Help with Bullet Identification and Age.

[FreeBirdTim]

I found an oddball bullet in the woods today and can use some help identifying it. It appears to be around .50 caliber, but that's just a rough estimate on my part. The groove on it does NOT have vertical lines in it (reeding?). I know that lines in the grooves is a sure sign that it is post Civil War era. It also has a very small hole in the middle of the base.

As you can see, it's in pretty rough shape. It definitely hit it's mark. Any help as to the age of this bullet would be appreciated.

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

Hard to say, but similar to a Lyman .452 (.45 Colt) single groove. #452484 in the image below. Would need measurements in thousands of an inch & weight in grains to do better.

Fairly old design - 1880's to present.




The small hole means either there wasn't enough lead in the sprue - it shrinks a bit as it cools and will suck in air through the pour opening - or the mold was opened too soon before it had cooled enough. Both signs it was hand cast.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

It kind of looks like that bullet, but the weight is off. I'm getting 8/10th of an ounce on my scale, which would work out to 350 grains (I think).

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Ok. There's a 350 gr bullet that may be what you have. If the original nose was a bit flat before being shot the .45-75 comes to mind (not .45-70). But I can't find whether the originals had one or two grooves.

 

[Tedyoh]

I think it's an "older" (pre 1990's before sabots became popular) modern cast Muzzle Loader / black powder bullet, see the link below, many pictures.

Bullets and Ball-ets for muzzle loading guns - Track of the Wolf