Digging With The Grey Ghost

[olddigger]

Finally got out with the gg again. The old mansion site is a nice spot. Didn't set the world on fire but did dig a few good relics. Had a great time anyhow. 2 fired 3 ringers, both 6 point Swage bullets. A high impact pistol bullet, large flat button. Don't know what the large piece is on the left, its lead and about 1/16 of an inch thick. Also a small piece of broken jewelry maybe. The thing at the bottom is a 12 ga shotgun shell. I've dug 100s of shotgun shells but never one with the primer on the outside. It's marked W-W, 12 GAUGE. Sure would like to know about when it was made and what type of gun it was used in. Can't see how it would fit into a normal shotgun.hh all.

 

[VOL1266X]

Good Going OD !!!! Swaged bullets are not very common in our area. I have found only 2 or 3 here. Enjoy hunting with GG.

 

[coinnut]

Did the primer get pushed out of place after the shell got fired (from the force of the explosion)? Just a thought, since I can't imagine any advantage in having it made that way.

 

[olddigger]

I don't think so, because the primer is also sticking inside the shell. Just a strange looking shell.

 

[GRAY GHOST]

yes, olddigger, we did have a good time. the shotgun shell is certainly strange. i swear, the primer sets out almost a quarter inch from the casing. maybe the cardboard shell casing swelled from the moisture in the ground and pushed it out. that's about all i can think of. if i had a dime for every 12th georgia i dug, man i would of retired 10 years ago! but you gotta dig 'em, 'cause they sound just like a button! hh,

 

[ihuntrelics!]

I've also dug a bunch of the primers by themselves. I don't know why but would guess they backed out from the pressure of being fired. HH!!

 

[Canewrap]

What's with the Swaged bullets? I found one not long ago and wondered what the lines inside the cavity were all about?

 

[Anonymous]

The jag that holds the bullet in place while the grooves are cut into the bullet on a lathe. Leave's what we call swag marks.

 

[Anonymous]

A subsidiary of Winchester and sold by Sears. Was a paper "hull" with a brass head. The primers were cheaper than the more expensive Winchester shot shells, so after a few years in the ground several odd things begin to happen. The oxidation of the brass; thus the "patina" or chocolate/green color and the electrolysis causes the primers to sometimes back out of the head. It's unlikely that a primer would back out after firing. The head space shouldn't allow this.
David@Dixie

 

[olddigger]

Thanks for the info. That sounds more logical than anything else i've heard. i knew the primer could't back when the gun was fired. i remember the paper hull shells.