Learn something new everyday
 

And I thought spreaders were a fairly new innovation. Right out of the box today.

A box of skeet shells long ago came with two spreader shells for station 8.

about what year was this shell made..these shells of yours are very good indeed..i really likeed the old shells kinda got something special about them...charlie

Spreaders for station 8?...... Why?

I shoot low gun (waist level) at station 8 and never gave a thought to my chokes being too tight.

Ya but have you ever hit any of them? :rotf:

I'll see you on the 1st Pete.

That is so cool. Man, has customer service taken a beating.
Of course, back then you could specify the amount of drop at heel for a VH grade shotgun.

If you were a serious skeet shooter of years gone by, a bird or two could have been picked up with a spreader shell. I'm not sure about the spread of the pattern at that range, but a 8" pattern would be better than a 4" pattern. Now days they aren't allowed so there mush have been something about them.

Not allowed today? Certainly they are allowed in NSSA competition and, I assume, in NSCA competition. By the way, dispersers are advertised as far back as the 1800s.

In 1928, Remington introduced their 'Skeet Loads'. A box would contain 19 standard skeet loads and 6 skeet scatter loads. I would imagine if a box were found today in its original configuration, it would be worth a few ducats in the realm of collectors.

The yellow box of shells on the right is marked Brush Loads, I assume they are spreaders, the box is about half full.

still half a box after all those years

must be a grouse hunter

This is some great ammunition history for those of us not so well versed. Thanks and keep it coming.
Brush loads??? never seen such a thing.

Harold, brush loads are generally made with a wad that has no shot cup. Basically just a plastic base over the powder.

I shot some of those shells grouse hunting 20 or so years ago, and then thought I should save them. I may have to take one apart to see how it was made. I thought they used fiber wads back then, but I dont know how old those boxes are--may only be from the late 1950's or 60's.

19/6 regular to spreader is my ratio when shooting skeet with tight choked Parkers. Use the spreader on 2nd shot of doubles and station 8. 6 spreaders per round.

Could it be the old loading was intended for SxS guns ?

William

Years back, Western also marketed their 'Thicket Load'.

lots of people should have been told about these loads before they got out the hacksaws...would love to have a box of those thicket and brush loads for display...charlie

So true Charlie.

If they were easy to find not many would be looking so hard for them. It would take the fun out of it.

Not really that new:

October 1904 - this advert tells that: gas is introduced into the shot charge to promote the spreading effect. "Less recoil and practically the same velocity".
http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/...pso4oq6nac.jpg


December 1904 - no mention how the Big Red W did it in 1904 "without the sacrifice of velocity, penetration or uniformity". I remember seeing a cross-section of a spreader shell in one of my old American Field papers, showing layers of thin card wads in the shot charge. Kind of like a layer cake. But I don't recall if that was Winchester's design. I'll post that illustration when I come across it again.
http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/...pstivofd1a.jpg

Great information
 

Dave- this is a great thread. thanks for starting it.

Thirty years ago I wrote Tom Roster a letter asking him how I could develop a load that would in effect open up the pattern in a tightly choked Parker 20ga. He suggested cutting the petals off a plastic wad and loading as usual. The theory being the shot would scrub the barrel, slightly deform, and open up the pattern. It worked and I've been doing it ever since.

I am a bit amused by those who do this "spreader" thing for casual skeet. Is there a difference in the annual income from skeet shooting with and without spreader loads? I am interested because it is time to turn my paper over to my tax man for 2014.

Looks like UMC might have gotten some bad vibes on bleeding off powder gases to cause spreading of the shot charge, thereby reducing velocity. This advert appeared on the front page of the next few issues. Humm, let me think about that ..... the new short range shells wiill strike with adequate killing force (at 25 yards) but with almost the same penetration as regular shells would do @ 40 yards.

http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/...pszso8bjvf.jpg