I’ve been going through some of my clutter of gun stuff and came across a bunch of boxes of 12ga ammo I haven’t touched in years (12 ga stuff) and am trying to decide if there’s any collecting interest in it. Back in the day, I acquired a case of it for hunting. I’ve moved on from 12 ga and don’t shoot much of it anymore.

Is there any interest in it here? How much is it worth?
Boxes are in good shape, ammo is too.

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It's worth approx what a box of the same new ammo would cost...if it still fires

It works fine.

Problem is it’s unlikely I’ll ever shoot it up. It’s not target stuff.

You can use it on clay birds just to shoot it up. There might be some collector interest if the boxes are full and in high condition, but not a lot as they are not particularly scarce. Personally, I like old shotshell boxes from the 1940s-50s as display pieces. I have several shelves of them in my living room.

I have a couple of boxes too.. see them at gun shows asking about 20 bucks... wrapped in plastic so the box doesn't disintegrate... never seen one sold

These are 1 1/4 oz, #7 1/2, 2 3/4” 3 3/4 dram shells. I also have a bunch of boxes of Winchester Super X 12 ga 2 3/4”, 1 1/40z ,7 1/2 shells. Pretty useful for upland hunting.

I’ll list them here this weekend.

It has to be at least 60 yrs old is my guess.

Could be that, or even older. Plastic case shells were becoming common by the mid-1960s. Folded crimps appeared in the late 1940s. Those shells would be good for trap, but a little heavy on recoil.

If they are old enough to have the old "Paper wads",

you do not want to shoot them at Trap, if there is a wind in your face !!

Otherwise they should do the job, depending on their shot size.

They are worth at least $5 for the primers and shot.

For a long time in the 1960s, I favored using Federal paper case shells. Federal seemed to be the last to switch to using plastic. For a long time, I loaded shot shells using a Lee Loader. Slow, but I had a lot of time. It seemed that the Federal paper shells loaded somewhat easier using the Lee than Remington or Winchester paper shells. Only problem was the Federal shells were good only for three or four loadings before burning through around the metal base. Federal may still make some paper case shells as certain clay bird shooters dislike plastic shells.

I sold a couple similar boxes at last weekends OGCA show. A couple full boxes went for $15 and a clean partial went for $10. A 16Ga box of the same type went for $20 another 16 and a couple 20Ga ones went home unsold. While they're old they are only marginally collectible, most shotshell collectors seem to either collect single rounds or want really old (as in pre WWII at the latest) or uncommon loadings (factory brush or "spreader" loads, odd shot sizes, etc.).

I've taken old shotgun ammo to guns shows. Nobody wants it. $20 a box is way too high when you can buy modern ammo.

As I earlier alluded to, the most commonly seen shotshells from the late 1940s through early 1960s (Winchester, Western, Remington, Peters, Federal) do have modest collector value as decorator items if the boxes are full and in undamaged condition. Older boxes, especially those from lesser known makers and those in two-piece boxes or in unusual gauges and loadings, definitely will have collector interest. I have around 25 of them on display on shelves in my living room. I especially like the older store branded boxes - Sears, Wards, Western Auto, etc., not a very comprehensive collection but I enjoy them.

Two piece boxes are really where it is at for collectors it seems. Try Ward's Auctions for pricing Ward's Auctions | Browsing Shot Shell Boxes I have several shelves of boxes. like the one posted below. Never paid more than $5.00 a box.

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They are generally worth a few $$ under what a fresh off the shelf box of the same would cost you.
They are shooter ammo, and 1 1/4oz 12ga loads (lead) are not exactly popular for most shooters these days.

The hulls likely have the early Remington #57 primer in them. Slightly smaller in dia than the standard #209 that was about to take over the industry.
So the paper hulls are reloadable with the older #57 size primers.
Sometimes you can force a #209 into them and swage the primer pocket to size doing so.
But the paper hulls are only good for 2 or 3 loadings before they start to perforate around the brass.
Most people with repeaters don't like the separate base wad they have and won't reload them at all, or only one time.

What can be of value is a pristine box, even an empty one.

Shoot the ammo up, have fun with it, you'll never find any cheaper now than what you likely paid for it that back when.
A couple rounds of Sporting Clays or Trap with those heavy loads would be great knock yer self out fun.

We did that some time back with a flat of reloads I bought at a show for 50cents per box. They looked good!
All AA cases with 1 1/4oz loads of some forgetable Winchester powder listed as the fuel.
An aged Remington Sportsman 48 w/a Polychoke gave everyone a chance to shoot Skeet and beat themselves up a bit.
Stuff like that seems more fun when you're younger I guess.

Keep the best boxes, wrap in clear wrap and see if they sell at a go-away price at a show.
Some sell them 'knocked-down-flat'. Easy to ship that way and easy to protect while shipping.

Back in the day, I reloaded Remington paper cases with 209 primers, as used by W-W. The Remington cases used a slightly smaller diameter primer. I would knock out the Remington small primer, and then force a 209 fired primer into the Remington pocket. Then push our the fired 209 primer. Then I used 209 primers thereafter.

I wrap my display boxes in Saran Wrap. I also have a quantity of foreign shotshell boxes - Canadian, Mexican, British, German, French, Saudi, Russian, Italian, Czech, Argentine, and Chinese. Most came from gun shows.