Did someone bite this miniball?? >>UPDATE<<

[relic lover]

I found my first mini today it looks unfired but it looks like teeth marks what do you think? Anyone know what era or type it is?

 

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[vayank54]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

It looks like a .54 or .58 3 ring mini and is civil war period. Is there anything in the base like a star or US? It was probably chewed by squirrels. Hogs chew bullets too but they usually do more damage. Most chewed bullets are not hospital bullets even though you see them listed as such. Hope this helps.

 

[relic lover]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

It looks like a .54 or .58 3 ring mini and is civil war period. Is there anything in the base like a star or US? It was probably chewed by squirrels. Hogs chew bullets too but they usually do more damage. Most chewed bullets are not hospital bullets even though you see them listed as such. Hope this helps.

It is still full of dirt I was going to leave it but now I am curious about it. I will post a cleaned pic tomorrow.

 

[SouthArk]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

It does appear to be Civil War period. And it does appear to have been fired, although low velocity impacted. And many animals will chew on them for some reason..... I have found hundreds. It's hard to tell if a human chewed on one, unless it's found in some context that would lend to that...... or, if you found one that had part of a gold filling embedded. LOL

 

[Silver Searcher]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??



wasn't there a term refered to as bitting the bullet during Civil War Times I think it was to do with a injury sustained, where as the soldier would be given a Bullet to bite on

SS

 

[Rmeav8r]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

wasn't there a term refered to as bitting the bullet during Civil War Times I think it was to do with a injury sustained, where as the soldier would be given a Bullet to bite on

SS

"Bite the bullet" mostly referred to use of the paper cartrage that was common during the Civil War prior to metal cartrages It was a rolled up paper with powder charge and bullet prepared ahead of time. It saved precious time on the battle field for the soldier. The paper was bit open with the teeth, the power charge was poured in the the un-bitten pre-lubed bullet was inserted then rammed down the muzzle. Most field hospitals had wooden sticks or sticks with leather for a patient to bite down on if needed. Lastly, I have to give credit to the History Channel for this bit of knowledge.

 

[Tnmountains]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

We often called them medicine bullets for some weird reason. I tried to bite them to see if they matched up to teeth marks or a bite mark but yet have one that does? I think they just look like it and many times tumble and hit rocky soil to leave the marks. I have not seen any lead with animal marks though I have seen where they would chew bone.
My humble opinion.
Congrats on your find.
HH
TnMtns

 

[johnnyi]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

I'd always heard that animals chewed bullets for the salts they contain. That's why even early musket balls which didn't have the grease are very often found chewed.

 

[timekiller]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

I also thought that bite the bullet met that when they held the musket in one hand and took a paper wraped cartridge in the other they had to bite the end off of the wraped cartridge to pour the powder down the barel and then ram the bullet home.Not enough hands thing.

 

[rjw4law]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

You found one near a hospital site...great find.

 

[vayank54]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

We often called them medicine bullets for some weird reason. I tried to bite them to see if they matched up to teeth marks or a bite mark but yet have one that does? I think they just look like it and many times tumble and hit rocky soil to leave the marks. I have not seen any lead with animal marks though I have seen where they would chew bone.
My humble opinion.
Congrats on your find.
HH
TnMtns

Not trying to be a smart alec or anything. I've dug a lot of bullets and round balls under big oak trees that had definitely been chewed on by squirrels and a friend of mine had hogs on his farm and they were chewing on 3 ringers they found in the mud. I have no idea why they were chewing them though.

 

[dick99344]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

And many animals will chew on them for some reason..... I have found hundreds.

They were lubed with animal fat, and hogs especially would find them by smell and chew on them.

They WERE used as "bite the bullet" devices OCCAISIONALLY, but this was mostly done with a rolled up piece of leather or a wooden peg.

That one looks like it may have been fired though.

Which leads me to a kinda spooky explanation of what it MAY have been coated in and found by an animal.

"They were lubed with animal fat...." Good call. The most common bullet lube was made with Sheep tallow and bees wax. Beef tallow was sometimes used depending on the availability of the Sheep tallow. These ingredients, if in the right proportion, did not get hard and fall out of the grease grooves in the winter cold weather, nor did it get runny and melt out of the grooves in hot weather. I use it to seal the chambers of my black powder revolvers. It will also make a great boot grease for waterproofing boots or tent seams. If need be, it could be eaten. I make it by using Crisco vegetable shortening ( Sheep tallow is very scarce around here ) and raw bees wax. Doesn't taste bad. I can see why animals would chew on these bullets if this lube was used on them. This bullet lube, being made from natural ingredients, is best for use with black powder fire arms for lube and also for cleaning as petroleum based oils is detrimental to the firearm, You can almost hear the metal rust if all of the powder residue is not completely removed. I clean my black powder arms with hot soap and water followed by a hot water rinse. The heat evaporates the water off very quickly. I then coat every inch of metal with a light coat of my bullet lube. The lube would also season the bores to help reduce powder residue and lead fouling in the bore. I am sure there are other formulas out there. Whale oil is another great lube because it is natural. I used to be able to get a synthesized whale oil at one time.

Thanks for reading, happy hunting.

 

[john37115]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

The gun powder used to discharge the bullet was made with saltpeter ( potassium nitrate ) this attracted the smell and taste-buds of animals I would say this is why we find a lot of chewed bullets.
I've found a lot that were chewed almost flat by hogs.

 

[dick99344]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

The gun powder used to discharge the bullet was made with saltpeter ( potassium nitrate ) this attracted the smell and taste-buds of animals I would say this is why we find a lot of chewed bullets.
I've found a lot that were chewed almost flat by hogs.

Good point. Kind of like a mini salt lick.

 

[Monty]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

Soldiers also use to chew on them on long marches to keep their mouths wet when drinking water was scarce. Monty

 

[BioProfessor]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

FINALLY!!! We have gotten away from the notion that soldiers bite into these bullets while their legs were being sawed off. The field hospitals DID have anesthesia and if there were ever a case when there was a procedure done without anesthetic or very little anesthetic, they would given them a leather strap or piece of wood to bite on. If you are going to experience great pain, giving the person who is going to be in great pain, an object that will fall down their throat as soon as they open their mouth to scream would cause more harm than good. It is a well documented fact that most all the screaming in the field hospitals was not done by people having their limbs being sawn off but from people waiting their turn to have THEIR limbs cut off.

Be gone medicine bullet myth. Be gone.

There is another explanation floating around about where the term "Bite the Bullet" came from. It has to do with the fact that when some bullet/paper casing units were lubed, they used lard. When these bullets and powder holders were used in British colonies by soldiers that were Muslim, they were forbidden from eating pork or pork product. They were very careful not to get any of the pig lard in their mouth when they tore open the paper to be able to pour the powder down the barrel and then pack the paper and bullet behind it. It time of intense fighting or even fast pace drills, they would sometimes get iin a hurry and put the wrong end of the unit in their mouth - the bullet and not the paper - and get a good dose of pork lard from the bullet. This was not a good thing for them and they were guilty of biting the bullet and therefore breaking with their religious beliefs. So "Biting the Bullet" was not something regarded as a good thing for Muslims.

Pigs root for their food. They eat just about anything. They would even eat soldiers left on the battle field - dead or wounded. Ever hear of the phrase "Where have you been, we thought you went to take a dump and the pigs ate you." In third world countries, they waste nothing. They stake out a pig and it has a circular area they can use. People from the village go there and defecate at the edge of the circle. Sometimes they loose their balance and if the pig is large enough and mean enough, they will kill and eat the unfortunate villager.

When pigs are rooting for food, they can't tell the difference between an acorn and a bullet. They put both iin their mouth and chew. If it is an acorn or other edible, their powerful jaws will crush it and they eat it. It it is a bullet, they try a few times and if it doesn't crush, they spit it out. It shows the tooth marks from the VERY powerful jaws of a full-grown boar. So they may have been attracted to them for stuff left on them but when they chewed on them, they chewed them very hard, and if they didn't crush, out they go.

People sometimes talk about finding a bunch of "medicine bullets" at the site of a field hospital. These bullets are round or conical and heavy. When there is a lot of rain and moving water, they will be roll down to the bottom of a hill and concentrate in an area where the water stops moving fast enough to move them any more. So it is not uncommon or unexpected to find a group of bullets and the bottom of wash.

And Monty is 100% correct. Soldiers chewed them to stimulate salivation. America indians used the seeds of plants or pebble to accomplish the same thing. These bullets have hundreds of small marks and may even be worked flat like a piece of gum if they are chewed long enough.

Thank God for the history channel.

Daryl

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

Great stuff guys!

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

I always thought "bite the bullet" meant to endure extreme pain. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/65400.html But as these phrases are used over the years, it is hard to say how it originated. We have seen human teeth marks in lead posted here. For what reason may remain unknown. Thanks for the heads up and opposing views.

As far as animal teeth, racoons also will chew on most anything with a scent including metal cans and plastic bottles.

 

[relic lover]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

Thanks guys, I can't believe I found a real medicinal hospital bullet what a piece of history! It must have been swallowed by an amputation patient who died then was eaten by wild hogs who were after the lard on the bullet. Cool!......Seriously though I love to find out the origin of old sayings my favorite is the saying "rule of thumb" the origin is a real eye opener! Thanks for all the great info everyone, RL

 

[BioProfessor]

Re: Did someone bite this miniball??

If you want to find out. Here you go:

Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day (Hardcover)
by Albert Jack

Sayings and Phrases We All Use (Paperback)
by Donald A. Wion

Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, & Quotation (Hardcover)
by Susan Ratcliffe

You're Clean As a Whistle!: (And Other Silly Sayings)
by Cynthia Fitterer Klingel

And please don't get the "Medicine Bullet" thing started again. PLEASE!! There's no such thing!

Thanks,

Daryl