I have several old cartridges with the U.M.C. headstamp. There is also the letters S and H on the headstamp. Example .45-85 UMC SH. What does the S and H stand for? Please advise.

Sendaro

S H stands for Solid Head. As compared to the older and weaker folded head construction.

Ray

Sendaro:

If I remember correctly, they stand for "Solid Head", to differentiate these cases (with less powder capacity and greater strength) from the old balloon-head cases.

Thanks Guys. I think that answers my question. It would stand to reason that they would want to put that on the newer casing. As I understand it the old folded head casing would not take the pressures. Funny how after all this that they still dont make casing that will take more then 60,000 units of pressure without the primer pockets getting too big. I know that there have been attempts to address this problem, but the few never caught on.