.38 casing with hole in it ?

[villagenut]

Found this S&W center fire casing and can't figure out the hole in its side. I thought I had done it with my probe as I found it high up in a trash pit that I probed. But the hole is not a new one, it looks like it was drilled??. Also any idea of the age of the cartridge. It is stamped U.M.C. as well as S&W. I think that the Union Metallic Cartridge co. may have made ammunition for S&W as well as Remington. But what time frame?

 

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[mrs.oroblanco]

These are used for jewelry.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/426223552212731045/

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The S&W stamp is part of the caliber, .38 Smith and Wesson. UMC was the maker. the hole is odd, it it had been used for jewelry like a necklace I'd expect a hole all the way through.

 

[mick56]

I understand sometimes those are used like a pipe to smoke some weed.

 

[villagenut]

The hole does not go all the way through as Ken said, so not so sure of jewelry usage. Thought that maybe someone tried to extract the powder through the hole, but not sure that was safe or not. Any idea when U.M.C. began making these for S&W?

 

[villagenut]

I understand sometimes those are used like a pipe to smoke some weed.

haha Well I did find shards from Dr. Pierces Smart Weed in the same hole.

 

[nsdq]

I still shoot a double action 38 S&W ....UMC Handgun Ammunition - Handgun Ammunition - Remington UMC Ammunition

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Bullet jewelry has as many holes as needed for what you're making. It can have 2, as for stringing them or clustering them, it can have 1 hole, for inserting the end of an earring wire, it can have any number of holes in various areas. In fact, there are, literally, 1000's of things people make out of them.

 

[Nitric]

I bought a bag of mixed brass at a flea market for reloading, not really looking at them close. When I got home and dumped them out they all had holes in them like that. Never figured out why!

 

[d2]

Sometimes after reloading a hull a few times a weak spot will develop and it will rot away around the weak spot. That could be what happened to that one...d2

 

[villagenut]

Without knowing just how old this one is, I am not certain that this kind of jewelry was in fashion then. It was found in a 1880-1900 era strata of a trash pit. It is a little strange that others have ran into these though, Nitrics bag of them must have been intentionally holed I would imagine.

 

[releventchair]

Lots of uses for empty brass.
The hole in yours shows no sign of a handle having been attached to use as a powder dipper/measure.
A piece of cordage ran through and the end knotted and then the string supported by the knot would make a fixed volume small powder charge measure to carry with powder horn or flask..
The empty brass could be placed over a wood dowel and pinned in place to make a short starter for a black powder arm.
Too it could go over the end of an arrow to make a "blunt point" .
Some one reloading could have drilled it so it did not get reloaded and used it for a case length attribute gauge.
Could have simply been a tethered cap for a spout on something.

 

[sutphin]

IT SURE AINT NO PIN FIRE CARTRIDGE ..