Original Volcanic "Rocket Ball" Cartridges
Forgotten Weapons
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9m 17s
Ammunition for the Volcanic Repeaters is extremely rare today, and this opportunity to take a look at a complete original box of it was something I did not want to miss. There were two calibers made; the .31 (Cartridge No.1) and the .41 (Cartridge No.2). Both were sold in tin boxes of 200 rounds, originally costing $10/thousand for the .31 and $12/thousand for the .41. The ammunition was made by Crittenden & Tibbals of South Coventry - a company which would eventually become Union Metallic Cartridge (UMC) and is still in business today. The ballistics of the No.2 we are looking at today were a 6.5 grain charge of black powder propelling a 100 grain projectile at about 260 feet/second. In other works, exceedingly underpowered even for its day. However, it was a waterproof, self-contained cartridge before the metallic cartridge case was refined enough to work reliably, and that was worth a lot.
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