Some Questions

A

axeman

Established Users
I have some Spanish American War bullets. unfired.

They have been underwater since 1898.

I am familiar with artifact preservation from the standpoint of artifacts that have been underwater.

But this is my first experience with ammunition.

I have 5 bullets and the cartridge. the bullets are about the size of a 30 30 that I had as a key chain as a kid.

2 of the bullets have corroded through their shells a bit and there is nothing inside. the other 3 however look like new and since never fired I am guessing that there is some soggy gunpowder inside.

So I am looking for some advice as to what to do with them. Is there a way of rendering them safe for display?

Thanks
 
Hello,most likely you have found some 30-40 Krag bullets.Mabey you could use a bullet puller on the clean ones but that is the only method I can think of.Remember,you may have live ordnance,as to cleaning ??????

Robert
 
I have a .50 cal Viet Nam era round that was rendered inert by drilling a small hole in the case and removing the powder. I didn't do it am not sure how safe this practice might be, but you might check with a local gun smith for his/her advise. Another and more simple way might be to just display them in a case with a lock; if you're just concerned with the little ones getting their hands on them. Wal-Mart sells a descent looking glass front for under $10 (Crafts Dept.) and you can get a little hasp and lock for a few buck more. Just a couple of thoughts.

Ernie
 
Well I was able to pull the bullets out of all but 1 casing. I will get a puller for the last one.

There was propellant in the bullets and I was able to clean it out. It was rather soggy.

I read an article on another web site that told me how to neutralize and clean out the remaining propellant. so I will do some chemical baths to make sure there is nothing left inside.

I learned from the head stamp that they were made in 1897 by the Santa Barbara munitions factory in Spain. I was not able to determine the caliber. I read that it was common for munitions of the era made for the military to not have the caliber info on the head stamp.

I will post some pics of it all after they are cleaned up. But it will take 11 months for them to be ready for display as they have to be soaked in fresh water to get the chlorides out of the brass.

I have to look around for some bronze wool today to clean off the coral and gunk.

I also got some buttons and a hat pin from the same wreck, but I have not tried cleaning or identifying them yet.
 
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