Keith Posted October 14, 2018 Share #1 Posted October 14, 2018 These 4 cases have had the ends of them intentionally smashed closed as if to contain something. Has anyone read about this practice or have any ideas? The .50-70 was the service cartridge from 1868-1873 and the early ones were Berdan primed which these are. Thanks for any input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share #2 Posted October 14, 2018 UPDATE: I weighed an unsmashed case, clean with no corrosion and it weighs 8.6 grams. The smashed cases weigh from 9.6-10 grams. So there is either something inside or else the corrosion is the weight difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted October 14, 2018 I think I found the answer here: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/227970-smashed-shell-directive/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad1 Posted November 11, 2018 Share #4 Posted November 11, 2018 Yes,this was known to have been intentional so that the Indians could not reload them to use in any captured weapons. I believe that this was also discussed in one of the Custer episodes on the History Channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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