Is this a musket ball?

[EC.Mason]

Hey guys and gals, found this in the yard of an old home built around 1915. There was a log home that sat in the same spot before it was built. Any idea if this is a small musket ball? Any help would be appreciate!

 

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[stillwater]

yes, pistol ball with mold mark (seam) and the little extra 'nip' that squeezed out the mold. Wasn't fired, but dropped. Made in the field. Always a good find.

 

[EC.Mason]

Really wow. How old you think it is?

 

[smokeythecat]

It's hard to tell. Probably NOT 20th century, and in your area, probably around the Civil War period, but it was hand made as stillwater stated.

 

[l.cutler]

Not a musket ball, too small, but it is a round ball. Could be for a rifle or pistol, no way to really tell. An exact measurement with calipers would give you the caliber.

 

[Tony in SC]

I would guess it's about 36 cal. and the mold had a lot of wear?

 

[A2coins]

I disagree it looks like a fishing weight just my opinion

 

[l.cutler]

I disagree it looks like a fishing weight just my opinion

That could very well be, if it is split at that seam.

 

[EC.Mason]

That was my first thought; a sinker; however it has no split just the mold mark.

 

[Ripcon]

Too small for a pistol ball....Looks like a buck-n-ball to me.
Good find.

 

[ripvanb]

Could it be a buckshot from buck and ball?

 

[l.cutler]

I may be wrong on this, but I don't think buck shot was made by casting in a mold. Rifles were made in .32 caliber and even smaller, Colt revolvers were made in .31 caliber. My bet would be on a rifle or revolver ball. An accurate measurement would be a big help.

 

[Gambrinus]

I may be wrong on this, but I don't think buck shot was made by casting in a mold. Rifles were made in .32 caliber and even smaller, Colt revolvers were made in .31 caliber. My bet would be on a rifle or revolver ball. An accurate measurement would be a big help.

I have been thinking about getting a triple ought or #3 buckshot mold which measures .250 since I am already casting bullets for my .357. The smallest buckshot mold I have seen is a #4 which measures.240.
I agree with you that an accurate measurement would help.

 

[Gambrinus]

Hey guys and gals, found this in the yard of an old home built around 1915. There was a log home that sat in the same spot before it was built. Any idea if this is a small musket ball? Any help would be appreciate!
View attachment 1811393View attachment 1811394View attachment 1811395

In your second picture the circle looks like where the sprue was cut off. Do you have calipers to measure it?

 

[Red-Coat]

Since the late 1700s, small shot (up to about 3.8mm as a maximum) was usually made by pouring molten lead through a sieve at the top of a chimney-like tower (a process patented in 1782). The sieve broke up the stream into small droplets which then formed spheres as they dropped from a height into a cold water tank at the bottom. The shot was then sorted by tipping it onto a slightly inclined table and anything that didn't roll down the slope went for re-melting. In 1848 a patent was filed for the addition of a cold air blast that shortened the height of the drop required.

Before these processes, shot was usually made by dribbling the lead directly into cold water without first free-falling in a tower (poor quality of roundness, but cheap) or in moulds (good quality of roundness, but expensive). Larger shot was usually made by cutting lead sheet into small pieces and barrel-tumbling them until they were round.

 

[Noah_D]

I disagree it looks like a fishing weight just my opinion

I can see that, but I think it is a small musket or pistol ball. The round fishing sinkers I am familiar with are split shots and they have a crack down the side... it could just be me but I don't see a crack on the side.

 

[EC.Mason]

I may be wrong on this, but I don't think buck shot was made by casting in a mold. Rifles were made in .32 caliber and even smaller, Colt revolvers were made in .31 caliber. My bet would be on a rifle or revolver ball. An accurate measurement would be a big help.

Wish I knew how to accurately measure it !

 

[EC.Mason]

In your second picture the circle looks like where the sprue was cut off. Do you have calipers to measure it?[/QUO

No I wish I did. I really appreciate your all’s help

 

[Red-Coat]

If you don't have or can't borrow a set of callipers do you have a full set of drill bits for wood? If so, you can bore a series of holes into a piece of wood and get a pretty accurate measure of diameter by trying the ball progressively in the holes.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

EC.Mason wrote:
> I don't know how to accurately measure it. [...] I wish I did [have a set of Calipers].

EC, you can buy a very good quality set of stainless-steel (not cheap plastic) Digital Calipers at Harbor Freight Tools for a mere $15 to $19... either at the HFT website or a local HFT store in your town.
https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=digital caliper
Trust me, you will come around to thinking that's one of the best under-$20 investments you've ever made in your life. Being able to do super-precise measuring (hundredths-of-an-inch) will come in handy and save (or make) you money in more areas of life than just doing relic-identification.

About calipers for CORRECT relic-identification:
Super-accurate measurement of size isn't just helpful for correctly identifying bullets. Buttons and buckles and coins also need super-accurate measurement. Being able to measure them in millimeters or hundredths-of-an-inch helps you spot a Reproduction, or (worse) a Fake buckle or button or counterfeit coin being sold as a valuable Original. Take my word about that, and spend the $18 for steel digital calipers.

If you don't want to ever buy batteries, pay $1 more to get the non-electrical watchdial version of calipers.
https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-dial-caliper-63730.html