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Eastern Gun & Supply Company started over 40 years ago on a small farm located in Falls Mills, Virginia. The idea of producing
a high quality shooting match shell came from Oscar Wagner, a man who had a vision of improving the quality
and consistency of shotgun shells. Being an avid shooting match participant since the 1930's,
Wagner decided to try to design a quality shotgun shell that would outperform
the regular brands. By 1965, he began to produce his own shells in greater
quantity with a small hand loading machine. The process was slow and
tedious, but it resulted in a quality shooting match shotgun shell, more
specifically the 2-2-10, loaded to blow holes in the targets. He primarily sold his shells to
other shooting enthusiasts in the small surrounding communities near Falls Mills,
Virginia. Most people commonly referred to the ammunition as Wagner
Shells. In 1975, the business was moved from Falls Mills, Virginia to another small town, Rich Creek, Virginia.
By that time Oscar's son, Paul, had taken great interest in his father's passion
and decided to grow the business. By moving to Rich Creek, there would be
enough room to mass produce the shells in an automated environment. Today, the shells are still manufactured in Rich Creek. The process is much more efficient and faster due to the use of machine loading, rather than hand loading. The shells are produced in an assembly line fashion with the final step being packaging.
There has been great pride and continuity involved in the business over the
years. In fact, Wagner Shells have been produced by the same skilled and
knowledgeable crew for over 20 years.
The shells are manufactured and distributed to shooting match operators or individuals who simply love to target shoot.
When Oscar Wagner began producing his shells, he only produced the 2-2-10.
Since that time, his son Paul Wagner introduced other types such as the Match - 10, Match - 9, and Match - 7 1/2 types. Today, the most popular type of shells that
are produced are the 2-2-10's and Skeet-9's.
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