OT: What have you found while out hunting or hiking???

[Old Time Hunter]

Found this '73 Trapdoor(middle one), it was apparently set against a hollow in a tree and fell into it. Eventually the tree pretty much grew up around it with the hollow filling up with forest junk and dirt. I was leaning against the tree, got bored and started poking the hollow with my knife. Kept hitting something solid, dug a hole and saw metal, so I dug the whole thing out and lo and behold there was one very dirty old trapdoor. Had lots of surface rust, but turned out none of the rust caused much pitting, the bore was packed solid muck and after clearing it out, it has a few pits, but is entirely serviceable. Took me a couple of years to get like in this picture though.

[Triggernosis]

In the early 90's, while diving off Pensacola, FL, I found a barnacle-encrusted Casio diver's watch in about 20' of water that still worked! No kidding. It was an hour off, though, due to daylight saving's time. I'd estimate it had been there about 6 months or so, because even though it was covered with barnacles, it was still recognizable as a watch. My diving buddy saw it first, so he got to keep it.
Guess what brand watch I've had on my wrist ever since?

[Old No7]

Guess what brand I've had on my wrist ever since?

Lemme guess... A Springfield '73 Trapdoor?!?!?

Just kidding!

Very interesting to see what's been found, and that this post is as lively over here as it was on the boating forum. (Fewer dead bodies in the woods though, whew...)

Old No7

[Mike D.]

Back in the '60s I found a .32 WCF 1873 Winchester that had been used for a fence post. The gun was not badly rusted except the end of the barrel where it was shoved into the lava. The bore was gone and the wood, too. I cleaned the gun up, got an old '73 stock and forend for it and tried to shoot the thing. The bullets keyholed at 10', so I had a neighbor who was a good lever smith bore it to .38 Sp. Man, was it a shooter then. I ended up trading it for a 1st gen .44 Spl SA. Kept that a few years and trade it off, too.

Fast forward 40 yrs. In 2003 I was working the fires south and east of San Diego, out near Desanso, and we found an AK the was left leaning against a tree at a burned out home site. The rds in the mag had cooked off, as had the one in the chamber. One of my guys ejected the case and the gun seemed to function OK so he put it in the toolbox of my PU and took it home after we returned to Northern CA. I reckon he still has it.

I have found plenty bottles and Indian artifacts in my walks, but only a couple of guns. Two years ago a friend found a Winchester '66 in a mine up in the Sierra. I have not seen it, but he says it's in fair enough condition.

[southfork]

Neighbor of mine found an old Ballard barrelled action being used as a fence post. Was well-rusted when he found it. I've seen it and handled it. I've got a WWII M1 carbine that was found stuck barrel-first in the ground in a forest in France. The action still works but the barrel is pitted almost through to the bore. French farmer found it. Myself, I've found lots of arrow heads and a spear point. Also hammer heads and pottery shards.