Shotshell question

[RainDodger]

Hi, guys -

A friend just gave me a box of old ammo he wanted to dispose of. Inside were five 12ga shotgun shells. They appear to be factory fresh - not reloads. They are so light in weight that I thought they were empty... so I cut one open.

Inside, I found a sealed cylinder with what appears to be some kind of hard wax or epoxy on each end. It's made of some type of heavy paper or light cardboard. It slid right out of the plastic shell. The bottom of the cylinder has a metal cap, with a fuse protruding about a quarter inch. There's a small charge of powder in the bottom of the shell.

It looks to me like some kind of flare or something. The powder would obviously propel the cylinder out the barrel, and I suspect it would ignite the fuse.

Anybody seen anything like I describe? (Can't post a picture right now)

Thanks.

 

[rcmodel]

Sounds like bird bombs, or cracker shells.

Used to scare birds away from orchards, rosting in trees, or even aiirports.

http://www.suttonag.com/BirdControlPyrotechnics.html

http://www.westernwildlifecontrol.com/12-gauge--shell-cracke12.html

rc

 

[gamestalker]

^^^^

gs

 

[ReloaderFred]

Yep, cracker shells. I've even loaded them using M-80's for the "crack". They work quite well for scaring birds out of orchards, etc.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[blarby]

aiirports.

From what I can tell, the actual reason these shells came into being.

Got a lot of info on these, as the Mrs has worked in three airports now, and birdstrikes are a serious worry.

They are fun to shoot, and if you care to, they can be made.

 

[RainDodger]

Ah! Good call, guys! I've actually heard these in automated machines in vinyards in Italy. They went off about every 20 minutes or so. I'm sure that's what these are. Thanks.

 

[ReloaderFred]

What you probably heard in Italy were propane cannons that are set on a timer. Some orchards use them just prior to the harvest season to keep the birds away from the ripening crop. Cracker shells are more for individual use most of the time.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Kp321]

Reminds me of an incident that happened a few years ago, good lesson in it.
An unnamed person(he is still embarrassed about it) fired a 12 ga flare of some type out of the full choke barrel of his Beretta o/u. The flare stuck in the choke and burned there. Melted the solder on the rib and side pieces for about 6". He ended up with a nice cylinder bore quail gun!
Moral, don't fire any special shells through a full choke.

 

[splattergun]

Reminds me of an incident that happened a few years ago, good lesson in it.
An unnamed person(he is still embarrassed about it) fired a 12 ga flare of some type out of the full choke barrel of his Beretta o/u. The flare stuck in the choke and burned there. Melted the solder on the rib and side pieces for about 6". He ended up with a nice cylinder bore quail gun!
Moral, don't fire any special shells through a full choke.

Advice noted.
Hope your 'friend's' embarrassment wears off eventually.