Fudd Friday: Go Old-School With Federal's New Upland Paper Loads

I don’t remember the first time I ever shot a rifle, but I remember the first time I ever shot a shotgun. As a teen, one of my friends found an ancient stash of 16 gauge paper shotgun shells in his basement (probably belonging to his great-grandfather). We managed to also get our hands on that great-grandfather’s old single-shot Cooey and amused ourselves by shooting paint cans off the fence posts in a back pasture … after making sure no adults were around to interrupt us. It was all safe and fun because we knew how to handle guns, and it was a good way to burn off ancient rounds that otherwise would have eventually disintegrated into a pile of basement dust.

In the years since, I’ve pounded a lot of your standard plastic-hulled shotshells through my hunting shotguns, but those paper shells remained a memory of a past spent as a hick in the sticks. Until now, that is—paper-hulled hunting shells are making a comeback with Federal’s new Upland Loads.

Shotgun fodder @ TFB:

• Remington Awarded US Navy Contract of 12 Gauge Slug, Duty Shotshells
• [SHOT 2024] Zala Mini Shotshells
• Hodgdon's New "High Gun" Dedicated 12-Gauge Shotshell Powder
• Federal's Top Gun Lead and Steel Shotshells With Paper Wad

Paper’s comeback

Historically, shotgun shell hulls were made of paper for decades before plastic hulls became widespread around the middle of the 20th century. Brass-hulled shotshells were also available, but paper was popular because it was cheaper than metal. Plastic offered the humidity resistance of metal and the affordability of paper, so it prevailed. For years, paper-hulled shotgun shells were mostly the purvey of specialty companies, although Federal did keep some target loads in production with this material, including the Special Target and Sporting Clays loads of the late 1980s, the Gold Medal International Paper loads of the 1990s, and more recently the Gold Medal Grand Paper Hull shotgun shells that came out in 2018 (see our coverage here).

Some hunters might have used these shells in the field for nostalgic reasons, but they were not marketed for that purpose; Federal made these for busting clays. But more recently, they’ve started selling new hunting shotshells made with paper hulls. During the SHOT Show of 2025, they announced the new Federal Upland Paper lineup, available in 20 gauge or 12 gauge loads. For now, only 2.75-inch shells are available, with a choice of #4, #5 or #6 shot. They’re packaged in 25-round boxes. And as these are marketed towards upland hunters, they use hardened, copper-plated lead shot, not non-toxic material such as steel or TSS—non-tox loads aren’t required in most jurisdictions for busting pheasants or partridge.

But while these are shells built to please a hunter in love with vintage firepower, don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re old-fashioned and not to be trusted for serious hunting work. Federal says they used a special wad design for better patterns and a high-quality powder and primer for efficient ignition.

Because they’re paper, not plastic, you will have to be a bit more careful in the field. Federal’s PR rep told us, “All the durable waxed/paper products are dried and cured correctly. But, obviously, paper is different from plastic, so shooters should keep that in mind when storing and using.” In other words: Don’t shove these in a dank, moldy corner of your basement with high humidity, and don’t have them hanging off your shell belt as you trudge the fields in a cloudburst, if you want reliable performance. You don’t want a squib load, and you don’t want a swollen paper hull jamming up your auto-loader mid-hunt.

Speaking of which: These shells are made to work in all shotgun actions, from pumps to semis to even bolt-actions or lever-actions, if you’re into more oddball shotguns. However, Federal says that most people buy them to use in over-under doubles, which makes sense, since those guns usually belong to people who appreciate the finer things in life—including the sweet smell of an expended paper shotshell, versus the acrid stink of a plastic load. As Federal’s rep puts it: “Some shooters perceive the paper materials and cushion offer a different/better feel when shooting. Mostly, it's a mindset of performance, class or elegance. Plus nostalgia and hunting heritage.”

Surprisingly, the rumored talk of a ban on plastic shotgun shells in some jurisdictions, as part of environmentalists’ move to get rid of so-called single-use plastics, was not part of the reason for these hunting shells’ development, said Federal. Nevertheless, if such a ban ever came into place, if Federal combined their paper-hulled hunting loads with a biodegradable wad, there would certainly be customers lined up. Just don’t expect to see a waterfowl version of these paper-hulled hunting loads anytime soon. As per their PR rep: “Federal is always striving for new product opportunities in the future, but no plans are established enough for such announcements at this time. If there is enough demand, we will always consider it.”