Musket balls?

[cole1]

Hi Everyone,

We have been clearing out that mid 1700's stone foundation and have found a bunch of stuff this past week. I think these or at least one is a musket ball and the other looks more like a bead. It has holes on both ends and some sitration markings on one end. Any ideas?

 

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[CRUSADER]

Homemade Lead weight (the 1 with the hole). I find hundreds over here.

 

[goldencoin]

the other ones looks like a pistol one, nice job!

HH
-GC

 

[BioProfessor]

Look for where the sprue was cut to tell if it is an old musket/pistol ball.

Daryl

 

[cole1]

It was in the middle of the stone foundation.

 

[BioProfessor]

Lot's of ways a modern buckshot could get there.

Daryl

 

[cole1]

Is there anyway of dating a musket ball? We have found military buttons/coins dating from the mid to late 1700's, including folsum points, but this is the first musket ball. Someone told me by the guage you can date it but I can't find anything on the internet.

 

[stoney56]

Lot's of ways a modern buckshot could get there.

Daryl

Daryl, I've been wrong before but that ball looks to be a bit bigger than buckshot. Just trying to use the ruler shown 6/16" or 3/8", it appears to be closer to a .44 or .45 cal. round ball.

Size Nominal diameter Pellets/oz
000 ("triple-ought") .36" (9.1 mm) 6
00 ("double-ought") .33" (8.4 mm) 8
0 ("one-ought") .32" (8.1 mm) 9
1 .30" (7.6 mm) 10
2 .27" (6.9 mm) 15
3 .25" (6.4 mm) 18
4 .24" (6 mm) 21

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_shell

 

[BioProfessor]

My first thought also but I don't see a sprue cut. That would make it modern and buckshot is all I can think of if it's lead.

Daryl

 

[cole1]

Professor, when you said look for the sprue, I thought you meant sprue tree. Sorry...What exactly is a "sprue" ?

 

[BioProfessor]

When a bullet or musket ball is hand-made, it is poured into a two-piece mold. Each cavity in the mold is overfilled to assure a complete projectile. When the mold is separated, there is a cone-shaped piece of lead attached to the projectile that is the "overfill." It must be cut off so that it doesn't interfere with the shape of the bullet. This is the "sprue." It can just be snipped off and left or it can be cut off and the area filed off leaving a flat spot. The evidence of the sprue being removed tells you it is a hand-made bullet made in a two-part mold. Not modern production.

Daryl

 

[stoney56]

A sprue is where the lead is poured into the mold while closed. There will be a stem (kind of like on an apple) that is left from pouring. When cut off, there will be a mark or slight circular bump on the ball or bullet.

 

[cole1]

I feel rather foolish now that I know what "spruce" is...

Is this spruce?

 

[BioProfessor]

Hard to say. If it's lead, it will clean up pretty easy and make the mold mark and sprue easier to see.

Daryl

 

[cole1]

I'll clean it up tonight and take a better picture..soap and water good?

 

[BioProfessor]

Yep. If it's lead, no rust. Cleans right up. Might use a toothbrush as well.

Daryl

 

[stoney56]

Top pic looks like a sprue. Was probably cut with a sprue cutter along the handle and not the type that swivels on the mold. See the difference below.

 

[cole1]

I cleaned it up last night and this is what I have. The top as you see in this picutre has a little something sticking out of the end where there is a black mark in a circle formation. Does this help in the identification? Is there another way to measure the caliber that I don't know about?

 

[BioProfessor]

Doesn't look like a musket/pistol ball to me. Lead doesn't corrode (white oxide but not corrosion per se) or pit and should be a dull gray color. There shouldn't be anything that sticks out and you should see where the sprue was cut. I don't see that either. Are you sure it is lead?

Daryl

 

[cole1]

I don't see any pitting or corrosion on it. It has white oxide over practically the whole thing except where the white oxide is gone and showing the black underneath. Maybe that's where it is showing up as being corroded. It's not magnetic.