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 March 2019

Please note: Unless otherwise indicated, the pictures on this web site are my property, and should not be used by anyone without crediting the source.

Vintage Shotshell Loading Paraphernalia.......

Winans & Sinnock Shot Spreaders

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The purpose of a shot spreader is to disperse the lead pellets from a shotgun shell that is fired from a choked gun barrel in close range small game hunting. Typically, these shot spreaders consist of objects of varying forms that are placed within the shot charge during the loading process of the shell.

The Winans & Sinnock shot spreaders shown in this photo consisted of two pasteboard pieces each measuring 5/8" tall by 11/32" wide, and having a slot that allowed them to fit together to form an 'X'. It was inserted into the shell so it rested up against the over-powder wad, and the measured shot charge filled the four spaces formed by the spreader, after which a wad was placed on top of the shot and the shell was crimped or otherwise closed in whatever fashion the loader chose. One of the two pasteboard pieces of each assembled spreader has W&S  PAT. stamped (without ink) into the surface on one side, as can be seen in the two photos below; the other piece is unmarked.

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Packed in the box with the spreaders is the insert shown below, which provides information on the effectiveness of the spreaders and the briefest of instructions regarding their use. Apparently, the spreaders were made in two sizes only, 12 gauge and 16 gauge; the 12 gauge spreaders could also be used for loading 10 gauge shells.

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Hartley & Graham, a retail outlet for the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, the Bridgeport Gun Implement Company and the Remington Arms Company, included Winans & Sinnock's star wads in their 1899 Arms and Ammunition catalog. It's

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interesting to note that the Winans and Sinnock names are not included in the catalog listing of the wads, perhaps an indication that one of the three companies (UMC, BGI, or Remington) might have bought the patent from the patentees.

Henry E. Winans received US Patent #519,559 on May 8th, 1894 for his shot spreader. Frederick Sinnock was liisted as a witness on the specifications when the patent was applied for. I have included copies of the patent drawing and the specifications below.

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The Nye 'Cartridge Shell' Creaser

The Nye shell creaser was one of a number of patented devices that were designed for the purpose of simplifying the process of holding the components of the shotgun shell in place while at the same time minimizing the damage caused to the paper hull when the shell was fired. It was used to apply an indented ring around the shotshell hull just above top wad in order to secure the wad in place over the load of shot.   

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According to the 1885 Forest & Stream magazine advertisement shown below, it appears the tool in the photos has the 'economy' copper finish, which cost $1.00, rather than the more expensive (and likely much more durable) full nickel finish that added another 50 cents to the cost. It can also be seen that it is missing the spring that is shown on the tool in the ad; a portion of the securing screw for the spring still remains in place in the handle.

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I found the tool quite easy to use, and the results appear to have given some merit to the claim in the ad that the Nye Creaser was the simplest, the handiest, and the easiest to operate, at least in my limited shotshell crimping experience. Just how well the creased shells would stand up to being fired I can't say. To the right is the ten gauge shell that I 'creased' with the tool.

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Fred E. and William E. Nye (brothers, perhaps?) received US patent 292,846 for their tool on February 5th, 1884. I have included copies of the patent drawing and the specifications below.

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Sources:

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Shot Spreader catalog listing, Hartley and Graham Arms and Ammunition 1899 catalog reprint, Page 68, Cornell Publications, PO Box 214, Brighton, MI 48116

Nye creaser advertisement, Forest & Stream - A Weekly Journal, March 5, 1885, Volume XXIV No 6, page 118.

Patents 292,846 and 519,559 were obtained from the United States Patent and Trademark Office using Google Patents, https://patents.google.com/

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