.50 caliber shells
Posted by Pat on August 25, 2001 at 13:57:24:
In Reply to: Red Wall Canyon and 50 Cal. machine gun shells posted by Lewis Shorb on August 25, 2001 at 02:38:11:
Were they expended "empty" brass, or intact rounds? It makes a difference to the scenario. It's unlikely that a crashing plane would sprinkle single rounds of ammo, as I believe that the guns were belt-fed. It sounds like military practice, probably from some time back, if you found used shells. .50 caliber has been a military round since the era of the Indian wars, but it's unlikely that noticeable quantities of ammo for a gatling or similar gun sat in the weather for so many years without becoming noticeably aged or being picked up. If they are intact rounds, perhaps they were washed from a cache up-canyon somewhere. A vigorous flood could separate them from their belt, possibly, or they might have been individual rounds in a container. Occasionally a .50 caliber brass is found in Eastern Oregon dating from the cavalry era.