minnie ball or not?

[bigrig40]

I find from time to time small roundish objects that read out nickle on my MXT,they are clay in color and deffinitely look like shot projectiles.Any help would be appreciated as I am a novice when it comes to shells and such.thanks
sorry no pic

bigrig

 

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[BRD]

Big Rig,
It sounds like you are finding pistol balls. Larger ones could be rifle balls. My partner and I have dug quite a few pistol balls in the area north of Houston, Texas. After they have been in the ground for a hundred years, or so, the lead turns a whitish-beige.
BRD

 

[1171HP]

This is a standard .58 cal "three ringer", the true "minie" or "minnie" ball, (not "mini" as in small). As stated above, the old lead will oxidize white and is usually a tell tale sign of being an old bullet. CW bullets are much larger then their modern relatives and they come in various shapes and sizes (.44, .52, .69 to name a few) to include just plain round balls. My experience has been that bullets that tend to retain a gray lead color tend to be newer and usually you can distinguish rim marks from the casing being crimped. (However I do have several CW bullets that are very gray due to soil conditions) A CW bullet that has been fired will generally lose it's shape and become more globular, however you can usually make out the rings. Hope this helps. HH

 

[bigrig40]

thanks alot for the info.very informative.

bigrig