Brass shotgun shells

[waksupi]

I figured this is the place to find out. I got this message from the guy I work for. Any input?

A local lady has "hundreds" of brass 12 gauge shotgun shell hulls. The one that she showed me is in perfect condition, once fired. She wants to sell them, needs info on how desirable are they and value. Are you interested, do you know anyone who would be, have knowledge about them? These look like marine shells as there is no evidence of a crimp, were probably sealed with wax. Then she said she also has "a few" loaded ones as well.

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[CastingFool]

could be for a flare gun. can you get any photos?

[TheCelt]

I have seen two types, one primed with a small pistol primer and one with 209 primers. They are used quite a bit by cowboy shooters and are usually loaded with black powder and sealed with an overshot card and a ring of adhesive around the rim. There used to be an outfit that sold reloading gear for the brass shells (Lolo Brand if my memory serves) but you can make do with a pin punch for de-priming and an RCBS 12GA shell holder for re-priming on a press. Sizing is usually not required. C&H makes sizing dies and a "roll crimp" die for putting a gentle "roll" to the rim which helps with fast reloading.

It's been a few years since I fooled with them Rick but if they are in good shape I'd figure they are worth about a buck apiece. BTW, they have to be loaded with 11GA wads as 12 GA wads are loose in the brass cases. I did use shot cup cut off a regular wad to assist in keeping the shot together a little longer which helped some.

If you have a cowboy shooter that can list them on the SASS classified page they'll get sold quick!

[elk hunter]

Price depends on brand and condition. Some of the real old ones can be worth several dollars each i.e. "Parker", Remington, Winchester ect. a little less. If as I suspect they are Alcan or Fiocchi made for modern shotshell primers they're probably worth a couple of dollars each. Mag Tech are going for over a dollar each new. Don't know what the Russian ones are bringing.

[smoked turkey]

If they happen to be the type that uses 209 primers they are more desirable I think than the Mag Tech that uses pistol primers. As you probably know Rocky Mountain Cartridge Co (RMC head stamp) makes very high quality brass and the price I think is something like $4 or $5 each new. However IMO they are worth it because they are extremely high quality. I don't know about the other brass hulls that use 209 shotshell primers, but the RMCs do not require a size larger wad like the Mag Tech do. In other words the RMCs use regular shotshell components such as wads, over shot and over powder wads. My 16 gauge are exceptional and work very well for me. I highly recommend them.

[waksupi]

I've sent him a link to this thread, hopefully he will reply with more info or photos.

[beagle]

In the 60s, the Army was using brass 00 Buck loads for guard purposes. These came in 10 round cardboard boxes. I've seen Winchester as well as Remington brands. I had 25 Winchesters and loaded them twice before I ran out of 11 gauge wads and traded them off sometime back. These took large primers and I've used both pistol and rifle in them. Saw some recently at a gun show in the ten round boxes but they were going for collector's prices and I let 'em ride./beagle

[sandman228]

ive never tried them in 12 gauge but I did buy a box of magtech brass 410 hulls a while back with the intentions of using them in my judge but then later on sold the judge. I do however have a stoeger 410 o/u and a Mossberg 500 pump in 410 ive loaded them several times and shot from both for clay pigeon shooting. ive had better luck with triple 7 black powder than with smokeless . and they can be resized with 45 lc die all but about the last 3/8 inch of the case. the cases I have take large pistol primers but ive seen guys drill them out to fit a 209.i seal them with an over shot card that I cut myself with a 7/16 gasket punch and cheap wood glue from harbor freight.