HELP ID Musket Ball (?) with measurements

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

Bought the right equipment (finally) and have measurements on the musket ball (?). Measurements should narrow down now to what it is not to what it COULD BE (civil war, revolutionary war, etc.).

if you need any other measurements, let me know.

LET'S NAIL THIS ONE DOWN!

any help is greatly appreciated.

MEASUREMENTS:

56.23 grams (867.9 grains) (1.983 ounces)

21.69 to 22.31 millimeters (depending where measured) (.82 to .88 inches)

*remember, there are flat spots on the ball, see pic, so hoping i used calipers correctly (looked for widest to widest).

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

if anyone needs any additional measurements or diff units, let me know. NOW I own the equipment to do it baby (finally)!!!!

 

[releventchair]

British brown bess ran .75 cal. 17.5- 19mm.
American M1795 and French M1 1777 were .69 cal.
Yours seems bigger than any of those.
.62 was not a bad choice in trade guns earlier than 1700's but 60 ish was common.
You might look into more modern shotgun balls vs rifle, 10 guage still smaller than a bess...English 6 guage is near your size, though beyond using shot for fowl ,rather than a round ball I'm not familiar with their use.

 

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

British brown bess ran .75 cal. 17.5- 19mm.
American M1795 and French M1 1777 were .69 cal.
Yours seems bigger than any of those.
.62 was not a bad choice in trade guns earlier than 1700's but 60 ish was common.
You might look into more modern shotgun balls vs rifle, 10 guage still smaller than a bess...English 6 guage is near your size, though beyond using shot for fowl ,rather than a round ball I'm not familiar with their use.

this is also what i figured. came out to .866 caliber. so, what was .866 caliber for a weapon OR could this be grape shot or canister shot, inside of cannonball type thing? at least we eliminated a whole bunch of things with the measurements.

 

[BosnMate]

I think you will find that the shrapnel balls were larger than musket balls. That said, I expect when loading lead balls in an artillery shell, they used what ever was handy, because like I said they also used minnie balls, because I've seen pictures of minnie bullets in a sawed cannon ball. I have what is supposed to be a lead shrapnel ball, and if I can find it I'll do some measuring and take a couple of pictures. Don't hold your breath, it will take awhile, but I promise to do it soon as I can. A 10 gauge shotgun bore is .775 inches. The size of your lead ball rules out any shoulder fired weapon I've ever heard of. Besides shrapnel, There were wall guns that were mounted on boats, forts, ramparts, that fired balls in the neighborhood of your find, upwards of one inch. Carried into battle, they were a crew served weapon. At least two men served the gun. The guns were huge, weighing 30 to 50 pounds. For more information on them, here is a link:

The Wall Guns: Some epically large rifles - Guns.com

Here is a Youtube video video showing a couple of guys shooting a .91 caliber wall gun.



Your .88 caliber ball with a greased cloth or leather patch would work quite well in the gun in the video. Also, my memory aint what it use to be, but I think wall guns were pretty much revolutionary era, I don't recall ever reading about the north or the south using a wall gun in the Civil War.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

too big for a musket ball, cannister is possible, but I'm not sure offhand what the size range is for those

 

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

I think you will find that the shrapnel balls were larger than musket balls. That said, I expect when loading lead balls in an artillery shell, they used what ever was handy, because like I said they also used minnie balls, because I've seen pictures of minnie bullets in a sawed cannon ball. I have what is supposed to be a lead shrapnel ball, and if I can find it I'll do some measuring and take a couple of pictures. Don't hold your breath, it will take awhile, but I promise to do it soon as I can. A 10 gauge shotgun bore is .775 inches. The size of your lead ball rules out any shoulder fired weapon I've ever heard of. Besides shrapnel, There were wall guns that were mounted on boats, forts, ramparts, that fired balls in the neighborhood of your find, upwards of one inch. Carried into battle, they were a crew served weapon. At least two men served the gun. The guns were huge, weighing 30 to 50 pounds. For more information on them, here is a link:

The Wall Guns: Some epically large rifles - Guns.com

Here is a Youtube video video showing a couple of guys shooting a .91 caliber wall gun.



Your .88 caliber ball with a greased cloth or leather patch would work quite well in the gun in the video. Also, my memory aint what it use to be, but I think wall guns were pretty much revolutionary era, I don't recall ever reading about the north or the south using a wall gun in the Civil War.

great video!!!! mine is .866 caliber (based on 22 mm measurement, was that plus and minus). now that i have the tools, my small round balls are .44 caliber and i just found this gun that shot that caliber, 1860 army revolver. civil war gun. i have been finding them all over this one area, well i found 6 so far.

 

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

too big for a musket ball, cannister is possible, but I'm not sure offhand what the size range is for those

yes, .866 caliber. need narrow down now to what else if COULD BE. the small round balls i found, using my new equipment, they are .44 caliber, which i read is same as 1860 army revolver, main stay in civil war!

 

[ivan salis]

ok 12 gauge shotguns are .72 cal --so not a "pumpkin ball " round ball slug -- 10 gauge is possible (maybe) but I don't think they are quite that large ... however -- I 'm thinking a cannon type lead canister / bag shot --from he rev war era --or civil war era -- since Virginia had both events

 

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

ok 12 gauge shotguns are .72 cal --so not a "pumpkin ball " round ball slug -- 10 gauge is possible (maybe) but I don't think they are quite that large ... however -- I 'm thinking a cannon type lead canister / bag shot --from he rev war era --or civil war era -- since Virginia had both events

what i have been thinking also. nothing else seems to "work" with the size of the ball. it would also explain the many flat spots on the ball, packed and resting against the other balls. now i am trying to find info on the diameter of those, just have not had the time to search as of yet. thanks for all the helpful comments!

 

[ivan salis]

well a rev war wall gun --is possible if they have rev war activity there -- but if your finding lots of 44 cal black powder type CW bullets there as well --its a very good chance that its some form of CW era canister shot from a cannon

 

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

well a rev war wall gun --is possible if they have rev war activity there -- but if your finding lots of 44 cal black powder type CW bullets there as well --its a very good chance that its some form of CW era canister shot from a cannon

it is the only one i have found. but,that area is my secret urban hunting area so very strange to find it there. we have a NEW revolutionary war museum here. going to take it over there, compare to any they have and maybe get someone qualified there to have a look at it. be a cool museum to check out anyway. hate to get hit with this thing no matter how it was fired. damn! LOL. THANKS FOR THE REPLY.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

The wall gun is an intriguing possibility. Especially in Virginia. Also a swivel gun (wall or boat/ship).

I don't see where you mentioned whether it was lead or iron. If iron I'd say it was canister shot (or tumbling media)