✅ SOLVED Can anyone identify this cratridge?

[Boomer-1]

Found on a very old site in Alabama.



Thought the "H" might mean Henry, but I've not found a henry cartridge with the round-ish firing pin marks. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[GMD52]

It may well be a Henry cartridge, they were rimfire, .44 caliber. That would explain the firing pin marks on the edges. I see it's crushed, but would be interested in the mouth diameter. Nice find, hope this helped.

 

[Critical Recovery]

LOOKS to be tapered?
My guess is a .44 round, but I think the round firing pin indent is from a Sharps.
It's hard to tell if there is much of a taper to the cartridge due to distortion. I can tell you it is from a Sharps due to the double round firing pins though.
Somebody who knows more can probably ID it exactly.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Your fired cartridge-casing is definitely from a .41 Swiss Vetterli rifle. That is the only firearm which had a "double firing-pin" making two round imprints in the casing's base upon firing. The faint indented letter U on your rimfire casing's base means it was manufactured by the Remington-UMC company sometime between 1885 and 1911.

GMD52's guess was on the right track based on your fired casing having two firing-pin marks directly opposite from each other on the casing's rim. But a Henry rifle's dual firing-pin made two short straight-line indentations, not round indentions.

 

[Critical Recovery]

Your fired cartridge-casing is definitely from a .41 Swiss Vetterli rifle. That is the only firearm which had a "double firing-pin" making two round imprints in the casing's base upon firing. The faint indented letter U on your rimfire casing's base means it was manufactured by the Remington-UMC company sometime between 1885 and 1911.

GMD52's guess was on the right track based on your fired casing having two firing-pin marks directly opposite from each other on the casing's rim. But a Henry rifle's dual firing-pin made two short straight-line indentations, not round indentions.

See. Like I said "Someone who knows more than me"

I just discovered this in one of my cartridge books.
I am curious as to exact caliber though. All I can see is a .41 Swiss and it's a longer more tapered cartridge.
Was this chambered in other rounds as well?

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Your fired cartridge-casing is definitely from a .41 Swiss Vetterli rifle. That is the only firearm which had a "double firing-pin" making two round imprints in the casing's base upon firing. The faint indented letter U on your rimfire casing's base means it was manufactured by the Remington-UMC company sometime between 1885 and 1911. GMD52's guess was on the right track based on your fired casing having two firing-pin marks directly opposite from each other on the casing's rim. But a Henry rifle's dual firing-pin made two short straight-line indentations, not round indentions.

Good info, I was looking at a Henry cartridge I dug a while back and noticed the impressions were wrong for a Henry. It also seemed a bit long which is why I got mine out to compare. I wasn't familiar with the Swiss rifle, so I have learned something yet again.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

I'm still having issues with editing posts. Would this cartridge be made by Winchester? I know they used the H headstamp for some time.....

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

NOLA_Ken wrote:
> Would this cartridge be made by Winchester?

NOLA_Ken, which cartridge are you talking about? One whose photo has been posted in this discussion, or the cartridge you found which has a .41 Swiss Vetterli rifle's dual firing-pin marks on it? I assume you mean your cartridge, because none in the discussion above have an "H" headstamp. You are correct... after the civil war, Henry's company was purchased by Winchester, who continued to use the single-letter H mark as a cartridge headstamp on Winchester-manufactured casings for about two decades after the civil war. Please post a photo of your casing's base.

 

[kuger]

NOLA_Ken wrote:
> Would this cartridge be made by Winchester?

NOLA_Ken, which cartridge are you talking about? One whose photo has been posted in this discussion, or the cartridge you found which has a .41 Swiss Vetterli rifle's dual firing-pin marks on it? I assume you mean your cartridge, because none in the discussion above have an "H" headstamp. You are correct... after the civil war, Henry's company was purchased by Winchester, who continued to use the single-letter H mark as a cartridge headstamp on Winchester-manufactured casings for about two decades after the civil war. Please post a photo of your casing's base.

MR.CBG,the one in question does have an "H",head stamp

 

[NOLA_Ken]

the OP's cartridge does have a very faint H on the base......

 

[Boomer-1]

Now that I see your examples, It does look more like a "U".

As far as caliber, I didn't get a photo but it was less than a half inch. Was thinking .44. But .41 works.

Thanks for the help.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Guys, when I said it is a U, I'd used TreasureNet's "enlarge twice" option, and to my eyes the first photo showed an upside-down U. That is why I posted photos showing a nondug casing with the UMC and Remington-UMC boxes. Due to your doubt, I've re-checked it and in the first photo it still looks like an upside-down U to me. Please re-check it for yourselves and let me know what you think. The casing's poster has now said that it looks like a U to him too.

 

[kuger]

Guys, when I said it is a U, I'd used TreasureNet's "enlarge twice" option, and to my eyes the first photo showed an upside-down U. That is why I posted photos showing a nondug casing with the UMC and Remington-UMC boxes. Due to your doubt, I've re-checked it and in the first photo it still looks like an upside-down U to me. Please re-check it for yourselves and let me know what you think. The casing's poster has now said that it looks like a U to him too.

.....I honestly couldnt tell for sure,but went with what he said...benefit of doubt...now I see he has changed that.Guess its a "U",Thanks for the awesome info as usual CBG,I have several of these,and never paid much attention to the fact they were different

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Ah, ok, I guess since I was looking for an H that's what I saw.....