Musket Balls

[thunter95]

I found a musket ball today in the same area that I have been pulling large cents out of. Is there any way to tell caliber by weight of the ball? The ball is small so I think it is like a 36/38 caliber or so. My father has a musket pistol that the balls are really close and his is a 38 I think. It hit something because it is no longer round so to mic it does not help to tell the width.

 

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[ivan salis]

.36 was a popular blackpowder rifle small game calibar in the old days -- also it was a popular pistol calibar

 

[SomeGuy]

Lets see, don't know how to type math on this keyboard, but:

Pure lead weighs 11.34gm/cc = 2867.79grains/cubic in.

Volume of a sphere is 4/3 pi* r cubed (r3) where r is radius.
Diameter = 2*r So....

Weight (in grains)/2867.79 =4/3 pi*r3

(W/2867.79) *3/4 =pi*r3

((W/2867.79) *3/4)/3.1416 =r3

2* cube root of [ ((W/2867.79) *3/4)/3.1416 ] = Diameter

Good luck.

I can't seem to locate any tables listing weights of round balls of different calibers, alternatively, you might go down to the local gun shop and weigh balls of known calibers.

 

[l.cutler]

It would be a rifle or pistol ball, or a large buckshot, not musket. Musket balls are much bigger.

 

[SomeGuy]

I've reconsidered. Since the density of lead is only given to 4 significant figures anyway, you'd be better off doing all the math in metric units, rounding and converting to inches in the end. The formula is the same, different units:

2* cube root of [ ((Weight in grams/11.34) *3/4)/3.142 ] = Diameter in cm

Diameter in cm * .3937 = Dia. in inches.