Home Forums Reloading Shotshells Older skeet loads

Are these worth much of anything? Don't see #9s too often. Boxes in good shape , brass on the shells is mostly shiny. One box does have a sticker on the side from the auction house. Sell em or shoot em?

Save the yellow ones. Cool old boxes. Shoot the white ones. Interestingly, the white box has a 3 Dr Eq load. heavier than modern skeet loads.

I had pretty much the same combo though my white box was a little better condition and no wear on the top like the middle box. Traded them to a collector at the beginning of the scamdemic for 4 boxes of modern AAs.

I believe the yellow boxed shells were 60's manufacture and the white was later 70's to mid-80's. I have 16 ga shells with the same type box as the yellows and they were compression formed but pre-AA wad hence the Mark 5 designation on the box, if I remember correctly.

I dig those old yellow boxes. I have used a bunch of those in field loads (but not skeet). I have bought and shot a lot of the white boxed stuff when I was shooting skeet.
Back in the day, a case of shells was 20 boxes not 10 like they are now.

I've got one of the yellow boxes in 3" magnum #2 also.

10 boxes is a flat and 20 boxes is a case. You see mostly flats anymore because of the price and old boys who can afford to buy a case sure hate lifting them...mb

mark5's were the first year for win plastic shells. (65ish)
may have some collector value but hey, in todays world...shoot em!
fyi, 3 dram skeet loads were for doubles in the day; and, to cycle those old pogo sticks called A5's and 11-48's.

Shoot them. Save the box if you like it and just refill with your reloaded or newer shells. Then come up with a good story to tell when asked about the old shells.

If I had 5 boxes of each, I would pick one box of each in the worst shape and shoot a few. And save the box. Maybe sell a few single shells to collectors.

You'll still have 8 boxes of a piece of history, to keep or sell one day.

I think we all forget how new the smokeless powder cartridge is today.

A little over 100 years ago, a poor farmer may have still used a muzzleloader as his only gun.

I've been shooting and reloading for 30 years I have NEVER found anyone paying more for old ammo or boxes than new loads are worth. So my advice is shoot them and enjoy. If anyone claims otherwise I have DOZENS of old powder tins and ammo boxes for you to buy if you are willing to pay more than new ammo is worth!

You're running with the wrong crowd then! Vintage ammo collectors are a strange breed of duck. I recently sold my collection (accumulation) of vintage shotshells, an even 20 boxes dating from the 1930's to 60's, and made enough to buy two cases of new AA's had I wanted to.

It takes a different breed of duck to actively seek out empty tins/boxes. Devoted cartridge/ammo collectors want full boxes and the nicer condition the more they pay. I suspect the empty ammo box movement gained traction because of shipping regulations and costs.

I used to shoot a lot of skeet, trap, Clays. Like every one else, in the beginning I believed in the Gospel of Heavy Shot Charges and shot 1 1/8oz at everything. Then I wised up and dropped to 1oz loads with commensurate lighter powder charges and found my scores improved, shoulder improved, and saved a bit of money because I was loading my own. (Every Wednesday evening I did "The MEC Shuffle" so I could shoot every weekend.) Toward the end I was playing with 3/4 & 7/8oz loads for 16 yard trap and all skeet - and my scores didn't deteriorate. Granted, I shot O/U's and SxS's so didn't need to force feed an A-5, but comrades of mine were shooting gas guns and moving into the realm of light shot charges too.