I recently bought an old Remington 14-A in .30 Rem. that came with several boxes of mixed ammo (Core-Lokt and Silvertips), all probably '30s vintage.

None of the ammo boxes appear to be complete and some of the boxes have stray rounds of other brands. End flaps are not in the greatest shape. I suspect collector's value is pretty low since the round has been discontinued, new Remington brass is still readily available. Tell me if I'm wrong.

I will probably shoot a few of them to establish a baseline for case expansion and velocity. Any reason I shouldn't? Nothing's rotten or corroded or anything like that.

But I also got to thinking -- anyone ever hunt with vintage guns and vintage ammo? Somehow I like the idea of taking a deer with a cartridge almost as old as my dad.

If I do give it a try -- which would you pick, the pre-WWII Core-Lokt, or the pre-WWII Silvertip?

John

Although the boxes are not in good shape, and generally a full box in great shape is worth money, I wouldn't shoot them.

Not for safty reasons, or collector reasons...at least not today. But...your kids or grandkids could have something in another several years...

Be extremely careful when shooting ammo that old: it can season-crack or split on firing, with the potential of releasing gas back through the action and blowing stuff into the shooter's eyes and face-skin.

Always wear shooting glasses.

Suggest you balance what an eye is worth against the relatively modest cost of new brass....

Paladin

Good food for thought.

The seasoning of the brass would also affect its validity for establishing an expansion baseline.

I will probably just work my way up to submaximum handloads by chrono reading.

John