Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Grouchy Spike doesn't shoot any more so has been selling a bunch of guns and gear. At Comancheria Days I picked up a half dozen boxes of Ammodirect shotshells loaded with Pinnacle (made by APP). Only $5 per box of 12, which seemed pretty good. Interestingly, these are all loaded in paper hulls. I don't know how old they are, but they drop in and out of a shell checker and I will keep them dry until used. Some are very low brass and some are higher, though the labels are the same. The crimp is pooching out on some. I might run them through the crimp station on my LoadAll, but there seems to be an overshot card inside so no shot is leaking. Has anyone ever used these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted July 16, 2022 Author Share Posted July 16, 2022 Well, I finally got around to trying out these shells at today's match. HUMONGOUS FAIL! On the first stage, the first two fired fine, knocked over the targets. Seemed comparable power-wise to my BP loads of 60gr FFg and 1 1/8 oz shot. But then when I tried to eject the empties, well, they didn't. Both hulls split and the head of one flexed enough to allow it to slip inder the extractor and require prying out. Head only came out, so I stuck my finger in the chamber to slide out the body of the hull. I went ahead and loaded two more and they did the same thing (I knew my match time was already hosed so was going for the clean match). It was an 87 second stage. I had fortunately brought another box of my own loads to finish the match. But then the second stage was 82 seconds due to the 32-20 rifle going down but that is for another topic. I'm thinking these shells are at least a dozen years old. Don't know if it was a chemical reaction of the powder with the paper hulls (I would assume that) or what. I've still got 4 or 5, 12-round boxes of these loads. I guess I could probably reclaim the shot. Not sure if it would be worth the effort to empty them out to reclaim the primers. Heck, if I wanted to go to that kind of effort, I have scads of 20 Gauge hunting shells loaded by a brother who passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 I never bought shotshells from them, but still have some .45 Colt and .44 Russian that work fine. As I recall, they went out of business after a bad plant explosion; quite a few years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 I'd reclaim the primers AND the shot myself. Tried buying shot from commercial sources lately? Snip them mid-hull with a plastic pipe shear (away from the powder). Goes real quick. good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted July 17, 2022 Author Share Posted July 17, 2022 12 minutes ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said: I'd reclaim the primers AND the shot myself. Tried buying shot from commercial sources lately? Snip them mid-hull with a plastic pipe shear (away from the powder). Goes real quick. good luck, GJ Good idea, that would beat prying open crimps and trying to get wads out that way. I may take some of the higher-brass shells with me the next time I shoot BP and try some out after the match. They likely will split the same way, but maybe not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grouchy Spike Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 Well, that is a surprise! Send me an email with your details and I'll refund your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share Posted July 20, 2022 Howdy Grouchy! I got your email. And I will answer that the same as here. No way will I accept a refund. It was a fluke (and an interesting experience!). And I got plenty of other bargains from you to make up for it. The reddish-orange shirt I love and have worn a few times. The silver hat I reshaped and has now gone into regular rotation, and the gold older style hat that I just wore for the first time last week. Thanks for the offer, though. If I had paid you a couple hundred for a bunch of them, that would be different. Anyway, I'm considering carrying one on my shotgun belt at all times, so when someone drops a shell and needs another, I can hand it to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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