Need help with shotgun casing

[leviathanrick]

As anyone seen one like this? Clearly marked on bottom- UMC Co. Bridgeport Conn 12. I know that it is a Union Metallic Cartridge 12 gauge shell but I have never seen on that is all brass. Any idea of the mfg date or history?

 

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[Hillbilly Joe]

While I cant help with specifics, UMC still makes bullets today. I know that brass shotgun shells are still made, I have reloaded a few. Like I said, I have not researched a lot of them, but have ran across them, they are pretty cool! Maybe someone with better timeline experience will step in and give you an idea of when they would have been most common.

 

[ResurrectedVirginia]

First off I don't know much about guns. However I was told that the shells completely made of brass, like yours, are pretty old. I would think though that the really old shells that are completely made of brass would have been a rim fire type of casing. Not the center strike type, like yours above. So yours is probably fairly recent.

 

[GpSnoopy]

1867 - 1911 In 1911, UMC merged with Remington and they used the REM-UMC headstamp. Back before plastic hulls were available, shotgun cartridges came in either long brass versions like yours, or the short brass with paper hulls, so an all brass shotgun casing is not all that rare. The link on shotgun shell has some info on the various constructions.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_shell

Union Metallic Cartridge Company

In 1854, Jacob Schuyler, Marcellus Hartley and Malcomb Graham formed the Schuyler, Hartley & Graham Sporting Goods Company in New York City. Destined to become one of the largest sporting goods houses in the world, it provided cartridges and rifles produced by other manufacturers to the Union Army during the Civil War and amassed a fortune. In 1866, the company acquired two small cartridge companies, and the following year re-incorporated as the Union Metallic Cartridge Company (UMC) in Bridgeport, Connecticut. By 1900, Hartley was the sole owner of the company.

U.M.C. known as the Union Metallic Cartridge Company was founded in 1867 by Marcellus Hartley in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They manufactured a variety of shells up until 1911 at which time the company was merged with Remington.

 

[leviathanrick]

Thank you all for the great info. I can always count o. Fellow hunters

 

[Subterranean]

Nice find! That should polish up beautifully if the metal is sound. Happy hunting, Sub

 

[Texas Kid]

I have found two of this type shell ,but with no head stamps at all

 

[treblehunter]

Try this link to this site, very informative.
Shotgun

 

[turtlefoot13]

All brass shells are very hard to date properly because the headstamp virtually never changed. You have an early and rather special variety though. As best as I can tell, your particular headstamp will date from approx. 1884-1890 +/- 2 to 3 years. I do not have the time tonight to post some images, but will tomorrow.

Congrats and a great and rather scarce find.
Doug

 

[turtlefoot13]

The all brass shells that have the headstamp with "Bridgeport, Conn" on them seem to have only been used on Berdan, Sturtevant and Sturtevant-Berdan shells. 1884 is the earliest catalog that I can find mention and 1890 is the latest that I can find mention. Using individual catalogs is far from an accurate way to date shotshell headstamps hence the +/- a few years. New information and research material is always coming available and date ranges do change as more accurate sources become available.

You have a great find here! Congratulations.
Doug

Here is a scan from the 1885 catalog showing your headstamp.

 

[arrington]

That looks like an old black powder shell. Nice find.