[url]http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20030507p2a00m0dm009001c.html[/url]

Collector dies from injuries after 'dud' shell explosion

SHIZUOKA -- A collector of dud shells who was seriously hurt when a number of his cherished possessions exploded earlier this month has died, police said Wednesday.

Noritaka Katsumata, 43, had been hospitalized since last Saturday after both his legs were broken in the accident. He died of massive organ failure Tuesday night.

The explosion occurred inside a hut belonging to the Katsumata family in Gotenba, Shizuoka Prefecture, seriously injuring the 43-year-old truck driver.

Investigators recovered 212 shells and 242 spent rifle bullets from the wrecked hut. Seventy-three of the shells were duds but still contained live explosives. It is believed that Katsumata's hobby was to collect shells and other ammunition scattered around the Ground Self-Defense Force's Higashi-Fuji training range located just three kilometers from his hut.

Anyone can walk into the range without being stopped on non-training days, defense officials admitted.

Police are trying to determine what caused the fatal explosion. (Compiled from Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, May 7, 2003)

Good to know next time you go to Higashi-Fuji range.

You got to make sure your hut is unloaded before you walk in.

I guess it didn't make as good an anvil as he thought it would.

At least he didn't put it in his mouth.

He collected shells still containing unexploded ordinance? Not the brightest hobby in the world I guess

Hmmm, I live in a hut. I need a hobby. I know, I'll collect ordinance from the local bombing range and line the walls of my hut with my collection. It will make the other huts seem so blase'...

Back in '77 (that's 1977 for you youngsters!) I was at the Yakima Firing Center and we had a dud 105mm round near our tent.  One of the PFC Stoner picked it up and wanted me to play "catch" with it.  I asked him if he knew what a "dud" was.  He shook his head "no."  I said, "That's a round that hit and didn't go off."  

I asked him to carefully put it down and walk away, which he did.

A Darwin Award candidate for sure.  I can't think of many worse things to collect.

Hand Grenades with real rusty pins, set bear traps, or used syringes.[:D] I had to at least try to think of something worse to collect.

When I was in Germany back around 1979, a kid playing in the woods found a rusty pipe-like object about 6" long.  Tiring of playing with it, he carelessly tossed it away...
BOOM!!

WW2 German rifle grenade...

John

That pool just got a chlorine shock...

Dam some of you are high and mighty arent you? Poking fun at some ones misfortune. I am sure he was well educated as if. Thats pretty fuck up to make it seem as if this was some type of funny thing.

God look at all the good people on this board.

Snipely, dude, misfortune is when you get fired due to acrappy economy, or your dog gets run over, or your daughter marris a liberal. This  dumbass WAS COLLECTING AND STORING EXPLOSIVE DEVICES IN HIS HOME! Get the diff? One is God bitch slapping you for fun, the other is setting yourself up for doom. Booby trapping yourself should earn you a significant degree of mockery, especially this twit.

Screw you. If anyone's acting high-and-mighty, it's you with your sanctimonious tone. Dumbass lived in Japan, one of the best-educated populations in the world. He should have known better.  Darwin in action.  And if you cant have a laugh at someone else's expense, what's the point of living?

I was originally going to say how this is is a big problem in Belgium and the French border, where they turn up uxo's all the time. But you know what?  I doubt anyone in Belgium collects old, live artillery shells and stores them in their house.

Yeah that is why he had a hut.

Japan isn't all that, they have slums and many people aren't so educated. If your rich of course your children go to great schools.

And even education does that mean he has a clue about ordnance except he liked the shapes or colors. For all any of us know he had permission from troops and was allowed to collect the ordnance with them watching. Do you know?

Even if he was educated should people be making comments such as. "I guess it didn't make as good an anvil as he thought it would. "

Raven when you die I am going to laugh my ass off.

You do that.

Once upon a time we dropped TWO nukes on the Japanese. I am pretty sure the Japs have a firm grasp of the idea "bombs bad", even the not so bright Japs.

Are you on crack? What unit were you with that routinely allowed people to steal, and yes that is what it is, ordnance? What commander is EVER going to allow non-EOD personnel to handle UXO? The Japs won't even let their people collect swords, you think they would be OK with them having explosives? What you just posted has to be one of the craziest fucking things I have read on this board, and that is saying a lot.

Why not? He was a dumbass. I don't swim with grey reef sharks, I don't keep rattlers as pets (anymore), and I NEVER play with explosives. That is simply common sense.
So much for the morals you espouse, hypocrite.