Shotgun shell Match holders

[Beefy0978]

Bit of a long shot, but anyone in the Bristol area have a bunch of dead shotgun shells, in any calibre that are in the way? I make arty crafty stuff from the empty casings but never seem to be able to lay my hands on enough of them.
I can collect etc.

Cheers,
Stu

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

I would contact your local clay shoot. They have to pay to dispose of their spent cartridges at £30 a tonne so are usually happy for you to collect as many as you like. I have a tonne bag in my garage but im in Coventry. The best shells for making a good lid with a tight fit are Eley VIP. they have a nice long deep ferrule.

 

[johnnytheboy]

Eley VIP are a cheddite hull, most manufacturer use cheddite hulls! if you want a tight fit, get an unfired shell as the brass (which is actually steel) expands to the inside of the shot gun chamber once its been through the gun! any heavier shell such as game shells or magnum shells will have longer brass on them as they are more expensive, clay shells tend to be made on a budget so the brass is very short!

Shot gun sheels run up to 3.5" for waterfowl shooting, some of the longer ones would be interesting for projects. Waterfowl shooter might be able to give you bigger 10g or 8g shells as well!

The brass (steel) rusts like a 1982 nissan micra so a good idea is to treat them with oil or car polish to stop the water sitting on them, they will last a little longer!

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Eley VIP are a cheddite hull, most manufacturer use cheddite hulls! if you want a tight fit, get an unfired shell as the brass (which is actually steel) expands to the inside of the shot gun chamber once its been through the gun! any heavier shell such as game shells or magnum shells will have longer brass on them as they are more expensive, clay shells tend to be made on a budget so the brass is very short!

Shot gun sheels run up to 3.5" for waterfowl shooting, some of the longer ones would be interesting for projects. Waterfowl shooter might be able to give you bigger 10g or 8g shells as well!

The brass (steel) rusts like a 1982 nissan micra so a good idea is to treat them with oil or car polish to stop the water sitting on them, they will last a little longer!

I wouldnt mess about with unfired shells and im guessing as the op is after some, he doesnt shoot. I find VIPs that have been fired still give a superb friction fit. I sold hundreds on ebay many moons ago with no complaint. On the subject of ebay, if you are planning to make these and sell them on there, they now have draconian auction cancellation policies on anything which looks like spent ammunition so beware. I never new why so many clay shooters bothered paying the extra for Eley VIP shells but the bins were full of them.

Rust is deffo a problem with them and it doesnt take much before they go a lovely orange colour

 

[johnnytheboy]

Sorry I meant an unloaded shell! anyone who homeloads would have them! without a live primer in it, its just a plastic tube, plus before loading it would be much longer as there is no wastage from the crimp or rto!

 

[WULF]

Ive got a good few empty cartridges,plastic tubes with brass ends,i got them off here.....sound any good for what you want?pm me.

 

[johnnytheboy]

http://youtu.be/DkTUc7aVysI you could make a whistle, would sound spooky in the woods at night!!

 

[Beefy0978]

Thanks guys for your responses. I do shoot actually, but only a few here and there. Can never get enough. I usually use a clay round as the pot and a magnum type brass as the lid. I don't sell on eBay but do the odd craft fair.
I hadn't thought that clay sites have to pay to dispose, I actually thought that the brass would be worth money and they'd get paid for them. Still I didn't know it was steel either! And that answers my chain of thought.

 

[British Red]

Its definitely steel - we clean them up with magnets on rods after PSG