In my 1918-1919 Remington Arms - Union Metallic Cartridge Co. catalogue, the Nitro Club load with 3 1/8 drams bulk smokeless powder and 1 1/4 ounce of shot is load X8A and in the Arrow shell that load is 8A. Both have the * that says that load comes only in a 2 3/4 inch shell, yet this hang tag says use 2 5/8 inch shells?!? Also, while most loads come in all shot sizes BB & 1-10, these 3 1/8 Dram loads only come in 6, 7, 7 1/2, and 8. On the hang tag for 189368 there is something, perhaps the powder type, stamped in green just below the dotted line from Drams over to Powder, but I can't make it out. Similarly the X8A and 8A load with 25 grains of Ballistite, 25 grains of Infallible or 31 grains of Walsrode all have the * for "2 3/4 in. only." In my 1923 Remington Arms Co., Inc. catalogue the loads 8A and X8A are only offered with 7 1/2 shot and again have the * for "2 3/4 inch shell only." Earlier on in my 1903, UMC catalogue one could get up to 3 1/4 drams with 1 1/4 ounces of shot in a 2 5/8 inch 12-gauge shell, but by my 1905 catalogue they had added those 3 1/8 dram loads in 2 3/4 inch shells and backed off in the 2 5/8 inch shell to the heaviest thing offered as 3 drams 1 1/4 ounce. By the 1910 UMC catalogue they had eased up even more, and the heaviest shot loads offered in the 2 5/8 inch 12-gauge case were 1 1/8 ounce.
I've got an undated Western Cartridge Co. catalogue from before the 1922 introduction of the Super-X loads, maybe 1920 or 21, and it is the same way, those 3 1/8 dram, 1 1/4 ounce loads are only offered in shot sizes 6 - 8 and this catalogue says any 12-gauge load over 1 1/8 ounce comes in a 2 3/4 inch, or longer, case.
It certainly appears those 3 1/8 dram, 1 1/4 ounce loads were considered a trap or Pigeon load from the limited shot size offerings. I've always considered the 3 1/4 drams (equiv.) 1 1/4 ounce load to be the "classic" Pigeon load, though nowadays Morris offers his Pigeon loads in 3 1/4, 3 1/2 and 3 3/4 drams equiv.
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