50 cal. casings found while hunting?

[wk4036]

Anyone ever find any 50 cal. casings while hunting Wyoming for Antelope?, rumor is that military planes used Antelope for target practice during the war.
I found three and a link while hunting area 68

 

[C.O. Shooter]

Which war?

 

[wk4036]

WW2?, Korea?
I will check the head stamp when I get home.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

I can't confirm or deny the target practice theory (sounds fun though). More than likely, it was a couple of good ole boys shooting their .50's with some cheap mil-surplus linked ammo. There are a LOT of .50's in Wyo....

 

[wk4036]

Talked to a local out there that said his dad has a 5 gal bucked full from all his years of hunting that area.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

Interesting! I guess I too have to wonder where they came from...

 

[wk4036]

The head stamp is from the right time frame and by the looks of them they have been out there a while.

 

[C.O. Shooter]

Lets see some Pictures?

 

[wk4036]

I will try some pics later, I only have 1 of the 3 as I gave 1 to each of the guy's I was with.
2 where found in the same place and the other miles away and all have the same head stamp and the link was in another area.

 

[Tikkamike]

my grandpa, dad and myself have found several over the years also in the southern half of wyoming.

 

[wk4036]

my grandpa, dad and myself have found several over the years also in the southern half of wyoming.

Mike,
So did you ever hear how they got there?, the one I have in my hand was from the Twin Cities Arsenal 1944.

 

[Tikkamike]

no but ill ask my grandpa, we are going fishing this weekend and he is a history buff, so he might know a story or 2

 

[MNbogboy]

My son and I found several of those "green" vintage .50 caliber cases last year while hunting in the same area as the OP.....I asked another member ( MachV) about these and he said that there was training in the area during WWII.....The area we found them was in the Sweetwater Rocks including one in A68...

Really interesting stuff, I hope more chime in on this one.
Randy

 

[scottbr]

I live in Colorado and have antelope hunted in area 68 in WY for 20+ years. It is about halfway between Rawlins and Casper, near Pathfinder Res. The "old timers" in the area have always said that the occasional steel .50 cal cases found on the ground were from fighter pilots, out of Cheyenne, doing machine gun practice during WWII and into the early Korea years, by chasing coyotes and antelope and strafing them. The headstamps I am aware of are all from the early 40's which would seem to support that. And a couple of years ago I had my brother out there hunting and he even found a few links that held the rounds together in the belt. It was a different time, and the way those ranchers feel about antelope and coyotes I never have had any reason to disbelieve them.