at top of 2 1/2 brass case. I fill this with a squeeze of "Gutter Seam Sealer" from Lowe's home improvement store (dry to touch overnight) and let cure 3 weeks before using. I shot a 4 day cured batch of 50 one time, I scrubbed my Savage 310, 1 hour each barrel. These loads are about 1225-1250 fps from 30" barrels. Recoil is normal for a 20 gauge, but they are loud! Let me repeat, THEY ARE LOUD!

In theory, roll crimping the over the shot card will work without sealant, but it failed for me over 50% of the time. The crimp is an absolute pain in the butt to remove!

Ivan

Thx for enlightening me about the brass cases. I think I will keep them, unfired, for conversation pieces when the guys come over for beers.