So over the weekend I was walking around an area that I know used to be used as a US Army training area way back when.  They were excavating some of the land to make some new structure, so all the ground was tilled up.  Just walking along and I realized the mud was filled with En Bloc clips and 30-06 brass.  I looked around a bit and grabbed one of the clips and even found a live 30-06.  En bloc was rusted out like a tin can, but the cartridge was in surprisingly good shape.  No real damage at all, just some light tarnishing; the black tip on the paint was still there, and fresh unoxidized copper was underneath.  I'm wondering if the round was in some sort of sealed ammo pouch/box that got torn open by a bulldozer.  Headstamp is "R A 44" and my limited research tells me that was made by Remington Arms in 1944.  (special significance to me, because I used to work for Remington Arms and have likely been in the room where this round was manufactured)

Really made my weekend, I don't often find stuff like this.  Clearly there was some sort of live fire exercise or staging area here and the soldiers left a lot of stuff behind.  The last person to touch this stuff was probably overseas shortly after.  A lot of coincidences that are pretty crazy when you start to think about them.  Enjoy the pics!  Let me know if you know anything that I don't!

really cool, UXB's, gernades, ammo, and the rest. I wish I could find same..............no, not really. Looks like an area to shy away from especially considering that there are still areas from WWI that are dangerous to enter because of the unexploded ordnance. Neat find, just not something that would pique my interest.

Oh, You could. Head over to the west side of Illinois to the old Savanna Army Depot and proceed to try and blow your self up, or inhale some toxic chemicals.

 



I am familiar with the Depot, I would not recommend exploring outside of the cleared areas.

Hell, I'm sure that I'm closer than that, I live about 45 miles north of Joliet.

When I was in the Navy and assigned to NAMTRAGRUDET Mayport we had a horse shoe pit behind the schoolhouse.  Us instructors would play horseshoes sometimes when nothing else was going on.

Well I was picking up my horseshoes and found a 42 dated 30.06 round in the sand under my horseshoe.  Surprisingly good shape too especially since we were no more than 100 yards from the ocean.

Turns out that area was a temporary ammo storage dump during WWII.  Right at the mouth of the St Johns river.

Too bad the clips are rusty. I've sold them for $.75 each, selling them to gun show sellers who then mark them up to $1.50.

As a kid in the mid 60's dad was stationed at Clark AFB in the PI. It was not uncommon to come across WW II UXO, relics and even human remains in the bush. One kid found a Japanese grenade and brought it home. He hid it in his dresser and one day his mom was rearranging clothes and it either fell out or got bumped...Mom wasn't around to say exactly what... I remember another kid started a pretty good fire messing around with a flare gun he found..

Are those rail cars full of toxic materials?

Also, very cool find! I love stories like this!

Neat find!

As a kid in the mid to late 80s my dad was stationed there. We still found things all over. Fun times.

Is that an Armor piercing round?

That round would probably still fire too.  I found a clip of LC 44 M2 Ball at Fort Leonard Wood that had been laying around in the woods for 50+ years.  All eight rounds fired just fine.  No click bang either.

Just be goddamned careful of UXOs. (Unexploded ordinance.)



It can EASILY kill you, and anyone near you.

Yes, but AP back then was a little different than modern AP.  Really just means that it has a steel core.

What do you mean?  It was a hardened steel penetrator intended to penetrate armor.  How is that different than today's AP?

Not trying to be nit-picky, but it is "ordnance", not "ordinance". They do not mean the same thing.

You are absolutely correct. Android autocorrect for the win.

 

You could try an electrolysis tank on those clips.

Lots of stuff down here on the Eglin Res.

In the '70s we had a kid who with some other kid's from school jump the fence and enter  Fort Carson, they ended up being on a impact area . This fellow picked up a LAW rocket round that had failed to explode after being fired, it went off and took his legs . The other kid's ran to find help and found the MP's. When they made it back the fellow had already passed. It was a horrible event that shocked the Security/Widefield area, I was on the track team with him.

All over the maneuver areas of Yakima Firing Center there is trash going back to the Korean era. I have a couple of En Bloc CLIPS that still function 100%. Saw them sitting right at the 8" base of sage brush they had clearly been fire blackened and had a light coat rust on them. overnight soak in some used motor oil, some Blue Wonder Gel and a bit of 000 Steel wool brought 'em back to life.

In other training areas it was very common to find cool shit if you drop to the prone in the woodline, like Germany- there will be a brass 7.92mm stripper clip, an En Bloc with 8 blank rounds, part of a 60mm mortar and some random brass within 10' of you.





There was also the time my driver ate most of a tin of "Cheese, with Caraway seeds" when they (Fucking Privates) told him that was the new MRE cheese. He turned into a newt and never really got better.