Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Searching for a weapons cache through concrete?

Syrex5

Syrex5

Full Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2012
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123
Location
Brazoria County Tx
Supposedly my grandfather who has passed away, had hidden a large amount of weapons in a concrete slab that was poured in the 60's. The slab is the foundation for a rather large shed he had built back then. I know if if the weapons do exist(numerous family members have all mentioned it) they would be rusted beyond repair. Either way it would be awesome to find his spoils of war 70 years later, assuming they are in fact from ww2. My mother owns the property so permission is not an issue. My question is how to find it? I recently bought an F2 that I am having a blast with, and still own my older 1212X. Now what setting should I use, what should I look for? I'm positive there is some sort of metal reinforcement in the concrete which is estimated at a width of 18 inches with the entire slab at about 30x40. So what could be a tell tale sign of a large amount of weapons besides the obvious?

I would like to get a few more details before I start busting up concrete...
 
For what it's worth if you find them.....there is no way to legally get a BATFE tax stamp for a machine gun if it wasn't registered before the machine gun act. Possession would be a severe felony.

But I think a dealer with a class III license could buy them?

I haven't been in the loop on gun specifics in a few years....just a heads up if you find a box of MP44s and grease guns.

Possibly a ground penetrating radar could find them?
 
It depends whether or not the concrete is filled with rebar. All you need to do is check part of it in all-metal to see if you get a response. If it's clear, just check it all in AM. A firearm would give a good response, a group of them would be a big response.
 
Even if you got a signal from the foundation, you would never know if it were guns or re-bar. You would just have to jack hammer it up carefully and see what you find. I wouldn't expect them to be rusted beyond repair, I guess it could go either way...

So when are you renting a jack hammer!? :)
 
Grandfathers guns

I would think if he was going to pour them into a slab he would oil and grease them good first and wrap them in something? If he was just going to destroy them there are easier ways than pouring them into concrete!!!......:biker: :digginahole: :biker: :digginahole: :biker:
 
I wouldn't think a shed floor would be over 4" thick. It would be hard to stash much of a weapons cache in 4" (unless they were all laid-out side by side). in which event you'd likely destroy anything in the process of trying to remove the concrete from it.

Weapons (like many other items) are generally cached with the thought of accessing if/when they're needed. I wouldn't think encasing them in concrete is a very feasible method for caching items. That said, I'm sure he was aware that sealing them in concrete would make for a near impossible retrieval. Knowing that, if in fact there would be anything there, I doubt they were cached, but more so destroyed. If that was the case, he wouldn't have taken any steps to protect them.

I would concentrate my efforts elsewhere, unless you just want a new shed floor. If you bust-up the floor and nothing is there, you have nothing (but a broken floor). If you found them, you'd still have nothing but rusty steel and rotten wood covered in concrete which would be all but impossible to remove.
 
weapons

Gauntlet said:
I wouldn't think a shed floor would be over 4" thick. It would be hard to stash much of a weapons cache in 4" (unless they were all laid-out side by side). in which event you'd likely destroy anything in the process of trying to remove the concrete from it.

Weapons (like many other items) are generally cached with the thought of accessing if/when they're needed. I wouldn't think encasing them in concrete is a very feasible method for caching items. That said, I'm sure he was aware that sealing them in concrete would make for a near impossible retrieval. Knowing that, if in fact there would be anything there, I doubt they were cached, but more so destroyed. If that was the case, he wouldn't have taken any steps to protect them.

I would concentrate my efforts elsewhere, unless you just want a new shed floor. If you bust-up the floor and nothing is there, you have nothing (but a broken floor). If you found them, you'd still have nothing but rusty steel and rotten wood covered in concrete which would be all but impossible to remove.
Click to expand...

If it was me i would have to know you can always replace the floor , sooner or later some one is going to gig it up.
 
I would think he hid them in a way he could get a hold of them in a emergency , at that time a lot of people thought there was a chance of Soviet Union invasion. Many people made fallout shelters in their yards and basements to be ready.
 
Why are people assuming that a hidden stash was buried IN the concrete? It would make no sense to do that. If you are trying to hide them for later, they would be in a hole UNDER the slab. Otherwise, just dump them in a hole in the dirt, or a farm pond and walk away.
 
do you know where the shed was/is?

if so, dig it up

if not, historic aerials or historic topo will help you

also, check family photos that could have the shed in the background
 
The shed is still there standing. That's not a problem, I'm going back over there today anyway, I'll check it out some more. By going around the outside I did find some interesting things.

1. A rather large steel cover for something, its perfectly round and about the size of a stop sign. It very well could be a stop sign since last year I dug a big texaco sign out. It is hollow underneath, so I am intrigued.

2. Another anomaly is under an old dead tree, there seems to be a concrete ball about 1.5ft down, I'll need to bring an axe and chop away a giant root blocking the rest of it to see what it is.

I'll be checking this property a few more times
 
ive heard of people doing this kind of thing before...if the slap is 18 thick that leaves room for a cache in a case...swing the shed...yes there is a possibility of re-bar. keep in mind to also grid the slap by tapping it in regular intervals close together with the curve on the back of a crow bar...harmonic resinence...if they are in a case in the slap you will know when you have found the spot...physics dictates that the area directly above the center of the cache should crack like a tile using a sledge hammer...how many hits it will take depends on the thickness of the cement over the cache, good luck
 
Jason in Enid said:
Why are people assuming that a hidden stash was buried IN the concrete? It would make no sense to do that. If you are trying to hide them for later, they would be in a hole UNDER the slab. Otherwise, just dump them in a hole in the dirt, or a farm pond and walk away.
Click to expand...

Because that's what the OP stated.

I'm hoping to see Geraldo film the recovery :yes:
 
SMPress said:
Come on, noone really does this... Oh, wait, never mind!
Click to expand...

In concrete? Or even "under" as Jason proposed (without a quick access). How long would it take to access items in "time of need"?

All I'm saying is this is likely a "story". It makes no sense for someone to do what was stated (by the OP).
 
Gauntlet said:
In concrete? Or even "under" as Jason proposed (without a quick access). How long would it take to access items in "time of need"?

All I'm saying is this is likely a "story". It makes no sense for someone to do what was stated (by the OP).
Click to expand...

Very little time at all. The original hider knew exactly where the hiding spot was. The normal thickness for a slab would be little work for a sledge hammer. Maybe the hider had access to heavy equipment like a jack hammer, or other equipment that could bust the concrete quickly. But I doubt anyone was going to be planning on stopping an intruder with one of the weapons. This would be something put away for a "rainy day".
 
well he more than likely at least had them in a weapons case if he was going to bury them. I would rent a Backhoe with a braker and go to town.. Heck to re-pour the slab will not be that much so at least rent a concrete cut off saw cut a 3x3 square bust it out dig down and check. Then re-pour the square is it is not there.
 
gordonquixote said:
For what it's worth if you find them.....there is no way to legally get a BATFE tax stamp for a machine gun if it wasn't registered before the machine gun act. Possession would be a severe felony.

But I think a dealer with a class III license could buy ?
Click to expand...

As a class III dealer/title II manufacturer I can tell you there are no legal options but turning them in to BATFE.
 
Check the slab with a small sniper coil, make note of the typical signal width where you suspect only rebar or wire mesh. Then go over the entire slab marking the layout of the wire grid or rebar. When or if you find spots where the detector gives a signal for a wider distance, you might have something.

Another possibility is that the guns are under the concrete as a few have suggested. If your grandfather had thought he might need to get at the guns, they might be buried near an edge where it would have been possible to dig them out.

If there was any ammunition with the guns you might try searching for the brass and lead while disc out the iron. If there is any ammo cached in the concrete I'd be real careful swinging a sledge hammer.
 
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