CW Battlefield - Did OK, but check out my friends EXPLOSIVE find!

[parsonwalker]

CW Battlefield - Did OK, but check out my friend's EXPLOSIVE find!

So I had some fun the last couple of days at a Union camp and a different battlefield. Mechanical pencil, Eagle I cuff, Flower button with gold guilt, two gauntlet buttons found together, bullets and frags.


But good golly, my buddy pulled out a live shekel shell!

 

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[Hawk'n Dirt]

This makes me want to find a Civil War site around me here in Houston to hunt....Great finds....

 

[Captin Scrap]

man your lucky. .. We don't battle fields up in NJ. Congrats.

 

[wheatfinder13]

Great relics

 

[doc-d]

Great relics........any chance this UXO can still explode? Looks intact with the fuse still
Not sure of what explosives they used, but some degrade over time and become unstable.........

 

[vpnavy]

 

[TNGUNS]

Some great stuff there. Congrats

 

[parsonwalker]

Great relics........any chance this UXO can still explode? Looks intact with the fuse still
Not sure of what explosives they used, but some degrade over time and become unstable.........

Yes, it had blackpowder and a few have exploded over the years, but never heard of it happening spontaneously. Usually an inexperienced guy improperly disarming it. He will disarm this himself (He's done a lot of them). I would NEVER attempt it, but here's his method: He soaks the shell in water for a couple of weeks. Then he backs out the INNER fuse (Brass against brass - no sparks) with a tool he made for that purpose. If the fuse comes out, he'll again soak the shell (with an open fuse hole for a couple more weeks. Then he'll poke a brass rod in the fuse hole (Again brass - no sparks) and "pick" the powder out which should be like mud. If he hits dry powder it goes back in soak. Repeat until no more powder can be scraped out. Reinstall the fuse.

BTW - This is NOT a "How to disarm a shell". I have never done it, and I know just enough to get myself killed. Please, please PLEASE do not disarm a shell yourself, unless you know what the heck you're doing. I had this friend disarm an intact Hotchkiss shell for me and he saved the powder for me. Looks as good as the day it was made.

 

[WHADIFIND]

Yes, it had blackpowder and a few have exploded over the years, but never heard of it happening spontaneously. Usually an inexperienced guy improperly disarming it. He will disarm this himself (He's done a lot of them). I would NEVER attempt it, but here's his method: He soaks the shell in water for a couple of weeks. Then he backs out the INNER fuse (Brass against brass - no sparks) with a tool he made for that purpose. If the fuse comes out, he'll again soak the shell (with an open fuse hole for a couple more weeks. Then he'll poke a brass rod in the fuse hole (Again brass - no sparks) and "pick" the powder out which should be like mud. If he hits dry powder it goes back in soak. Repeat until no more powder can be scraped out. Reinstall the fuse.

BTW - This is NOT a "How to disarm a shell". I have never done it, and I know just enough to get myself killed. Please, please PLEASE do not disarm a shell yourself, unless you know what the heck you're doing. I had this friend disarm an intact Hotchkiss shell for me and he saved the powder for me. Looks as good as the day it was made.

Dunno, seems like a small hammer would be quicker.

Nice saves!

 

[goldnugget]

Nice Group of Relics, the only Relic's that I have found is on the Beach in June 2013- One is this 6 th Corp Badge, an undentified Horny thing ( it has 2 Porpoise in the bottom of the shield, one on each side, and some flat buttons- Grand Ma Ma Approves of my Beach spot,

,,

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,

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Buttons are on the Left and coins on the right

 

[parsonwalker]

Wonder if the "horny thing" is a holder for sheet music, like for a military band?

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[diggervet]

Love that schenkel, good luck with the deactivation!