I was shocked! I could of got hurt here!

chukers · Jul 25, 2010

I was out at a soccer field trying to find gold rings... I know there is other but new coins here but I got a shocker today... the ground here is very hard and I have to dig very hard every time I take a scoop... well I plunges my digger into the hard Texas ground and out pops this unfired bullet! I had to stop and think about what just happened what could of happened... kinda of scared be a bit... just a bit then I was off hunting again!

Anyone else have this experience?

This was found at an elementary school which is used for all kinds of other kid events... that in itself is scary too.

Chukers

pl8man · Jul 25, 2010

I have found many over the years at schools . It always gives me a bad feeling when I pull one out . Glad you didn't get hurt .
Glen

ivan salis · Jul 25, 2010

use 2 sets of pliers -- hold the bullets "body" with one set --with the other set pull the lead head out/ off ( hold away from body and pointed in a safe direction while doing this)-- then dump out the powder -- the primer by itsself is not that powerful but if the powder charge is still intact and not ruined and the primer on the rear gets hit --it could be dangerous .

Tnmountains · Jul 25, 2010

Yep. We dig a lot of the 6th calvary's live ammo from world war I. That brass pings pretty good.

juju · Jul 25, 2010

I got a .50 cal live round last year during a water hunt. What bothered me was I was kicking a steel scoop to recover it.
:icon_pirat:

JuJu

OmgFathead · Jul 25, 2010

Yeah the woods we live near are all leased by hunting clubs. We have only had our detector for two weeks now and have found a few live rounds already.

hikeinmts · Jul 26, 2010

Hunting in S. KOrea, I was aware that I might find some live stuff......and I have. But, the strangest was up in the mountains, at a coin site that I was pulling some older holed coins from. Began digging unfired pistol rounds, and final tally, I found about
40 rounds......all ready for action. They were older, and I figured that they were hidden in the hills by a freedom fighter......The Koreans couldn't own any weapons ......... and still can't, that is they can't keep them in their homes. Can own them, but they
are kept in an armory in the nearest sheriff's office. For sure, they were unstable, so I got them to the right place to have them destroyed. Interesting story behind those rounds, I'll betcha. :thumbsup:

keverett · Jul 26, 2010

I dug a .338 win mag live round at a park here in California.....Not even sure why anyone here would own a deer rifle of that caliber. Definitely makes you wonder!

jeff of pa · Jul 26, 2010

find them many places
church yards, school yards, swimming pools,
lakes etc.

havn't had one go off yet.

even found a few with
lawn mower chops over the years

Woodland Detectors · Jul 26, 2010

JuJu said:
I got a .50 cal live round last year during a water hunt. What bothered me was I was kicking a steel scoop to recover it.

JuJu

Now that bad boy could have done some damage!

N.J.THer · Jul 26, 2010

I find them quite often in city parks...just found one yesterday.

You have to be careful with everything you dig. In the city parks I'm more concerned with broken glass then bullets. Be careful.

NJ

savant365 · Jul 26, 2010

The ones that scare me the most are those little .22 rim fires, it would be pretty easy to stick your digger in the ground a set one of those off opposed to a center fire round.

HH Charlie

Hunthicks · Jul 26, 2010

I've said this a lot in the past, but live rounds aren't a danger. You could literally hit the thing with a baseball bat or golf club and have a very low percentage chance of it going off, especially after being in the soil/rain for months or years. It takes a pretty precise hit to the primer or a lot of heat to set them off. So no one needs to worry. If you did, I'm sure I would have blown myself to bits at some point in the past 18 years. :tongue3:

chukers · Jul 26, 2010

Hunthicks said:
I've said this a lot in the past, but live rounds aren't a danger. You could literally hit the thing with a baseball bat or golf club and have a very low percentage chance of it going off, especially after being in the soil/rain for months or years. It takes a pretty precise hit to the primer or a lot of heat to set them off. So no one needs to worry. If you did, I'm sure I would have blown myself to bits at some point in the past 18 years.

well thats good to know... I also check with a 50 year + detectorist and he has never heard of one going off while digging it... so that calms the nerves a bit!

Chukers

juju · Jul 26, 2010

4-H said:
JuJu said:

I got a .50 cal live round last year during a water hunt. What bothered me was I was kicking a steel scoop to recover it.

JuJu

Click to expand...

Now that bad boy could have done some damage!

I don't mind the small rounds or rifle rounds. But a .50 is pushin your luck. In the dirt I might have shrugged it off. But the water I was hunting had a hard bottlom with silt. So I was really kickin away at the scoop. I am more than sure if I was unlucky enough to hit the primer it would have fired. And at the very least I might have left a little rosebud in my wet suit. :tongue3:

JuJu

Westfront · Jul 26, 2010

Those small ones are not very dangerous. Needs a good hit on the right place to blow them up. You should be more careful if You dig some of this... $:-\$

N.J.THer · Jul 26, 2010

Westfront said:
Those small ones are not very dangerous. Needs a good hit on the right place to blow them up. You should be more careful if You dig some of this... $:-\$

Yeah...those could hurt.

juju · Jul 26, 2010

N.J.THer said:
Westfront said:

Those small ones are not very dangerous. Needs a good hit on the right place to blow them up. You should be more careful if You dig some of this... $:-\$

Click to expand...

Yeah...those could hurt.

As long as you can fight the urge to test em. lol :tongue3:

JuJu

kyphote · Jul 26, 2010

Hunthicks said:
I've said this a lot in the past, but live rounds aren't a danger. You could literally hit the thing with a baseball bat or golf club and have a very low percentage chance of it going off, especially after being in the soil/rain for months or years. It takes a pretty precise hit to the primer or a lot of heat to set them off. So no one needs to worry. If you did, I'm sure I would have blown myself to bits at some point in the past 18 years.

Agreed. I would have died a long time ago. Anyone familiar with a single, reliable account of a rifle or shotgun round detonating mid-dig? Modern arrows, I think, are more dangerous. Those broadheads can get you. :'(

Dick from IA · Jul 26, 2010

Most of the live ones I find are in school yards and city parks, and not in the woods where one would think they'd be. The bigger concern is that some knucklehead was in the school yards & parks, very likely with weapon in possession. :munky2: