A cache I wouldnt like to find...

[agentx73]

A cache I wouldn't like to find...

I didn't really find this, but did see it in the news. Be careful out there!

December 1, 2007

KEY WEST, Fla. -- A landscaping crew about to grind a tree stump stumbled across 30 World War II mortar shells buried in the ground on property once owned by the U.S. Navy.

A worker hit and broke one of the live shells Friday, but it did not detonate. The mortars could have done serious damage had they exploded, Sgt. Bobby Randolph of the Monroe County Sheriff's office said.

As a precaution, about a dozen homes were evacuated and all cars were cleared from the immediate area when a bomb squad removed the explosives.

"People get really excited about bombs, as well they should," sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said.

Herrin said authorities would contact Naval officials to "see if they want to destroy them. If not, we will."

Some bombs and shells used in World Wars I and II are loaded with phosphorous and can easily burst into flame on exposure to the atmosphere.


Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

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[Leon]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

Wow!,,, 30 mortar shells, I would have freaked...
I remember when I found my first piece of ammo that had not been fired, It was a .44 cal bullet and I didn't want to leave it there, but I also didn't want to stick it in my pouch... I ended up head home right after finding it so I could get rid of it... I still have it and several others I have found since then stored in a wooden box and locked in my safe. I need to take them all somewhere where they can be disposed of properly...

Thanks for the heads up...
Good luck, & Happy hunting~

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

Good Mornig Leon: Before you destroy them, ocntact some of the TN members first.. Many older small arm munitions have great collecdtors value, and basically, they are not dangerous

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[eagle77]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

For ammo that you don't want to keep contact the local EOD (Bomb Squad).
Don't just drop it off at the local PD or Sheriff's Dept. The stuff needs to be disposed of properly.

 

[detectoraddict]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

I think that one would get my A$$ moving fast out of there!

 

[mike in pa]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

if you find some or one....except bullets... what ever you do DO NOT!!!! take it to the police or sheriffs office or fire dept,i will guarantee you will be charged with risking a catastrophe,if you find some thing that you think is an explosive devise leave it there and call the police. some of these will go off by just moving them..if it goes off with you there you will more than likely be dead or wished you were!!! we had a guy bring in a motor shell into our fire dept and you want to see some guys scatter really quick..he ended up with a gun in his face by police and charged with risking... you guessed it.they evacuated the whole block called in a bomb squad they removed it ,took it to a field and exploded it....never ever pick it up.....mike

 

[Leon]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

Good Mornig Leon: Before you destroy them, ocntact some of the TN members first.. Many older small arm munitions have great collecdtors value, and basically, they are not dangerous

Don Jose de La Mancha

Thanks for the heads up Don,,, Knowing me, they'll still be in that box for quite some time. (<--Procrastinator ) Some of them may be fairly old, but I think most of them are modern...

 

[xdanthemanx]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

hey i think if if i had found those , id get me a big piece of steel tube and my list of people i dont really care for....

Im kidding of course

DTM

 

[Steve_UK]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

That sort of find is still a regular occurrence here in the UK, with what must be 1000's of unexploded WWII German bombs still lurking underground.
Who would have thought that old Adolph would still be posing a threat more than 60yrs after the end of the war...... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6541343.stm

 

[ivan salis]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

ah if your wondering if their still live this simple test will work -- take a 5 lb ball peen hammer hit the nose of it as hard as you can -- if your still alive afterwards most likely its not live(just kidding folks) ---- seriously folks having handled explosives (worked on a ammo ship during the gulf war) -- most bigger explosives if found the best thing to do is ***back off and call the cops to get the local bomb squad techs*** let the folks who know what their doing get rid of it --hey its their job after all ---(morters --bombs--hand granades) need to be left alone and disposed of by someone who knows what their doing ---WARNING if the primers dented --its a misfire and as such possibly could go off at anytime!!! --- however for the simple type modern "dropped" gun rounds ( the ones with non dented primers that is ) which are the ones normally found while metal detecting , they can be easily dearmed( for pistol / rifle) rounds pull out the lead bullet off the end & dump out powder keeping it pointed away from you while doing this -- then only the primer is left -- its not too powerful but can be dangerous still --- for a shotgun shell cut the plastic shell and dump out the shot and power again only the primer will remain -- once this is done they are fairly harmless afterward -- Ivan

 

[Ascholten]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

First off, besides for small arms ammo, like bullets you would shoot out of a handgun or rifle, anything bigger should be left where it is at.

Stationed in the navy and working on ammo ships and in ammo dumps playing with all kinds of bombs rockets and stuff I can't even mention ... the stuff is dangerous..... Funny thing is, the modern stuff, while much more deadly is nowhere nearly as dangerous to handle as the older stuff.

Mortars can go off, bombs can go off, mines can go off, gernades can go off, even marker flares can go off. and they will take you out.... One of the people I know in a metal detecting club, accidentally detonated a civil war cannon ball trying to clean it. He survived, but that is how old and it still went off..

Another thing to keep in mind is the chemicals they used in those things back then. Old primers, yes they make a small bang, and can cut you up, it'll heal like any other wound right... WRONG!!! many of them contain mercury. ask any reloader how meticulously they need to clean their guns after firing wwii surplus ammo because of the mercury in the primers.. Mercury poisoning is definately possible..... Then we have the fulminates, azides, amine based boomers, possibly picarates.... all bad news to play with. Then there are the special chemicals used to make specialty stuff.... nuff said....

a .50 cal round, yah Id pick it up, carefully, a 20mm shell, nope, time to call the cops. a 'bullet' from a big gun on a ship or a bomblet, get out of there and call the cops. Many of them are supposed to detonate upon impact, something malfunctioned, do you really want to play with it and see if you can make it work?

Aaron

 

[CWnut]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

Although i am far, far from being an explosive expert i do occasionally encounter old explosives (usually stored in a basement of a recently purchased house). As you know these explosives are unstable. We call the bomb squad from a nearby city to dispose of these explosives. But what i'm leading up to is the method used to destroy unstable dynamite and sometimes display fireworks.........burning.

they are placed in a pit and burned.

 

[bill17042]

Re: A cache I wouldn't like to find...

I remeber a couple of guys found a dropped bomb near a test range in the Ocala Nat'l. Forest.
They put it in the pick up truck and brought it home.
Now who was it that said: " if you think education is expensive,try ignorance"