Shooting old shells

[butchd]

Lovely day in Arkansas beckoned a pal and me to the range this morning. I packed up a couple of Glocks and a new (to me) 870 Police. A really nice, Wisconsin Forumer introduced me to the gun when he sold one a week or two ago. I couldn't come up with the funds in time to get his so I got my dealer to order one for me after I sold a pistol to finance the deal. I had some "Managed Recoil" buck shot and a cigar box full of a variety of 12 gauge shells. They dated back to the early '50s. All were paper and pre-dated "Star" crimps. I could read "Remington Peters" on the green shells that were mostly "O" and "OO" buck shot. The red shells were unidentifiable by name but the "OO" remained on the wad cap. There were even a few "bear balls" which was what most informed shooters called 'em till I was at least 15 years old.

Mr. Woods had a little grocery store near my home. On the right as you entered there was a shelf full of shotgun shell boxes. A price was on the boxes. I remember most were six to eight cents per each shell. No one I knew ever bought a whole box. Someone at the Paper Mill may have made that much money but there must have not been many that came by Mr. Woods' place.

It's still soothing to hear the "klunks" of a few shells rolling around in a cigar box. It ought to be a law that boys be required to try to go to sleep with a few shells rolling around in a cigar box nearby. The next morning promised the thrill of being in the woods and brought one closer to my mother's fried rabbit for Saturday night's supper.

I culled a few shells that had corrosion around the primer but, otherwise everything fired. The slugs were all kill shots at 50 yards. Pretty good for a fellow who's barely legal to drive. The buck shot left decent patterns to be so old. My shoulder is a little older than the ammunition but it held up OK for the first shoot of the year.

 

[Gatofeo]

Just to be on the safe side, might want to clean that shotgun's bore, chamber and bolt face with patches damp with soapy water.
The water will dissolve the salts in corrosive (chlorate) primers. Petroleum-based cleaners will not. Salt dissolves in water, not in oil.
Follow the water-dampened patches with dry patches, to remove all moisture, then clean with a petroleum-based cleaner, or oil with a very lightly oiled patch to prevent rusting.
It can be difficult to date the older, paper shotgun shells.
Rifle ammunition for the more common centerfire calibers switched over to noncorrosive primers, gradually, beginning about 1928.
Rimfire .22 ammo switched about the same time.
U.S. military .30-06 and .45 ACP ammo made the switch to noncorrosive primers in the mid 1950s, but an occasional batch of .30-06 match ammo was assembled with corrosive primers into the early 1960s.
I am uncertain when shotgun ammo began to contain noncorrosive primers. I'd guess in the 1940s, but some may have been made into the 1950s.
I'd hate to see you find your shotgun bore and bolt rusted the next time you pull it out.

 

[butchd]

Thanks for the suggestion. A little water first won't hurt. I stil have the Model 12 That shot some of these shells back then but I was more dedicated to keeping one gun clean.

 

[Faulkner]

My grandfather passed away a few years ago. Later, we were dealing with his possesions we found a good bit of stored ammo. Among it was a couple of dozen boxes of old shotgun shells, most of it paper hulled and dated back to the 50's and 60's. I've shot some it, taken a few rabbits, squirrels, doves, and quail with the 50+ year old ammo and all of it worked just fine. My oldest son took a nice whitetail last fall with one of the paper hulled slugs at about 40 yards. I'm sure grandpa wouldn't mind us putting it to good use.

 

[1911-BILL]

I wont shoot old ones any more...An old neighbor gave me about 10 boxes of realy old 12 ga shells a few years ago, most were old paper shells.. Some shot ok but most did the old, click..................boom. And there were a few that after counting to 25 we would eject them and they would still go off when they hit the ground.....thats fun. I will never shoot a paper shell again.

 

[walnutred]

Hey Faulkner, I just noticed your tag line and out of curiosity have you ever heard of a town called Pickles Gap? That's where my Dad was born, still have a lot of family in the area I'm told. Mostly in Conway now though. I'd give you that family name but noticing the badge in your tag line it occurs to me you might know some of my cousins a little too well ;D,

 

[butchd]

Don't mean to butt in but Pickles Gap creek crosses Hwy 65 between Conway and Greenbriar. The creek opened up into Beaver Fork Lake. Beautiful back in the '60s. The creek and ridges had some of the best Hickory nut, Squirell hunting I ever found. They say there's hardly any seperation between any of those little towns, Guy, Quitman, Vilonia, Rosebud. Everyone needs to fish on The Little Red and White River at least once. The Buffalo is worth the float but if nothing else ya just need to see it. Much the same could be said of that whole part of Arkansas. Hope Faulkner can catch us up on what it's like now.

 

[walnutred]

One of my Uncles lived about a mile from Beaver Fork Lake. First time my cousins took me fishing at night there they didn't bother loaning me a pole, they handed me an old single shot 410 shotgun. "You shoot fish down here?" I asked incredulously. "No, you dumb Yankee, your on snake watch." was the response I received. The light on the boat at night would occasionally attract snakes. From their viewpoint EVERY snake in the water was a Cottonmouth. They may have been correct for their local. I know that fear of water snakes was still a strong trait in my Dad, even though there are no native poisonous water snakes in Ohio. Of course in fairness growing up in an area without poisonous water snakes may have made me lacks in my concern about them.

 

[butchd]

Most of the snakes around Beaver Fork back then were Banded Water snakes. I akmost stepped on a pure brown Cotton Mouth at the terminus of Pickles Gap. The Cotton Mouth was cold and lazy, I guess. The Banded boys are the most ill natured snakes I've ever found. Thankfully they're not venomous. If they were the invenomination rate would shoot up. Their head shape looks to show them poisionous but: They don't have fangs, just teeth, Their pupils are round. They don't swim with their bodies on top of the water. So they are just scary, a lot like a couple of ex-wives I know and at least as mean.

 

[Faulkner]

Pickles Gap is more of a community than a town. Though still in the county, it's considered part of the Conway sprawl.

That's not true of the the rest of the towns butchd mentioned. The Cadron Creek bottoms will always seperate Greenbrier from Conway, though Greenbrier has become somewhat of a bedroom community for Conway, as Conway has for Little Rock.

US Highway 64 east out of Conway towards Vilonia is 4 lane past the Eight Mile Store now, about half way, but it's still not overly developed along the way. They've even added a traffic light at the Eight Mile Store intersection where you turn north off of 64 onto Highway 36 towards Enola/Mt. Vernon.

As you go north out of Greenbrier, there really has been a big change the past few years in Guy, Quitman, and on up to Rosebud area. It's called the Fayetteville Shale. Just in the past few years drilling for natural gas has changed the landscape and made rich those folks who've owned large tracts of mostly cow pastures. Guy is still not much more than local speed trap, but it does have an industrial park now for all of the businesses that cater to the oil business. Same for Quitman, although it does have one of my favorite catfish resturants.

The downside to the natural gas drilling in the area, and the new pipeline they're building (east-west), is the damage to the roads with all big truck traffic on rural roads not designed or maintained for them.

We ride ATV's near the Gulf Mountain Wildlife Management Area around the Little Red River quite often. One of the most beautiful areas in the Ozarks. I've taken a liking to turkey hunting the past 5 or 6 years and there's lots of 'em in the area.

My son crossing the Little Red River on his ATV.

I also float the Buffalo River at least a couple of times in the spring, before the tourist crowds come after school is out. Back in the '70's before the Buffalo was a National Park, my dad and I floated it for 6 days from Ponca down to where it enters into the White River. I learned to swim on that trip when I fell out of the boat in a class II rapids, and we didn't wear no stinking life vests . . . that trip is one of my most favorite childhood memories.

I ride through the area on m motorcycle pretty regularly.

Downtown Guy, Arkansas

Everybody in Arkansas knows that Conway is right between Pickles Gap and the Toad Suck Ferry.

US Highway 65 north of Clinton, Arkansas

 

[nicky4968]

Some of the boxes those old shells came in have a considerable collector value. I don't know where to search on that, but I wouldn't throw them away.

 

[walnutred]

I haven't been back there since shortly after Desert Storm. IN the 60's and 70's when we were there every summer it seems like most roads except 65 were gravel. Pickles Gap Toy Company was the big industry at the time. They made those little wooden toys you could buy as souvenirs in gift shops. Sellers is my last name. If you run across any Sellers or Kellers down there we're most likely related some how.

 

[butchd]

Faulkner, thanks for the memories. I took my BA at ASTC. I spent most of my time on the water and in the woods of that area. Happy days.