Lugers don't grow on trees you know!

[Skullchewer]

"This was an old chess-nut tree, in the National Botanical Garden @ Vácrátót, Hungary. It was deemed to be rotting from inside so they cut it out but during processing the chainsaw started to scream... 

 

As it turned out they'd found an old pistol in the tree trunk! The tree had totally overgrown it.

It is a Luger P-8 which is at the police station for the moment with bullets as well. The park hopes to get it back later for the local history exhibition."

 

That's some wood grip....

 

 

 

[Rogerborg]

I thought "how on earth could that happen", then I realised that right now there are public parks in Sweden where grenades are being cached in the shrubbery.  Now that could get spicy for anyone doing pruning.

[Guest]

It will probably still work with a  bit of effort. I saw one the other week a gunsmith friend of mine was working on.

 

It was a First World War artillery version (long barrel), been deliberately buried in an oil cloth since about 1918. Grips rotted away, but otherwise a good clean and strip down and it cycled perfectly.

[EDcase]

I found these in a lake in Belgium 1987 when it was drained for the first time since WWII.  There was loads of other stuff in the mud but I could only walk around the perimeter.

The auto is a FN1905 and the ladies revolver is a pinfire from around 1850

I donated them to a museum where they told me that they were likely thrown in the lake during the nazi occupation because anyone caught with a weapon would be executed.

Edited October 30, 2022 by EDcase

[Tackle]

While we're on the subject, anyone here ever tried their hand at magnet fishing ?, I've seen a lot of the vids when mooching around YouTube, contemplated getting some kit as I'm only 15 minutes up the road from the Royal military canal. 

[EDcase]

Had a few tries in Reading during lunch breaks.  Only found junk of course. 😄

Important trick is to use the top of a plastic bottle to cover the magnet so the attachment point doesn't get snagged.

Would love to try somewhere interesting like around Hampton Court but I expect that wouldn't last long.

 

Your site sounds interesting so could be worth a go since its not a big investment.

 

 

 

Edited October 30, 2022 by EDcase