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High-calibre bullet found in tree salvaged from Squamish

Not the first — nor the strangest — thing found in a tree by Whistler sawmill owner

It was not a routine cut for Zeke Helliwell, at his sawmill Little Whistler Lumber.

Earlier this week, he was cutting through a salvaged cedar tree from Squamish for a lumber customer when he sawed into a bullet about 30 to 38 centimeters (12 to 15 inches) deep into the tree.

“I think it was shot while it was probably laying on the bank of a river or something,” he said, “I actually found the hole where it went in. There was no growth or anything over it.”

He believes, because of how thick it was into the tree, the bullet originated from a high-powered rifle.

He said nails, a more common find, can snap a saw blade, but the lead of bullets is soft, so the blade cuts through it without causing damage to the machinery.

He pulled the bullet out and put it in a box, for safekeeping.

This is the second time in 19 years on the job that Helliwell has cut into a bullet.

Five years ago, he was cutting into a Whistler fir tree when he found a .22 -calibre long rifle bullet.

“It was shot standing, for sure, because there was a lot of sap and stuff around the bullet itself. The tree had tried to repair itself," Helliwell said.

Other strange items revealed inside trees include a golf ball found by Helliwell’s friend and a 20-centimetre clothesline pulley, which was inside a cedar tree from West Vancouver.

“It was fully embedded and grown around,” he recalled, with a laugh.

Trees tell a story, Helliwell said, “And I get to see the story in my work. That is the most fun part about it.”

 

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