Did I Find A Gun Barrel?

[Ripcon]

Here's a piece I found today at a camp site where I've pulled both Union and Confederate relics. There was also a home site that stood here until the 1940's.
I'm never going to discard anything that I'm suspicious of...You never know.
Could this be part of a broken gun barrel?
I placed a .58 calibre minie ball I found at the site at the possible barrel opening. It appears to fit the bullet.
I will say that it was found in a plowed field so if it is a gun barrel then that would account for the condition.
I've attached several photos from different angles.
Thanks for any input.

 

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[SWINGER1969]

Very possible, if the bullet fits.

 

[Ripcon]

Very possible, if the bullet fits.

Yes, the bullet appears to fit.

 

[Rookster]

Maybe. Maybe not. No other pieces of gun parts found in that area?

 

[Ripcon]

Maybe. Maybe not. No other pieces of gun parts found in that area?

None that I know of.
The landowner said several other people have hunted his property so I'm not sure if other parts to guns have been found. This is the only thing I've found and I have only hunted it once.
I know it's a hard call. Heck, it could be a pipe from the old house for all I know.
I wish there was a way to tell for sure.
The hole and breakage to that one side looks suspicious. Not sure what could've caused that. But this ground has been in cultivation for over 150 years.

 

[Older The Better]

When did barrels transition from octagonal to round?

 

[Ripcon]

When did barrels transition from octagonal to round?

Not sure but I do have an 1842 model .69 caliber barrel and it’s a round barrel.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

When did barrels transition from octagonal to round?

The First Model British Long Land Pattern of 1722 had an all round barrel full-length. And there were many firearms that were octagonal breech with a round muzzle from the late 1700's right through the US Civil War.

Octagonal or round is not a clear transition for dating barrels.

 

[Rookster]

None that I know of.
The landowner said several other people have hunted his property so I'm not sure if other parts to guns have been found. This is the only thing I've found and I have only hunted it once.
I know it's a hard call. Heck, it could be a pipe from the old house for all I know.
I wish there was a way to tell for sure.
The hole and breakage to that one side looks suspicious. Not sure what could've caused that. But this ground has been in cultivation for over 150 years.

You probably can’t tell if the piece is rifled or just a smooth bore.

 

[Older The Better]

The First Model British Long Land Pattern of 1722 had an all round barrel full-length. And there were many firearms that were octagonal breech with a round muzzle from the late 1700's right through the US Civil War.

Octagonal or round is not a clear transition for dating barrels.

Gotcha thanks for the info, I was thinking maybe a mine ball and round barrels may have not gone together, turns out it’s very possible....

Maybe the thickness of the metal could be a clue?

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

If it is thicker on the outside at one end than the other - maybe a barrel. If it is the same diameter . . . pipe.

Round barrels invariably taper. Until modern made India hydraulic tube reproductions (don't shoot those!)

 

[Ripcon]

If it is thicker on the outside at one end than the other - maybe a barrel. If it is the same diameter . . . pipe.

Round barrels invariably taper. Until modern made India hydraulic tube reproductions (don't shoot those!)

It appears to be the same diameter.

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

Yes, the bullet appears to fit.

Well, then you must acquit.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Ripcon, you say a .58 Minie-bullet fits neatly into your find. Although in my decades of closely studying civil war projectiles I've inescapably had to learn a lot about the firearms which used them, I do not consider myself an expert on the firearms. The McKee-&-Mason book on civil war projectiles contains a list of civil war firearms, arranged by Caliber. According to that list, ALL of the many versions of .56, .57, .577, and .58-caliber firearms had a rifled barrel. (See page 184 in that book.)

Most of the interior of your maybe-gunbarrel was protected from direct contact with the dirt it was buried in. So, do your best to scrub and pressure-flush every bit of obstruction out of it, then borrow a "bore light," and look for rifling-grooves inside your find. Because there were no "Smoothbore" .56, .57, .577, or .58-caliber gunbarrels, absence of rifling-grooves inside your find means it is not a gunbarrel.

 

[Ripcon]

Ripcon, you say a .58 Minie-bullet fits neatly into your find. Although in my decades of closely studying civil war projectiles I've inescapably had to learn a lot about the firearms which used them, I did not consider myself an expert on the firearms. The McKee-&-Mason book on civil war projectiles contains a list of civil war firearms, arranged by Caliber. According to that list, ALL of the many versions of .56, .57, .577, and .58-caliber firearms had a rifled barrel. (See page 184 in that book.)

Most of the interior of your maybe-gunbarrel was protected from direct contact with the dirt it was buried in. So, do your best to scrub and pressure-flush every bit of obstruction out of it, then borrow a "bore light," and look for rifling-grooves inside your find. Because there were no "Smoothbore" .56, .57, .577, or .58-caliber gunbarrels, absence of rifling-grooves inside your find means it is not a gunbarrel.

Thanks CannonballGuy. I'll clean out the tube the best I can and look for any rifling grooves. Great suggestion.

 

[Gambrinus]

The notch on the left end in the first picture reminds me of a hydraulic jack handle, similar to the notch in this picture.