I think iv found a war time gunnery range

[Whitehunter]

Keep up the good work, i bet you've already got a nice little display with all this lot


John

[Steve T]

That mortar fin with the ground in sand..............give it a good going over with a wire brush attachment on an electric drill. The way I do it is to clamp the drill in a vice then work the item against the brush. It's easier than clamping the object and holding the drill. So long as you just do the bits without paint, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how well it comes up.

If this is a bit too harsh for you, try using one of these things, obtainable from any supermarket......





....... I use them all the time on this kind of thing and they get most ground in dirt out.

Bloody hell..........I sound like one of those terrible women off the telly. I need to go and find a thread where Dave has posted so I can pick on him without just cause or reason to make me feel better.



Steve T

[cornishboy]

Thanks Steve thats a brillo idea
a few more finds,ill try and post some cleaned head stamp shots asap

[Steve T]

Very interesting. You seem to have mostly 30cal carts there with a couple of 303s. You also appear to have a modern blank (the one with the long thin shoulder), and, just above that, a spent 50cal bullet. A couple of two inch mortar fins and the thing between them I can't ID just yet but it looks interesting !!

Excellent work CB........you got there in the end !!!!

Steve T

PS Will have a look at the HSs when you post them I bet the one with the long thin shoulder is dated 1982 or something....

PPS Post a picture of that thing between the fins pls. Has it got any markings on it ?

[cornishboy]

Heads up,well some stamp pics
DM Des Moines Ordnance Plant, Des Moines, Iowa
DEN Denver Ordnance Plant, Denver, CO
RA Remington Arms Co., Bridgeport, CT
SL St Louis Ordnance Plant, St Louis, MO
RG Royal Ordnance Factory Radway Green, Radway Green, UK (53 & 56)
TW Twin Cities Ordnance Plant, Minneapolis, MN
NA National Arms & Ammunition Co., Birmingham, UK (1941)
BE Royal Ordnance Factory, Blackpole, UK (1942)
The modern case is stamped RG L13A1 dated '84
Sorry to keep you dangling as to the i.d. of the mystery item.its a fishing weight! lmao

[Steve T]

Oh now how about that !!! I guessed 1982 on the modern cart and it was 1984. HA !

A nice selection of rounds and interesting that you've got some post war stuff. The colours around the annulus are also interesting. I always used to think they represented the projectile type but I have read recently that the annulus colour doesn't necessarily mean anything and could just be the sealant they used to secure the cap. For instance the black annulus colour could indicate AP rounds, and the orange 'day' tracer.

Perhaps someone could clarify ?

Cheers

Steve T

PS Lovely example of a Bren firing pin mark and extraction 'gouge' on the last picture

[cornishboy]

Evening all,well rain stopped play this morning for a short while.Luckily for me i was near an old haunt
First up a few of the usual suspects 2 in mortar bits, 30cal cases along with some bullet heads
Then i found this great lump burried close to the area where i was finding a few bullet heads
Now im guessing its a range target,or is it something else? Thanks to my mate berghaus i managed to haul it home
Lastly pretty close by was this,now i know it could just be a bit of junk,however its position leaves me to think it could be relating to the targets in some way,or maybe not.Let me know if you can tell what it is would you? Ta

[Whitehunter]

WOw! nice haul matey!

I like the bullets holes thats pretty cool

Are those all HE fuses ?

John

[cornishboy]

Thanks John,Im not sure iv got markings on one peice which reads 44 506A. Ring any bells?

[Whitehunter]

44 as in 1944 and i spose 506A is the batch number?