Small Musket Ball???

[Jarl]

Hello,

Just wanted to post a small lead ball I found here in Iowa last summer. It was about 6-7 inches deep in a large park. I noticed that the 'flat' where it struck something is also where the pour spout or nipple is. I tried to photograph it best I could, but looking at it, you can see a small round inside the flat area...if I am not mistaken would suggest a pour point.

Here are the specs on the object:

Weight = 8.6 g/.304 oz
Diameter = .450"

If it isn't a 'firearm' projectile then maybe it's a sling shot load?? Any comments and input appreciated. Thanks!

 

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[americanzero]

That is a tough call! My first thought was a Buckshot round from a Buck and Ball, but if its .45 that would be too big. It could however be an old pistol ball, but even that may not be the case if it is exactly .45. All told I would lean towards slingshot pellet. HH

 

[Jarl]

Thanks for your input americanzero. Yes, I took my dial caliper to it...exactly .45!

 

[HomeGuardDan]

I think it is a .45 musket ball. .45 was a common hunting rifle load. Also .45 was a common ball for early revolvers (cap and ball). It is difficult to determine exactly what you have, other than it is indeed a .45 ball for a firearm. The spru looks more like the type that I find at 1800s sites and more so like those from mid 1800s sites which make me think revolver or late model hunting rifle.

 

[BosnMate]

At one time I've owned a .45 caliber muzzle loading rifle and a revolver in .44 caliber. Out of the rifle I fired .495 cast balls using .013 pillow ticking
patch lubed with soap and water. There are modern bullets/balls that are swaged, they are sold in .440 and .445, and they don't have a spru.
Your find has a spru, and is definitely a cast bullet. It looks to me from what I can see in the photo that your find is a dropped ball, because some
people will tap the spru down into the ball thinking it will shoot better. I always loaded with the spru up and won a number of shooting matches, so
don't think it really matters. Early on spru's were cut after the ball was out of the mold, and you can tell from the way they are cut they come from
early (1700's early 1800's) molds. I'm not an expert on bullet molds, but I do know Colt provided a bullet mold for his 1851 revolver that had
a spru cutter built in, and you got the flat cut like yours shows. Again from your photo, my swag is you found a pistol bullet for the .44 caliber revolver.
The reason I say that is because .45 is too tight of a fit for a .45 caliber rifle, the ball has to be undersized to allow for the patch material.
Pistol bullets aren't patched, they are over sized so that when loaded an actual ring of lead is cut off the ball as it is seated on the powder in
the chamber. Then a layer of heavy grease, water pump grease works great, is applied over the top of the bullet seated in the chamber.
This is an older style mold, without a spru cutter.
This is a double cavity Colt mold dating to the 1850's with a spru cutter.
These are balls cast in a mold with a spru cutter.
These are from an early mold, note the cutter built into the handles, which leaves a pinched cut.
I suppose your find could have been shot from a slingshot, but odds are it's a pistol ball that's been dropped, because there is no evidence
of it having been loaded into a gun.

 

[Jarl]

Wow, thanks BosnMate...awesome information. Not sure I'll ever find one of these again but I'm going back to the site in spring...we'll see. Really appreciate everyone's input here, thanks!

 

[l.cutler]

Great information from BosnMate. It could be a rifle ball or pistol ball, but one thing it can't be is a musketball, too small for that.

 

[Jarl]

I'm learning, I know nothing really of older ballistics. Seriously gonna go back to the site in spring all things pending.