Would like ID of a strange 76mm projo.

[cmpman]

A few of these showed up during a recent range sweep at the local base. The round seems like it is solid lead, and has a brass driving band bolted onto it. The driving band is just brass sheet shaped like a cup, and is held onto the lead bullet with three 5/16 NC nuts. The overall diameter of the round is approx 76mm, and the driving cup appears as if it was fired through a barrel that had just three equally sized lands and grooves.

Any ideas as to what this round is from?

 

[kahu1]

Doesn't look like a projectile.
Possibly some sort of counterweight/balance maybe?

 

[917601]

A few of these showed up during a recent range sweep at the local base. The round seems like it is solid lead, and has a brass driving band bolted onto it. The driving band is just brass sheet shaped like a cup, and is held onto the lead bullet with three 5/16 NC nuts. The overall diameter of the round is approx 76mm, and the driving cup appears as if it was fired through a barrel that had just three equally sized lands and grooves.

Any ideas as to what this round is from?

I am an old " cannoneer" muzzleloader, , black powder. I have a friend who shoots his original 1864 Parrot rifle with the exact design you show. He turns the projectile from mild steel and bolts on a copper " cup" to the rear section exactly like the one you picture. I think the dia is about 3 inches. As your example is lead, I suspect it is a much older ( maybe 50's)
example of hand made ammo that is perhaps the three groove Armstrong cannon of the 1860's? ....but definitely a home made projectile common to the muzzle loading cannonneer groups. What is the location? Frazier, now deceased, used to hold many 500-1000 yard completion shoots from the 60's to the 90's....he could hit a 55 gal drum repeatably at 1000 yds from his Parrot rifle.

 

[917601]

Forgot, are you sure it is lead? I used to cast my 2in cannonballs from Zinc as did other muzzleloaders.Lead deformed when going through the trees, I could recover the zinc cannon balls and if they rolled down my barrel, I would re shoot them....zinc gets harder and brittle at elevated temperatures, as in 4 oz of 1 FG or Cannon grade black powder- the amount I used in firing the cannon balls, I even re used one cannon ball four times after putting it through 18" plus trees....the good old days.

 

[917601]

I did some quick searching, maybe a 10 lber Parrot?...anyway, enough to steer you the right direction, note fig 5.

• Years of Manufacture: Between 1861 and 1865
• Tube Composition: Cast Iron, Wrought Iron Breech Band
• Bore Diameter: 2.9 inches (Model 1861); 3.0 inches (Model 1863)
• Rifling Type (US): 3 grooves, right hand gain twist
• Rifling Type (CS): 3 groves right hand twist, or 12 grooves left hand twist
• Standard Powder Charge: 1 lb. Black Powder
• Projectiles: 10 lb. solid bolt, case, common shell, cannister

http://civilwarwiki.net/wiki/10_pdr._Parrott_Rifle

 

[cmpman]

Thanks for the reply, the rifling sure looks to be the right style.

They came off a Canadian Military range, CFB Shilo. This base did not come into play until the 1930s, however, with the age of cannon you are talking about, I do recall there was a shooting competition between an older artillery piece and the modern day GIAT about a decade or so back for filming by the history channel. Possible that these were the result of that shoot.

I'm pretty sure it is lead, but I didn't take the torch to it. A razor blade cuts the metal reasonably easily.

Here is another bullet that they found in the same area.....similar but I don't have the sample to measure. Ours has a blunt nose...I wonder if perhaps ours merely sheared off the metal plug seen on this other one.

 

[917601]

That one looks like the 10lb Parrot as does the first one pictured. You mentioned the History Channel covering the event, Frazier did do many pieces with them. I am certain it is a modern day made 10 lbr.

 

[cmpman]

Thanks for the information. We will do a query with some of the artillery guys from 1RCHA who were here a decade back and see what they can remember. I'll post the results here if we get any.

 

[917601]

Bruce Frazer, in a 1986 dated photo loading his Parrot gun.

 

[cmpman]

I remembered that the shoot was sometime between 2002 and 2005, and that I had read about it in the base newspaper. Clive, the artifacts manager, went over to the paper and found the article. Sure enough it was a 10pdr 1863 Parrot gun operated by the Loomis battery from Michigan. I have a PDF of the article and photos, but it is too large to load here. It was for the A&E channel on a documentary or series called "Artillery". The show was not, unfortunately, shown in Canada.

Apparently, the parrot group shot very well, actually scoring 5 on 5 on a wooden target at 1400 yards, while the LG1 only scored 1 hit out of the 5. However, the modern ammunition of the GIAT would destroy the target with that one shot where the vintage gun would just keep adding more holes.

Still, very impressive on the part of the Loomis group.

Thanks for your help 917601.....it might otherwise have long been a mystery as to why 1880s cannon munitions were found on this range.

 

[917601]

The Loomis name rings a bell. One of those groups also fired off huge civil war era mortars and barbette style muzzleloading HEAVY artillery, some with 20 pounds or so of blackpowder charges. Near Macinak ( ?, spelling) island or New York years ago. You have my interest of my days gone by, I will do more posts just for interest. I had met one of them back in 1998 or 9 at an event in Texas, and noticed he was missing a few fingers, he had all of them when I first meet him.....said it was only a matter of time before it bites you.....muzzleloading is inherently dangerous.....especially in the hot Texas heat where a sun soaked barrel got very very hot.
I sold off my 3"" Ordnance muzzleloader and started shooting pre 1896 breech loading blackpowder cannon for safety sakes. Now only a memory.

 

[cmpman]

Found the story about the shoot on the net: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2015/mdn-dnd/D12-7-7-32.pdf