Is this a musket ball?

[Mona Lisa]

I was detecting in the field by my house and found this round lead object. It seems kind of small for a musket ball. Did they make them this small?

 

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[junkdigger]

From my measurements of the ball and cent it looks like it is about .50 caliber. Could be from a 'Kentucky' rifle or a modern replica.

 

[DanInMA]

I agree, Looks small. My colonials start somewhere around 19/32", or around .59 caliber. British from a Brown Bess are somewhat large-like .75 caliber HH Dan

 

[1320]

Hard to tell unless I had it in my hand but I think you have found what is called grapeshot. Could also be .32 calibre pistol. It is too small to be .50 calibre. Judging by the patina, I further would say it's not a modern bullet. I have dug many modern day muzzleloader bullets and they never have the thick, white patina like your find has. I haven't seen any modern day muzzleloader bullets that small except for the shotgun loads.

Is it a musket ball? Probably not as most musket balls where fairly big in calibre. I would say that it is Civil War or older and if it is from a pistol or grapeshot, it is as good a find if not better than a musketball.

Great find. Those pesky little boogers are hard to pinpoint/locate in a hole!

 

[rusty nails]

how old would you say a bullet would have to be in the ground to have a thick white patina ?
reason i am asking - i found a muzzle loader bullet back in the woods - middle of knowhere with the thick white patina - but thought that was probably natural - i am interested now - i know all situations are different - ground and such - but .................. leftybass

 

[stoney56]

From my measurements of the ball and cent it looks like it is about .50 caliber. Could be from a 'Kentucky' rifle or a modern replica.

I can see where Junkdigger got his measurements. If you put a pen or pencil up to the ball and get the diameter then put it on the penny, you'll see that it comes about to the bridge of the nose. Now take a tape measure and measure a real penny and you'll find the distance is just about 1/2" which is 50 cal. The sprue leads me to believe that it is cast for a pistol or rifle as compared to dropping lead from a large diameter sieve into cold water.

 

[Mona Lisa]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't realize how excited I would be over a little ball of lead.

It was 5.5 inches deep. Definitely not a new object. I didn't have too much of a problem finding it in the hole, because it was dusk and the lead was so white.

I'll definitely look for more tonight!

 

[1320]

Stoney made a very good point with the measurement comparison! Correct he his, .50 calibre and maybe even .54....hard to say with the naked eye but definately not .32 calibre. A penny measures real close to 3/4 of an inch (.750 calibre). My "eye ball" measurement of the bridge of Lincoln's nose put that measurement at a solid .50 if not more. Looks like the bridge is a little higher than the "center" of the penny. Dead center of the penny would measure .375 calibre.

At a depth of 5.5 inches, I'm willing to bet the farm that it is 150 years or older. In my soil conditions, the more mass an object has, the slower it will sink. I have found large Civil War camp bullets at 2.5 inches and found .32's and .22's on the same camp at 7 inches. The majority of the modern balls that I have dug are 1.5 inches or less with a very light, see thru type white patina. I'm certain that soil conditions play some role in the process.

In the State of Kentucky, if it quacks we call it a duck.....congrats on finding yourself a Civil War (or older) bullet.

 

[Mona Lisa]

O.K.? I went back out to my field for about an hour and searched around randomly.? I found this other piece of lead probably 50 feet from where I found the first one.? It was 4.5 inches deep.

This might be a dumb question but.....Is this what a musket ball? looks like after it hits something?? This piece seems to have less mass that the first one.?

My house is very old built in the 1800's. (maybe around 1860)? The field I'm hunting in has very few signals, except for some large iron targets, probably farm equipment pieces.? I haven't been ambitious enough to dig those up yet.

Thanks for the information.

 

[cedarratt]

Looks to me like a .45 caliber ball may be old judging from the white patina or corrosion on the outside of it.

See the left one is a 50 cal ball and the right one is a 45 cal.

 

[cedarratt]

Yeah that is about what one looks like after hitting something hard.

 

[Mona Lisa]

I'd say it might be time to do a systematic search as it seems you have a pretty neat site

I've been going out there every night. I'm trying to get over that feeling that the neighbors think I'm crazy. I live close to a curve in the road. You should see the people in the vehicles slow down and gawk. I'm waiting for a head-on collision! Most people probably think I'm just weedwacking.

Thanks guys!

 

[stoney56]

Yeah that is about what one looks like after hitting something hard.

Hit something hard is probably right although have seen some that were almost bit in two from pain. Literally bit the bullet as it were. If no anesthia available, then they sometimes put a bullet between their teeth as an amputation occured. They also just chewed on a bullet to help produce saliva and forget being thirsty if no water was available.

 

[rusty nails]

looks like a cannon ball now

 

[stoney56]

LOL and a 1962D large cent!

 

[cedarratt]

yeah I haven't got the whole photo editing thing down yet lol sorry for the immense size.

 

[1320]

I'd dig EVERYTHING in that field.

 

[stoney56]

yeah I haven't got the whole photo editing thing down yet lol sorry for the immense size.

No problem, cedarratt. Click on the pic in you computer, open edit and search for resize. It should be at least somewhat similar to mine. Blank out what it says is the pic size and retype something like 640 X 480. Don't worry too much though-was j/k about large cent as you at least got pic to post. HH and enjoy the weekend.

 

[peterh]

Lump on the side of the ball would indicate not meant to be fired from a barrell of the same caliber.
I go with grape shot too. Found lots similar from a WW1 site in nw france

 

[stoney56]

Lump on side is called a sprue. It's a leftover from the bulle mold where the lead was poured in and was cut before mold was opened. The sprue was generally set into the muzzle with the sprue facing open end of the barrel. Most were generally trimmed by hand to smooth it up and scraps were reused in the melting pot.