What Happened to this bullet ?

[Ekim14]

Not so much of a what is it but more of a what happened to it. I found this bullet at one of my favorite civil war battle sites. I have found chewed bullets before but this one seems to be way over the top. Could it be an animal chewing on it? They don't look like canine tooth marks. Maybe a solider using it like a stick of gum? Have you found anything like it before? Your comments are greatly appreciated.

 

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[smokeythecat]

Chewed by a pig. Pigs LOVE to chew on lead for some reason. I have seen this before.

 

[Gene Mean]

Chewed by a pig. Pigs LOVE to chew on lead for some reason. I have seen this before.

That is a very cool ID

 

[GameOfTones]

Definatley a hog-chewed bullet. I've found many around north GA battlefields.

Edited to add, NOT chewed by a solider, or used as a "pain bullet."
Anyone that doubts that, try bitting down on one. Make sure you have dental insurance first.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Smokey and GameOfTones are correct... that bullet definitely got chewed by a hog. Of course other animals can chew on a lead bullet, but only a hog has the extreme jaw-strength (a.k.a. "bite-force") necessary to mangle a .58-caliber bullet that severely. A wolf could also probably do it... but those are not the marks of Canine teeth.

Sidenote:
Wild animals chew on bullets because lead tastes sweet. But carnivores (like wolves) don't seem to go after sweet-flavored things.

 

[Davers]

Smokey and GameOfTones are correct... that bullet definitely got chewed by a hog. Of course other animals can chew on a lead bullet, but only a hog has the extreme jaw-strength (a.k.a. "bite-force") necessary to mangle a .58-caliber bullet that severely. A wolf could also probably do it... but those are not the marks of Canine teeth.

Sidenote:
Wild animals chew on bullets because lead tastes sweet. But carnivores (like wolves) don't seem to go after sweet-flavored things.

Glad to see you online , with Civil War relics so hard to come by these days , & health reasons I have not hunted since Sept , but I think ill head out today , don't know where ill go but Ill enjoy the woods even if I find nothing .

 

[Ekim14]

Thank you one and all. A Hog chewing sounds like the right conclusion to me and I never would have thought of that. The bullet was found on a farm field attached to the Wood Lake Battlefield in western Minnesota. 700 Dakota warriors vs 1600 men of the 3ed Minn. Volunteer Infantry. September 1862.

 

[Elvis]

Pretty cool find!!!