Usually an amazing variety of loads were offered in the more "standard" length shells. Then the extra length special order shells were quoted at so much more per thousand for the extra length casing and extra and better wadding. You could get just about anything you could imagine if you'd order a thousand. It was incredible how many different loadings were offered from UMC in my 1903 salesmans catalogue. Just taking the "Arrow" shell in the four basic gauges, 10-, 12-, 16-, and 20-gauge, there were 23 different loads with bulk smokeless powder; then multiply that by ten different bulk smokeless powders they offered -- "Hazard", "New Schultze", "DuPont", "E.C. No. 1", "New E.C.", "Alarm", "Dead Shot", "Oriental", "New Troisdorf" and "Empire"; then throw in shot sizes and whether "soft" or "chilled"; then throw in whether you want just the standard wads, or do you want "Pink Edge", "Trap", "White Felt", "Black Edge", "Shot Felt", or "Express". Now multiply all that by whether it is loaded in the standard 2 5/8 or 2 3/4 inch cases or any of the extra length cases. Now start all over with four different dense smokeless powders -- "Laflin & Rand Infallible", "Shotgun Rifleite", "Walsrode" and "Ballistite".
With bulk powder, a standard 2 5/8 inch case loaded with 3 drams equiv. and 1 1/8 ounces of soft shot with standard wadding was $48.50 per thousand. In either a 2 5/8 or 2 3/4 inch case with standard wadding and chilled shot this load was $51 per thousand. For a $1.10 extra you could add special wadding -- "Pink Edge", "White Felt" or "Express". In a 2 7/8 or 3-inch case with special wadding it was $56 per thousand.
The most expensive 12-gauge load was the 3 1/2 dram equiv., 1 1/4 ounce of chilled shot with special wadding in cases from 2 7/8 to 3 1/4 inch at $59.50 per thousand. The only loaded 3 1/4 inch cases I find listed are with bulk smokeless powder, with dense powder I guess they figured 3-inches was all you could possibly need.
UMC's most expensive shell was the Trap where that same 3 1/2 dram equiv. 12-gauge load of bulk powder with 1 1/4 ounces of chilled shot with special wadding in cases from 2 7/8 to 3 1/4 inch listed at $67.50 per thousand. A 3 3/4 dram equiv. 10-gauge 2 7/8 inch case Trap shell with 1 1/4 ounces of shot was also $67.50 per thousand.
