Wormed/Pulled Bullet UPDATE: Pic inside

[zaxfire69]

Hello everyone. Well I am a very proud fellow. I've been fortunate to dig some nice lead lately, but never would I imagine I would have found a beauty like this one. I found a few 3 ringers here and there then out pops this beauty. I know some folks just think it is just a bullet, but 2 I found actually have scars. Can tell a story. The first picture Posted will be the finds I found all together.

Then comes the beauty this post is about..The best wormed (Pulled) bullet example I have seen in awhile. It looks like a rose on top of the bullet where the worm actually cut into the lead.

Next comes another bullet that is either a wormed or a ramrod bullet. Not to sure on this one, but it still is very unique.

I love digging bullets. I hope you folks enjoy them as much as I do.

Both of these bullets will be on display for sure. Thanks for looking. zaxfire69

 

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[{Sentinel}]

Re: Wormed Bullet

Yep, those were wormed with a "Pig Tail" Worm. There were 2 types most often used: The "Pig Tail" and the Screw Worm


This is the so called "Pig Tail" Worm/Puller that yours was wormed with:

and the Other: A Screw Puller

 

[zaxfire69]

Re: Wormed Bullet

I am super excited to have dug this one Sentinel. I also dug an axe from the same area as well. It was split into 2 pieces. I found them both. Just haven't cleaned it up yet. Gonna wait till light tomorrow. Thanks for the pictures and information.

 

[Roland58]

Re: Wormed Bullet

Well, notch up another thing learned from this site! Heck, I thought you were actually talking a real worm! Just couldn't imagine a worm grooving lead! This worming tool, was it used to remove a bullet that became lodged in a barrel? (as the other screw type tool?)

Thanks for the pics and the history lesson!!!

 

[zaxfire69]

Re: Wormed Bullet

From what I gathered Roland sometimes bullets would get stuck in the barrel or the powder would be to wet to fire the bullet. The only way the soldier could get the bullet out was to attach a worm or a bullet puller to the ramrod and pull the bullet from the gun. The above pictured tools would thread down on the bullet and the guy would pull it up and out of the gun clearing it to load a fresh powder charge and bullet. I think it is really a nice find. I'm gonna try and find a Pig tail worm tool to display with it. It will make a nice conversation piece for sure.

 

[spitfire55]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

 

[trixie charger]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

New to me. I was thinking a real worm too, thought he was a determend little sucker

 

[civilman1]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

I Love finding those wormed bullet's....like you said,alway's a story behind them.Thank's for sharing

 

[steelheadwill]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

great to find slugs with a story behind them like that!
Misfire in the heat of battle??

 

[VOL1266-X]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

Nice finds Z. We DO enjoy digging bullets here too. Next to carved bullets, the pulled bullets are the most personal and fun to find. The vast majority of pulled bullets that we recover here had the screw puller (that Sentinel showed you) used to remove them. I have been told that soldiers during the war kept the breech plugs in their rifles/muskets greased well so they could remove those plugs and push the bullet back out so that bullet could be used again. HH, Quindy.

 

[Dman]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

That is a neat find. I have only found a few of those.

Congrats
Dman

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

What an excellent find!
They will display nicely!

 

[zaxfire69]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

Thanks everyone. This is the first one I have found that has been pulled with the Pig tail worm tool. Hopefully I can go back and find the worm tool itself somewhere out there. There is just so much iron to dig through. Guess I need to dig all the signals and see what comes up.

 

[zaxfire69]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

Update: After finding the pulled bullet the other day I went on a hunt. I wanted the worm tool that pulled this bullet to display with the bullet. Well a fellow in Gettysburg , PA had one in his collection..so I bought it. I'm very happy to have both pieces. I will make a great display out of these items. Thanks for looking. Zaxfire69

 

[Tnmountains]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

Nice finds Z. We DO enjoy digging bullets here too. Next to carved bullets, the pulled bullets are the most personal and fun to find. The vast majority of pulled bullets that we recover here had the screw puller (that Sentinel showed you) used to remove them. I have been told that soldiers during the war kept the breech plugs in their rifles/muskets greased well so they could remove those plugs and push the bullet back out so that bullet coulkd be used again. HH, Quindy.

Were the breech plugs easily removed? I know you can push them out of BP in lines.
Nice looking tool and bullet. They go well together.

 

[VOL1266-X]

Re: Wormed/Pulled Bullet

Nice finds Z. We DO enjoy digging bullets here too. Next to carved bullets, the pulled bullets are the most personal and fun to find. The vast majority of pulled bullets that we recover here had the screw puller (that Sentinel showed you) used to remove them. I have been told that soldiers during the war kept the breech plugs in their rifles/muskets greased well so they could remove those plugs and push the bullet back out so that bullet coulkd be used again. HH, Quindy.

Were the breech plugs easily removed? I know you can push them out of BP in lines.
Nice looking tool and bullet. They go well together.

I doubt they were easily (but could be) removed TnM except on newer muskets/rifles but they had to keep their weapons cleaned and well olied daily. Think about it-I'm sure you have found 3 ringers with ramrod imprints on the nose of the bullet but no rifling marks or melted rings to indicate that it had ever been fired. Therefore, the only way the soldier could have retrieved the bullet without a puller (like Z's) was to remove the breech plug, take the ramrod, and push the bullet and powder out the rear of the barrel. Again, I'm NOT a CW relic expert but a dealer friend who told me that info. is an expert. Stay warm guys, Quindy.

 

[zaxfire69]

Quindy it does make for an interesting thought. I find alot of what I percieve to be drops, but they have the marks on the nose that tell me it has been pushed down the barrel with the ramrod. Very interesting indeed. I know I have found at least 10 to 20 bullets that have ramrod marks on them, but appear to not have been shot. It just seems to me that it would have been a pain in the butt to have to worm every bullet that misfired.

 

[wettpaint]

Hey Zax,
Good find on the wormed bullets. Was it you that found a bullet with a screw type puller still in it? you could put those two together and have a real nice looking display.

Wettpaint

 

[MonkeyBoy]

Re: Wormed Bullet

From what I gathered Roland sometimes bullets would get stuck in the barrel or the powder would be to wet to fire the bullet. The only way the soldier could get the bullet out was to attach a worm or a bullet puller to the ramrod and pull the bullet from the gun. The above pictured tools would thread down on the bullet and the guy would pull it up and out of the gun clearing it to load a fresh powder charge and bullet. I think it is really a nice find. I'm gonna try and find a Pig tail worm tool to display with it. It will make a nice conversation piece for sure.

Nice digs! The vast majority of pulled bullets I have dug have been from picket post.. so, you stand a post with a live weapon but they had to clear them before returning to camp.. or were just smart enough to clear them before returning to camp! As for the bullets with impressions on the nose but no sign of being pulled or fired, I had someone tell me it was sometimes due to how the bullets were assembled, stacked and transported prior to them actually getting to the soldiers in the field.. I'm not sure about this but I do have some that have "rings" on them that seem to match up to another bullet sitting on top?? Not endorsing the idea.. just passing on what someone told me...

MB

 

[zaxfire69]

Monkey boy you could be right. I found some more today and I know one of them had the marks on it, but it looked like a drop. You think it might have something to do with when they cast them? I'm not sure. Heck I am gonna have to bite the bullet and go ahead and purchase a couple of those bullet books. The M&M book I guess. Not sure where to get it or what to get, but I sure would love to be able to tell what kind of bullets these are. Each one looks different.. An yes I am the fellow that found the Screw type extractor bullet. You are right those will go together nicely. F75 has been killing it the last 3 hunts. Today was no different. Pictures later tonight. I gotta cook some meat for the fam tonight.