doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com U.S. Cartridge Co.

Anyone know of a good history that covers the U.S. Cartridge Co. and its relationships with National Lead Co., Selby Smelting & Lead Co. and Winchester Repeating Arms Co. I get snippits from Willaimson's book Winchester and from searches on Bing, but nothing coherent.

https://lowelllandtrust.org/greenwayclassroom/history/USCartridgeCompany.pdf

This advertisement for U.S. Cartridge Company shotgun shells dates from 1926, after the National Lead Company had taken over the cartridge manufacturer and had moved much of the production in Lowell to a plant in New Haven, Connecticut.

Corporate Takeover and Decline

While the Butler and Ames families controlled the cartridge company through most of the 1910s, the National Lead Company acquired half of all shares of U.S. Cartridge stock. After Paul Butler�s death in 1918, the Butler family sold its remaining interest in the company to National Lead. By 1922 the New-York-City-based National Lead Company, which also controlled the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, sought to transfer the operations of U.S. Cartridge to the Winchester plant in New Haven, Connecticut. Despite attempts by local politicians, members of Lowell�s business community, and the city�s Central Labor Council to maintain production in the Spindle City plant, U.S. Cartridge curtailed its manufacturing and laid off employees. Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers appealed to the various parties and conferred with the U.S. Justice Department to keep the plant open, but by late 1926 much of cartridge manufacturing machinery was moved to New Haven. One final effort to retain the production of radiators�this product line had only recently been established the Lowell cartridge plant�also failed and U.S. Cartridge closed down on January 1, 1927.17

I'm no help Dave, but this might be of interest
https://www.trapshooters.com/threads/189...ip-tour.826665/

C.W. Dimick of United States Cartridge Co. and other manufacturers' reps (including Winchester and U.M.C.) founded the American Shooting Association in 1889. S.A. �Tuck� Tucker, Parker's sales agent and Capt. A. W. duBray (then a sergeant in the U. S. army) were consulting board members of the newly formed ASA, and �Tuck� wrote the handicap rules. (Dimick was President and L.C. Smith was a Director.)

Announcement in Forest & Stream, February 7, 1889
https://books.google.com/books?id=TUchAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA54&dq

O.R. Dickey, winner of the 1896 GAH at Live Birds, was the best known USCC professional rep
March 28, 1896 Sporting Life
https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/47169
O. R. Dickey, of Boston. Mass., winner used a very handsome Parker Bros, hammerless gun, of the pigeon model, and his load consisted of 50 grains, or about 3 1/2 drams by measure, of American �E.C.� powder, 1 trap wad, one 3/8 inch pink felt, one 1/4-inch pink edge, and 1 1/8 ounce of No. 7 chilled shot in the United States Cartridge Co.'s �Rapid� shells, 2 3/4 inches in length.

The great Rolla Heikes, long time Winchester and Remington rep, became a USCC rep (again) late in his career
Sept 20 1913 Sporting Life
The latest addition to the ranks of the representatives of the United States Cartridge Company is the veteran Rolla O. Heikes, of Dayton, O., known the country over for his shooting feats and still a 95 per cent. shot. The Black Shell; which Heikes will sell is not unfamiliar to him, for when the Climax shell was loaded with black powder, a quarter of a century ago, he made some remarkably good scores.

Skeettx, I found that bit of Lowell history. I really question --



Williamson stated that Winchester had been buying their shot from National Lead Co., but in 1911 when National Lead bought United States Cartridge Co., Winchester didn't want their shot supplier to be a direct competitor, so started planning their own shot tower which was completed in 1912 at a cost of $190,000.

In early 1926, National Lead Co. wanted to get out of the ammunition manufacturing business, pressure coming from the expiring lease on the factory buildings in Lowell. A deal was struck where Winchester acquired all the physical assets of USCC and 83 freight car loads of machinery were shipped to the Winchester plant in New Haven. USCC maintained their own sales and distribution networks selling their ammunition manufactured at Winchester's plant in New Haven.