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During the ‘60s, a remarkable development in shotshells took place, the introduction of plastic cases. Today, almost all cases are plastic, which is much easier and less expensive to form into a shotshell case than paper. Plastic hulls offer greater water resistance than paper and they truly are more pliable. The synthetic material also maintains a superior memory for crimps without the fraying associated with the edges of layered paper hulls. Plastic used for hulls is more resistant to heat than paper hulls, too, and is stronger for the amount of material required.

You can easily measure the precision of hulls and reloaded shells with a shotshell checker. Precision machined holes, labeled GO and NO GO, in this stainless MEC plate test for size and roundness.

Nevertheless, there is considerable pressure from outside the industry to shoot biodegradable components. (In my hometown in Florida, a city known for its liberal politics, the new “Gainesville Target Range” requires that shotgunners pick up not only their hulls, but their wads as well.) This trend may eventually mean that our ballistics tables include data on tomato skin shotshells and distinguish between Red Delicious apple seed pellets (#6) and Autumn Gold pumpkin seed pellets (#00 buckshot).