8-gauge Ammunition
 

From my years of observation, it appears to me that Remington ARROW shells are far and away the most common North American 8-gauge shells we see.

The last Remington catalog I've found to offer loaded 8-gauge shells is the 1918-19 The Remington Arms Union Metallic Cartridge Co. Inc. catalog. The 1923 Remington Arms Co., Inc. catalog still offers 8-gauge NPEs. However, the bulk of the 8-gauge ammo I see offered in sporting collectibles auctions is Remington Arms Co., Inc. which would make it from late 1920 onwards, some even after 1934 with the DuPont logo on the labels --

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boy I had several boxes at one time of these same marked shells...but there now gone down the road...charlie

I bet they would have dispatched the neighbors cat.

I only have one original 8 gauge box and it came with over half the shells . I bought it because the load was a little out the norm for an 8 and right up my alley !

Here's the 8ga box I would like to find one day.

In the first years of the 20th Century Union Metallic Cartridge Co. had two high brass shells, TRAP with the flat base wad for bulk smokeless powders and ARROW with a high base wad for dense smokeless powders. For 1905 UMC began offering an ARROW shell for bulk smokeless, but the 8-gauge loads were still in the TRAP shell --

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The EXPERT was the NPE equivalent to the loaded TRAP shell --

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By the 1907 UMC catalog the TRAP shell is gone. While the TRAP shell is in the 1906 catalog, the pages are X'ed out in the copy I have access to.

The only 8-gauge box of ARROW shells from the Remington Arms - Union Metallic Cartridge Co. era (1911-16) I've gotten pictures of has the Rem-UMC over ARROW head-stamp and the REMINGTON-UMC canular at the top of the brass --

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The only 8-gauge shell in my collection is of this type. I was a teenager when while visiting Minnesota my uncle took me to the old "Stagecoach" restaurant/gun museum/gun shop and they were selling individual shells out of a box of 8-gauges.

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Some years ago one of the Lein boys was selling a dozen loaded and ten empty 8-gauge shells stamped KLEANBORE on the sides. KLEANBORE priming was introduced to Remington shotshells in the 1931-2 time frame --

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And then there is Winchester Leader

Sweet!! I knew Winchester loaded 8-gauge shells, but your box is the first I've seen. Just looking in my 1916 Winchester catalog and load 86BB listed at $71 per thousand.

Also, I see Winchester offered their 8-gauge LEADERS loaded with either bulk or dense smokeless powders. UMC/Remington only offered their 8-gauge shells in black and bulk smokeless powders.

Did Winchester load 8’s in the Nublack or Repeater varieties ?