Brief History of UMC Loaded 8-gauge Shells

[charlie cleveland]

I was just looking thru my 8 ga shells I seen a Winchester leader loaded with 7 drams of black powder and 2 1/4 ounce of shot..also a umc loaded 8 ga shell with 7 drams of black powder and 2 1/4 ounce of lead shot..2 1/4 ounce is the heaviest factory loads I have seen so far....charlie

[Researcher]

That is what the Winchester ammo catalog on ebay shows. The heaviest black powder load offered is 7 drams pushing 2 1/4-ounce of shot.

March 1, 1906 05.jpg

Union Metallic Cartridge Co. showed bulk smokeless loads as heavy as the black powder loads in 1900 --

8-gauge TRAP Shells 1900.png

but backed off the smokeless loads for 1901 --

8-gauge TRAP Shells 1901.png