Metal Detecting (Including Finds).

[Accyexplorer]

Well, my detector came this morning and after spending a few hours on a friends field i discovered a musket ball? a few old pennies and a item of jewelry (not my friends)....not exactly the hoard of medieval gold i was after but it's a start .
My laptop is also fixed so i can upload pics again too

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[US Angel]

It seems like you are all having fun

[Accyexplorer]

I took my detector to the rifle range and at hapton and fond about 20 of these bullets in the same hole.

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[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by Accyexplorer

I took my detector to the rifle range and at hapton and fond about 20 of these bullets in the same hole.

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Those aren't bullets, they are live cartridges with powder and primers still in them.
They look like blanks(possibly .303) with no bullet in the end(see the crimping) but if one went off it could take your hand off.
After being in the ground all these years they will probably be unstable, liable to go off if you drop them or mess with them. If you're lucky the primer and powder will have been killed by the damp, if not???
Get rid of them quickly and carefully. You should really take them to the police, if you found them all together there may be more there which children could find.

[DaveinGermany]

Originally Posted by Accyexplorer

I took my detector to the rifle range and at hapton and fond about 20 of these bullets in the same hole.

Definitely blanks due to their crimped ends. Is there an indentation/strike mark on the base, if so they're misfires, if not they are still live & as such a possible danger if handled incorrectly.

[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by DaveinGermany

Definitely blanks due to their crimped ends. Is there an indentation/strike mark on the base, if so they're misfires, if not they are still live & as such a possible danger if handled incorrectly.

I was taught never to trust a misfire, DinG. Can go 'Pop' after a delay.
Even if they are misfires the primer may still be live, hit it in the right place and it could still 'Pop'.
Also there's still a lot of powder in there-could be exciting!

[DaveinGermany]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

Also there's still a lot of powder in there-could be exciting!

Most definitely!

[Accyexplorer]

Thanks for the heads up guys,I thought they was just old bullets fired at the range (I hit them a number of times with my digging tool ).
I've disposed of all the cartridges somewhere that they will pose no threat to folk.

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by Accyexplorer

I took my detector to the rifle range and at hapton and fond about 20 of these bullets in the same hole.

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Those are .303 blanks and should not be messed with especially after being in the ground so long. The charge inside is likely to be cordite 5/2, which is a mixture of nitro glicerine and guncotton disolved in acetone and then extrude into a tubular form, the nitro glycerine has been known to separate out after being stored incorrectly, and nitro will explode at the slightest spark or bang, what else would you expect to find on an old army range that would be of any value, go back to taking pictures you'l live longer.

[Accyexplorer]

Originally Posted by Retlaw

Those are .303 blanks and should not be messed with especially after being in the ground so long. The charge inside is likely to be cordite 5/2, which is a mixture of nitro glicerine and guncotton disolved in acetone and then extrude into a tubular form, the nitro glycerine has been known to separate out after being stored incorrectly, and nitro will explode at the slightest spark or bang, what else would you expect to find on an old army range that would be of any value, go back to taking pictures you'l live longer.

Cheers for the input R.
Metal detecting (for me) is not about digging for things of monetary value (if it was I'd of quite already).For me,it's about the thrill of not knowing what lays beneath my feet (with the chance of finding something of value).

I never expected to find 'live' cartridges, I (incorrectly) assumed any and all ammo would be spent/fired.....I live and learn (this time)

[DaveinGermany]

Originally Posted by Retlaw

what else would you expect to find on an old army range that would be of any value.

Oh I don't know Retlaw, the lads used to lose all kinds on a range day/exercise, coins, collar dogs, cap badges, buttons (zippo lighter, this I know personally as mine's sitting in the bottom of a trench somewhere on Achmer trg area ) compo tins, more often buried on purpose than lost (full, usually cheese possessed or babbies heads) & a myriad of other Military paraphernalia. Like the lad said, it doesn't have to be about value, curiosity & the simple pleasure of unearthing a piece of a forgotten past does it for a detetectorist.

[DaveinGermany]

Just an aside to highlight my above point, out in the Iraqi desert there's a few grid references where you can find a couple of cases of "Swan aussie Alcohol free lager," several excess CES's for 432's, plus numerous trophies of war that became rather awkward or tiresome to lug around everywhere. Not forgetting all the kit the brass deemed so important that the lads sort of "lost" or that was "battle damaged"

[Accyexplorer]

I took my "detecting stick" up the coppice and had a few hours digging for medieval gold
Sadly,it was mainly trash (ring pulls,cans and bottle tops),but i did find a couple of coins (old pennies)and some other bits.

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[Less]

Originally Posted by Accyexplorer

Thanks for the heads up guys,I thought they was just old bullets fired at the range (I hit them a number of times with my digging tool ).
I've disposed of all the cartridges somewhere that they will pose no threat to folk.

If you didn't realise they could be dangerous, how can you assume that you have disposed of them where they will pose not threat to folk?

[Accyexplorer]

Originally Posted by Less

If you didn't realise they could be dangerous, how can you assume that you have disposed of them where they will pose not threat to folk?

I've a rather deep hole in my garden (about 2ft deep) that I'm in the process of filling,I disposed of them in there and covered them with a 1ft of soil.
I doubt anyone will be digging that area of my garden again for quite a few years.