UMC 12 Ga. Loaded w Laplin & Rand BP

[Larry Farrington]

A recent gun purchase I made included boxes of various ammo. In the original box was UMC New Paper Shells loaded with Laplin & Rand black powder. Any idea the manufactued date or use for said ammo? Thanks larry

[Roundsworth]

The 'U.M.C.' headstamp will date before 1912. Laflin and Rand was just one of the many choices the consumer had back then. I believe custom orders could also be done with a minimum order of a case. As for use, what does the topwad show for ingredients, such as: 3-1-8c for 3 drams, one ounce of 8 shot (chilled)?

[Larry Farrington]

The box of UMC say 2 1/2 7/8 5. there is a loose one from JC HIggins which says 1-Buck and the other shell says UMC Nitro Club 23/4-1 1/8-7. Is there any value or should I simply properly dispose of these shells- Thanks

[Roundsworth]

There is most certainly collector value. The UMC shell could fetch 5 to 10 dollars. Depending on condition, empty boxes can bring in 20 dollars and up. Way up, depending on the bidders. Wards Sporting Collectibles and Gun Broker are good sources for ideas on value. Online auction bidding can get way out of hand. I see guys bidding 50 bucks on 10 dollar cartridges, just because they can. I believe there are more shotshell collectors here besides me that might be interested. Please don't throw them away. Is the box intact, considering its age? Are the labels legible? You just have the box and the two shells, right?

[Drew Hause]

The ‘machine loaded’ shells and components available in the 1895 Montgomery Ward & Co. catalog
http://books.google.com/books?id=zWe...page&q&f=false

The 'Trap Shooters Delight' could be ordered with 'E.C.', Schultze, American Wood, Black Powder, Dupont Smokeless or Laflin & Rand Smokeless powder.

1897



1903



Nitro Club

[Larry Farrington]

What I have is the pieces of the box, the front label is very legible as is the stamp on the bottom that tells about the Laplin & Rand black powder. I just counted there are 21 rounds of the 2 1/2 7/8 - 5 and one shell each of the nitro and JC Higgins. I have a nice digital camera if you'd like I can email you some photos so you can see what you think.

[charlie cleveland]

can you put a picture on this thread of the box and shells... charlie

[Larry Farrington]

Charlie- Thanks for your inquiry. I'm not sure how to post photos to this thread. I do have photos and would be glad to send them to an email or I can place them on a disc and put them in snail mail to you. Larry

[charlie cleveland]

larry my email address is charlie8guage@yahoo.com i would like to see pictures of the box and shells... charlie

[Researcher]

UMC "Club" was Union Metallic Cartridge Co.'s lower priced brass case for hand loading blackpowder shot shells. "New Club" was UMC's paper case loaded black powder shell. "Nitro Club" was UMC's low brass smokeless powder shell, and the "Trap" was their high brass loaded smokeless powder shell. Over the years the "Trap" was replaced by the "Arrow" shell. In the early years of the 20th century, just to make sure someone didn't mistake a handload for thier factory loaded "New Club", "Nitro Club", "Trap" and "Arrow" shells they headstamped the new primed empties (NPEs) they sold differently -- the NPE equivalent of a "New Club" was "Union" -- the NPE equivalent of the "Nitro Club" was "Challenge" with a base wad for bulk smokeless powder and "Monarch" with a base wad for dense smokeless powder -- the NPE equivalent of the "Arrow" was "Magic" with a base wad for bulk smokeless powder and "Acme" with a base wad for dense smokeless powder -- the NPE equivalent of the "Trap" which was only offered with bulk smokelss powders was "Expert". By 1910 they dropped this practice and sold NPEs headstamped "New Club", "Nitro Club" and "Arrow" with "HAND LOADED" stamped on the paper tube.

None of the Union Metallic Cartridge Co. paper I have specifies the brand of black powder in their "New Club" shells. Both their "Nitro Club" and "Arrow" shells were offered with Laflin & Rand Infallible dense smokeless powder.