🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Help with bullets

[JasonS]

Hi everyone, a couple of years ago I found what T'net member TheCannonBallGuy graciously ID'd for me as a Colt revolver .44 cal pistol ball. I've upgraded to a new detector since then and have found several more bullets/balls here in the back yard (Grimes county, TX... north of Houston ~ 90 miles) where the pistol ball came from. I'm wondering if anyone can provide any insight to any of the rest of them or point me to a good resource to research it up on my own (I've tried and failed to find such a thing). Just being nerdy and trying to paint a mental picture of who all's been tromping around here over the decades (and, of course, hoping one of them lost a bag of gold on my property, ha!).

Thanks for looking!
Jason

 

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[BennyV]

D, E, F, G & H look like .22LR to me. G & H are in more decayed states hence the difference in numbers from D, E, F. Just my .02.

 

[smokeythecat]

All bullets with those little vertical lines are modern day. Your B, J, K, and L are older.

 

[Dakota Sioux]

Nice presentation and photos

 

[JasonS]

D, E, F, G & H look like .22LR to me. G & H are in more decayed states hence the difference in numbers from D, E, F. Just my .02.

Thanks BennyV! Happen to know if the cavity on the base of each of those indicates older ammo or is that still done today? I had read that was an earlier design that caused the rear of the bullet to flare out upon firing and make a better seal as it traveled down the barrel of the gun to make up for any tolerance deviations between casting and the barrel bore... and that mass production tolerances made those unnecessary after the mid 1900's.

(Asked knowing that someone could have hand cast and fired the same looking bullet yesterday, just trying to validate the generality of the comment I had found!)

 

[JasonS]

All bullets with those little vertical lines are modern day. Your B, J, K, and L are older.

Rifling has been around quite a while, hasn't it?? (Disclaimer: "quite a while" to my scale of time in the back yard is like Civil War era, haha!)

Edit: per one of the comments below, I believe I was referring to the rifling marks but you were not. Apologies, and thank you for pointing this out... I just learned another way to judge dates!

 

[JasonS]

Nice presentation and photos

Thank you!!

 

[ColtsPop]

Jason this is a really outstanding post. I love modern bullets and I find myself fascinated with the ones I have found every time I pick them up. Most of yours are also modern. B is a Sharps. The last four may be early, but the Roundballs could be buckshot. Still, if I had a medal for post of the year - I would give it to you - and it’s only January!!!!

 

[JasonS]

Jason this is a really outstanding post. I love modern bullets and I find myself fascinated with the ones I have found every time I pick them up. Most of yours are also modern. B is a Sharps. The last four may be early, but the Roundballs could be buckshot. Still, if I had a medal for post of the year - I would give it to you - and it’s only January!!!!

Wow, you have a beautiful collection there! Almost looks like colorful rocks fresh out of a rock tumbler!

I had to Google Sharps... that is a new one to me... big bullet!!! Not at all doubting you, but for my own education may I ask what attributes of it lead you there? It appears to be a bit lighter than what I'm seeing for other Sharps, but the jaggedness of the back end of it also make me think that it split up on impact so that isn't a deal breaker!

So that I'm on the same page, what's the general consensus on the definition of "modern bullets"? Centerfire / rimfire (so potentially still late 1800's?) or do you look at these and say they were probably fired in the past handful of decades? For C and probably A, I was taking the mental leap that they are most likely in the latter camp. I truly had no guess on the rest.

Oh, and thank you for the medal. I struggle asking for help, so when I eventually do, I try to make it easier for those who are interested and hopefully demonstrate that I've put at least a little effort into it myself!

Thank you very much for your insight!

 

[ColtsPop]

Jason, now that I take another look at it, it is also modern. A Sharps has two protruding rings that differentiate it from other types, and that is what I thought I saw. I now see that the line is dotted, suggesting a modern bullet.

The term “modern” is typically used for post Civil War projectiles. That does not mean that a ball isn’t “old”. In fact, patination can tell you a lot about the age of a piece of lead. Prior to 1910 or so the chemical mixed with lead to create bullets caused the lead to patinate white. That’s really how you can visually see the difference in age. Copper coatings, or jackets, came out about a decade before the turn of the century. So, you have about twenty years where lead that patinates white was used in full metal jackets.

Centerfire rounds were just coming out at the end of the Civil War and rimfire rounds were used in the war. So, again, you can have a centerfire round with a “white” bullet.

To me, they are all collectible. I say that because I wouldn’t take $200 for that lot in my picture and no one would offer that. Suits me fine!

Here’s another picture of small arms from the Civil War, which I find extremely interesting. They range from 30 caliber up to the largest, 50 caliber. These were made during the transition from black powder to rimfire.

 

[ColtsPop]

By the way, your bullet C is one of my favorites. It reminds me of a Whitworth and I have found two. See first picture bottom row, 3rd and 5th from the right. I think they are early 30/30 rounds. Really fun to find, I would dig bullets all day!

 

[ColtsPop]

All bullets with those little vertical lines are modern day. Your B, J, K, and L are older.

I disagree. Rifling has been around since 1804. It does not determine age - in North America.

 

[fyrffytr1]

I disagree. Rifling has been around since 1804. It does not determine age - in North America.

I believe he was referring to the reeding in the cannelures not the rifling marks. The reeding dates to the early 1870s.

 

[dieselfool]

Here are my guesses:
A: .380 ACP
B:?
C: .30 cal. high power rifle, could be one of many different calibers. My guess?
.30/06 Springfield
D-H: .22 Long Rifle, with H being a hollow point.
I.: .22 Short, or possibly a Long (they both used the same 29 grain bullet).
The rest I can't tell.
Next I hope you find some guns for us to look at!

 

[JasonS]

Jason, now that I take another look at it, it is also modern. A Sharps has two protruding rings that differentiate it from other types, and that is what I thought I saw. I now see that the line is dotted, suggesting a modern bullet.

The term “modern” is typically used for post Civil War projectiles. That does not mean that a ball isn’t “old”. In fact, patination can tell you a lot about the age of a piece of lead. Prior to 1910 or so the chemical mixed with lead to create bullets caused the lead to patinate white. That’s really how you can visually see the difference in age. Copper coatings, or jackets, came out about a decade before the turn of the century. So, you have about twenty years where lead that patinates white was used in full metal jackets.

Centerfire rounds were just coming out at the end of the Civil War and rimfire rounds were used in the war. So, again, you can have a centerfire round with a “white” bullet.

To me, they are all collectible. I say that because I wouldn’t take $200 for that lot in my picture and no one would offer that. Suits me fine!

Here’s another picture of small arms from the Civil War, which I find extremely interesting. They range from 30 caliber up to the largest, 50 caliber. These were made during the transition from black powder to rimfire.

This is a great block of info, thank you!! That is another amazing picture too... I'm jealous! I mean, I wish it was a stack of coins that I was up here asking for help on, but I really value my small (but growing!) bullet collection too (as well as the knowledge that is coming along with it!) so I totally understand your feelings!

By the way, your bullet C is one of my favorites. It reminds me of a Whitworth and I have found two. See first picture bottom row, 3rd and 5th from the right. I think they are early 30/30 rounds. Really fun to find, I would dig bullets all day!

I like that one too! I think the pistol ball is still my favorite so far... It was the first one that I found!

I believe he was referring to the reeding in the cannelures not the rifling marks. The reeding dates to the early 1870s.

Thank you and smokeythecat for calling this out... cannelures... new word and I'm busy Googling all about them right now, thank you both for the knowledge share!!

Here are my guesses:
A: .380 ACP
B:?
C: .30 cal. high power rifle, could be one of many different calibers. My guess?
.30/06 Springfield
D-H: .22 Long Rifle, with H being a hollow point.
I.: .22 Short, or possibly a Long (they both used the same 29 grain bullet).
The rest I can't tell.
Next I hope you find some guns for us to look at!

Awesome, thank you diesel!!! Looking into these.....

I'm running out of back yard, but I'll see what I can do about tracking down a gun back there!!