Musket ball?

[pjroo33]

Found this along with a few other musket balls. This one looks like it has an indention of mesh around the outside. Can you tell me what that might be?

 

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[La Beep]

Maybe cloth. Placed in a pocket while still hot
Hot loaded black powder made the ball melt to the patch
Just a guess.

 

[pjroo33]

Is this an unusual looking bullet?

 

[CRUSADER]

I have found hundreds of musket balls & pistol shot from many centuries & none like that. So yes, if its a musket ball it is unusual.

 

[pjroo33]

Here it is sitting next to the other musket balls I found today.

 

[cntrydncr1]

Looks like it was a great hunt again today!

 

[CanUDigIt]

Cool finds! Glad you guys had a great day! Awesome hunt!

 

[pjroo33]

It was a fun hunt again yesterday. Do you know if there is a way to get an idea of age on a musket ball? I'm stumped by the fabric looking imprint on this one.

 

[CanUDigIt]

Almost looks as if it was in a pouch when it was lost and has been trampled for years until the pouch rotted away. It is cool!

 

[pjroo33]

Almost looks as if it was in a pouch when it was lost and has been trampled for years until the pouch rotted away. It is cool!

I read this on a site about musket balls...

" Musket balls were wrapped in a greased linen patch to facilitate ramming them down the barrel as well as aid them traveling under pressure back up. Also, the greased patch helped to clean the barrel of the residue produced by blackpowder"

So maybe a linen patch caused the marks?

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Almost looks as if it was in a pouch when it was lost and has been trampled for years until the pouch rotted away. It is cool!

I read this on a site about musket balls...

" Musket balls were wrapped in a greased linen patch to facilitate ramming them down the barrel as well as aid them traveling under pressure back up. Also, the greased patch helped to clean the barrel of the residue produced by blackpowder"

So maybe a linen patch caused the marks?

I hunt with a replica old style patch and ball muzzleloader. The linen or flannel patch does resemble that pattern, but I doubt it could be from the patch. The patch is greased and makes a tighter fit when rammed down the barrel. But when it is fired, the patch flies out pretty much disentegrates and leaves no marks on the lead. More likely in a pouch or maybe it was made up and never fired. Yea, that could be, never fired and wrapped ready to load for many years. Is there a hole in it anywhere?

 

[pjroo33]

Almost looks as if it was in a pouch when it was lost and has been trampled for years until the pouch rotted away. It is cool!

I read this on a site about musket balls...

" Musket balls were wrapped in a greased linen patch to facilitate ramming them down the barrel as well as aid them traveling under pressure back up. Also, the greased patch helped to clean the barrel of the residue produced by blackpowder"

So maybe a linen patch caused the marks?

I hunt with a replica old style patch and ball muzzleloader. The linen or flannel patch does resemble that pattern, but I doubt it could be from the patch. The patch is greased and makes a tighter fit when rammed down the barrel. But when it is fired, the patch flies out pretty much disentegrates and leaves no marks on the lead. More likely in a pouch or maybe it was made up and never fired. Yea, that could be, never fired and wrapped ready to load for many years. Is there a hole in it anywhere?

Not a hole but the ball has been fired. It is nearly flat on the other side.

 

[dcinffxva]

Pillow ticking was also used as patch material, and will leave a pattern in the ball when fired. I've got one very similar to that floating around here somewhere. If I can find it, I'll post a pic.

Nice finds !

 

[d2]

It's the patch material that made the impression on the ball...d2

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

It's the patch material that made the impression on the ball...d2

It sure looks like it, but how come no other round balls found have these markings? I believe all round balls need a patch other than pistols.

I have found hundreds of musket balls & pistol shot from many centuries & none like that. So yes, if its a musket ball it is unusual.

 

[l.cutler]

Muskets were generally fired without a patch, rifles with a patch. It probably depends on how tight the patch ball combination is, tight would leave the imprint loose would not.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Muskets were generally fired without a patch, rifles with a patch. It probably depends on how tight the patch ball combination is, tight would leave the imprint loose would not.

Then this is not a musket ball. Maybe it can be dated from the time rifleing was invented to around the end of muzzleloaders.

 

[pjroo33]

Muskets were generally fired without a patch, rifles with a patch. It probably depends on how tight the patch ball combination is, tight would leave the imprint loose would not.

Then this is not a musket ball. Maybe it can be dated from the time rifleing was invented to around the end of muzzleloaders.

When would the end of muzzleloaders be? I took this info off of the internet. Looks like rifleing has been around for quite some time.

British "Brown Bess" Rifle

The "Brown Bess" was one of the most renowned flintlock muskets ever produced. Introduced during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714), the gun was produced for over a century and was one of the most significant firearms of the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Army was armed with the weapon at the start of hostilities and, as the war progressed, many more were manufactured locally. The musket was still in British service at the time of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe (1799-1815). It weighed a hefty fifteen pounds with its bayonet and fired a ball three quarters of an inch in diameter! This non-firing version is accurately detailed and comes complete with its removable bayonet.

 

[l.cutler]

Rifles and smoothbores coexisted for at least a couple of hundred years. The military favored the smoothbore for it's speed of loading, and preferred massed volley fire to accurate rifle fire. The Brown Bess was a smoothbore not a rifle. Rifles began to overtake smoothbores in popularity in civilian usage in the latter half of the 18th century. Smoothbore muskets were still in use by the US military during the Civil War, however they were considered second class arms by this time, the new rifle musket being the weapon of choice. As for as the end of muzzleloaders, it hasn't happened yet!

 

[pjroo33]

Would it be wrong to assume that these are from the period of the Revolution? They were found in an area with a lot of Revolutionary War activity.