Shotgun Ammo: Union Metallic Cartridge Company

[NumberOneDime]

Our little suburb on the east side of Cincinnati, called Deer Park, was incorporated in 1912. Our house was built in 1940, as were many on our street. Curiously, in our front yard I turned up an old shotgun shell head. It's a bit bent but still completely legible. It's a UMC No 12 SMOKELESS. I looked it up and they were manufactured from 1892 to 1902. What's additionally interesting is that in the back yard I turned up an unusual conically shaped shotgun slug that looks as if it was never fired. I don't know if that is a UMC or some other brand. I have never happened to see one like it.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

It's always nice when items older than a neighborhood itself can still be found that were not deeply buried by drastic alterations to the landscape.

 

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[RobRieman]

Cool finds #1. That's not a shotgun slug though, they are not cone shaped but have straight sides. That baby would trash a shotgun barrel.

 

[NumberOneDime]

What might it be....some obscure old Sharps rifle bullet? I have looked around and have not seen another one like it so far. Got some better pics with my wife's phone. Two grooves toward the base and then near the very top there are two more grooves very close together....those two are hard to see.

 

[RobRieman]

Hard to tell. Looks homemade for sure and like it was poured with cold solder by all the imperfections in it.

 

[NumberOneDime]

Elsewhere they are harping on crudity and insisting it is a sinker and not a bullet at all. That explanation just doesn't make sense, with the grooves and all. And I'm sure that back in the day there were plenty of discarded rejects for many different reasons.

 

[crashbandicoot]

Pouring into a cold mold will produce that kind of wrinkling until the mold heats up.I do think it,s a bullet but don,t know what kind.It would be a reject for sure.Try looking under old bullet molds for one that makes a similar bullet.I,d try Lyman first,they made many molds that would be considered odd today.

 

[Almy]

It's conical, so only the biggest diameter edge would contact rifling, the rest of it would tip in the bore. A bullet needs some cylindrical zone to contact the rifling.

 

[Citiboy289]

UMC. Is United Metallic Cartridge Company founded in 1867 and operated under the name until 1912. , when purchased by Remington Arms. Remington still on occasion manufactures some ammo as. Remington UMC. But from what I see of yours they are original pre 1912 before Remington purchased them