
I thought you and the rest of the Guntalk readers would be interested
in the following letter printed in the 10/8/93 issue of Gun Week:
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             `Technical' Advice On Gun Burials

Dear Editor,
   This is to all you buriers of cosmolined "assault weapons" in PVC
tubes.  I've been doing some magnetic survey work.  The instruments we
use can detect a magnetic field as small as 0.2 Nano-Tesla.  That's
0.00000000002 Tesla.  To put this in perspective, the earth's magnetic
field, that which makes your compass point north, is 40 to 80 micro
Tesla.  That's 0.00004 to 0.00008 Tesla.

   A typical value for the magnetic field 100 yards from power lines is
2 nano-Tesla or 0.0000000002 Tesla.  They say this is a cancer threat
when it's 1/100,000 of the earth's field.

  A handgun could be found if within a few feet of the surface. A rifle
perhaps burial depth (6 feet.)  Do you want to dig that deep?  If so, a
few tips:

  1. Bury it vertical.
  2. Bury it deep.  The magnetic field strength falls off as distance
     cubed.  Double depth = 1/8th the field.  Quadruple depth = 1/64
     the field.
  3. Bury where cars drive by.  Moving vehicles throw off the readings.
     They would have to stop all traffic in a 200 yard radius and move
     what big metal objects they could 100 yards off.
  4. Bury near pipes.  It won't stick out.
  5. Bury a horseshoe 6 inches down every yard or so.

  It would take about 5 hours to sweep the average suburban lawn.
Chances are they'd spot where you dug by soil disturbance just as well
as the field from your guns.  Or they'd get you to squeal on yourself,
or a neighbor would, or worst of all, you'd forget where you buried
them yourself and never be able to detect them!  That's most likely.
  So before you do anything silly like bury your guns so President
Clinton and her draft dodger husband can't find them, think about it.
Send that $10 for PVC, $15 for cosmoline, $5 for dessicant, etc. to the
NRA.  Dig some holes for a deck or pool, then take those evil looking
guns to the range and enjoy them.  If you have to hide them, Billary,
Janet, and Sarah have already won.

                                Matt Egloff
                                Bozeman, MT.
