Oh Yeahhhhhhh..... a baby Hotchkiss and maybe #10 for the year

[Devonrex]

Yeahhhhh...... a baby Hotchkiss and maybe #10 for the year!!!!! « on: August 23, 2012, 01:33:02 PM »

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Man oh man!!! What a morning!!! I think I told everyone my detector had a loose connection somewhere in it. Well this morning I carefully opened my Nautilus up and looked for the problem. I have to be honest with you I had NO idea what I was looking at. Well I moved a few wires around and then put her back together and believe it or not it was working!!! Well it wasn't 5 minutes and I was out the door ....back to my artillery spot. Once I got there I started digging more cannister shot and on then on a hillside next to a giant oak tree I got another signal that sounded just like another lead ball. Well after digging down 18 inches and the object now making my machine HOWL, I knew I had something big. Moments later out came my first projectile of the year. And one I have never dug before!!! A baby Hotchkiss!!!! This thing is just beautiful!!!! I just couldn't believe it! You can see the rifling on the sabot perfectly. After taking a few pictures of the shell, I began detecting again AND my machine was shorting out again. I had to keep shaking it to get duel tone mobility. When your machine isn't working right it is no fun. I dug a few more cannister shot and a Enfield bullet. At this point I was getting so frustrated at my machine I literally told myself "one more signal and I'm going home". Well that signal turned out to be the only button I've dug at this site. The button was literally just about an inch deep, and about 15 ft from the baby Hotchkiss. Under a holly tree , a puffy 2 piece button with shank......possibly #10 for the year! Well after this find I had had enough. I will be so glad when my new machine gets here. I have had enough excitement for one morning! Devonrex

 

[CRUSADER]

I know very little about these, do they need to be 'made safe'?

 

[Devonrex]

Crusader, after being in the ground 150 years the chance of them exploding is very, very low. But the answer to your question is yes, they have to be drilled and the gunpowder flushed out and then it has to be electrolysized. You never want to put them in excessive heat (as in an oven to dry... and yes that has been done with disastrous consequences!!!), let them roll around in the back of your truck bed, or drop them!!!! Finding a shell these days is getting to be very hard.... at least on land. They are so big the first detector to go over them will usually pick them up. This one was down DEEP (from impact) on the side of a hill which is why nobody had found it. It was fired in 1862 out of a 3 inch gun. This is my first baby Hotchkiss shell and I couldn't be happier!

 

[CRUSADER]

Crusader, after being in the ground 150 years the chance of them exploding is very, very low. But the answer to your question is yes, they have to be drilled and the gunpowder flushed out and then electrolysized. You never want to put them in excessive heat (as in an oven to dry... and yes that has been done with disastrous consequences!!!), let them roll around in the back of your truck bed, or drop them!!!! Finding a shell these days is getting to be very hard.... at least on land. They are so big the first detector to go over them will usually pick them up. This one was down DEEP (from impact) on the side of a hill which is why nobody had found it. It was fired in 1862 out of a 3 inch gun. This is my first baby Hotchkiss shell and I couldn't be happier!

OK thanks.

In the UK we would have to cordon it off, report it to the bomb disposal team immediately & they would come out & do a controlled explosion. Or maybe take it away & blow it up with a few others. Shows the difference between UK/US.

 

[curbdiggercarl57]

OK thanks.

In the UK we would have to cordon it off, report it to the bomb disposal team immediately & they would come out & do a controlled explosion. Or maybe take it away & blow it up with a few others. Shows the difference between UK/US.

Odd, normally were the ones who like to blow things up!
Carl

 

[Ironman!]

WooHoo! Congrats on another 1st Devonrex!! Mighty nice looking shell indeed!!! You never cease to amaze us with your quality of finds!!!! Keep em coming!!!!!

Any updates as to what your button turned out to be?

IM

 

[JohnnyRebCSA]

Congratulations! That is one heck of a day. What kind of detector do you have coming?