Object with 303 case stuck in it

[browningautorifle]

I rest my case.

[Anzac15]

Maybe part of a hand made firearm?
Hmm.

[villiers]

Or clean it up with a wire brush and sell it as "trench art"

[gtodan]

Whatever it may be, maybe the casing was used as an expedient to secure it to whatever.....

[CINDERS]

One story comes to mind from the Boer war of a skirmish between 20 Australians and 200 Boers having engaged in an action against each other in hilly rocky ground the Boers learnt very quickly that trying to move from cover to cover meant your demise and just being spotted met with equal distain.
As most of the Australian troops had been using rifles as young children on farms or hunting 'roos or Coney's (Aussie slang for rabbit).
The British learnt this sad lesson earlier on from the Boers what well used cover and accurate rifle fire can do to a unit.
And the Australian troops made good there escape on their mounts that were on the far side of the hill, as a finale in the Boers words "They lost not a man and for us to move meant certain death such was the accuracy of their shooting, they defeated us we of 200 and they of 20."
Area and year of the engagement unknown but just flicked into the grey matter reading Boers......

[Bruce_in_Oz]

One of the best accounts of "action" during the Boer War was written by "correspondent" and poet, "Banjo" Paterson.

A brief introduction to the book can be found here: FROM THE FRONT edited by R.W.F. Droogleever

My copy is in a box somewhere in the house. I still haven't organised the space for the new bookshelves.

[CINDERS]

Hi Bruce also try his book bit of a scarce title " How We Kept The Flag Flying" H/C print date 1900 by Donald Macdonald the siege of Ladysmith through Australian eyes I am about 1/3rd the way through pretty dam good read.

[Surpmil]

Could just as easily have been kids playing with farm junk, though for a relatively dry part of the world(?) it does look quite rusted so long ago probably. Back of the case looks like it's been hammered on with a stone or some rough surface. The kind of thing little boys do; sadly sometimes their experiments go "bang" with unhappy results. Reminds me of an old chap I knew who was invited as a small boy to go with his friend and play with some blasting caps he had found. He passed, and his friend passed on.