What kind of bullet is this?

[clf_02]

Dug this where I been finding 3 ringers. It's smooth, no rings and a solid base. The bullet in the pic with it is a modern colt .45 just for size reference.

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Being "roughly" about .45-inch in diameter, solid base, no body-grooves, and tapered along its entire length, it is A .44 Starr Revolver bullet. Yours is somewhat "eroded"... but see bullet #54 in the McKee-&-Mason bullet-book, and #43B in the Thomas-&-Thomas "Handbook of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges."

 

[clf_02]

It was actually slightly smaller. But had it measured and its a .38 cal. Only thing I could find like it in pics was a picket bullet. It that what it is or any other ideas?

 

[clf_02]

Someone give me some input please!

 

[DirtyMike]

Could be a colt pistol bullet...

 

[skeeterd]

Where did you find this? Can you give us the exact diameter? Thanks, Skeeter.

 

[clf_02]

It's exact .38. Found it in natchez, ms same place i found the bayonet scabbard tip and multiple 3 ringers.

 

[skeeterd]

Thanks clf. The reason I asked the exact diameter of your bullet, is because what is stated as caliber, is not always the bullets diameter. I can't find any rifle or handgun bullets that measure .380, but that doesn't mean one can't exist. The closest I've found is either the .38-40 winchester, whose bullet diameter is .400. Or the .38-55 winchester/ballard, whose bullet measures .375. I happen to be missing some of my books on obsolete cartridges, so there maybe someone else can give you better info than I can. Skeeter.

 

[skeeterd]

Does your bullet have rifling marks?

 

[clf_02]

It don't have rifle marks but I found this # 33. It's the closet I could find.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Clf_02 wrote:
> Only thing I could find like it in pics was a picket bullet.

When I first saw your bullet and wrote my previous reply to you, I immediately thought "Picket bullet" -- but as you are discovering, every Picket bullet shown in the various bullet-books (M&M, T&T, etc) has a distinctlve pointy nose, or a flat-tipped nose. Yours doesn't. So I excluded a Picket identification, and went looking through the books for any bullet with a solid flat base, no rings/grooves, and a tapering body, "about" the size of yours. Despite all that searching on your gehalf, the .44 Starr was the only close match. But then you provided your bullet's actual measurement, whereas previously all I had to go on for size was the .44 cartridge in your photos.

> It that what it is or any other ideas?

There is such a thing as a .36 Starr (diameter .387"), but its length (.59") seems to be shorter than yours. The photos show your bullet's body is significantly corroded in places, but its nose-tip doesn't look like a pointed one that corroded off. Perhaps one of the other ID-helpers here can come up with a cartridge-bullet match I've never seen. (I've been doing this for nearly 40 years, but I don't believe I've seen everything there is to see.) Good luck to you in your ID-search. I've done all I can do for you.

 

[clf_02]

The length is exactly .750. I just measured.

 

[clf_02]

In this book it shows all these as pickets. I don't have much experience and really only have this one book. So that's why I ask for input. This book has all these pics of different ones and then adds this in in the info page. It's shows the Starr revolver with a ring near the base in this book. I wish I had more books to go off of.

 

[clf_02]

Also not really relating to this, I found a bullet that is post civil war I know but I believe is late 1800's to early 1900's where would I go to identify it or any tips on identifying bullets of that nature.

 

[donjohn]

They are "Sugar-Loaf" bullets. Also known as "picket" bullets. Originally designed about 1835 for use in muzzleloading rifles. They were an designed to provide better accuracy than a patched round ball at longer ranges. The problem was the tapered body did not provide for good alignment in the bore of the rifle as the bullet would tip out of alignment during loading resulting in poor accuracy. For more information refer to Chapter IV of "The Muzzle Loading Cap Lock Rifle" by Ned H. Roberts.