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October 23, 2017, 12:12 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: October 23, 2017
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Hexagonal Cartridge Casing?
New to the Forum here, so thanks for any help. While at a group outing around Vein Mt, North Carolina, I found an odd shaped complete cartridge while preparing for a MD hunt. It is pretty badly corroded, but it is obvious that the cartridge is hexagonal(six flat sides) shaped. The base is round and has a primer, is not necked down(like most rifle cartridges), and has a round nose lead bullet. From the corrosion, it appears that the cartridge could be made of steel. Its dimensions are: case length=27 mm, total length=33 mm, bullet diameter=10mm. No one at the MD hunt had seen anything like it and so far my internet search(pretty extensive) has not turned up any references to hexagonal cartridges, only barrels or internal rifling. The corrosion prevents seeing any stamping on the end of the cartridge. I have brushed the sand/dirt from it, but hesitate to do any further cleaning for fear of damaging it. Thanks for any comments.
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October 23, 2017, 01:33 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: November 29, 2007
Location: Everett, WA
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There was the Whitworth rifle that was used during the Civil War. That was a .45 though.
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October 23, 2017, 01:39 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: October 23, 2017
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OK, after hearing the comments on another forum, I felt comfortable to do some more cleaning, especially where the primer would have been. After cleaning out more sand, I could see what looked like threads on the inside. Cleaning the top also reveals this to be a single cast piece and not a lead bullet on top. This would indicate that it was indeed some type of decorative nut cap. Thanks for all your help.
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October 23, 2017, 07:21 PM | #4 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
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October 24, 2017, 12:48 PM | #5 |
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Location: Canada
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Suspect you'll find that's not a cartridge of any kind. That appears to be iron oxide, AKA rust. ONLY comes from ferrous metals. Neither lead nor brass are ferrous.
Lead, for instance, doesn't rust. Neither does any brass case. Both do corrode, but not like that. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. When it corrodes, the copper comes out of the alloy as a greenish dust. Lead usually turns grey.
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October 24, 2017, 02:15 PM | #6 | |
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Quote:
I think the hex shape was created by badly rusted splines. Rivets may be splined to create a slight interference fit to hold other parts in alignment during the riveting process. This makes the rivet easier to drive into place than a round non-splined oversize rivet, and it reduces the likelihood of damaging thin sheet metal in the process.
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October 24, 2017, 02:57 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
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October 26, 2017, 10:14 AM | #8 |
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Join Date: November 2, 1998
Location: Colorado
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That T. O'Heir said. Besides, OP (EastTexasChris) already stated it was a decorative nut cap and not a cartridge. Case closed.
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