Yard Sale Suprise

[pete501]

I got a call from a fellow yard sale buyer. His uncle handles estates so he gets the jump on things before the general public. He had purchased boxes of reloading stuff almost a year ago. He is busy with work and kids so he stashed it away just pulling some of stuff for resale. A more thorough search revealed what he thinks is a live pineapple grenade. He thinks that it is live because there is no hole in the bottom like a dummy would have. He's scared that law enforcement will make a huge deal about his gun collection as well as his ammo stash. What the media refers to as an arsenal. I suggested not to walk into the sheriffs office with a grenade, but call first and follow their orders. He lives I a nice neighborhood and he is afraid they will evacuate the entire street.

I'll update you on what happens.

[Dieselhorses]

that's interesting.

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[Omega]

I bet we see this one on the news as they put it in a bomb disposal unit and detonate it. If it was me I'd call the nearest base so they can detonate it on the grenade range, it'd be interesting to see if it would still work as designed after all these years. BTW, did he say what color it was? Practice grenades are blue.

[Texas by God]

I'd fish with it[emoji16]

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[Hossfly]

If its (od) and still has pull pin, i would be very very, careful.

[pete501]

He didn't say what color.

When we were kids we found a Blue colored bomb in the desert while dune buggying. One of the other drivers was retired air force and said it was a practice bomb. We left it where it was. The next trip we found it in a fire pit.

Years before I found a metal pipe with a pointed end. It turned out to be a rocket. I was banging it on a rock to get the sand out. We took it home and gave it to the Fire Dept. That was in the early 70's. At that time they had unsecured bombing ranges in the desert. I remember at the entrance of one of the ranges had what looked like a huge bomb buried in the sand. It was an old Belly Tank. Man those were the days.

[Omega]

He didn't say what color.

When we were kids we found a Blue colored bomb in the desert while dune buggying. One of the other drivers was retired air force and said it was a practice bomb. We left it where it was. The next trip we found it in a fire pit.

Years before I found a metal pipe with a pointed end. It turned out to be a rocket. I was banging it on a rock to get the sand out. We took it home and gave it to the Fire Dept. That was in the early 70's. At that time they had unsecured bombing ranges in the desert. I remember at the entrance of one of the ranges had what looked like a huge bomb buried in the sand. It was an old Belly Tank. Man those were the days.I hunted many areas on Ft Bragg where the chance of unexploded ordanace UXO, or duds, were possible and ran across quite a few. We just marked them and reported them to Range Control (after the hunt) so they could send EOD out there to blow it in place.

[bob208]

just take it to the nearest lake and throw it in let it sink out of sight and mind and tell no one.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Funny story A few weeks after 911 a suitcase was delivered to my neighbor's house He is in air Marshal and was out of town at the time his wife called the local police department In turn they call the bomb squad out a robot went up to the doorstep to drag the suitcase out into the street put a cover over it in blew it up Turns out my other neighbor lost a suitcase on vacation and the taxi just dropped it off at the wrong a house

[Handloader109]

I would NOT go to the Police station with this thing. They will in most probability FREAK OUT. If he KNOWS one of the officers Personally, then call the guy.
Otherwise, I kind of like going to the nearest large lake and drop it into it. As far from the edge into deepest part. Sinks to the bottom and there you go.

[Grmps]

I'd fish with it[emoji16]

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Make sure it's not a frag grenade if you use it for fishing

[danthman114]

227937227938
He didn't say what color.

When we were kids we found a Blue colored bomb in the desert while dune buggying. One of the other drivers was retired air force and said it was a practice bomb. We left it where it was. The next trip we found it in a fire pit.

Years before I found a metal pipe with a pointed end. It turned out to be a rocket. I was banging it on a rock to get the sand out. We took it home and gave it to the Fire Dept. That was in the early 70's. At that time they had unsecured bombing ranges in the desert. I remember at the entrance of one of the ranges had what looked like a huge bomb buried in the sand. It was an old Belly Tank. Man those were the days.

I can relate! I live in Yuma az and used to work at Yuma proving ground. theres uxo all over that place. from ww2 to today. ive accidentally drove into an old 3.5" rocket impact area. that was fun trying to navigate back out with live HE heads all over. ive found old anti tank rounds, artillery rounds, etc etc. ive even found an old cowboy spur from WAY back in the day. pure luck is all it was. it was mostly buried and I thought it was shrapnel at first. I pulled over off the road to pack my lip with some fresh Copenhagen and spit out the window. it landed right next to it. I got out to scrape away some dirt and seen it wasn't uxo and pulled it out. we were supposed to mark uxo with caution tape and report it. when I pulled it out I got a smile and said out loud, " I just found a spur!" I cant find a makers mark tho...

[Wis Tom]

In this day and age, there is no good answer, for this one. So far, I think the lake would have been the best, but now that he told somebody, I think that is now out, as someone will see this, and want answers. Hard to keep it a secret from here on out.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

This is a case where it's good to know (personally) the local authorities...or at least one of them.
I am good friends with our local Police Chief (20+ years), and wouldn't hesitate to contact him about this.

One thought is, if your friend doesn't personally know his local authorities, maybe he should contact a friend who is friends with one of them?
That's my 2¢

[danthman114]

another story that happened at Yuma proving ground. for those who don't know what ypg is, its a testing and training area here in Yuma that dates back to the days of patton training his guys for north Africa. this place is FULL of unexploded stuff. they've found half buried Sherman tanks out in the middle of nowhere there by pure accident and theres no telling whats still there.
anyway, we get a lot of snowbirds here and an old couple decided on going rock hounding. not a big deal, it was on the east side of hwy 95 near the kofa wildlife refuge. what they found was an old landmine that was exposed over time. they packed it up and drove it back down to ypg and set it on the desk where you check in at. needless to say they evacuated the building and eod came in a took it out and blew it up. it was in fact a LIVE landmine from the ww2 era. lol

[Shawlerbrook]

Add me to the throw it the lake group. Unless you live in a free state and know a local law enforcement person, you may find yourself in a pile of trouble.

[danthman114]

the problem with throw it in a lake is anyone who is into scuba diving may find it. that is if its not deep enough...
I think that if you say where you got it and turn it in they may let it slide. afterall he didn't go out of his way to actually buy it.

[Pressman]

Grenade fuse is a blasting cap with a delay. The fuse assembly is screwed into the body. Unscrew it making sure not to pull the ring/cotter key safety. Body is filled with TNT, it's safe to handle. Deep six both parts in the nearest lake.
Ken

[shell70634]

Do NOT attempt to remove fuze. You don't know the condition of the cap. May be corroded and stuck. Do not pull the pin and throw. I've seen many modified for instantaneous detonation. Marijuana fields were commonly booby trapped with them years ago.

[725]

6 years on the bomb squad. we'd get these kind of calls all the time. at least, in my day, nobody freaked out. Baltimore is near Aberdeen proving grounds and various other military facilities. souvenirs, bring home's, and even live ordinance from the civil war turned up from time to time.

don't mess with it or dump it for somebody else to find. good tax money was spent on the R&D to develop these things into very deadly tools. call the local pd, state fire marshal, fire department or if you have a military facility nearby, call them. military has always been eager to recover stuff they let get away. it's more common than you might think and a clear & honest explanation will suffice. please don't hide it away or try to function it.

[wgr]

do,nt know were you live but if I did,nt trust the local law I would go out in the wild and tie a string to it pull and go home

[rl69]

Years ago I ran across a grandad that wasent drilled. I pulled the pin and threw it in the creek. No pop no boom???? No more stress

[merlin101]

do,nt know were you live but if I did,nt trust the local law I would go out in the wild and tie a string to it pull and go home
But what if it doesn't go boom? It's a long tense walk down range to a known uxo and what are you going to do when you get there!
Been there when training with claymores, makes a very tense moment.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

6 years on the bomb squad. we'd get these kind of calls all the time. at least, in my day, nobody freaked out. Baltimore is near Aberdeen proving grounds and various other military facilities. souvenirs, bring home's, and even live ordinance from the civil war turned up from time to time.

don't mess with it or dump it for somebody else to find. good tax money was spent on the R&D to develop these things into very deadly tools. call the local pd, state fire marshal, fire department or if you have a military facility nearby, call them. military has always been eager to recover stuff they let get away. it's more common than you might think and a clear & honest explanation will suffice. please don't hide it away or try to function it.

Excellent advice.
Thank you for posting.

[Goatwhiskers]

A lifetime ago some kids in Bryan, Tx found a WW2 Jap grenade in the creek bottom that runs between Bryan and College Station, handle rotted off and plunger rusted solid. Brought it home, kid's dad recognized it and called police. Officer came and put it on his back seat, took it to HQ and put it under the shift sgt's desk behind a couple sandbags. Ft Hood EOD came and hauled it off, yep, it was live. IMHO our Lord looks after kids, drunks, and crazy people. Maybe dumb cops, too.GW

[jonp]

I'd fish with it[emoji16]

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Ok, Mick Dundee. Settle down :mrgreen:

[jonp]

Years ago I ran across a grandad that wasent drilled. I pulled the pin and threw it in the creek. No pop no boom???? No more stress

You ran across someone's granddad that wasn't shot so you threw him into a creek? That's hardcore right there, that is what that is

[rl69]

I'm that kinda guy ;)

it's hard for me to be aggravated at auto correct with the way I spell

[Rufus Krile]

During the oilfield downturn of the early 80's there was a local dive company going out of business. I needed a drill press and they had a couple that were going to be auctioned off so I went to look. Wandering around looking at all the neat stuff brought me to a couple of boxes... interestingly marked "Hercules Powder Co. /Houston, TX". I thought "wut?!?"
Sure enough, it was binary explosive they used to cut down the offshore platforms when they became obsolete. Red liquid on one end / Clear liquid on the other with a membrane separating the two. The first one I picked up out of the partial case was pink. When I asked the auctioneer about these he said the plan was to auction them just like everything else. I told him... just before I left... to call the sheriff's dept and tell them they had a little problem. Never did get that drill press.

[am44mag]

Call the police and explain to them the situation and how you got it. Let EOD deal with it after that.

Despite what many here assume, the police aren't out to make your life hell. They just want to help and protect people. You have a live grenade. Get rid of it safely and do it now.

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[bedbugbilly]

How about just telling the truth? Call LE . . . tell them you bought a bunch of stuff at a yard sale a while back and finally had a chance to go through it and you found what you think is a live grenade. What's the problem with that? Souvenir grenades show up every once in a while and it's not really that strange of an issue. If you suspect it is live - why would you transport it to aanywhere to dispose of it on the sly? If he doesn]rt know if it is a real one or not - he certainly has no business in trying to disarm it by removing the fuze and why anyone would d suggest that is just plain nuts. You have no idea of the condition of the fuze, possible corrosion, etc. Do what is prudent - call and let the pros handle it - that is what they are trained for. Worried about your guns, ammo, etc. - why? The discovery of a possibly live grenade among stuff bought at a garage sale has nothing to do with that. So your memory of where you got the stuff is hazy - their concern will be with removing and disposing of a possible threat to inexperienced people handling it. Common sense.

[Thumbcocker]

An ATF agent I used to work with said they got similar calls fairly regularly.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Back in the early 1960`s there was a `club` of WW 11 3rd Armored survivors here abouts. They had a solemn way of saying farewell to a recently deceased `club` member. They would go to an abandoned gravel pit that was full of water and they would each throw a live grenade into the lake to salute their buddy. Seems they had somehow brought home several cases of fragmentation grenades. A report to the local PD about the `BOOMS` led to the ending of this ritual.Robert