✅ SOLVED 1/2" Diameter Lead Ball (.50 caliber?) with White Pantina...What Gun and Timeframe?

[Erik in NJ]

1/2" Diameter Lead Ball (.50 caliber?) with White Pantina...What Gun and Timeframe?

I dug a lead ball today (dropped I believe) that would have been fired from a rifle, I assume. It's approx 1/2" in diameter (is this .50 caliber?). It has a seam that circumscribes it which I assume is from the mold that produced it. What type of gun would have fired this ball and in what timeframe would it have been used? There was Rev War activity in the area, but would this have been used by troops or for hunting? Thanks for any color on this! Best, Erik

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Erik in NJ wrote:
> It's approx 1/2" in diameter (is this .50 caliber?).

No, a .50-inch ball is not .50 caliber. A firearm's caliber number is the diameter of its bore. For muzzleloading firearms, the bullet is typically one or two 1/100ths-an-an-inch smaller than the bore. For breechloading firearms, the bullet is typically one or two 1/100ths-of-an-inch larger than the bore.

In an example given below in this post, you'll see why even a .02-inch measurement difference can be very important in your lead ball's ID.

> It has a seam that circumscribes it which I assume is from the mold that produced it.

A cast lead bullet often (but not always) shows a mold-seam.

> What type of gun would have fired this ball and in what timeframe would it have been used?

The answers to those two questions depend greatly on your lead ball's super-precise diameter measurement. An "approximate" measurement is not good enough for accurate ID of bullets ...especially, roundballs. You'll need to use a Micrometer or a Digital Caliper to do that measurement.

For example:
Civil war era .44 Colt revolver ball typically measures .455" to .46" in diameter.
The ball for an early-1800s Hawken .50 rifle measures .47" to .48" in diameter.

That information shows you the problem we face in answering your questions. We need the ball's very-precise measurement,

> There was Rev War activity in the area, but would this have been used by troops or for hunting?

Both. The Revolutionary War lasted 7 years, and the War-of-1812 lasted 3 years ...but civilians were doing game-hunting with musketballs like yours for almost 250 years in New Jersey.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks CannonballGuy! Your posts are always extremely informative...I will measure the diameter of the ball with a digital caliper and post it here. Sounds as though it's very likely that this ball was intened for game. Thanks again for the info! Best, Erik

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Hard to say. This is a .50 cal. ball I pulled out of a whitetail that I had shot . . . with the .50 cal ball. They are still fairly common in use.



Takes about 10 years for a lead ball to be entirely white in the local soil. I reuse those I find from where I target shoot and plink.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Without seeing it and accurate measurements we really can't tell you much. I shoot .500 round ball out of my rifle, so it could be from any time frame, Your best bet at guessing age would be the patina, but, all that can tell you is if it's modern or not.

 

[Swartzie]

If you're hunting for Rev war stuff then finding lead balls is a good indicator that you are in a potential spot. I hunt for fur trade era stuff and when I find lead balls it is encouraging and means I need to slow down and really grid the area.

-Swartzie

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

I forgot to mention in my previous answer:
If your unfired musket was dropped by a soldier, there should be other military relics in the very-nearby area. If it was dropped by a game-hunter, there wouldn't be military relics around it.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I didn't realize these balls were still in use. I will try to get a better measurement this evening and also try to post a pic. In the area that I found it, I'm sure it wasn't used any time in the recent past, but based on all the info you guys provided it sounds like I'm not going to be able to nail down any sort of timeframe. Question: Were these balls used on the battlefield during the Rev War (by either troops or militia) or were they strictly used for game?

Regards, Erik

 

[l.cutler]

If you are close on the 1/2" measurement it is more likely a rifle ball, than a musket ball used in battle. Musket balls are much larger. No way to say for sure though, because some rifles were used in the Revolution, just not in the numbers that muskets were.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Pics of Rifle Ball

Here's a few pics of the ball. Note the seam around the ball from the mold. Also there's a small hollow spot on the ball....did this happen as the lead cooled? The diameter seems to be approx. 1/32" - 1/16" less than 1/2" making it approx. 0.44" - 0.46" and it weighs 7.9 grams.

 

[civil_war22]

Maybe it was a sinker or possibly pulled by soldier before resting at camp like they normally did instead of having hot weapons in camp.

 

[Erik in NJ]

The cavity is kind of elongated on the sides...it definitely doesn't look like a fishing weight in person. It was found near a stream which was the only water source in the valley. Would a ball like this been used during the Rev War era in combat? I found a much larger shot musket ball in the area last year near a road where Washinton's troop marched. I have not found any war relics in the area yet unfortunately.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

First... the thick white lead-patina (oxide) shows your ball is not from the 20th-century.

Your ball's lopsided shape indicates it has been fired, and ;anded with enough speed to put an impact dent on it. Being out-of-round complicates measuring its size precisely. However, one of the ways to determine a bullet's identity is to precisely weigh it ...which you've now done. I've converted your weight-measurement of 7.9 grams into grains. The answer (121 grains) is the weight of a .430-ish lead ball. So, I think your ball was for a .44-caliber single-shot muzzleloading pistol. That specific type of firearm was in widespread use (by civilians as well as soldiers) from the Colonial era through the 1840s ...but afterward very quickly fell out of favor due to the advent of multi-shot pistols, such as the Colt revolver.

About whether your pistol-ball was fired in combat... I'd have to say that since thus far you haven't found several other fired pistol or musket balls in the vicinity, the numerical odds make it unlikely to have been fired in combat. A group of soldiers tend to fire more than just a couple of shots at each other. Keep hunting that spot and let us know if you find others.

 

[l.cutler]

At that size could also very well be a rifle ball. No way to tell if fired from pistol or rifle, pretty common size for either.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks CannonballGuy! It seems you are a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge on this subject and an asset to the forum! Thanks again for taking the time to post such a detailed reply. At least now I have some perspective on the ball and the timeframe fits well. I'll cover this area so more and see what's there...this was just the first target I dug and it was in a densely wooded area so digging was a bit rough. I suspect it was probably used for hunting, but that's just a guess.

And thank you to l.cutler and the others that also replied to my thread!

Best, Erik

 

[Swartzie]

I have not found any war relics in the area yet unfortunately.

You may not have found any yet, but if you are persistent you may just find what you are looking for. It took me darn near three years of hunting a particular area (on and off) to find what I was looking for. If there is known history there then there should be a few pieces of it laying in the ground.

Good luck!
-Swartzie

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks Swartzie, There is known Rev War activity (troop movements and some skirmishes as well as troops camping) in my area, but I'm really not sure what sort of things I'm looking for as I don't see many Rev War relics posted here. I hunt with iron disc'ed out. I'd like to research some of the areas were troops camped (unfortunately several of these areas have been built on), but it would help to know what (other than buttons) I should be finding. Thanks for any advice!

You may not have found any yet, but if you are persistent you may just find what you are looking for. It took me darn near three years of hunting a particular area (on and off) to find what I was looking for. If there is known history there then there should be a few pieces of it laying in the ground.

Good luck!
-Swartzie

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

If you insist on using anti-iron discrimination ...besides musketballs and buttons, other items to look for in a RevWar spot are brass gunparts. brass shoebuckles & kneebuckles, and pewter spoons. If you find one of those items, hunt the very-nearby area with your detector's anti-iron discrimination turned off.

 

[Swartzie]

Thanks Swartzie, There is known Rev War activity (troop movements and some skirmishes as well as troops camping) in my area, but I'm really not sure what sort of things I'm looking for as I don't see many Rev War relics posted here. I hunt with iron disc'ed out. I'd like to research some of the areas were troops camped (unfortunately several of these areas have been built on), but it would help to know what (other than buttons) I should be finding. Thanks for any advice!

Well, it helps to know what the stuff your looking for looks like :-) A good reference book for identifying Rev war stuff is "Collector's Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution" by Neumann and Kravic. A couple others for identifying period stuff is "Indian Trade Relics" by Hothem and "Archaeological Investigation of Fort Ligonier" by Grimm. Don't pass up too many iron targets. You may stumble upon a ball mold, flint striker, bridle bit, kettle hook, chain, knife, flintlock parts, etc...

-Swartzie