Need help with brass shotgun shell id

[emrisg]

My friend brought over some brass shotguns shells today he found in his grandfathers house.

They are brass with paper on the end. The paper is marked 3 1/4 Her. EC 1 1/8 00 buck.

The head stamp is u.m.c co smokeless no 12. The primer is a copper color and looks rounded.

Any idea on what he has? He grandfather was a LT in the marines and saw extensive combat in the pacific in WWII.

Thanks for your help.

[raymeketa]

That's an early UMC (Union Metallic Cartridge Co) shell. 3 1/4 Dram equivilent of Hercules EC smokeless powder and 1 1/8 ounces of 00 Buck.

I don't think there's any way to tell if was intended for the military. In general, shot-shells were purchased from commercial manufacturers and you'd need the box to see if they were military. Being loaded with EC powder and having a UMC headstamp it's more likely an early 20th Century shell.