Shotgun Ammo

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Potashminer

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So, today I got some elder Imperial brand ammo - I am sure that back in the day I blasted away at ducks and crows with this stuff. So, #4 lead shot. I am curious what that "Code" might mean - right side of the label - shows Dr. Equiv. in first box of label on left side, then Oz. Shot, then Shot Size, but I am currently stumped about the "Code" - maybe someone can explain - my attempt with Goggle AI got statement to give the "third number" in the "code" and then AI would give me the date of it. Not so sure it and I are discussing the same thing - maybe someone here can explain better. I notice one box is 1 1/2 oz shot - labelled as made by Imperial / iVi - code "LX", then apparently middle box made by same maker - 1 1/4 Oz shot - code is "IL". but so is the bottom box - also 1 1/4 Oz shot but sold as "Special Long Range" - no iVi logo, but instead shows C-I-L logo.

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It kinda makes some sense with ammo I guess for the reason you state.

I could never figure out why gun manufacturers use date codes for year of manufacture, it seems way easier to just stamp the year on there.
Perazzi finally got it right after years of unusual date codes and stamped 2016 on the mono block of my High Tech.
 
Potashminer said:
So, today I got some elder Imperial brand ammo - I am sure that back in the day I blasted away at ducks and crows with this stuff. So, #4 lead shot. I am curious what that "Code" might mean - right side of the label - shows Dr. Equiv. in first box of label on left side, then Oz. Shot, then Shot Size, but I am currently stumped about the "Code" - maybe someone can explain - my attempt with Goggle AI got statement to give the "third number" in the "code" and then AI would give me the date of it. Not so sure it and I are discussing the same thing - maybe someone here can explain better. I notice one box is 1 1/2 oz shot - labelled as made by Imperial / iVi - code "LX", then apparently middle box made by same maker - 1 1/4 Oz shot - code is "IL". but so is the bottom box - also 1 1/4 Oz shot but sold as "Special Long Range" - no iVi logo, but instead shows C-I-L logo.

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KOOL....nice find Potash !! Certainly takes a feller back to the good old days !!
 
I've used a lot of the old Imperial long range shells. Great ammo. Patterns well and in my guns kicks noticeably harder than Remington, Federal etc. Pick it up at gunshows for reasonable prices usually especially part boxes that are too weathered to interest collectors.
 
Arcosdad said:
Excellent ammo from back in the day. I can't recall what year they switched from CIL to IVI. The special long range in #6 was our go to pheasant load in the Okanagan in the 70s.
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I read on-line somewhere that CIL was bought out by or became, iVi circa 1977.

The middle box in the picture has the same "code" as the bottom box - all the rest of the load data looks to be the same, however "Special Long Range" might have been a marketing thing by CIL that disappeared with iVi??
 
Potashminer said:
I read on-line somewhere that CIL was bought out by or became, iVi circa 1977.

The middle box in the picture has the same "code" as the bottom box - all the rest of the load data looks to be the same, however "Special Long Range" might have been a marketing thing by CIL that disappeared with iVi??
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Yes, marketing no doubt. And soon the term magnum appeared! I don't recall any velocity specs on this old ammo, only the dram equivalent which is fairly meaningless nowadays. None of us in my group used or owned 3 inch 12 ga guns in the 60s so this high brass stuff was the go to ammo and it was excellent.
 
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Well contrary to comments cil shotshell ammo was quite inferior to win Rem and Fed ammo win came out with mark 5 ammo it had a shot cup and chilled shot
cil was still using soft shot and wrapping it in plastic
i remember going to a local hardware store and seeing federal shotshell ammo on the shelve 1968 the best shot shell ammo at the time
cil domanated because they had no compatesion
a 3 dram max load is just that in any hulll brass height had nothing to do with power
that being said i shot a fair amount of imperial back in the day
until other ammo came into canada
 
struff55 said:
Well contrary to comments cil shotshell ammo was quite inferior to win Rem and Fed ammo win came out with mark 5 ammo it had a shot cup and chilled shot
cil was still using soft shot and wrapping it in plastic
i remember going to a local hardware store and seeing federal shotshell ammo on the shelve 1968 the best shot shell ammo at the time
cil domanated because they had no compatesion
a 3 dram max load is just that in any hulll brass height had nothing to do with power
that being said i shot a fair amount of imperial back in the day
until other ammo came into canada
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IMO CIL and IVI were both CRAP! Horrible ammo. 99% of the time when I walked into Canadian Tire to grab ammo before a duck or bunny hunt I grabbed Remington or Winchester.
 
I’ve shot lots and was happy . Old 2&7/8 10 ga Canuck was very good. More ducks then I’d like to clean. CIL & IVI were the ammo of my youth. I’ve still got a few boxes that would still sweep the sky of ducks if we could use them. PS: nothing smells like the smoke from old paper shells!😊
 
Hissatsu said:
I’ve shot lots and was happy . Old 2&7/8 10 ga Canuck was very good. More ducks then I’d like to clean. CIL & IVI were the ammo of my youth. I’ve still got a few boxes that would still sweep the sky of ducks if we could use them. PS: nothing smells like the smoke from old paper shells!😊
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Yes ,the old C-I-L were the shells of my youth as well.Hard to beat that old 2 3/4 inch lead blue Imperial or the orange paper 28 gauge ammunition.Yes, nothing beats the smell of those old C-I-L paper shells.:)
 
Being a member of the over the hill gang I grew up and used CIL , Peters (REM) and Winchester shot shells all were paper and some were roll crimped. They all were of good quality still have a few boxes of each kicking around. The CIL Maxum was the bomb for rooster hunting. When CIL got bought out by Trudope senoir and changed to IVI the product tanked :poop: . Broke my heart when paper shells went south and I had to buy a box of Rem plastic 16 gauge for my Model 12. If I remember correctly the plastic cases came out in the early sixties ? and i thought they would never catch on !
 
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On older Imperial/CIL shotgun shell boxes, the two-letter code on the far right was usually a production lot or loading code, not a choke, shot size, or gauge designation.
Codes such as LX, IL, LA, KB, etc. were used internally by Canadian Industries Ltd. to identify a particular loading run, components, or manufacturing batch. Unfortunately, CIL/Imperial never published a collector's key for these codes, and most surviving records appear to be lost. As a result, collectors generally cannot decode LX or IL into a specific year or exact factory information
 
brybenn said:
On older Imperial/CIL shotgun shell boxes, the two-letter code on the far right was usually a production lot or loading code, not a choke, shot size, or gauge designation.
Codes such as LX, IL, LA, KB, etc. were used internally by Canadian Industries Ltd. to identify a particular loading run, components, or manufacturing batch. Unfortunately, CIL/Imperial never published a collector's key for these codes, and most surviving records appear to be lost. As a result, collectors generally cannot decode LX or IL into a specific year or exact factory information
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Sounds pretty plausible to me and I am surprised there are no retired and still liveing employees from this company who are not members of this great web site.
There are guys like guntech and struff55 and a few others who have been around the industry to chime in on other topics.
Why not Ex- IVI Imperial staff or even executives ?
I can not say I have shot lots of Imperial, but I did shoot enough before switching over to steel shot.
I liked it and I luved the smell of those wax and paper shells.
They worked well enough for me then and likely would today too...well I still have a few loose rounds of 20 gauge Imperials that I take Grouse .
shooting.
Potashminer, I like the Boxes, reminds me of a simpler time.
Rob
 
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