I am just guessing but I think as long as you thaw them out slowly; you should not have any issues. Before hunting or a shoot I bring the ammo into the house the night before. I don't know if it helps but it can't hurt.

 

I don't think it had any affect on ammo during WWII or Korean war, unless it was ice encapsulated.

 

Unless water got inside during reloading, what is there in a shell that will "freeze?"

 

No effect whatsoever.

There is nothing in the shells to "freeze".

Condensation has to come from the atmosphere.
The only place there is any appreciable amount of "atmosphere" inside your shotgun shell is in the cushioning section of the wad, and there is not very much there.
The wad is down tight against the powder (or SHOULD BE), the powder is packed tight (OR SHOULD BE), excluding (almost) all air.

You need a LOT of air, or an incredible amount of moisture in a small amount of air, to get any remotely interesting amount of "condensation" on anything.

You have a 10,000 (or more) worse possibility of a frozen hard plastic wad cracking at some point in it's construction when suddenly hit with 11,000psi of pressure, folding it up (I have seen cracked Remington Power Pistons), than you have of a 'condensation risk' inside the loaded hull.

 

I have frozen, and fired a lot of frozen, ammo, shotgun and metallic, over the decades.

Not
A
problem

 

I used to keep shot shells in an unheated garage during the winter with no issues. Before I started shooting digital, I used to keep all my film in the freezer. I did let that come to room temperature before using to insure no condensation issues.

Bob

 

I have hunted multiple times in well below -20*.
Left the shells in the back of the open truck and hunting the next day WITH the "Frozen " shells with out any noticeable affect. That said many powders are temp sensitive so you have to use appropriate powders.

PS:
A side note,
Old first steel shot shell shells had a tendency to condense moisture do to constant temp changes,in the shell and rust the pellets together.
That was never good , steel slug.
The new steel is coted to stop that.

 

Different powders perform differently in very cold weather but the shotgun shell does not know its cold.It would only be frozen if water was introduced in this because frozen relates to the status of fluid.

I was stationed at Fort Greely for almost 8 years and hunted predators in the hard winters there (-60F). They all go boom, some powders perform better in the very cold compared to others, which -20F is not.

 

nobody here to contradict... LOL.

powder cares, plastic shells that don't use those powders really don't.
the air itself being denser will have more effect on things.

 

Frozen and sitting in a pickup all winter - sounds like pretty much every shell I've ever used for upland game.

Probably the only difference is going to be in velocity. I've seen some interesting tests and articles about centerfire rifle ammo velocity varying widely based on temps, and some brands doing much better than others maintaining consistent speeds at freezing temps. That's a consideration with your deer rifle point of impact but not a big deal with your shotgun pattern I reckon.

 

My experience is that cold shells don't perform as good as warm shells. So I try to keep my shells in the house at night rather than the truck.

 

Thanks everyone for the great comments and your valuable input! Much appreciated!

Guess I'm just an old Grandma who worries too much.

Thanks again!

Greg

 

Frozen and sitting in a pickup all winter - sounds like pretty much every shell I've ever used for upland game.

You've been using my shells!! :mrgreen:

 

Frozen and sitting in a pickup all winter - sounds like pretty much every shell I've ever used for upland game.

What better place to keep them? No point in dragging them into the house because the next time you go hunting, you'd just have to drag them back to the truck.

 

Frozen and sitting in a pickup all winter - sounds like pretty much every shell I've ever used for upland game.

What better place to keep them? No point in dragging them into the house because the next time you go hunting, you'd just have to drag them back to the truck.

And then it would be something you forgot to get, so, 300 miles from home you'd have to go buy some.

What's in the truck, you have at hand.

 

Frozen and sitting in a pickup all winter - sounds like pretty much every shell I've ever used for upland game.

What better place to keep them? No point in dragging them into the house because the next time you go hunting, you'd just have to drag them back to the truck.

And then it would be something you forgot to get, so, 300 miles from home you'd have to go buy some.

What's in the truck, you have at hand.

Good ones guys!