civil war bullet that isnt made of lead?

[sparky4587]

civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

hi all! was wondering if anyone could identify this bullet? it was given to my grandmother long ago, along with two small cannon balls. the house my grandma grew up in was within walking distance of fort davidson in pilot knob missouri, and i was told that these were found there. the really bizarre thing about this bullet is that it's made from solid iron instead of lead. it's a little over 3 1/2 inches long and very heavy. any idea what kind it is, or maybe what kind of gun it was fired from? do you think it's actually from the civil war era? thanks a bunch!

 

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[DirtyMike]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

Not from the civil war. I can tell by the crimping marks (verticle lines towards the base of the bullet) that it is post civil war. Not sure what gun or even if it was from a gun. Maybe a plum bob...

 

[sparky4587]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

thanks for the help! i did have some doubts weather it was actually a bullet or not. seems too big and heavy. very interesting though.

 

[elee]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

Wow..cool and unusual round. Without exact measurements, it is hard to be exact...but an educated guess would be a 25x87R Vickers WW1 round..otherwise known as the 1" Vickers. There are very few rounds that fall into the size range your round shows in comparison to the quarter, most even more obscure than the 1" Vickers. Keep in mind that yours will not measure to 25mm in dia..the copper driving band that once filled the larger groove (lost upon firing, or corroded away) would have measured larger than the actual bullet diameter. The smaller groove below that is the crimping groove that once held the case mouth. This round at one time had a softer metal nose, probably cupro-nickel, which has either been lost in firing or corroded away along with the driving band. The annular rings at the ogive are what held this in place. Your round may be fired or unfired. Any imprinting of the rifling engraved upon firing would have been on the driving band, now missing. In new condition, this would have looked quite different as a result. The 1" Vickers was developed in 1914, but never saw combat use. Speculation yes..but speculation based on quite a bit of research! There are a few absolutes: 1) it is a projectile..not a plumb bob. 2) It post-dates the CW by at least 45 years. 3) given it size relationship to the quarter, the number of possible ID's is fairly limited. 4) It is way cool, and quite unusual! Can you see any faint markings though the corrosion? Most projectiles were marked in some way. Exact measurements in mm's would also rule out some of the possible answers.
Thanks!
ELee

 

[Monty]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

I can tell it's not CW as it was fired or pulled from a crimped cartridge case. The hollow in the base could have made it a tracer round? Otherwise I haven't a clue. Elee seems to be pretty ssure of his ID. Monty

 

[sparky4587]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

sorry for the late reply. WW1 you say? that's very interesting! come to think of it, i have an uncle who was in the military and was stationed in germany at one point many years ago. he may have found it there and gave it to my grandmother. i wish i had more background info on it. unfortunatly my grandmother passed and took the history of this bullet with her. i can't see any clear markings on it at all.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

Isnt this considered a HE round and could it still be live?

 

[Monty]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

I doubt it's an HE round. I'm not sure what they used in a tracer to make it visible if it was a tracer? Perhaps white phosphorus? But at any rate, I wouldn't be putting it in a fire or beating it with a hammer! Monty

 

[timekiller]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

I'm going with 20mm AAA machine gun tracer round.But there were many types of 20mm's.WW11 sounds good but could be post auto cannon.
Take Care,
Pete,
http://wapedia.mobi/en/20_mm_caliber

A tracer projectile is constructed with a hollow base filled with a pyrotechnic flare material, often made of phosphorus or magnesium or other bright burning chemicals.

20 mm caliber cartridges have an outside shell diameter and inside barrel diameter of 0.8 inch (20 millimeters). Projectiles or shells are typically 75-100 mm (3-4 inches) long. Cartridges are typically 75-125 mm (3-5 inches) long. Many but not all 20 mm shells have an explosive filling and detonating fuze

 

[Monty]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

I spent a year on a weapons range and saw thousands of 20mm shells fired but never saw a projectile like that. Monty PS. I have a dummy 20mm on my computer desk as a paper weight. The one I have is the standard USAF 20mm cannon.

 

[timekiller]

Re: civil war bullet that isn't made of lead?

I spent a year on a weapons range and saw thousands of 20mm shells fired but never saw a projectile like that. Monty PS. I have a dummy 20mm on my computer desk as a paper weight. The one I have is the standard USAF 20mm cannon.

Yea he is making it harder then it has to be by not giving the weight, or diameter of it prefer MM.But from what I see,is a bullet that is quite a bit smaller then a quarter which itself is 24.26 mm (0.955 in).So with that & the part of him/her saying it was given to their grandmother long ago & is little over 3 1/2 inches long .Points me toward WWII era.The quarter pic. & little over 3 1/2 inches long points me towards 20mm.So that's why I say that.Also could be from any country as they all used them.Purdy common round also leds me that way.So I'm sticking WWII era 20mm Tracer with nose cone knocked off & tracer burnt up.
This site here shows some WWII steel head bullets same basic shape.Just have to imagine a hole in the end for tracer & Nose cone on them.
Take Care,
Pete,

http://www.specialistauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=1498430

Also would not surprise me if it wasn't dug out of something plane,tank,vehicle.Kinda like a lucky bullet thing (hey they didn't get me) Might explain the end being gone.