Today I decided to hunt a new field where I knew there was some Civil War activity. What a day it was. I found a shell fragment in the first few minutes, then started my ever-widening circles around the fragment to try to find more pieces. No luck. I moved on and started finding more shell fragments. Then i got a low , rather large hum on the Nautilus and began to dig. After a foot or so down the signal got stronger and stronger. I continued to dig and widen the hole. Now I'm down about 18 inches and finally I hear that scraping sound of hitting iron. I was halfway expecting another shell fragment but this one was larger and longer. I continued to expand the hole and dig around the object until I realized what I had in the hole. A complete unexploded 10 pounder parrot shell. I carefully and methodically dug around and beneath the shell until I finally got it loose enough to lift out of the hole. I pulled it out of the hole and let me tell you ...I was freakin stoked!!! Other than solid shot cannonballs and shell frags, this was the first "live" unexploded fused shell I've ever found in over 27 yrs of hunting relics. I carried the shell back to my Jeep and returned to the area and hunted some more. I found a few more fragments and about that time a truck pulls up next to me in the field. The man in the truck asked me if I had found anything and I replied "yes". After a brief chat and introduction , it turns out he is another relic hunter and a member of TNET. I showed him the shell and frags I had found and he took some pics of it with his cell phone. I welcomed him to hunt with me and he did. He and I both had permission from the property owner to hunt this site. He headed out in the field and I told him I would hunt 30 more minutes before I would take a break for lunch. On my way back to the Jeep , I got a strong mixed iron and non-ferrous signal and started digging. I'm over a foot down in the dirt and finally I hit iron. A little more digging around the object and once again , i realized what i had in the hole ...the unmistakable white lead sabot around it confirmed it . i jumped up and signaled my new relic hunting friend to come here and watch me dig up another shell. He promptly headed over and I asked him to snap a few pics of the excavation. He was as excited as I was . Once again , I carefully dug around the shell and got it loose. I pulled it out and we both smiled. It was perfectly intact. This shell is about 4 inches in diameter but I'm not sure right now of which type it is. By this time , I am starving and went for food. I returned about 20 mins later and my new relic hunting buddy had found a few frags...funny thing is , he found the base of both a parrot shell and the base of the other type of shell I had found. Another hour or two of hunting and we both were ready to call it a day. we both found a lot of iron, some case shot , assorted brass whatsits , I found half a parrot fuse and pieces of lead sabot , etc. He and I agreed to get together again for some more hunts in the near future .
As I headed home , I stopped at a site we had discovered yesterday. I hunted about 30 mins and found an eagle "I' cuff button and a Sharps carbine bullet. I bought some celebratory beer and snapped a few photos and now I'm tired and writing this post. Tomorrow is another day of hunting ...stay tuned ...
UPDATE: I cleaned the shells up a bit and spoke with Harry Ridgeway of Winchester VA about disarming the parrot shell. I may have him do it for me. After that I will do a final cleaning and add more pics. I didn't clean around the fuse of the parrot shell for obvious reasons, The other shell is a 4 inch Hotchkiss bolt as there appears to be no fuse. I'll have to reply to this post to add the pics...scroll down for updated pics.
thanks for looking and reading this long post and HH y'all
As I headed home , I stopped at a site we had discovered yesterday. I hunted about 30 mins and found an eagle "I' cuff button and a Sharps carbine bullet. I bought some celebratory beer and snapped a few photos and now I'm tired and writing this post. Tomorrow is another day of hunting ...stay tuned ...
UPDATE: I cleaned the shells up a bit and spoke with Harry Ridgeway of Winchester VA about disarming the parrot shell. I may have him do it for me. After that I will do a final cleaning and add more pics. I didn't clean around the fuse of the parrot shell for obvious reasons, The other shell is a 4 inch Hotchkiss bolt as there appears to be no fuse. I'll have to reply to this post to add the pics...scroll down for updated pics.
thanks for looking and reading this long post and HH y'all
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