# Pick up yer empties



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I thought I'd run a poll. I haven't done a poll since we changed the UWN to vBadvanced


Do you pick up your empty shotgun shells? 

You have up to 4 choices.

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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

Great choices.


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## Wind In His Hair (Dec 31, 2009)




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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

RandomElk16 said:


> Great choices.


 thanks

You can do up to 10 poll choices, but I thought my 4 covered all the bases.

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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

When I shoot a pump or O/U the boat catches most of them. When I shoot the auto I can't find all the empties. I pick up the ones I do find though, and I even throw them in the trash can and don't leave them in the parking lot.8)


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I voted Who Cares just to see the results. 

I have picked up my empties ever since I was in Jr. High school chasing rabbits. I have even gotten to where I will pick up empty 22 brass just to throw into my brass collection. That bucket is getting heavy.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

the boat catch most of them. but yes I do pick up the ones that fly out of the boat from the auto. I even pick up other peoples that left them there. so i leave it cleaner when I leave.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

About 25 years ago I guided 2 waterfowlers from Sicily on a cast n blast. One guy was a helicopter pilot and the other guy some kind of police captain. Only one of them spoke English. They told me in much of Europe you have to check yourself in before going afield to duck hunt. Each hunter has his shells counted on the way in and then again on the way out. There's a fine for each shell that you don't bring back through the checkout station at the end of the day's hunt.

The guys were fun, a little bull-headed. We caught a lot of fish and they shot (at) every flipping thing that had feathers. good grief They picked up every empty they seen and commented on how trashy America was.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

wyogoob said:


> Only one of them spoke English........
> 
> They picked up every empty they seen and *commented on how trashy America was*.


At least that's what you thought they wuz sayin'. Bettcha they wuz talkin' dat eye-tal-ee-ann stuff about how much they liked Evingstun for his firework and porn stores, and how they wish der wuz a Mavrik back home so they could hang out with the bobsled team.-/|\\--/|\\--/|\\-


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Dang it! That was supposed to hit top of the page!


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

BTW, I voted for all poll options and it let me.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

dkhntrdstn said:


> the boat catch most of them. but yes I do pick up the ones that fly out of the boat from the auto. I even pick up other peoples that left them there. so i leave it cleaner when I leave.


Ditto, somehow as a foot soldier I always leave with more empties than shots I took.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> At least that's what you thought they wuz sayin'. Bettcha they wuz talkin' dat eye-tal-ee-ann stuff about how much they liked Evingstun for his firework and porn stores, and how they wish der wuz a Mavrik back home so they could hang out with the bobsled team.-/|\\--/|\\--/|\\-


Nah, I think these fellers belonged to some sort of club. Their friends in Evanston were dark quiet figures with fancy pin-striped suits and had last names that ended in a vowel.

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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

Here's a question for you: why is it that when I find a pile of empties in the marsh, 95% of the time they're Xperts? There are a lot of possible answers but I'm not sure I really want to know.


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## fishreaper (Jan 2, 2014)

Have biodegradeable shells ever been pondered? a rolled paper case and paper wadding? Seems like it would reduce the amount of plastic floating around, but I wonder how much more they would cost?


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## Wind In His Hair (Dec 31, 2009)

When I was growing up we hunted a lot of farmer's fields and ponds. Common courtesy would dictate that you pick up your empties. A trash bag was something that you packed in your game vest every trip. They did get a lot fuller hunting the WMAs, because the walk back was spent picking up the trash of the less respectful. People don't realize that this is the kind of stuff that shuts areas down to hunting.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Pumpgunner said:


> Here's a question for you: why is it that when I find a pile of empties in the marsh, 95% of the time they're Xperts? There are a lot of possible answers but I'm not sure I really want to know.


because they are great shell and are a great price and they do the job well.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

I save all my empties and count them at the end of the year to see how many shells I shot over the year. I pulled out my bags of empties last weekend and started sorting through them. My reloaded empties made up about 1/4 of the shells I had in the bags. Another 1/4 were shells of the guys I hunted with, leaving an extra 400 hulls from other guys I picked up. 

When I first started hunting, nobody I hunted with picked up empties, the guy that took me out on my first duck hunt showed me how to stomp my shells into the mud. Didn't feel right and now there is not a single guy I hunt with that doesn't pick up their empties and a couple of them pick up any empties they can find.


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

fishreaper said:


> Have biodegradeable shells ever been pondered? a rolled paper case and paper wadding? Seems like it would reduce the amount of plastic floating around, but I wonder how much more they would cost?


I had a few boxes of bismuth shells a few years ago that were 100% biodegradable- paper cased, steel based, and used cork and fiber wads. Really just like a shell from the 20's or 30's. I used them for hunting grouse and chukar, it was nice because I could feel OK about not chasing down empties if we got into some birds.

As far as I know the reason for the switch to plastic hulls over paper was because in waterfowling conditions the paper hulls would swell and get jammed in chambers. I'm sure that some biodegradable plastic hulls could be made but honestly there really isn't any incentive for manufacturers to develop them. One thing that I wonder about is if there is a way to make a biodegradable steel shot wad, if you think about it every shell you shoot the plastic wad ends up somewhere out in the marsh. I'm not saying it keeps me up at nights but it would be nice to reduce my footprint in the marsh!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

fishreaper said:


> Have biodegradeable shells ever been pondered? a rolled paper case and paper wadding? Seems like it would reduce the amount of plastic floating around, but I wonder how much more they would cost?


fishreaper, surely you know that they made paper shotgun shells. For over 75 years shotgun shells had paper hulls with paper or cotton wads. Paper shells was all there was when I started out hunting as a youngster. The empties didn't last very long laying on the ground. The base was brass though, and didn't corrode as fast as some of the cheaper-made shell bases made today.

You had to be careful getting paper shells wet. The paper was wax-impregnetated but the cheaper shells were just that, cheap, and you could ruin a whole box by putting it away wet. Plastic came out in the early 60s and took awhile to catch on. I think they were a little higher priced compared to paper when introduced.

A story: The old 16 gauge shotguns had 2 9/16" chambers, even the Browning A-5s. During WWII (I think) 16 gauge shells went to 2 3/4" long, same as the 12 gauge. You could stuff a paper 2 3/4" shell in the shorter 2 9/16" chamber. Then when you shot it the wax-paper hull would swell up in the chamber and you had to use pliers to pull the empty out....uh the melted wax didn't help any either. 2 3/4" low-brass plastic 16ga shells in the 2 9/16" chambers weren't too bad, especially if using a single-shot shotgun (what most kids started with back in my day) without an ejector where you had to grab the empty and pull it out of the barrel any way.

Paper shells have been around a long time. Some of the UWN members have posted some cool pics of paper shells here. I recommend using the UWN search engine if you're interested in seeing some pics of paper shotgun shells.

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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

wyogoob said:


> thanks
> 
> You can do up to 10 poll choices, but I thought my 4 covered all the bases.
> 
> .


My last couple trips to the marsh have been quite positive. Hardly any hulls in the areas I was hunting. Looks like most guys have been fairly responsible this season to me.


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## fishreaper (Jan 2, 2014)

Fraid i'm not quite old enough for anything like that, I've only been an "adult" for about three months now. I did however, find out that federal still makes a gold-medal skeet shell that uses paper, which would make me feel better about shooting skeet or dove. The only clays I can ever find are biodegradable anyways. 

I'm all for the idea of biodegradable wadding, since that is one of the few things that can't be controlled after a shot. picking up shells is just after your done is just a common courtesy that may not be all that common. 

In my defense though, I'd always assumed old fashion shot shells prior to plastic were the fancy all brass shells. I don't think anyone would just leave those around in the marsh.


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## Wind In His Hair (Dec 31, 2009)

I have a box of those paper Federal target loads. I haven't shot any yet, but when you open the box they smell like crayons. I've also seen paper in Sellier & Bellot loads at Cabela's. They were steel shot, but #7 so not exactly a waterfowl load.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Wind In His Hair said:


> I've also seen paper in Sellier & Bellot loads at Cabela's. They were steel shot, but #7 so not exactly a waterfowl load.


#7's work awesome on close range Teal.


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## Wind In His Hair (Dec 31, 2009)

Fowlmouth said:


> #7's work awesome on close range Teal.


Yes, they would make a nice teal load.


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## outdoorser (Jan 14, 2013)

fishreaper said:


> I'm all for the idea of biodegradable wadding, since that is one of the few things that can't be controlled after a shot.


We could try experimenting with tying some fishing line to the wad and then reel it back in after its been shot;-)


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## fishreaper (Jan 2, 2014)

It's almost crazy enough to work. Almost.


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