Nebraskaland

62 Nebraskaland • July 2020 Following a really good dove, duck or goose shoot, the ground around your stand or blind will literally be littered with numerous spent shotgun shells. Obviously, these empty hulls need to be picked up, both to prevent litter and to be respectful to the landowner, but what do you do with them afterward? Unless you reload, they probably just end up in the trash, but that seems like such a waste. Here are a few ways to put those discarded hulls to good use. RECYCLING SPENT SHELLS By Jarrod Spilger MIXED BAG Mojo Pick Stick Post-hunt clean-up of empty shotgun shells can take time, but it's worth it because it keeps the landowner happy, polices the area, and even prevents other hunters from knowing where your hot shooting spots are. Mojo's magnetic Pick Stick makes shell pick-up quick and easy. Simply extend the magnetic pole and it'll do the rest, attracting as many as 25 empties at a time. Then rake the shells off the stick into a bag or bucket. It beats bending down to grab each shell and is especially useful for retrieving empties out of water. Best of all, the Pick Stick is just as handy on the trap range as it is in the dove field or duck blind. Visit mojooutdoors.com for more details. Shell Flags I've recently been making Shell Flags for both myself and my hunting partners. Admittedly, this idea was inspired by the large shotgun shell flag hanging on the clubhouse wall at Crooked Creek Gun Club south of Aurora. I merely tweaked the concept a bit to fit my space constraints. The first needed supplies are 12-gauge shotgun shells in the colors red, white and blue. Federal's Top Gun Patriot Target Load is a great choice since each box includes a mixture of shells in these three colors. Otherwise, you'll have to do some mixing and matching yourself. Gamebore and Rio both offer 12-gauge hulls in blue, while Federal Gold Medal Grand shells come in white. An excellent source of red shells is Winchester's USA Game and Target load. Each shell is stamped with "USA," giving them a distinctively more patriotic feel than plain red hulls. I use an 8-by-10 shadow box to frame my Shell Flag because that's what was available locally at Hobby Lobby. Larger shadow boxes could also be used or you could even make your own custom-sized frame if so skilled. The downside to my 8-by-10 box is that only nine red and white stripes fit inside it, and the flag has a somewhat square rather than rectangular shape. The upside is that the compact flag will fit nicely on virtually any wall. My personal Shell Flag occupies a patriotic space on my garage wall next to posters of ducks and quail. To make the flag, arrange the blue hulls in the top left corner of the frame, and then alternate rows of red and white shells to create the stripes. As indicated, the size of the frame will determine how many stripes the flag has. Use Gorilla Glue to ensure the shells stay in place. This last item is important, because I've used other glues only to have sections of the shells fall out. Save yourself some time and aggravation by using Gorilla Glue to begin with.

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