Shotgun shells are GREAT fun for the kiddies.
All they need to do is just slide one into a short piece of the proper diameter galvanized pipe (taken from Dad’s garage), prop the pipe up on some boards so as to aim it at its intended target, then stand back and shoot at the primer with a BB/pellet gun.
It is both fun and educational “play” for any child. It helps them develop their burgeoning marksmanship skills and can even necessitate the learning of first-aid procedures in a “real world” environment.
Just don’t ask me how I know this.
I remember discovering that shot shells placed in that little tie down loop on the forks of my balloon tired bike made a good shot shell holder for those BB gun practice shooting days.
Back in the day, cops never batted an eye to any kid carrying around a pellet gun, or even a shot gun if you were 14 years old.
At 16, we kept a shot gun in the locker at school to take duck hunting after school.
Now a 4 year old playing with a pink cap gun causes alarm and deployments of swat teams.
Or just shove the shell in the “Y” of a tree branch!
Or take a small marble and tape to the bottom of a shell - throw it in the air and when it lands - “bang”! (Although we were “smart???” enough to take out the pellets first).