✅ SOLVED 3 ring .50 cal bullet / rifle ID help

[Tedyoh]

Hi, I found this in NE Ohio today, need some help with an ID on this bullet please. It's .510 dia, 1.00 in length and weighs 397 grains. The bottom is hollow / concave.
Thanks. .....

 

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[mirage83]

I found a number of bullets a little larger in diameter, say .515 to .518 or so, but nothing that matches the caliber, weight, and length of yours.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Your .510"-diameter 3-groove bullet has a large conical cavity in its base. According to all the various books on civil war bullets, there was no such .50-caliber bullet. So, I believe you found a civil war .54-caliber Minie-bullet (typical diameter .515" to .532") whose diameter got very slightly eaten down by spending many decades in acidic soil. The unusual "shallowness" of your bullet's body-grooves indicates that some acidic reduction of the bullet's body has occurred.

 

[Tedyoh]

Thanks CBG, the corrosion reduction makes sense, did soldiers bring their weapons home after the CW? I'm wondering how that bullet got here.
Thanks again.