Bullet Help

[HuntinDog]

I know this has been asked a bunch, but I've never dug one of these...

Got out today and had a chance to dig a few targets.
a 1903 Indian
a stamped eagle plate for a tongue and wreath buckle
and this bullet.
It's .56 in dia. and .75 tall.
I don't have anything to weigh it on so that's about all I can add.

Any help ID'n the bullet is appreciated
Thanks

 

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[fyrffytr1]

It looks like a Hanoverian bullet but your dimensions don't match exactly.

19th Century Bullet Collection - Tom Henrique

 

[lairmo]

My best Definitely uneducated guesses?

1..carved Hall Carbine...
2..carved Ringtail Sharps
3..carved Colt Revolving rifle bullet

 

[HuntinDog]

Fyrffytr1
Boy it sure does look like the example you posted, but it is smaller.

Lairmo
I don't think it is carved
I can see the mold casting seams on the taper going up to the top.

Thank you for your replies
I'm hopful for some more....

 

[A2coins]

Ive never seen one like that great job

 

[HuntinDog]

Thank you guys for the responces.
I didn't think this one would take long to ID.
By my measurements I would guess it is .58 caliber firearm.
But like I've said before... What do I know
I hope more will have ideas as to what this bullet went to.
Thanks

 

[Davers]

Neat find.

IMO It's a Hanoverian type bullet , maybe cut on to be cut down to fit a .54 or .58.

 

[Yak1366]

Very nice find, congrats!!!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

HuntinDog said about the bullet he dug:
> It's .56 in dia. and .75 tall.
> I hope more will have ideas as to what this bullet went to.

Fyrffytr1 and Davers are correct, it is one of the Hanoverian types, originally made in Europe. Afterward, Hanoverian bullet-molds were imported into the US, for use with imported European rifles and whatever US-made rifles it could correctly fit into.

You asked for info about "what this bullet went to":
You say it is .56" in diameter. That size is correct for use in (any kind of) .58-caliber blackpowder muzzle-loader rifle... and a .54-caliber breech-loader rifle or carbine. Because the Hanoverian bullets have a solid base (no base-cavity), they are very unlikely to have been made for use in a muzzle-loader (which requires the bullet's base to expand outward to engage the gunbarrel's internal rifling-grooves).

You didn't ask for time-dating info about your bullet. But for anybody here who want to know that info... Hanoverian bullets seem to have first been made "about" the 1860s.

But that 1860s date does NOT automatically mean Hanoverian bullets were used in civil war battles. Insofar as I'm aware, no record has been found that any Hanoverians were made in either US or CSA arsenals. Nor have any been solidly documented as having been dug at a civil war battle trench or troop-encampment. Therefore, no Hanoverian bullet is shown in the Thomas-&-Thomas "Handbook Of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges." When the Thomas brothers (the two most-knowledgeable civil war bullet-ID experts who are still alive) do not believe Hanoverians were used in civil war battles, that's good enough to settle that subject for me.

 

[Davers]

HuntinDog said about the bullet he dug:
> It's .56 in dia. and .75 tall.
> I hope more will have ideas as to what this bullet went to.

Fyrffytr1 and Davers are correct, it is one of the Hanoverian types, originally made in Europe. Afterward, Hanoverian bullet-molds were imported into the US, for use with imported European rifles and whatever US-made rifles it could correctly fit into.

You asked for info about "what this bullet went to":
You say it is .56" in diameter. That size is correct for use in (any kind of) .58-caliber blackpowder muzzle-loader rifle... and a .54-caliber breech-loader rifle or carbine. Because the Hanoverian bullets have a solid base (no base-cavity), they are very unlikely to have been made for use in a muzzle-loader (which requires the bullet's base to expand outward to engage the gunbarrel's internal rifling-grooves).

You didn't ask for time-dating info about your bullet. But for anybody here who want to know that info... Hanoverian bullets seem to have first been made "about" the 1860s.

But that 1860s date does NOT automatically mean Hanoverian bullets were used in civil war battles. Insofar as I'm aware, no record has been found that any Hanoverians were made in either US or CSA arsenals. Nor have any been solidly documented as having been dug at a civil war battle trench or troop-encampment. Therefore, no Hanoverian bullet is shown in the Thomas-&-Thomas "Handbook Of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges." When the Thomas brothers (the two most-knowledgeable civil war bullet-ID experts who are still alive) do not believe Hanoverians were used in civil war battles, that's good enough to settle that subject for me.

Great info as usual Mr , TheCannonBallGuy.

 

[lairmo]

The closest I was able to come searching was this .61 CAL:

of course it says it's from the Confederacy, but offers no proof...on this site: https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1251/1/AAQ-836

 

[HuntinDog]

Thank you Cannonballguy, Fyrffytr1 and Davers

What I have been able to come up with on this type of bullet is, it was used in a Tige Rifle/Musket.

They are European in origin and seem to have come up into the US from Mexico after the Mexican War (1846-48).
The Hanoverian Tige design used a heavy stem in the breech chamber that the bullet was rammed onto to expand it into the rifling prior to firing, unlike the conical based Minnie that expanded during firing.
See #3 in the diagram
So this is most likely from a Gold prospector during the Gold Rush here in California. 1848----> so no telling when it was dropped.​