Some very "antique" looking 16ga ammo....

I got a couple pouches of this old 16ga ammo, the person that gave it to me thought it was 12ga and to be honest at first glance so did I. It took me a moment to identify it as 16ga. Never owned or shot a 16 but I found it to be kind of cool looking vintage ammo. The bases have "Remington" impressed into the brass and at the top there is a lil paper (wad?), one says "6c Nitro Express" and the other "⅞oz Ball". What are these 6c and ⅞ball loads. I am unfamiliar with them. Oh and I have some that say Rem-UMC "Scatterload" and some Charles Daly loads as well.....

Are they collectible or have any value? I wish I had an old 16ga to compliment the ammo, lol.

 

You'll notice a little 'u' after that C. SIze 6 copper-plated shot. Premium pheasant loads. This is just a guess on the 7/8 oz. Ball, and that is 7/8 oz slug or round ball.

 

Hmm, I know that the elemental abbreviation for copper is Cu but the "u" you are seeing is actually an "s". Its a lil obscured in the picture but under the 6c is the word express. But still I'm sure you're right because it makes sense, copper plated #6.

 

In my experience, they aren't really worth much. A cartridge collector may give you a dollar or two for one of them, especially the 7/8 pumpkin ball shell, but that's the most I would expect.

The 7/8 Ball shell is, as entropy mentioned, just a 16ga lead round ball loaded in place of shot. It was generally what was used in place of a slug before the foster slug became common in the late 30's (the brenekke slug was invented in 1899, but didn't become popular until around the same time as the foster)

The shells are roll crimped, which is what they used before the "pie crimp" we know today came about in the 1950's. The little paper wad is called an "overshot card" and just keeps the shot from spilling out
The 6c shells stand for #6 Chilled lead birdshot. Those "nitro express" loads are what we would call magnum shells today
The 16ga "Scatter load" is what we could call a spreader load today. They're for getting a more open pattern out of a shotgun with a fixed full choke, for close range bird or clay shooting

 

Careful, a free box of vintage 16ga shells is what got me into both the 16ga shotguns but also double barrel guns. By far the most expensive free box of ammo I ever got. Does feel just right to take a pheasant with a 16, need to get a tweed hunting jacket to complete the theme on of these days.

 

So how would you date these, would you guess they are pre 50's? Thanks for the info. I think they would make a nice compliment to a 16ga wall hanger.... I kind of want to cut a couple open and see what's in them...

 

Color me embarrassed! I see it now, in the one on the left.

Remington made all their hulls green back then, here's a 20 ga. 6's:



Then some where in the mid-late 50's the 12 ga at least were blue:



So I would guess anywhere between 1927, when Remington came out with "Kleanbore" primers, and 1970, when their Lonoke, AR, ammo plant opened, most likely late late 30's mid 50's.

My 16 ga. Rem. box is of roughly the same era as your shells, (and the 20 ga one above.) and says DuPont on it, so it's from 1933 on:



Note it has Bridgeport, Conn. listed as the ammo plant.

 

When I was a teen, we bought our shotgun shells at the True Value Hardware Store. The brand was True Test. Cardboard hulls with paper wads sounds very strange compared to modern ammunition but it worked well for us. At every shot, tiny pieces of paper would float in the air.

TR