My older AA hulls are starting to feel brittle. The mouth of the case is a little more ragged than fresh hulls. Would Armor All or silicone help or should I just chuck all the older ones? The oldes hulls I would get some powder darkening at the crimp and I chucked all of those.

I keep shooting them.

chuck em when the side crack extends below the top crimp when loaded.
and, if one of the 8 point crimps just overlaps and fingernails, instead of being a fold.

Pretty much as bobski suggests though with some hulls I go longer until petals break off and a dab of wax is needed to keep in the shot. I'll go this far if the hull does not crack past the crimp fold. The very last loading typically goes through an auto as I won't be looking to load them again.

I may not go to such extremes with 12 or maybe 20 ga hulls but I'll do so with 16, 28, and 410 ga hulls. I don't have access to a 410 auto but they are so seldom found when dumpster diving that I'll run them right into the ground. I'll even trim 3" to 2 1/2" as the longer hull wears out.

i had that issue with Winchester AA-HS 12 gauge hulls and had to discard them until I replaced the crimp forming die for my Hornady 366 made specifically for the AA-HS hulls and the problem of bulging side cracks went away.

All good answers but hulls are basically free anymore so help yourself at the trash can or dumpster. The price of shot is why damn few load shotshells any more. MB

Also what bobski, says. If it’ll hold a crimp, it’s safely shootable, and i don’t worry about shot dribbling out and poofs. Minor pinholes, short cracks limited to crimp area or little into shoulder, wrinkly crimps, powder burns be dammmned. If need be a little piece of masking tape, and into the “last chance” box. This isn’t metallic reloading. Up to you. My vanity and ocd is limited to wiping a hull before goes in press with a pledge dampened rag. Grit gone, look newish, eject slick.

Yeah, but it varies. I live in the sticks, dedicated reloader country. Empties scarce. When go back east, lots of empties, but heavily walmart throw-aways these days, for economic reasons you cited. So, funny, but some still hoard and milk, you know?

After somewhere around 300,000 reloads and pushing them to several reloads after this description, I've finally decided that the tape, wax, and shot falling out of the weak crimps isn't worth it, so I now throw my beloved old style AAs when they meet this description. I've also realized that I'll never shoot the thousands of once fired old style AAs that I've saved from my Trap and Skeet competition days.


I've been using Pacific/Hornady 366 loaders (I have one for each gauge) since the early '80s. I've never had any problems loading any of the old style AAs, but the primers wouldn't fully seat in the new HS hulls until I bought a spring loaded primer seating rod from Hornady. I've never had any problems with the original crimp forming dies.

It's interesting situation hull wise these days.Has been for a long time like Buffy I still have a lifetime supply of old style AA's. But I'm also a scrounger, I've allways liked loading federals also.
Years ago at the gun club I shoot at I was told I could have all the hulls I wanted. At the time they were selling Federal Top gun loads and everyone but me regarded them as throwaways. They load slick and work ok for me.. FREE It doesn"t bother me to change loads if I can score real savings cash wise on good component deals. It is how I roll. MB

Sandcritter where are you located maybe I could get you some hills
M B

Thanks. I will load till they leak or just before. Due to a couple of moves I stopped reloading but kept most of the components including a couple hundred pounds of shot. The savings will be used to finance other hunts and I like the quality and uniformity of the reloads. I can't blame switching shells for bad shooting.

I turn the old ones into hunting ammo. If I lose them or step on them, no biggie.

I generally shoot about 100 rounds at the skeet range a week, so I go thru hulls pretty quick.

What Bobski said. Run them out.

i got a bunch of once fired 12ga prepacked usps medium size boxes of 250 black rem, estates, blue rio, and gun clubs sitting in the corner when the hull markets fell out. packed and ready to go anywhere in the usa. everyone just buys factory cheap ammo these days.
pm me if anyone wants to buy them.

If they have a base wad. I toss them. in the older shot shell that have a base wad. the wad can get loose from moister, an be sucked down a ways into the barrel. and when you shoot the next shot it will ring the barrel... yes I know that is from old shells that I don't know if they are made anymore . but you never know what someone might sell you.. paper hull are bad for that.

I allways heard that but never had problems with Federal paper or plastic hulls with the rolled paper base wad. REIFENHAUSER style hulls been around since Christ was born. Say what you want but damn they cut down and roll crimp well,as well as being easier to use with nitro cards and Feltan bluestreak composite wads. Sanded walnut, fresh broken port oxford cedar,federal papers fresh fired with Green Dot powder are some of the finest smells still left in this world and those fed hulls are great in my LCSmith 16 dbl and 1902 vintage m97 12 ga. Old hulls yeah I'm a fan. MB