Bullets and Balls

[Bullet Mick]

Hello again ive been sorting out some bits and bobs of the collection over the weekend. I decided to measure and weigh my collection of musket balls and lead bullets to try and identify them. Some i have identified but a lot i cant. Thought id post a few pics for anyone who may be interested. Cheers Mick.

 

[smle2009]

Hi Mick,
is your ? a copper 'cup' similar to a large primer?.....thinking of a gallery round bullet from the Swedish 6.5mm or 7.62mm.

Cheers
Tony

 

[TonyE]

I'm not good on muzzle loading or commercial lead bullets but I can give you the ID on a couple of the others.

Picture 1 - 9mm 114 grn. British 9mm Iz or 2z. Specification weight is 115 grains
ditto - .236 looks like an AP core but cannot tell what from.
Picture 3 - .303 111 grn is an M1 carbine. Spec. weight is 112 grns.
Picture 4 - 469 grns is a .50 Browning AP core by the look of it.

Regards
TonyE

 

[Bullet Mick]

Thanks for the IDs TonyE. Tony (smle2009) I am unsure about the ? one. Its not a cup or a primer its solid and of a harder material than lead. Ive just measured it its 4.3mm in diameter and 4.2mm in height its weight is 8 grains. It has a small rim on the bottom and is pointed on the top. I was thinking it may be some sort tip that may be cast into a lead bullet. Cheers Mick.

 

[reccetrooper]

The ? might be an airgun 'slug'

I'm thinking, 4.3mm would ride on the lands, the small rim I suspect takes the diameter up to maybe 4.5mm, which would be .177, the rim engaging any rifling. The fact you say it's solid could indicate it is a 'felted slug', in other words it would have a disc of felt glued to the base to provide an improved air seal.

 

[Bullet Mick]

Thanks reccetrooper never thought of that just had a quick look online and found it may be a type of cat slug. These as you say were solid and had a felt pad glued on the bottom of them. They were designed by a chap called Henry Marcus Quackenbush who designed air rifles amongst other things. Cheers Mick.

 

[highlandotter]

Is there anyway to tell musket balls from shrapnel balls? I would imagine in older battle fields there would be both kinds.

 

[Bullet Mick]

Hi highlandotter i think the best way to identify what you find is to do some homework first. Try to find out what infantry weapons were in use and the time period of your battle field. You can then measure and weigh the balls to find out the calibre and grain of them and compare this to what weapons were in use. Early canister shot used lead or iron balls as did grape shot so any iron balls found would be from these types of weapons. In WW1 the Germans used steal and lead balls in their shrapnel shells and the british used lead-antimony. For an example a british 18pdr shrapnel shell had 170 grain .5 inch lead-antimony balls. So in short get the calipers and the scales out and spend sunday afternoon laid on the living room floor surrounded by balls with your wife calling you sad and see what you got. Hope this helps cheers Mick.

 

[highlandotter]

thanks.the otter