Here is what Sears was selling [in 1894 and 1902]. I would not use some of these loads in a 100 year old gun. I would like to buy 100 rounds for under $2.00... Pete
Pete: In the 1894-1902 era, a T Parker cost $11.40 and the average factory wage earner started at $0.10 per hour, ten hours a day, half day on Saturday. Foremen (known as "contractors") at Parker Bro's made $0.25 to $0.35 per hour. The superintendent (don't know about Cha's and Walter King then, but Mr. Hayes much later) had a signed employment contract at $1.00 per hour. The women who actually loaded these under-$2.00 per 100 shells made $0.06 per hour.
Suffice it to say that the average wage earners, at any wage level, could not afford to shoot factory loads at all, and even the Parker gun-works superintendent had to seriously consider giving up the earnings of two hour's work to shoot four rounds of trap. At the $0.10 to $0.35 per-hour wage level, a new Parker starting at $65.00 (P-grade till 1898), or $50.00 VH after 1898, was a real stretch. Even an $11.40 T Parker (sometimes marked T Barker) was a substantial investment. The "good ol' days" were only good for those who had coin of the realm.
To put this in context, consider the live bird pigeon ring today: Seven dollars for the "pull!" and four dollars for the "Bang, Bang" (serious live bird men use Hevi-shot). A 20 bird race costs $220.00 or more; about 7 hours of entry level wages at Burger King. Suffice it to say that the guy who is programed to ask whether you want to "Super-size it?" is not into live bird shooting. However, his $7.00 minimum wage would buy a 25-target round of trap until just recently. Back in the "good ol' days," minimum wage would have bought two or three loaded shells plus targets.
Things ain't what they used to was. EDM