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True Story. Finding My First Projectile


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It was heavy. Encrusted with dirt. How would I make the long drive home over bumpy country roads? I wrapped it in a towel. Will it explode? I finally made it home. I then discovered it to be a Thirty Pound Bolt Parrot Shell, flat head and all. No fuse. Used for target practice from the nearby Fort. Solid Iron. What a "Dumb Arse " I was.

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31 minutes ago, George Kinsey said:

It was heavy. Encrusted with dirt. How would I make the long drive home over bumpy country roads? I wrapped it in a towel. Will it explode? I finally made it home. I then discovered it to be a Thirty Pound Bolt Parrot Shell, flat head and all. No fuse. Used for target practice from the nearby Fort. Solid Iron. What a "Dumb Arse " I was.

bolt.jpg

Hey George don't feel to bad I would have most likely reacted the same way LOL

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The only case where a Dud is better.

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Don't feel bad, grandfather had found some shells from an early WW2 machine gun still on the clip. He took it to the local police station to find out what they were and they almost had a heart attack because they were still live rounds.

After that he got worried that he would dig up some more of them and stopped hunting in that area.

Nice find and glad that you made it home alive with it.

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Back about 1974 one of our work mates found a ww2  canon shell about 15 inches in length in the remote PNG jungle (Bougainville island ... Croc gold location) The idiot removed the explosive from it in the PowerHouse workshop on night shift without permission. He ended up drowning while trying to remove a port window from a sunken war ship 6 months later.

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It is the explosive or Black Powder stuff that is potentially dangerous. Small arms ammunition is very stable & not explosive.

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On 2/2/2023 at 12:42 AM, George Kinsey said:

It was heavy. Encrusted with dirt. How would I make the long drive home over bumpy country roads? I wrapped it in a towel. Will it explode? I finally made it home. I then discovered it to be a Thirty Pound Bolt Parrot Shell, flat head and all. No fuse. Used for target practice from the nearby Fort. Solid Iron. What a "Dumb Arse " I was.

bolt.jpg

Howdy George that's a great story and a memorable discovery.So i decided to wait awhile before sharing  my first projectile because I did not want to be rude and step on your post.So other than a single example of a 1 1/2" canister shot that I found at the site of a local Indian massacre circa 1850 I also came across this one completely by accident. Although it is 80 years more recent than yours {circa www 2} it is  also far more unpredictable IMHO fired and unexplored with the fuse intact. If it would have been a period example from the Native American slaughter I would have more than likely risked packing it out.For the time being it is safely hidden.                                                                                                                   2BC46835-93CF-4B5C-8FF1-268BC83D950E.thumb.jpeg.b35d949a5605be3e3c313905bf251a86.jpeg 

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Yeah, that one could still start ticking.

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