Bullet Question

[AgIA]

Had a nice little hunt yesterday and came across a couple bullets that look older than anything I have previously dug. These were found in Iowa. Can anyone give me an idea of their era?

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Very-precise measurement of your bullets' diameter & weight are needed for certainty of ID. Meanwhile, one appears to be a .45-70-300, one of the three variations of bullets for the US .45-70 "Government" rifle, which was the primary US Army Infantry rifle from 1873 to 1893. Also during that time, many were sold as "war surplus" for civilian use.

The bullet on the left could be a .50-70 bullet for the Springfiled Model-1866 rifle, or it may be one of the longer versions for the .47-70 rifle -- but it is too damaged for me to be certain about it. As I said, very-precise measurement of the two bullet's diameter (in hundredths-of-an-inch) and weight (in grains) are crucially necessary for certainty in identifying them.