Now, why, in this age of gender enlightenment, must we assume that the potential acquisition of gunpowder for use in an IED was a male-oriented activity, even if it took place in a less-enlightened era, genderly speaking? Why pick on the boys? Is that fair? Someone gonna tell me that girls don't like to make things go "BOOM"?
 
Jeffrey L. Boyer, RPA
Project Director
Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico
mail: P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, New Mexico  87504
physical: 407 Galisteo Street, Suite B-100, Santa Fe, New Mexico  87501
tel: 505.827.6387          fax: 505.827.3904
e-mail: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. --Ellen Parr
 

________________________________

From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY on behalf of Avery, Paul
Sent: Wed 2/11/2009 6:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cartridge Case Question



That was my first thought, but they are all fired the conventional way.
The puncture is wider toward the mouth of the case, but they are all
closer to the head.

Paul G. Avery, RPA
MACTEC Engineering and Consulting
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kris
Oswald
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 8:18 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cartridge Case Question

Powder extraction for making home made fireworks?..is the blade width
wider towards the bullet end?..my guess depending on the location is
that the bullet was stabbed to unseat the projectile and then gain
access to the powder for a boys devilish device making.lol

-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Avery, Paul
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 8:07 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Cartridge Case Question

Hello all,

We did some work recently at an 1830s plantation house in North
Carolina.  We recovered a fairly large number of cartridge cases from
what appears to be an early 20th century deposit.  It was located just
off of the front porch, so it looks like they were sitting on the porch
and plinking.  There were some unusual calibers, including several .32
Winchester Self-Loading Rifle and .22 Winchester Automatic.  The most
unusual thing though, was that there were more than a dozen .22 short
and .22 long cases that appear to have been jabbed with a knife.  The
cut goes through one wall of the case and runs lengthwise just above the
rim. 

Is this just random behavior indicative of boredom or is there more to
it than that? 

Someone suggested that the cases were sticking in the person's gun and
they used the knife to remove the case.  That makes some sense, but
there isn't enough space between the edge of the cut and the mouth of
the case on the .22 shorts for it to be stuck.  I can't imagine how they
managed to get the things to stay still while they punched the hole in
them.  Risky indeed to hold something that small and stab it with enough
force to puncture the case!

I plan to try it myself as soon as I have a chance to create some empty
.22 cases, but in the meantime, I'd like to hear from the group.

Thanks!

Paul G. Avery, RPA
Senior Archaeologist
MACTEC Engineering and Consulting
9725 Cogdill Road
Knoxville, TN  37932
Phone: (865) 588-8544x1169
Fax: (865) 588-8026
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