Home Forums Reloading Shotshells Old 16 gauge shells

Picked up a 1959 Winchester model 12 in 16 today from a local older gentleman. Getting out of 16s and didn't hunt wanted to know if I wanted the rest of his 16 gauge ammo. Mix of paper and early plastic shells and mix of shot sizes . Most 4s and 6s . Ended up with about 150 rounds total, just a sample here of what was in the box.

I came into a batch of mixed old 16 ga loads a few years back. Most but not all of them fired.

Those old shells are really cool. I have a bunch my grandfather left.

I've been using some 50 years old 16 ga. shells for pheasant hunting the last couple years. They've mostly worked just fine. One batch of old paper hull cartridges was prone to hang fire, so I used them to prune a few tree branches from hard to reach spots. Not pretty but effective.