Help me identify old brass. (big pics)

[Eddie Honda]

I've had these old casings sitting around my computer room forever. Always kind of wondered what the hell they were from. They're big old things, 3.5 inches long, 1 inch 9/16's across the neck, and 1 inch 5/8's accross the bottom. My dad seems to think that my great grandfather brought them back from WW1 or the Boer War.

Here's some pics. I threw in a .308 for reference. The markings on the bottom say "ELEY LONDON", and in smaller letters around the primer hole it says "ELEY 320".

 

[michaelsabre]

Omg....

 

[colinjw]

Are you thinking about getting into reloading ??

If so, good luck finding dies. Hint, get carbide.

 

[sunray]

Possibly a Gatling gun cartridge. They weren't all .45-70's. Could be a Hotchkiss revolving cannon case too. Or a BP hunting cartridge.
Eley is a very old British ammo company.

 

[Jarlath]

Far too big for a gatling cartridge.

Large gauge Shotgun (#2 or 3?) or even a 37mm signal flare mayhaps?

 

[RobSmith]

Pompom, or whatever it was nicknamed light artillery shell ?

 

[sunray]

"...Far too big for a Gatling cartridge..." Gatling guns came in other cartridges than .45-70. The Hotchkiss was a 37MM. 1.5" is a bit bigger than 39mm. Most likely a 19th Century BP hunting cartridge given the lack of headstamps.

 

[Eddie Honda]

Are you thinking about getting into reloading ??

If so, good luck finding dies. Hint, get carbide.

Heh, actually I was thinking about making it into a shot glass...

 

[Eddie Honda]

"...Far too big for a Gatling cartridge..." Gatling guns came in other cartridges than .45-70. The Hotchkiss was a 37MM. 1.5" is a bit bigger than 39mm. Most likely a 19th Century BP hunting cartridge given the lack of headstamps.

By my measurement, it looks to be 40 mm in diameter.

 

[green]

Looks like one of the various 37mm shells possibly a Hotchkiss. There were many very similar rounds. IMHO it looks an attempt was made to reprime it with a .320 ctg.

 

[thebaron]

Looks like one of the various 37mm shells possibly a Hotchkiss. There were many very similar rounds. IMHO it looks an attempt was made to reprime it with a .320 ctg.

Haha, it looks like it would need the .308 to prime it!
That is one large cartridge. My vote goes to large shotgun.

 

[beretta boy]

Why not drop Eley a line .... ?

 

[doubleman]

Eddy
I know that thats not a sporting round because it has a belted case head and sporting rounds were not made like that. It is probably a industrial case from a kiln gun or chunk gun used for cleaning kilns or blast furnaces etc.

 

[jbunny]

Eddy
I know that thats not a sporting round because it has a belted case head and sporting rounds were not made like that. It is probably a industrial case from a kiln gun or chunk gun used for cleaning kilns or blast furnaces etc.

my guess is it's a signal flare cartrige.

 

[Dosing]

Its a Punt Gun round, made by Eley, primed with a 320 blank. They made these in various sizes, from your dimensions it looks like a 1 3/4, but the length could have been cut back, I am not certain. They have a pretty good collectors value, 100$+, not sure how yours condition will affect it though.