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Damaged Shotshells - Advice Please

1K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  fjp110 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

I had quite a few boxes of shotshell stored in a closed off area of the basement.
We had a terrifically heavy rain that damaged the gutters, and water dampened the basement walls.

When I went in to get some shells for trap, I found all of the boxes badly molded, so I removed all of the shells, threw away the boxes, and put the shells into sealable plastic bags.

Most of the shells seem fine, but some have slightly rusted/corroded bases. Some are brass bases and some are steel.

I'd like to clean them up, and my thought is to spray then with WD-40, let then sit a bit, and then wipe them with a non-scratching kitchen pad. Does this sound OK?
Am I ok storing them in sealed plastic bags?

Any other suggestions are much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Tom
 
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#2 ·
Don't use wd40, it will kill the primers and I wouldn't advise keeping them in plastic bags because you will trap moisture in the bag. You wuld be better off with a paperbag or cardboard box. All the shells have steel heads, some are coated with a thin layer of brass. You can clean as much of the rust and corosion as you can and give them a very light coat of oil then wipe them again and store them but I would try to shoot them asap because once rust starts it will continue.
 
#6 ·
throw them away. if you have a barrel obstruction from a failed one and blow your barrel out you will wish you never tried this. if they are steel you must throw them out. a rusty ''slug'' made of pellets will cause trouble for sure. if you really want to try to salvage them put them in a ziplock full of rice and let the dry rice suck he moisture out of them.
 
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