✅ SOLVED Buck and ball question

[villagenut]

Found this roundball at a spot where I also dug .69 cal musketballs and smaller shot, some smaller and some bigger than this one. Question is about the dimple on the top of it. Could this have been from the ramrod as it was loaded down the barrell......did they typically fall out if the muzzleloader was not kept upright before firing? Sorry for the silly questions, but I am not familiar with the loading and firing of a muzzleloader....it looks like a cone shaped deformity, and not fired.

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Your find is definitely what people (like me) who cast their own lead bullets in a bulletmold call a "short pour" bullet. The name means not quite enough lead was poured into the mold to completely fill the cavity. The short-age of molten lead results in the formation of a literally shorter bullet (or ball). The semi-conical projection on yours formed because the last drop of the lead that got poured into the mold had cooled down enough to not completely settle into the puddle of lead below it in the mold. That characteristic is often (but not always) seen on short-pour bullets... see the photo below. Civil war relic hunters who dig a site where soldiers were casting their own bullets occasionally find "short pour" balls or cylindrical bullets. The photo shows some civil war "field cast" Colt revolver bullets which were dug next to each other at a yankee camp.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge CannonballGuy!
You're one of the many 'volunteers' who make this site a great resource of information.

Dave

 

[Anduril]

CannonballGuy's explanation is much better than mine.
...I would have guessed "petrified acorn dipped in lead".

Great ID, CBG!!

 

[villagenut]

So I would assume that this was formed in a mold on site, as I have also dug much camp lead as well. So why does this ball have no sign of a casting line? Some from this site have well defined lines and sprues, others do not. I know that they were often whittled smooth but I would think there would be some evidence of that on this one. Thanks again, all who respond.

 

[villagenut]

You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge CannonballGuy!
You're one of the many 'volunteers' who make this site a great resource of information.

Dave

Agreed 100%

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Villagenut asked:
> So why does this ball have no sign of a casting line? Some from this site have well defined lines and sprues, others do not. I know that they were often whittled smooth but I would think there would be some evidence of that on this one.

The moldcasting-line is the result of the two halves of the bulletmold not fitting together precisely, due to one or both of the following causes. The mold was a cheap low-quality one, and/or its halves had become misaligned due to extensive usage. In particular, pouring molten lead into a COLD (meaning, non-preheated) iron bulletmold can cause the iron to warp slightly. Doing that over and over again will eventually cause the bulletmold's halves to produce a "major" moldseam. (Villagenut probably already knows the following.) A worn-out hinge where the bulletmold's halves join can even cause the halves to become so misaligned that the bullet looks like you sliced it perfectly in half and then "sloppily" glued the two pieces back together. The photo below shows a .52 Sharps bullet whose rings are "offset" at the moldseam… look closely at the left side of the bullet. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.) I've seen some which are even more "sideslipped" than the one in the photo.

All of that being said... high-quality bulletmolds, even ones manufactured 150 years ago, did not produce a visible moldseam on the ball/bullet. This is why most civil war yankee-made bullets don't show a moldseam, and many Confederate-made ones have an easy-to-spot moldseam.​

 

[smallfoot]

i can tell you've poured a few yourself!

 

[villagenut]

Thank you again CBG ....I am better off now for sure.

 

[A2coins]

Cbg awesome I'd great relic also