Author: William Harding
Publisher: STACKPOLE BOOKS, Nov 2009
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 1-84689-064-0
Synopsis
Traditionally more ammo was made in Birmingham, UK than anywhere else. In-depth review includes a social history as well as definitive info on shotgun & metallic cartridge production across a huge range of products. Profusely illustrated with color cartridge photos & historical pictures of the plants & the staff; 8x11 inches, 288 pgs.
More Information
Traditionally more ammo was made in Birmingham in the United Kingdom than anywhere else. The manufacturers there included the most illustrious names in the Empire, & their shells were used for tigers in India, ptarmigan in the Yukon, & the war against the Mahdi in Khartoum. This in-depth review of the former munitions companies in Birmingham includes a social history as well as definitive information on shotgun & metallic cartridge production across a huge range of products. It gives numerous examples of their related patents & head stamps. The book is profusely illustrated with cartridge photographs as well as historical pictures of the plants & the staff.
The author traces the rise & fall of the ammo companies as they sought to keep up with their time. Demand was fueled by both home & overseas wars & the needs of the sporting market, which led the companies to diversify into many different calibers & loads. Among the many companies covered by the book are such names as BSA, Westley Richards, Kynoch, W.W. Greener, & The Midland Gun Company. Most of their ammunition production is now all but forgotten, but it is well recorded here in this detailed work.
