.36 Colt navy from drained lake, the backstrap must have been personally etched, somebody filed the etching off! it was taken down and thrown in . very weird
ditching it in a lake is not odd if you shot a person with it .. the odd thing about muzzle loading cap and ball "antique" replica type pistols is that because their thought of as a "antique" non modern gun --it doesn't require a background check --yep any felon can own one , without a background check .. and for the first 6 shots it will kill you just as quick and just as dead as any modern gun will,,, with the backstrap numbers / ID wiped out it might have been stolen or used in a crime or both
if the cops found a dead body locally with with 36 cal lead round ball bullet holes in it ...you likely have the weapon that did it
the backstrap is often where the guns serial number is stamped .. while no background check is required --the gun maker can trace to where it was sent to store wise and thus sold at by its serial number and the store owner thru their records might have who it was sold to--with its numbers messed up and it being taken aoart and thrown into a lake -- very good chances its a "crime related" gun in some way --at the very least likely a stolen weapon , worse case a murder weapon
so much stuff came out of this lake, it was definatly once in a lifetime. 136 gold rings, silver rings?bracelets, old coins, old toys,cracker jack metal prizes, 1880's dog tag, tokens etc
you must have found the local gangs hit gun / weapons dumping ground .. be very careful they might not like you finding their "stuff" --clearly they wanted those guns and other weapons to stay gone and not be "found'. oh .and some of that stuff is way illegal to even have at all ..like the mortar shell , rpg and hand grenade ( plus clearly their a bit dangerous to have around at all ) --the cops would clearly frown up[on you having such items and ps this site is often "watched" by cops and other folks ..so do not be surprised if you get a "visit" by the "alphabet cops" soon since you said you have found "prohibited" to own items ( ie explosives) like hand grenades, mortar round , rpg --
I dont have the artillery or grenade, the bomb squad came out and took em. it was nerve racking enough just to uncover that stuff. never found out if those things were live or just some old war relics somebody dumped. alot of the guns I found were 1890's -turn of the century. there were many people watching the bomb squad carry this stuff out of the lake. I was afraid the officials would shut the lake down for digging, but Calling the police was the right thing to do.
smart move on the stuff that goes boom stuff ... that stuff can be unstable at times ... best to let the pros handle it ... great finds I must say still all the same ...cool to find the old guns .. of the 1890's / turn of the century era
the pocket watch / penknife combo with the link chain & masonic hat fob is way cool
I'm sure you did! I was there almost every day from start to finish of the draining. I even took a week off work to be there, not counting all the days I called in 'sick' haha.
Thought so. And then I read the other post where you said who your dad was.
Great to hear from you! i wrote a story for Silver & gold a few years back about that lake, got some excellent
photos from other diggers. Has a picture of your Colt, I believe.
That was the best 3-4 month hunt ever, was like mining in 1849 California. I got there just after the bomb squad came when
you guys dug the RPG. Amazing what was dug there. Harley frames, guns, gold, tokens, everything! I managed 29 gold rings, and that
site started me down the bottle digging path.
Glad to hear that your well, might just see you in a cistern soon!
Carl