Thursday, October 20, 2011

Now This Is Unusual...!


Many of us know what it's like to go out looking for lost pets or livestock.

What many of us don't know is that some most unusual objects can be found during the hunt! What would you do if you found something like this while wandering around the ol' homestead?

Oregon farmer finds live artillery shell

MONMOUTH, Ore. - A farmer looking for a lost cow found a fully operational pre-World War II artillery shell backed with 15 pounds of TNT, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

The farmer reported finding the shell 500 yards off Elkins Road, just south of Monmouth, in an area that used to be part of the artillery ranges for Camp Adair.

"The Sheriff's Office use to respond to two or three of these calls a year back in the 1970s," Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe said.

But the farmer's find last Friday was the first in a long time, Wolfe said.

Deputies secured the area. The Salem Bomb Squad and the United States Air Force Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit from Portland responded to the scene and took over the disposal process for the shell.

The EOD unit decided to wait until Saturday morning to dispose of the shell for safety reasons. Sheriff's office personnel guarded the area overnight, and bomb disposal crews returned to the scene Saturday and disposed of the shell.

Military personnel on scene identified the shell as a pre-World War II artillery shell with a range of 12 miles.

The shell was fully operational with a high explosive tip attached.

The shell measured over two feet in length and weighed approximately 113 pounds. The high explosive tip contained approximately 15 pounds of TNT.

No word yet on whether the farmer has found his cow.

I'm thinking this may have added a touch of excitement to the morning "lost cow hunt!" Just a guess on my part!

How about we sit in the kitchen with our coffee this morning?

15 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

I wonder how many folks would have taken the wire brush to it and then sat it on the mantel?

HermitJim said...

Hey Gorges...
The number that would do that is probably more scary than I really want to know!

I would think that common sense would scream "don't do that!"

Thanks for coming by today!

Sixbears said...

Now imagine the amount of this stuff lying around in places that were actual war zones.

Ben in Texas said...

What amazed me was that it had been there that long and no farmer had hit it with a plow or farm implement before now?
Scary..

Anonymous said...

Mebbe the cow is trying to throw the farmer off the scent? :^)

Kellie said...

Lol! love that comment about the cow trying to throw the scent...

I wonder, would that be strong enough to blow out a root cellar for me? That would be my first thought if I found something like that on my homestead.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how many man-hours it cost to remove the shell! Seems everything these days has to be made in to a big production - leastways, this is the way it goes in my county. The bomb squad recently gathered in the local grocery store parking lot over some kid and his meth making...and I believe the whole local law force attended - county and city forces. The evidence consisted of a 10 oz soda bottle! Whoopie, a good argument for raising taxes to pay for our GOOD protection. Hype, much hype these days.

JoJo said...

Glad his cow didn't step on the head of that thing. Hey could have had quite a BBQ.
Pass the pot coffee in a nice cozy kitchen sounds good

Dizzy-Dick said...

A new meaning to things that go bump (or bang) in the night. If the cow had found it first. . hamburger.

Duke said...

I don't think I would play with it however in reality if it had been fired and failed to go off and laid in the weather for 70 years chances it could explode are slim. Even when EOD explodes it they have to use new explosives to do the job. I have seen EOD show up and throw stuff like that in the back of a pickup and drive off.

TROUBLEnTX said...

Think that cow was blown to kingdom come? When they set it off?

Anonymous said...

I would have been very surprised if I had found one of those instead of a missing animal :-) :-) Talking about the unusual, have You heard anything about that strange animal that looked so strange?

Have a great day!
Christer.

HermitJim said...

Hey Sixbears...
From some articles that I've read, in Germany and England they still find a LOT of unexploded ordinance around!

Must be scary to find something like that in your basement or yard!

I understand that land mines are still a problem in may countries, thanks to some invading or occupying troops! Scary...

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey Ben...
I'm glad some kids didn't find it and start hammering on it.

I just never think of Oregon as being a place to have this type of problem!

Thanks, buddy, for coming over this morning!


Hey Anon 7:19...
Pretty good! Wouldn't surprise me too much, though! After all, they can figure how to open gates and get into places they shouldn't be...so who know?

Thanks for the visit today!


Hey Kellie...
If you couldn't blow out a good root cellar with 15 pounds of TNT...I would give up the thought!

Might make a pretty nice hole for a root cellar or swimming pool or pond! Might want to move it away from the house just a tad, though!

I really appreciate you coming over today!


Hey Anon 8:08...
Sometimes it does seem that they go all out on the wrong things, but then they don't know when they start just what they might find!

I have a feeling that anytime the bomb squad is called out, it ain't cheap!

Thanks for coming over today!


Hey JoJo...
Might not have been much left of it had it gone off!

Pretty nice here today! Hope it stays that way!

Thanks, sweetie, for coming by today!


Hey DD...
Wouldn't want to stump your toe on something like that, while walking the dogs! Might make a loud noise, for sure!

Thanks, my friend, for coming over today!


Hey Duke...
I'm thinking that they are much more suited for the job than I would be!

I have a tendency to always think of things in the worse case scenario, so I would be waiting for the bang all the time!

I'm just glad the farmer didn't find it the hard way!

Thanks for the visit this morning!


Hey Trouble...
No, but she probably was very glad to get back home!

Might not give milk for a while!

Thanks for coming by today!

HermitJim said...

Hey Christer...
About that strange animal...once the government folks get involved, all mention of these things are never seen again in the press.

Don't know why, but it happens more than we know!

Thanks, my friend, for taking the time to come by today!

Corey said...

In a wildlife refuge near where i live there was a ordanace plant during WW2. To this day they find old land mines in that refuge. Apparently they surrounded the plant in a mine field and left it.