each shell, the same quantity of powder and shot in their proportion, and the crimp on the top wad is rolled firmly down, and

thus with a good machineloaded shell selling at two dollars to three dollars per hundred, what more can the sportsman ask?

All of the ammunition companies are manufacturing the very best kind

of cartridges for the shotgun. They can be purchased from any of the dealers in arms and ammunition, as well as the majority of hardware.

Courtesy of the Selby Smelting and Lead Co.

LOADING MACHINE.

as great as will be found in the stocks of rifle and pistol cartridges, and it seems as absurd for the sportsman to prepare his shotgun ammunition as to do the same thing for his rifle. Undoubtedly the superiority of the machine-loaded shell is rapidly growing in favor, in view of the tremendous increase in the output of this ammunition during the past three years, and I am reliably informed that the stock manufactured and being made up for this season's consumption exceeds last season's output by nearly one hundred million cartridges. This, of course, includes ammunition made up with black powder, to a very great extent, but it will only be a question of time when the entire output will be cartridges loaded with smokeless powders.

Up to 1876-77 all of the shells used by sportsmen in this country were imported, and the price varied from $1.50 to $4.00 per hundred for the empty shell. Beginning about the years mentioned, the ammunition companies of this country addressed themselves to the task of producing the shotgun shell, forseeing that, as the demand was increasing with the VOL. xxvi.-34.

steady advance of interest in field sports, there would eventually be a great and growing market in this country for such goods. The result is, that today the shells manufactured in America are not only the very best in the world but are the cheapest as well. They are made. in a number of varieties and qualities. I presume that had it not been for the great competition among our manufacturers two or three varieties and qualities would have been all that was necessary, but each one striving to produce the best for the least money, the tendency has been to manufacture shells in a great number of qualities, and all made of the best material and finished superbly.

Of the prominent manufacturers we may mention the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, of Bridgeport, Conn., The Winchester Repeating Arms Company, New Haven, Conn., The United States Cartridge Company, of Lowell, Mass., and the King Powder Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio. The latter company has very recently erected a plant for the manufacture of all kinds of ammunition for small arms. All of the shotgun shells have a trade name, as for instance The Union Metallic Cartridge Company have adopted the trade name of "New Club" and "Black Club" for the black powders, using the No. 2 primer, and for the smokeless powder the shells are named "Smokeless," Walsrode" (or high base shell), "Nitro," and "Trap", the four last mentioned being primed specially for smokeless powders, and the Winchester have the Winchester "Rival," for black powder, Blue Rival," "Leader," and "Metal Lined," for nitro powders, the three last mentioned having primers specially adapted to smokeless powders. The United States Cartridge Company, of Lowell, has the "Climax," for black powder, the "Rapid," and a high base shell with

WHITE FELT EXPRESS

GREAS

INCH

WHITE FELT EXPRESS INCH

PROOFED

'3/8'

GREASE

strong primer, for smokeless powders. All of the shells mentioned for use with nitro powder have a brass re-inforce on the outside, and are beautifully finished. A recent innovation is to make shells with the conical or high base. The advantage claimed for this form is to render a more perfect combustion of the powder, increase the velocity along the barrel and at the muzzle, decreasing breech pressure, and with most of the nitros render a smaller charge necessary to bring about the same results. Another advantage of this form of base is a lessened number of wads required to fill the shell sufficiently for the proper crimp. The flat base shell is, however, very popular, and for the larger charges of powders will continue in favor.

At the time when black powder was universally employed, the brass shell found its plan to a considerable extent, but since the general introduction of smokeless powders the use of this shell has become almost obsolete, as they are made to be reloaded almost indefinitely and primed with the No. 2 primer, adapted particularly to black powder, and being used without the turnover or crimp, they do not find their place in connection with smokeless powders. I am, however, aware of the fact that many brass shells are used by professional hunters and duck shooters. But as a rule, the employment of these shells is not attended with good results in the use of smokeless powders, and since the paper shell is so very cheap and fine in quality, there would seem to be no reason for the continued employment of the brass shell by any one.

The Selby Smelting and Lead Company, San Francisco, while not shell makers, have been for a number of years engaged extensively in the manufacture of shotgun ammunition, and their cartridges are very popular with the sportsmen for all kinds of shooting. They use all of the different brands and grades of shells here mentioned, with any kind of powder and any kind and number of wads desired, and the uniformity of their loads is satisfactory in every particular. The charge of powder, the number and thickness of the wad, and the charge of shot will be found to compare exactly with their labels, and the confidence the general shooter has in this ammunition is, of course, its best recommendation.

When black powder was used exclusively the No. 2 copper primer, with which shells were primed, answered for all the different grades of black powder, and the question of primer force very seldom if ever came under discussion, unless indeed by the manufacturers themselves. With the introduction of nitro powders the No. 2 primer for a time continued in use, but it was found to be too weak in its action, and so the ammunition companies were obliged to find a substitute that would more perfectly inflame nitros and render their combustion as nearly complete as possible. To illustrate the difference between the No. 2 primer and the strong primer used in connection with the nitros, if the former is used with smokeless there would be but about 35 to 45 per cent of the gases or force of the powder rendered, whereas with the strong primer 75 to 85 per cent of the gases are made available. There

are, however, one or two of the smokeless powders that the No. 2 primer can be used with advantageously, if the question of expense arises. Among the first of the manufacturers in this country to produce the strong primer was the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, and after many careful experiments they put upon the market the "Smokeless Shell," with its deep battery cup holding the No. 3 strong primer. This primer is used in all of their shells in which nitro powders are to be loaded with the exception of their recent production called the "Nitro." This shell has the No. 5 primer, is adapted to nitro powder, and is the cheapest shell of their production for this purpose. Quickly following and almost coincident with the advent of the strong primer by the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, the Winchester Repeating Arms Company produced the "Blue Rival" shell, with its strong primer marked "W." This company employs three different kinds of primers in their shells, adapted to nitro powders, which they call No. 21⁄2 "W," No. 3, "W," and No. 4 "W." The latter primer, being very large in the head, and seated in a deep battery cup, is of high power, and is at present used in their best shell, called the "Leader," a strongly made and beautifully finished shell. The United States Cartridge Company, of Lowell, manufacture a most excellent primer, which they use in their "Rapid" and high base shell, and which during the past season has found great favor with the trap shooters.

In mentioning the different companies and their product, I do so with a desire to inform the gentleman sportsman that has not interested himself on this point of the varieties manufactured, so that if he has any choice from reading this article it may be easier to make his wants known.

It may surprise the general reader to know that during the time that black powder was used nearly forty thousand different charges could be formulated for the shotgun. This was made possible by employing all the different grains and grades of powders, the different kinds of shells, and the vast number of ramifications in wadding, and employing guns from the heavy 8 gauge to the tiny but beautiful 28 bore. The variety in wadding alone would account for at least one quarter of the number of loads mentioned.

In preparing ammunition it is essential to use the right kind and number of wads to enable the gun to perform its very best. The idea is to study what the gun will do best with, and then wad to suit the gun. The powder may be good, the shells of excellent quality, the wadding the best, and the gun of the finest, and yet with an improperly wadded shell the arm will disappoint the sportsman. Therefore, those who load their own shells will find it greatly to their advantage to be painstaking and careful as to the selection of wads of the proper quality, thickness, number of wads to the shell, and pressure necessary to a good combustion of the powder, and to see also that the wad on the shot is of standard thickness for that purpose. The ammunition companies, realizing the vast importance of a properly wadded shell, have made a study of this matter and in their different grades of ammunition have succeeded in producing cartridges that will do well in the average gun, as now the modern hammerless is bored true to gauge and adapted to the handling of smokeless powders.

The limits of this article will not admit of dwelling upon the influence the different kinds of wads have upon the different powders in different gauges of guns with the varieties of shot from Nos. I

to 10, and charges from 3/4 of an ounce to 11⁄2 ounces. It would take a whole number of this magazine to contain the introductory to such a paper. The best advice upon wadding shells, is to procure the catalogues issued by the different ammunition companies, and there learn of the different sizes and thickness of wads together with their cost. Then if you learn that your gun will do the very best with a certain combination of wadding you can simply send a memorandum. of same through any dealer to the ammunition company and get your load made up by the machines, and the loading will be done far more perfectly than can possibly be done by hand.

I have formulated tables of loads which have been published in sportsmen's journals, and while tempted to introduce tables here, and to go into a description of the advantages of these loads for the purposes intended, it is not possible to treat the subject exhaustively as it should be in this article. If the reader will apply to his gun dealer he can procure tables issued by the ammunition companies, which will, at least, act as a guide and give him valuable hints as to the requirements of his gun.

In connection with cleanliness, lessened smoke, reduction of recoil and noise of report, it has been the constant aim of powder makers to preserve a low breech pressure and attain a high muzzle velocity. For a long time the manufacturers of smokeless powders found this the greatest problem in connection with the use of these compounds. We are glad to say, though, that this has been overcome to a degree, and the powders herein. mentioned yield, if properly loaded, the minimum of pressure to the maximum of velocity to an extent that is proving more and more satisfactory to the users of them. Very recent experiments, made in my presence at the works of the

United States Smokeless Powder Company, of San Francisco, indicate that the powders produced today, are constantly improving, a proof that the powder manufacturers are alive to the fact that they must never cease in well-doing, and never rest on their laurels while there is a possible chance to improve their product. In the experiments referred to, embracing many hundreds of shots in combination with a great variety of styles and kinds of wadding and weights of powder, the chronograph being set to register velocities at thirty yards, using No. 7 shot of the Selby Smelting & Lead Company's "Standard," velocities of 850 to 950 feet per second were obtained with a pressure of 4500 to 7000' pounds to the square inch at the breech of the shell chamber. It is but a short time, comparatively, since 800 to 845 feet would have been a satisfactory velocity with a pressure in excess of that just mentioned. All of the powders tested gave most satisfactory results as to pressure and compensating velocity, and all were under the bursting strain when charges were used such as would be employed for the ordinary or extraordinary work of the shotgun.

It may be interesting to the reader to know how the chronograph is worked. In brief, it is the dropping of two rods. held by electro magnets. Wires are strung from the chronograph to the muzzle of the gun and from the chronograph to the iron target, thirty yards from the firing point. At the discharge the shot cuts a thin wire stretched across the muzzle and drops the first rod, and the load of shot arriving at the plate causes a disjunction of the wires there, dropping the second rod. The time difference between the dropping of the rods is registered at the chronograph and figured out by the operator. It is a beautiful operation and requires a good

18000 pounds is within the bursting strain and is safe.