Newbie - Can you use once shot shotgun shells?

[bbogue1]

My church sponsors a clay shoot each spring. I know we collect the expended shells (hulls?) but I don't think they are reused. If there is a market for them I'd like to collect them and give them away in appreciation for all I've received from this forum. Other than having inherited my Moms 20 gauge I really know nothing about reloading shotgun shells. My questions are:

Should they be sorted like once shot brass?
I know it is important to sort by size, but, Is it important to sort by shell manufacturer.
Is there different lengths for each gauge?
Does color matter: Are all 20 gauge yellow and 12 gauge red?
Is there steel, aluminum and brass shells and does that matter?
I don't have the ability to deprime them is that a factor?
Should they be cleaned before shipping?

I'm not collecting these shells to reload,but, to give them to someone who could use them. Any suggestions would certainly be helpful.

Thanks

[Budzilla 19]

Post what you have in the helping hands part of the forum, this way someone will see it and your donations will go where it is needed! Good thing you are doing!

[bbogue1]

Will do, thanks.

[BK7saum]

My church sponsors a clay shoot each spring. I know we collect the expended shells (hulls?) but I don't think they are reused. If there is a market for them I'd like to collect them and give them away in appreciation for all I've received from this forum. Other than having inherited my Moms 20 gauge I really know nothing about reloading shotgun shells. My questions are:

Should they be sorted like once shot brass?
I know it is important to sort by size, but, Is it important to sort by shell manufacturer.
Is there different lengths for each gauge?
Does color matter: Are all 20 gauge yellow and 12 gauge red?
Is there steel, aluminum and brass shells and does that matter?
I don't have the ability to deprime them is that a factor?
Should they be cleaned before shipping?

I'm not collecting these shells to reload,but, to give them to someone who could use them. Any suggestions would certainly be helpful.

Thanks

To answer your questions:

They should be sorted by gauge/size, manufacturer and shell length. The internal dimensions differ and a good load in one shell will not provide a good crimp with the same components in another manufacturer or shell type by the same manufacturer.

Yes, sort by manufacturer. If I'm buying or receiving shells, I want them to all be the same. See 1st post as to why.

There are different lengths for each gauge, but I doubt you will see anything other than 2 3/4" length in 12 or 20 gauge. 20 gauge has 3" and 12 has 3" and 3 1/2". These are for magnum hunting loads. Of course, there are the occasional 2 1/2" specialty shells in 12 gauge, but I doubt you'll see much other than standard 2 3/4" length.

Color does matter. Sometimes it differentiates hull types within the same manufacturer. I would sort by manufacturer and further sort by color.

Most current manufacture shells have steel case heads that are brass plated. Don't worry about it.

Depriming is not necessary. Every press I have used has a deprime/resize station, so depriming is accomplished when I resize the case. In my opinion neither is cleaning, unless the clay shoot was in the rain and mud. A little dust on range pickup shells is not a problem to me.

As far as distributing them to members in need, I have found the Regional Rate A and Regional Rate B boxes to be the most economical for shipping light/bulky items. I think you need to order the boxes online, but they are free and shipped to you free.

Good luck.

[copdills]

good luck and Great thing you are doing, think about getting into reloading its a great hobby and lots of fun

[bbogue1]

Keep an eye on Helping Hands. A bit after Mothers Day I'll be giving the reclaimed, once shot hulls away.

[w5pv]

The one of you that are thinking about reloading you can reload them also.

[Lagamor]

I agree sort by manufacture. There are two basic types of plastic hulls, the single piece and the two piece(has a separate base wad). Most shotshell reloaders won't reload the two piece varities, but there are many that do.
We want them to be all the same make and type because we need different components for different hulls and adjusting the crimp dies can be a royal pain in the ****. Plus when your chasing a hundred straight you want consistency in everything
Remington, Winchester and Federal are the main ones to look for.
Federal just said they will stop making the Gold Medal(maroon colored) so they may command a price premium.
Federal Paper hulls will command a premium.
Learn to identify a true brass hull vs. brass washed steel. Reloaders with high end presses don't want to wear out their dies with steal hulls, but plenty of us will shoot steel base gun clubs.
Sorry to be long winded, but I love reloading shotshell.

[michiganmike]

I do. Available at low cost. Winchester AA hulls work fine for me. I get very nice accuracy.

[jimb16]

I reload 12, 16, 20 and .410 shells. Very few cannot be reloaded. But segregation by gauge and manufacturer is important, Different brands will use different powders, wads and primers. Some have better "lasting" qualities than others. Not all are great for reloads and probably won't be wanted. Other are in high demand. If you have any 16 gauge hulls, I'd definitely be interested in them.