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USGI Shotgun Ammunition


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Charlie Flick

Ordnance/Rick:

 

I am very pleased that you found this thread and jumped into our discussion. Your collection is absolutely dazzling. I read every one of the display labels I could in your photos and have to say that I learned quite a bit about the VN era ammo, and especially the flechette ammo. If I had run across your display at a show I am afraid I would have been rooted to the spot in front of your table and might never have gotten around to seeing the rest of the show. Great stuff!

 

Thanks also for providing me with the information so that I could properly credit the photos I posted where I had not recorded the source. I have taken your info and edited my earlier posts to provide the proper attribution.

 

Regards,

Charlie

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Charlie,

 

Thanks for the compliments. I'd be happy to have you camp in front of my display sometime. Unfortunately, the Vietnam shotgun display was in Washington State, near Seattle, just about as far from sunny Florida as you can get. I think Birmingham and Houston are about the closest gun shows I've been fortunate enough to attend, but maybe I'll be lucky enough to hit a Florida show at some point.

 

Here's another box of WWII buckshot, a Western Record 25 round package, one of the less frequently seen examples:

 

US%20Property%20Western%20Record%20box.jpg

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Charlie Flick

Dave:

 

That is a good looking box of WCC ammo still in the foil wrapper. It is pretty amazing that any of this WW2 stuff is still around 66 years after the end of the war.

 

Regards,

Charlie Flick

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Charlie Flick

Rick:

 

What a beautiful box that Western Record stuff is.

 

Yep, you are a long way from FL out there on the left coast. (So that is where all the great USGI ammo is found these days... :thumbsup: ) I get around to a few shows outside of Florida on occasion. Ever get to Tulsa, Louisville or the Colorado GCA show in Denver? If so, maybe I will get a chance to see that marvelous collection of your's some day.

 

Thanks again for posting.

 

Regards,

Charlie

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I was really happy to see this thread show up. Also I was amazed to see the first pictures with the old all-brass shells as I have a spent one that I was wondering about. I am assuming it was a WWI shell, and probably reloaded at some time with a different primer.

Now I have a question. Did they also use the 10 guage during WWI for anything? In the pictures below I show a Winchester 10 ga shell that is also all brass. It is next to the 12 ga, and I find it a little unusual that they are both the same overall length. Any ideas?

post-68-0-90397600-1428101716.jpg

 

post-68-0-48679000-1428101736.jpg

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Charlie Flick

Hi V:

 

My guess is that your 10 gauge Winchester shell is a civilian example. I am not aware of any US military use of 10 ga. shotguns.

 

Regards,

Charlie

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This is a little OT but I think it has some relevance. I picked-up this belt and canteen, as well as the veterans helmet and a couple other items, at an estate sale and thought it was pretty interesting. Definitely modified for shotgun shells.

-Ron

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I may be way off-base on this, but I thought I remember seeing somewhere that the Verey (Sp?) pistol used to shoot the flares somehow used a 10 ga shell to launch the projectile. I think the manual on them said to always wear a leather glove and prepare for "heavy recoil".

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Charlie Flick

Hello V:

 

Yes, you are correct that the Very Mark III Signal Pistol of WW1 fired a 10 gauge cartridge. However, the signal cartridge was of paper, not brass. The cartridge itself was known as the "Signal Light, Mark II (Very)". This description of the signal cartridge is taken from the January, 1918 version of the Description and Instructions for the Use of the Very Pistol, Mark III:

 

The signal light is similar in shape to a standard No. 10-gauge shotgun cartridge shell. The signal consists of a case, felt wads, match priming, composition paper band, copper wire, propelling charge of powder, and a star to give the desired color (red, green or white). The cartridge is a No. 10-gauge shotgun, center-fire, paper shell with a brass head. The propelling charge is ordinary musket powder. The star is 3/4 of an inch in diameter and about 1 and 1/4 inches long, and weighs about 220 grains. The composition of the star is different for the various colors.

 

This version of the manual makes no mention of the use of leather gloves when firing the signal cartridges. I think that if one fired an ordinary 10 gauge shot shell in a Mark III signal pistol he would be in world of hurt. Not recommended.

 

Regards,

Charlie

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Robin,

 

Please tell me that's an empty can and not filled with M19 boxes. Great item. The only sealed can like that I've seen was sold on eBay maybe 7 or 8 years ago and went for almost $800. Unfortunately, I heard the purchaser was planning to open it and sell it off by the box.

 

AK101...I presume you are talking about cartridges for the disruptor shotguns on the various EOD robots. Never gave those much thought as a specific round variation and would certainly like to see what they are.

 

For what it's worth on the 10 ga question, I'm unaware of any use of 10 ga shot brass case ammunition in U.S. service. The only U.S. Property marked box of 10 ga ammo I've seen was paper case black powder blank rounds for use with the M2 blank adapter in the 37mm tank and anti-tank guns.

 

Rick

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Dave:

 

That is a good looking box of WCC ammo still in the foil wrapper. It is pretty amazing that any of this WW2 stuff is still around 66 years after the end of the war.

 

Regards,

Charlie Flick

Charlie,

Thanks, found 3 or 4 of these a few years ago, 1 in the collection and this one was tucked away in a gun show box. Somewhere I have a .50 cal size metal ammo can thats marked for shotgun shells, have to find it..

This is one of the best threads in a while.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Charlie Flick

Just ran across this photo of a WCC 12 gauge No. 8 CS 675 round wooden crate on the CMP site. It is supposed to have an end label with a Texas AAF base address on it. Photo credit to JKirk208.

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

WCC_wooden_crate.jpg

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  • 5 months later...
Charlie Flick

Gentlemen:

Here is a late entrant. I recently picked up this 10 round box of Federal 00 Buckshot. With the lot number starting with FC-83 I am going to guess that this stuff was made in 1983. The foil wrapper has a Union Camp maker date of Dec. 82. As this is a sealed box I don't think I will be opening it, but I suspect that the box inside is the usual brown kraft type with a label similar to the wrapper.

Regards,
Charlie

 

Federal 12ga 00 Buck 10 rd box 1983.jpg

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  • 2 years later...
Charlie Flick

As time has gone by I have found a few additional examples and images to add to this old but popular thread.

 

Here are some different types of the M35 .410 aluminum cased ammo in crates as used by the Air Force in the M6 and Stevens .22-.410 over under survival guns. A lot of this .410 ammo has been sold through the CMP so it is not tough to find, even in crate quantities. Sorry, but I did not record the sources for photo credit.

 

410 M35 WCC in Crate ed.jpg

 

M35 410 WCC ammo in crate.jpg

 

M35 410 WCC ammo top of crate.jpg

 

 

M35 410 ammo crate open.jpg

 

M35 410 ammo crate.jpg

 

 

 

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Charlie Flick

Some nice and clean US PROPERTY marked Remington Trap loads in 12 gauge. Source not recorded.

 

Rem Shure Shot 12 ga.jpg

 

Rem Shure Shot 12 ga box top.jpg

 

Rem Shure Shot 12 ga open.jpg

 

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Charlie Flick

A little change of pace here. This is a 1945 Western Cartridge Company advertisement assuring civilians that some day in the future Super X shot shells will once again be available in quantity, just as soon as the Axis is defeated.

 

WCC ad 1945 - Copy.jpg

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Charlie Flick

Here is a better view of the WCC XM257 12 gauge Number 4 Buck as seen in Post #9 above. Hard stuff to find, in my experience. Photo source not recorded.

 

XM257 12 ga No 4 Buck WCC Olin.jpg

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Charlie Flick

This is some very interesting and very scarce USGI .410 Slug ammo by Remington in 5 round cartons. This stuff is believed to have been made during WW2 for the USAAF Stevens .22-.410 over/under survival gun. Photo credit SoldUSA.

 

rad71448322501.jpg

 

radC764432250-31.jpg

 

rad9F14A32250-2%20copy1.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

Shotshell crate. A lot of the other shotshell boxes in my collection are only different in their manufacturing Lot Numbers. Enjoy, Al.

 

Although I'm technically no longer collecting, sometimes you just have to have to pull the trigger.

 

Al

post-12790-0-52906200-1478627626_thumb.jpg

post-12790-0-52515400-1478627636_thumb.jpg

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  • 1 year later...
Charlie Flick

I like this crate for 12 gauge Tracer ammunition made by Remington. "FOR GOVERNMENT USE ONLY". Photo credit to Ward's.

 

12 ga Tracer USGI Remington crate.jpg

 

Charlie

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Charlie Flick

Another one, this time a repacked, repainted 12 gauge 00 Buckshot crate that held Remington ammunition.

Very similar to the crate shown in Post 26 above.

 

Charlie

 

Rem 12 GA 00 buck crate.JPG

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