I can just see it now. The Case of the Hen Suicide; from eating a .22 that  
went off in her gullet when a piece of gravel connected.
 
 
In a message dated 2/11/2009 9:11:22 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Atkins  obviously knows his stuff!

Like David Parkhill (and probably other  graybeards on this list who grew-up 
in rural America), I did quite a bit  of plinking from porches whilst 
growing-up. It was quite rare to have the  privelege of shooting anything 
larger than .22-cal. shorts (a matter of  expense), but if an uncle or 
grandfather or neighbor was willing to bear  the cost of the cartridge(s), 
one never missed the opportunity of firing  the larger bore handguns.

Atkins describes the EXACT method we (mainly  of the Scot-Tennessee-hillbilly 
heritage) used to extract/salvage bullets  and powder from misfires. We would 
always have a handy food-can (viz:  usually a No. 303 can of peaches) sitting 
on the porch to receive the  abundant misfires (non-fires).

After a 'mess' of misfires had  accumulated in the can (and before some 
heartless uncle or cousin decided  to co-opt your clean can for a spittoon) 
you sat down on the porch to  "work them over." The necessary "hard surface, 
probably containing a  groove" mentioned by Atkins, for us, was a convenient 
crack of  "just-the-right-gap" between two floorboards. In my own case (and 
that of  several cousins who I observed performing the same task), the tip of 
a  sturdy hunting/skinning/butcher knife was used (attempted use of  
folding/pocket knives inevitably led to cut fingers). Lots of punctured  
casings got loose and rolled through wider cracks onto the ground beneath  
the porch (we were mainly interested in collecting the bullets and powder  
... so much less attention was paid to the brass).

I once remember  peering through a crack between the porch floorboards at my 
grandfather's  house and seeing a hen eat (at least it was pecking around on 
them ...  can't swear it was actually ingested) one of the numerous .22-cal 
brass  shell casings scattered on the bare ground beneath it.

Bob  Skiles


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cathy Spude"  <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday,  February 11, 2009 10:46
Subject: Re: Cartridge Case  Question


> Hmmm...interesting responses you've gotten and all  sound like viable 
> ideas.
>
> A co-worker of mine, Doreen  Cooper, found a number of Colt .45 cartridge 
> cases that had been cut  in a similar manner in a military context dating 
> to 1902 in Skagway,  Alaska . Here is what her armaments analyst, Charles 
> Atkins, had to  say:
>
> "A cut in the case, in the area that formally held the  bullet, is rare but 
> not unknown in Alaska. This cut is used to unload  the case and salvage the 
> powder and lead. This was accomplished by  placing the loaded cartridge on 
> a hard surface, probably containing a  groove to stabilize it.. Then a 
> knife like tool was placed in such a  way as to cut the brass case 
> lengthwise over the bullet. The tool was  then struck, cutting the brass 
> case and releasing the bullet. The  bullet could then be removed and saved 
> for recasting into whatever  shape or size was needed and powder could be 
> saved and reloading into  another cartridge."
>
> Cooper went on to suggest that the  soldiers inhabiting the small sheds 
> where these cartridges were found  were salvaging bullets and powder for 
> use in personal weapons for  hunting wild game in off-hours.
>
> Here is the  citation:
>
> Cooper, Doreen C.
> 2004    Gold  Rush Life in Skagway: The Second Avenue "Cabins." Report 
> submitted to  General Services Administration, Auburn, Washington, by R & D 
>  Consulting, Skagway, Alaska. p. 95.
>
> Hope this  helps.
>
> Catherine Holder Spude, PhD
> 7 Avenida Vista  Grande #145
> Santa Fe, NM 87508
> 505-466-1476 home
>  505-913-1326 cell
>
> "Life is not tried, it is merely survived if  you are standing outside the 
> fire," Jenny Yates and Garth  Brooks.
>
>  --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Avery, Paul"  <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 6:07  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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