First hunt at an old RR depot; updated with old shotgun shell pictures?

[Turtleman]

Folks,
New pictures are in post 5 below.
T-man

I obtained permission to hunt an old RR depot and an adjacent vacant lot. The RR depot is mostly covered with blacktop and the original brick walks so there isn't much to hunt there but the adjacent vacant land used to have two houses on it which were razed. I went last night to hunt for the first time. I had to put my Explorer away and use the Ace 250 because there were so many signals; the Minelab sounded like a symphony. There are a lot of ferrous objects in the ground so my plan is to use the Ace to clear out the top layer and then I think there will be some old goodies beneath. I found the usual clad, an old shotgun shell (made entirely of metal), an old brass knob-like piece and two identical objects (pictured below) that were a foot apart. They rang up like silver on the Explorer before I discontinued using it and as a quarter/silver on the Ace. I think they are made of copper. Any ideas on what they are and what they were used for? The front of the 'clips' curl around and up creating a hook-like shape.
I will try to hit the place again soon and will post anything worthy of being seen.
BTW, the quarter in the picture is for size comparison.
Peace,
T-Man

 

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[mastereagle22]

Re: First hunt at an old RR depot

Resized to make it a little easier to see. Hope that is ok.

 

[Mr Tuff]

Re: First hunt at an old RR depot

dig it all there are some goodies in there some place MR TUFF

 

[tigerbeetle]

Re: First hunt at an old RR depot

That "all metal" shotgun shell might be a bit more valuable than you think. If it is about 3 inches long (give or take), copper or brass, and has a number on the bottom, like "No. 10," it is a refill or reload shell. As the name implies, these shells were reused after firing, reloaded by the hunter. These reloadable shotgun shells have become quite collectible, with some rare varieties worth 50 bucks and up.

 

[moonshine]

Re: First hunt at an old RR depot

im not sure but they look like they are strap hooks. the cloth strap would go through the slots and the teeth would catch and hold the strap tight. maybe even for keeping hip waders up, like suspenders. hard to say exactly.

 

[Turtleman]

Re: First hunt at an old RR depot

That "all metal" shotgun shell might be a bit more valuable than you think. If it is about 3 inches long (give or take), copper or brass, and has a number on the bottom, like "No. 10," it is a refill or reload shell. As the name implies, these shells were reused after firing, reloaded by the hunter. These reloadable shotgun shells have become quite collectible, with some rare varieties worth 50 bucks and up.

TigerBeetle,
I'll post a few pictures of the piece. It may not be a shotgun shell...it looks kind of short. But a buddy of mine just showed me one last week that was never discharged and it had the crimped end and tabs at the open end just like my piece does. The side of the piece says, 'Starter Fluorescent' and the bottom of the piece says, 'FS-4, 36"-30W, 48"-40W' then it has an arrow pointing counterclockwise that says, 'Remove.' Maybe it has something to do with oil and a car motor with the 30W and 40W. Not sure. Obviously, the piece is a bit smashed on the sides.

im not sure but they look like they are strap hooks. the cloth strap would go through the slots and the teeth would catch and hold the strap tight. maybe even for keeping hip waders up, like suspenders. hard to say exactly.

Moonshine,
Yeah, I noticed since I posted the pictures that the "teeth" on the clips and the gaps in the pieces have remnants of what appears to be leather. I wonder if they were part of a satchel or carrying case of some sort? Not sure how someone would have lost them at the RR depot and not noticed but stranger things have happened.
Thanks for the insights guys,
Peace,
T-man

 

[diggerfororo]

Your last pix is a starter for a fluorescent light. Your 10 gauge all brass shell is a collectors item and a good find.

Les

 

[Jaygee Western MA]

many of the all brass shells were made for the military

 

[kuger]

Nice finds!!If you find a market for those brass shotgun shells let me know,I have a shoe box full of them.I love digging em though!

 

[redneck13126]

yeah the 10 ga. is a keeper

 

[FortBedfordbob]

That's a nice Shotgun Shell. The ones I've found have either been broken or smashed. If you don't have one, get yourself a smaller coil for the Explorer hit that place again. Some of our best finds have been made with an 8 inch and I've broken out the 5 inch for real trashy areas. You can still get amazing depth with these coils.
HH,
BB