Shells and bombs.

[Desert Don]

I was out at my usual hunting place last weekend with my two cousins. This area was once a bombing practice range during World War II. The day had not been very productive until I found what I think was a Machine Gun nest.
I found several dozen empty 7.62 shell casings and hundreds of clips. Everything was lying within a 10 foot square circle. But the most interesting find was a live World War II practice bomb. This will make the fourth bomb we have found out there. I work with the local Police Department to render these things safe. Even though it is open desert, it is still within the city limits of our small city. Here are some photos of the 7.62 find, and a short video taken when EOD detonated the bomb.The video is at:https://youtu.be/bK3xRI3Q4t8

 

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[trapperart]

Very cool

 

[thrifty76now]

I guess those are not found too often. YOU TWO SURE LOOK BUSY IN DIGGING. I would love to try an area like that.

 

[aa battery]

carefull go slow.

 

[ScubaDetector]

Now this is STRANGE. All the shells you show are PRACTICE M-60 machine gun rounds. Why would they have LIVE bombs at a place where they play war games? Strange indeed. Anyway the brass is worth a lot. Clips not so much. I save all the brass in 5 gallon buckets to scrap at the end of the season.

I played war games in Texas and in Maine with the M-60 in the 70's.

BTW. There is a date on the bottom of all those shells. You will know if you are dealing with post WW2, Korea, Vietnam, or later. That gun wasn't developed till after WW2.

 

[Emperor Findus Cladius]

Even though those are M-60 blanks, they will still have live primers and gunpowder, so a lot of scrap yards will not take them.

 

[ScubaDetector]

Even though those are M-60 blanks, they will still have live primers and gunpowder, so a lot of scrap yards will not take them.

Mostly true. I have had dealings with some here in Michigan. Although I know for a fact it is to pay less for the brass. They still get the same for it when they sell it in semi loads to foundries.

I live right down the street from Mueller Brass in Port Huron. I used to repair all their printers and computers and have had a tour. I see the melting pots everything gets dumped into. Powder just fizzles. Live bullets do pop but not blanks. Only a paper wad inside.

Anything a scrap yard can do to make money they will do.

 

[Desert Don]

You are correct. They are Practice shells. We can't figure it out either. This particular area has a target marker that can be seen on google Earth. These shells and clips were found all in one spot about 200 yards to the north west of the target. That live bomb was actually found about 5 miles away on another target. As I have stated before, I don't go looking for the bombs. We just stumble upon them when researching and documenting the old 20-Mule Team road, which is historically significant. The metal detectors have turn up all sorts of interesting artifacts from that long ago time. The road runs right through the middle of this range.

 

[Desert Don]

Mostly true. I have had dealings with some here in Michigan. Although I know for a fact it is to pay less for the brass. They still get the same for it when they sell it in semi loads to foundries.

I live right down the street from Mueller Brass in Port Huron. I used to repair all their printers and computers and have had a tour. I see the melting pots everything gets dumped into. Powder just fizzles. Live bullets do pop but not blanks. Only a paper wad inside.

Anything a scrap yard can do to make money they will do.

That's funny that you once repaired printers. That is what I do now for a paying job. Been a copier tech for over 48 years now.

 

[Desert Don]

carefull go slow.

You got that right! That is the fourth live bomb I've found out there. All had to be detonated onsite. This is the first one that I was able to video.

 

[Desert Don]

I guess those are not found too often. YOU TWO SURE LOOK BUSY IN DIGGING. I would love to try an area like that.

Actually, that's not me in the photos. That's my cousin and cousin-in-law. I'm the only one that always carries a camera. I got them both into metal detecting several years ago. They both have the same brand and model of detector, so they had to stay several feet apart to prevent interference.

 

[ScubaDetector]

You are correct. They are Practice shells. We can't figure it out either. This particular area has a target marker that can be seen on google Earth. These shells and clips were found all in one spot about 200 yards to the north west of the target. That live bomb was actually found about 5 miles away on another target. As I have stated before, I don't go looking for the bombs. We just stumble upon them when researching and documenting the old 20-Mule Team road, which is historically significant. The metal detectors have turn up all sorts of interesting artifacts from that long ago time. The road runs right through the middle of this range.

You and I are a tad different. I DO go out looking for bombs and I have found 5 now. Mine were all dropped from biplanes into a lake nearby. Mark 1 100lb ones. All so far have been practice ones. I caused a scene in my hometown I still think was funny although the police chief wasn't amused. His problem. Google Port Huron bomb if you are interested.

What I want to find in this lake are two sidewinder missiles they fired and haven't recovered. Now that would be a great top of the Avalanche ornament!

Printer and copier techs do make good money. People are scared of them for some reason. Nice job to have.

 

[etex]

Practice mortars

 

[Desert Don]

You and I are a tad different. I DO go out looking for bombs and I have found 5 now. Mine were all dropped from biplanes into a lake nearby. Mark 1 100lb ones. All so far have been practice ones. I caused a scene in my hometown I still think was funny although the police chief wasn't amused. His problem. Google Port Huron bomb if you are interested.

What I want to find in this lake are two sidewinder missiles they fired and haven't recovered. Now that would be a great top of the Avalanche ornament!

Printer and copier techs do make good money. People are scared of them for some reason. Nice job to have.

I find my bombs by accident. As I have said before, there is an historical wagon road that runs directly through the middle of this old range. I find all kinds of relics on the trail, and an occasional live bomb. Four so far. I find a lot of the less dangerous smoke/marker bombs out there as well. Some right in the middle of the trail. They look a lot like the mortars pictured above. They are very easy to disarm, and I've done dozens of them. The funny thing is that back in the early 2000's, the military supposedly came out and removed all live ordinance. Part of my town is on this range. When they built the new grammar school on the edge of town they had to clear the land of devices first. They found some live ordnance as well as some old military vehicles that were used as targets and then buried. I use the detector to get the general shape of the target, and then proceed with caution. Once I detect the hard casing of a bomb, I back off and call in the EOD team. They just love to blow things up.