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What happened to this 37mm shell?


Rifleman
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A friend of mine gave this to me today.The casing measures about 3 5/8" long,and the projectile looks to have been driven in too far.What is it suppose to look like?

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That appears to be a 37mm canister round. A sheet brass projectile filled with lead balls. It's been pushed way down into the shell case. Good luck getting it out.

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Very easy to remove. Get two 2x4's, cut them to the length of your brass casing plus another 12 inches. Place them 180 degrees apart on the casing with the two ends just under the casing rim.Duct tape or zip tie them secure to the shell ( it will look like two splints).Turn the piece head case up, ( nose down) vertical. Now, raise the wood/shell a few feet up and drop in down onto the protruding wood pieces. The inertia of the projectile will drive the projectile out ( and reform the case mouth round).Be careful when " hammering it", go slow, the projectile can come out quickly and smash into the concrete. Same principal as a bullet puller -hammer type used in reloading. I have removed large bore ( 90mm) factory crimped artillery shells with this method....please post pictures for the folks here to see.

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Be careful. The primer looks like it has not been fired, could still be live. Normally a modern primer would not be affected by the jolt, but this one is 124 years old and who knows what kind of mixture is in it.

 

Al

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Be careful. The primer looks like it has not been fired, could still be live. Normally a modern primer would not be affected by the jolt, but this one is 124 years old and who knows what kind of mixture is in it.

 

Al

I myself would not be concerned at all about the primer. IF and a big if, it pops when dropping it downward,the pressure rise would be negligible. If you are overly concerned, pour a few drops of thinned motor oil into the shell casing, swish it around, let it sit a few minutes. Primers are inerted by a very small amount of oil ( the oil on your fingertips can inert them). When You get the projo out, put a drop of oil in the primer hole to put your mind at ease....that said, I have a major pet peave with all the hysterical concerns about ordnance that great granddaddy left for the kids.....do you think the original owner(s) was an idiot?...I have seen more rare collectible inert ordnance confiscated by authorities because new owners hysterically said " what if ", this round sat on a shelf since 1894 without " blowing up the house", it will sit on yours for another 100 years even if little Johnny took a hammer to it.
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Thanks for all of the replies.I'm going to carefully try to get the round out of the case.I'll post some pics when done.

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