1812 Battle Site - Musket Ball?

[GopherDaGold]

If so, I'd really be stoked as it would be my first! I got invited by a fellow T-Netter to check out the site of a battle he'd gotten permission to hunt. We found lots of chewed up barbed wire and an axe head which I put into Todays Finds.
It's definitely lead but I hope someone can identify it as a possible musket ball. Thanks!

 

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[kuger]

Yep,thats a ball,be it a pistol or musket

 

[GopherDaGold]

Even for it's small size? That measurement is millimeters not inches. If you sill agree, you've made my day!

 

[squidman]

no doubt.they come in many shapes and sizes.iv'e been lucky enough to find a few on grounds known4 the war of king phillip.

 

[GopherDaGold]

Thanks!

 

[kuger]

I doubt its a "musket",ball,could have been a early shotgun,or small caliber pistol,the .31 isnt very big

 

[GopherDaGold]

Could it still possibly date to the 1812 era? The small size is what I'm confused about.

 

[trikikiwi]

I doubt its a "musket",ball,could have been a early shotgun,or small caliber pistol,the .31 isnt very big

I think it is a musket ball - it is about the same size as the only one I have ever found (at site of a skirmish).
If you allow for the dispositions of the ball and the ruler in the pics, it seems obvious.
About .50 calibre, 12.5mm, 1/2 inch, big sukka.
Also I'm sure I see the sprue, best viewed at the top of the ball in pic#2.
My tuppence

Mike

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Nice buddy!

 

[Monty]

In that era there were many combatants that were armed with their own "squirrel" rifles rather than large bore military arms. More likely a round ball than anything else I could think of in that area. It has the same general shape of a ball that struck something. I don't think you'll get anyone fo tell you definately what. Monty

 

[GopherDaGold]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. As long as I can narrow it down to the 1812 era, I'm happy. This is a farming community and we found several modern shotgun shells in the area as well. There was a fort very near our hunting location and we have also located several other landmarks that are mentioned in written accounts by the Indians, soldiers, and civilians. Unfortunately I cannot disclose even the name of the battle as that would practically be a dead giveaway. We know there was a skirmish and several soldiers, settlers, and Indians were killed in the battle.
I was deeply honored to be on this site and I made sure to mention this to the property owner.

 

[trikikiwi]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. As long as I can narrow it down to the 1812 era, I'm happy. This is a farming community and we found several modern shotgun shells in the area as well. There was a fort very near our hunting location and we have also located several other landmarks that are mentioned in written accounts by the Indians, soldiers, and civilians. Unfortunately I cannot disclose even the name of the battle as that would practically be a dead giveaway. We know there was a skirmish and several soldiers, settlers, and Indians were killed in the battle.
I was deeply honored to be on this site and I made sure to mention this to the property owner.

How can you narrow your find/s to 1812 era, rather than the 1860's?
Mike

 

[l.cutler]

Yeah, no way to narrow it down to the 1812 era. It is not a musket ball, way too small. Would have been a rifle or pistol. More likely a civilian hunting ball than a military, a military musket ball would be .69 caliber or larger. Could be almost any era, muzzleloaders have been in almost constant use for hundreds of years. The patina would rule out a present day muzzleloading bullet though.

 

[tim2357]

Thanks everyone for your opinions. As long as I can narrow it down to the 1812 era, I'm happy. This is a farming community and we found several modern shotgun shells in the area as well. There was a fort very near our hunting location and we have also located several other landmarks that are mentioned in written accounts by the Indians, soldiers, and civilians. Unfortunately I cannot disclose even the name of the battle as that would practically be a dead giveaway. We know there was a skirmish and several soldiers, settlers, and Indians were killed in the battle.
I was deeply honored to be on this site and I made sure to mention this to the property owner.

How can you narrow your find/s to 1812 era, rather than the 1860's?
Mike

If we start finding more of them in a specific pattern , I think that will definitively narrow it down to this specific battle that took place in that field. I have mapped our finds so far, and am planning to take GPS coordinates for the location of each Ball found and plot them on a map. I have a specific area in this plowed field where I think there should be a pattern of gunfire. So I think our next trip may be walking the cornfield to see if this is correct.

 

[GopherDaGold]

We believe there was more activity in the area during the 1812 era than CW period based on the written history and our research. We even know many of the names of the soldiers who lost their lives at this site.
I agree that it may be impossible to determine if this ball was fired during that fight but I also agree that the patina suggests that it has been there for a long, long time.

Tim, can't wait to see what you've come up with and I'm itching to get back out there!

 

[Monty]

Since l.cutler brought it up, there is a difference between a musket, a rifle and a musket rifle. A musket in it's purest form is a smooth bore shoulder weapon. A rifle was a shoulder weapon that was designed and made to have riflings cut into the barrel to impart spin on the bullet. A spinning bullet has much more accuracy and therefore a longer effective range. A musket rifle is a shoulder weapon that is designed and built as a smooth bore musket but later was modified by cutting grooves or rifling into the bore. A "squirrel rifle' is a nickname for a small bore rifle built for taking small game and is of a small calliber, usually about .36 caliber. Many participants of the War of 1812 were militia rather then regular troops and reported for duty with their own squirrel rifles. Sometimes they were issued military weapons but often not. Therefore the ball you found could well be attributed to the War of 1812 because you say it was found in a zone of that war. But as I originally stated there is really no way to prove for sure it was or wasn't a war related bullet. Monty

 

[GopherDaGold]

That's good enough for me, Monty
Green-checked!