M14 Forum

casebro

I guess 25# of shot fits into a two liter bottle. Handy that way, to pour shot into the smaller press mounted bottles.

But how long will they last? I don't want a bottle to get old and crumble, pouring #8s all over.

And PS, dish soap bottle caps fit the small press mounted bottles, as well as some soda bottle caps. Handy to cap the bottles during storage. My used MEC didn't come with any caps.

TexIndian

Probably depends on the storage conditions, but having one split open while being handled would be a real pain. I generally just leave it in the bag but I have used a coffee can or something like that when the bag splits or I get some shot from some other source.

art7

I think they will last just fine. Probably past your lifetime, and certainly for longer than it takes you to use 25# of shot.

Pike

If you drop one?

Approximately until it hits the floor.

Then, MESS.

I've always used the canvas bags it comes in. If you're worried about particulates, put the canvas bag into a plastic one.

To me, a soda bottle sounds like a recipe for inevitable disaster.

YMMV

ETA: I also wonder about the possibility of the shot "jamming" in the constriction of the neck of the bottle and the whole thing becoming a PITA.

thefishguy77

I have never bought shot. I inherited all my shot from my old man. The canvas bags will fail. It happens faster that you think one year I reload just fine the next year I had 6's all over the floor when I moved the bag. After getting them all cleaned and swept up i put them in a steal coffee sized can for long term storage. Might be a fluke but after having to pull all the debris out of the shot I don't want to have to waste my time with that again. If a steal can will take 25 years with water stored in it I doubt that shot will be harder on it than water. As far as soda bottles go my neighbors who are Mormon had 2 ltr. and 1 gal. plastic water containers in the closet and after about 2 1/2 years they found that the bottles had begun to break down and slowly leek in to there floor. I don't know if this is caused by the water but I know I will personally never use thin plastic bottles to store anything long term unless I have no other options.


hth

art7

Oh, well. You forgot to mention these were Mormon bottles. Those don't last nearly as long as regular soda bottles .... :-) just kidding.

If you put certain chemicals in plastic bottles, it can cause them to break down, so if your neighbors eg sterilized the bottles with bleach before refilling with water, that might contribute to breakdown. Certain organic compounds can also attack various plastics. Lead shot, or any other solid, does not react as easily as a liquid phase chemical will, so I would expect your issue is less difficult.

Also, you failed to mention liquid tight as a success criteria. The plastic cap might well exhibit creep with time, to the point where it will not form a liquid tight seal that could drip. But that is not the same thing as failing to the point of spilling shot.

Mocos

been storing lead shot that way since the 80's when I shot competitive trap and eventhough I don't compete I still reload for 3gun they are still holding up...six bottles in a milk crate on a dolly so I can roll it around in the garage...

TexIndian

One thing I forgot to mention earlier. I cut one of the 1 liter bottles off a few inches above the neck and leave it sitting on top of the shot reservoir on my reloader (a MEC hydraulic progressive). Now when I need to add more shot, it makes a much bigger target than the reservoir tube, and it takes less time to reload the tube because the mouth of the bottle allows a greater volume of shot to flow through compared to the funnels I used to use. Plus the bottle sits perfectly on top and will hold an additional few pounds of shot, making it longer before I have to add more.

My bags last forever when I store them inside the bedroom I converted into my gun room. Storing them in the garage or other area exposed to temperature extremes and moisture kill their lifespan just like it would your plastic bottles.

I save my old bags. After some serious washing, they can be sewed together to make neat dust covers for my various loading presses, etc.

pendennis

If you check out Trapshooters.com, you will find lots of stories from people who did the same thing, only to play "#8 Pickup". If you have a MEC, there are several suppliers out there who make replacement shot bottles for it. I bought one for my MEC 9000G, and it very safely holds 25# of shot. Try this company:

http://www.basicdesignmachine.com/products.asp

casebro

I did learn that the Mec bottles use the same cap as liquid dish soap. The reloader came without any caps. So I figure if I do need to swap shot size, or powders, I have alternatives to spending hard earned money on a plastic item that is FREE with 99¢ of soap. MEC bottles go for $6-$17. EMPTY.

Can't use two flat soap bottles though, can't screw one on if there is another already mounted. But Elmer's glue comes in round bottles. So does my epoxy. I wonder about 1/2 gallon bleach bottles? Shampoo? Conditioner? Most water bottles are a bit different. The pigmented bottles may take more UV than a clear soda bottle. Quart oil bottles? the caps look good. ...

DukeRustfield

I did the cap-inside-a-cap-inside-a-cap thing when I was filling my shot bags with 25#. I only spilled a tablespoon, amazingly. And it went so much faster. Sometimes you just get lucky.