Could the flattened ammunition shell casings have simply been crushed by vehicular traffic? As to the kid theory, I recall a friend back in the late 1950s used to place firecrackers in expended 30-.06 shells (aimed the firing pit side at a target) and the explosion shot the shell like a rocket. The other "fun" thing he did was hammer over the opening slightly, fill the shell with black powder and then screw a glow plug to the crimped end, buried the lethal shell in a fox hole in an empty lot, attached a 100-foot long wire and closed his garage door over the wires, to which he attached to a model train transformer. The evil kid then detonated the charge and quickly pulled the wire into the garage and waited for the police, firemen, and other panicked neighbors to come running. He never go caught and was never hurt. Then he collected the debris and eventually dumped it out back. My point here? kids like to play with old bullet shells, even if a truck squashed them. Ron May Legacy 106, Inc. ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour