The .22 rifle as well as other models of firearms have an ejector on 
the bolt that sometimes breaks or is worn down when used excessively. 
Folks in rural America sat on their porches and plinked for the fun 
of it. I know I did as well as shooting skunks, varmits and just for 
fun. I had an old single shot .22 that misfired quite a bit and I had 
to dig the shell out. Sometimes the firing chamber became worn and 
the cartridge did not seat as it should. Again, I had to dig the darn 
casing out. Sometimes the shorts didn't fire and that was a cause for 
digging the case out; however, you needed to wait a few minutes for 
the weapon to REALLY make up its mind. That was called a misfire and 
it was an exciting moment!!!!!

DP



At 07:07 AM 2/11/2009, you wrote:
>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