Kinda neat find

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 8849
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: Sweetwater, TX

Kinda neat find

Post by Bill in Oregon »

I have been going on some hikes with a local group here in the Sacramento Mountain canyons that make up the eastern edge of Alamogordo, NM. As an inveterate "looker for things" I am always on the lookout for rocks and other found objects, and find a special pleasure in hauling home old, dark cartridge cases, which I toss into a box when I get home. Today, I spotted an old flattened cartridge case lying near a prickly pear, and at first thought it was a garden-variety .38 Special, but I plucked it out of the dirt anyway. Darn if it didn't turn out to be a balloon-head case marked "W.R.A. Co. .41 L.D.A." -- .41 Long Double Action, for the Colt Thunderer. My guess is it has been there a good long time, maybe a century.
Last edited by Bill in Oregon on Tue Feb 27, 2018 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
GunnyMack
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9937
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
Location: Not where I want to be!

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by GunnyMack »

That ya don't find everyday! Good eyes and great find!

Many years ago I found a chunk of meteorite about 5 miles from the road, I carried it about 2 miles before I decided it, my pack,rifle and altitude were against me. So I put it down in a likely spot to get later, think I could find that spot again!?
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
Chuck 100 yd
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 6972
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:52 pm
Location: Ridgefield WA. USA

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by Chuck 100 yd »

That is so cool. Reminds me of the feeling I would get when I found an arrowhead.
User avatar
Pitchy
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 13136
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:15 am
Location: Minnesooooota

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by Pitchy »

Cool find Bill, I found a balloon head 45-70 while plowing our field 8)
Because I Can, and Have
-------------------------------------------------------------
USAF-72-76
God Bless America.
Disclaimer, not responsible for anyone copying or building anything i make.
Always consult an expert first.
Thunder50
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1185
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:18 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by Thunder50 »

That meteorite could have been worth some pretty pennies
The meek shall inherit the earth, but I reserve the mineral rights!
All the knowledge in the world, is of no use to fools! (Eagles-long road out of Eden)
User avatar
Sixgun
Posting leader...
Posts: 18563
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: S.E. Pa. Where The Finest Winchesters & Colts Reside

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by Sixgun »

I call that "cartridges on the trail". Sam Fadala had an article in a Gun Digest about that about 20-40 years ago...can't remember exact date but it's somewhere in my library.

Yea...there's a story about each one.....your cartridge could have come from a Thunderer, Army Special, but most likely from a single action Colt.

The headstamp on your new found empty was discontinued by the late twenties.-----6
Model A Uzi’s
Image
User avatar
Paladin
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1853
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:55 am
Location: Not Working (much)

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by Paladin »

GREAT find, a good reason to pay attention.
It is not the critic who counts
piller
Posting leader...
Posts: 15188
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:49 pm
Location: South of Dallas

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by piller »

My son is into coin collecting. I need to have him start looking for brass.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 8849
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: Sweetwater, TX

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Just for fun, Billy the Kid, aka William Bonney, known to like the Colt Thunderer, is documented as having spent several nights in La Luz, N.M., about two miles from where I found this case. But the case is about 1.125 inches long, making it a later-production version of the .41 Long when Winchester went to an inside-lubricated bullet, so probably no link at all.

8)
User avatar
marlinman93
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 6432
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Oregon

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by marlinman93 »

Pretty interesting find Bill, and one many people would just step past. I think a very interesting display could be made from found cases out in the boonies!
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
Pete44ru
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 11242
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2007 7:26 am

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by Pete44ru »

.

Kewl beans, Bill - maybe you oughta keep yer eyes peeled for gold nuggets............. :mrgreen:


.
User avatar
ollogger
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 2794
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 2:47 pm
Location: Wheatland Wyoming
Contact:

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by ollogger »

Neat find indeed!

I found some old 50-70 cases one time, some were in side primed & some had a primer the size of shotgun primers


Brad
User avatar
AJMD429
Posting leader...
Posts: 31932
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:03 am
Location: Hoosierland
Contact:

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by AJMD429 »

Bill in Oregon wrote: Wed Feb 28, 2018 10:11 am Just for fun, Billy the Kid, aka William Bonney, known to like the Colt Thunderer, is documented as having spent several nights in La Luz, N.M., about two miles from where I found this case. But the case is about 1.125 inches long, making it a later-production version of the .41 Long when Winchester went to an inside-lubricated bullet, so probably no link at all.

8)
He probably reloaded it a bunch of times, and the case just stretched..... :mrgreen:
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws
"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.


Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 8849
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: Sweetwater, TX

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Brad, several years ago I dropped into a trench in the lava at Lava Beds National Monument in extreme Northern California, site of the Modoc War in 1872-73. I had seen a few empty .56-50 Spencer rimfire cases here and there, but in this trench, which provided an excellent firing point into "Captain Jack's Stronghold," there lay three unfired .50-70 cartridges, inside primed. I didn't touch them, and reported the location to a park ranger who was amazed they had survived the many brush fires that have scoured the monument of the past century plus.
Pete, I have a metal detector for the gold, although a guy can always hope!
User avatar
kragluver
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 119
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2010 6:13 pm
Location: Aledo, Texas

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by kragluver »

I have spent a lot of time hiking in those same areas of NM - I used to shoot often at the Otero Co. Range there near La Luz.

Not in NM - but near Fort Davis, TX I once found a spent rifle bullet. I believe it is likely from a .38-55.
User avatar
marlinman93
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 6432
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Oregon

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by marlinman93 »

Bill in Oregon wrote: Thu Mar 01, 2018 8:47 am Brad, several years ago I dropped into a trench in the lava at Lava Beds National Monument in extreme Northern California, site of the Modoc War in 1872-73. I had seen a few empty .56-50 Spencer rimfire cases here and there, but in this trench, which provided an excellent firing point into "Captain Jack's Stronghold," there lay three unfired .50-70 cartridges, inside primed. I didn't touch them, and reported the location to a park ranger who was amazed they had survived the many brush fires that have scoured the monument of the past century plus.
Pete, I have a metal detector for the gold, although a guy can always hope!
I think I'd probably picked up and kept at least one of them Bill! ;)
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
.45colt
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4720
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 5:00 am
Location: North Coast of America-Ohio

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by .45colt »

Yep, that's a great find !! As a small Boy roaming the fields and woods I spent most of My time looking for stuff like that. paid off big time when I found a perfect white arrowhead in a field that had been plowed for more than 100 years.
Bill in Oregon
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 8849
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:05 am
Location: Sweetwater, TX

Re: Kinda neat find

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Kragluver, I am planning to get an annual membership at the La Luz range here shortly. It's only about 15 minutes from my house near the space museum and NMSU/A.
Post Reply